New PC Build Troubleshooting
Folks, my new system is driving me nuts. In short, I bought a Biostar A870U3 and an AMD Phenom II X4 955, along with two sticks of DDR3 1333 RAM. I can get the system to turn on, but I can't get anything to show up on the monitor. I even RMAed both the motherboard and the processor back to Amazon, and neither has fixed the problem.
Furthermore, I have tried two power supplies (600W and 400W), two video cards (one that requires PSU connectors and one that doesn't), both processors, both motherboards. I have tried all combinations of one or both sticks of RAM. I have disconnected all other leads to the motherboard. I have tried DVI and VGA inputs to the monitor, which is the same one I'm using now (so, obviously, it works).
The only thing left to consider, so far as I can tell, is whether the board itself isn't properly installed in the case. I put the board on the same screw pins as my old board was, so I wouldn't think that would be the problem. Moreover, as power still reaches all the fans, I would assume that the board isn't shorting out because of that particular issue.
Any thoughts?! This is driving me insane!!!
...and I really want to play Starcraft II on something better than Medium settings... 
Update: I pulled the board out and tried it outside of the case. Still no dice. I don't think it's one of the stand pins holding it off the back of the case.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
And you didn't rma the ram?
Edit: What ram do you have, specifically?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
It's a GSkill DDR3 4GBx2 kit. 1.5v, CL-9-9-9-24, PC3-10600 (1333).
I haven't RMAed the RAM yet because I got it from Newegg a few weeks ago for $35. The mobo and proc I went through Amazon, as they're good about drop-shipping a replacement. I've been quite impressed, honestly. I sent the RMA at 4:30 CST and had the replacement the next day. Very impressive.
If the RAM is the problem, I can stop by Best Buy on the way home tomorrow and try it. I'm 99% sure they take returns on RAM, so I could still RMA the stuff back to Newegg. I just find it difficult to believe that both RAM sticks would be bad, but I guess it's possible?
If the RAM is bad, could that cause the monitor not to come up at all? Without any beeping from the BIOS? If I have no RAM inserted, the motherboard cries out in agony. If I have it in there, no sound at all. Either stick, any slot.
Thanks for the response! Any and all help is much appreciated!!!
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Can you elaborate on what the system is actually doing? Essentially I'm interested in the answers to these questions:
1. Do you hear any beeps?
2. Do all the fans start running (CPU/GPU/Case)?
3. Do the HDD's and optical drive(s) sound like they're booting up?
4. Does it look/sound like a typical bootup, besides the fact that you can't see anything?
I doubt it's bad RAM, just for the fact that you're not getting beeps from the motherboard saying the RAM isn't there, and even if it's utter trash, you should at least have the BIOS start booting up (though it probably wouldn't go much farther than that).
One thought is that it could just be some weird issue with the two video cards you tried. It's unlikely, but possible. It's a shame the motherboard doesn't have on-board video. Make sure the cables are secure when you boot it up... sometimes just slightly loose can cause it to blink out.
Dabbling in most F2P MMO's as Veloreyn.
1. I only hear beeps when the RAM is removed from the system.
2. All fans run. Video card, CPU, and the two PSU fans'
3. The HDD sounds like it spins. The DVD drive opens and closes. (though, I've kept them disconnected from the mobo)
4. This one is harder to answer, as it's a newer BIOS than I'm used to. On most systems I've had, you'll hear that single "beep" as the computer boots up, right before it displays the BIOS. I'm not hearing that beep.
Regardless, it's an odd issue. I put in the old motherboard and one of the video cards (the one that doesn't require extra PSU power) and I saw the BIOS just fine. Posted just as normal. The fact that I've done this with multiple motherboard reconnections/reseatings makes me doubt that it's a loose cable, though.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
I'm not thinking your ram is bad, necessarily, but that you bought incompatible ram. The fact you're getting no response when it's in there makes me think the ram won't work with your motherboard and cpu combination. I need to research it more, which is why I asked what specific brand you got.
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
Gotcha.
Granted, I haven't built a system in a few years, so it's very possible that I just don't know what I'm doing with DDR3 versus my old DDR2. The motherboard says it supports DDR3 1333, so that's what I bought. I guess I just don't know what would be "incompatible" about it.
The Newegg post for the GSkill RAM says it is fine with the AMD 890 chipset, and not necessarily the AMD 870 chipset. Why there would be a difference, I have no clue.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Here's what I'm seeing.
Your ram says this: Compatible M/B Chipset: Intel P55 lntel H55 Intel X48 Intel P45 Intel X38 AMD 890 Series AMD 790 Series
Your motherboard says this: Chipset AMD 870
It also says: "Support Dual Channel DDR3 800/1066/1333(supportted by CPU model)/1600(OC) MHz
It is recommended to install memory module on the red DDR3 DIMM slot (DDR3_A2 or DDR3_B2) to boot the system."
So, I'm wondering if it's just a bad pairing. I'd actually be a bit surprised if it is a bad combination of the ram, motherboard and cpu as very similar G-Skill ram is actually certified for that board, but ...
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, garion.
I tried each stick of RAM in the A2 and B2 slots, though it has been a few trials. I have typically tried in the A1 slot, but I definitely tried last night in B2.
But yeah, I definitely saw the "870" versus "890" difference. I'm just flabbergasted as to why that would matter. And I don't really know why the CPU model matters. The description at Newegg for my processor doesn't seem to dictate a certain RAM stick, or why one would matter more than another.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Also just try one stick at a time to see if it boots. If you've got bad RAM, it's probably not both sticks (unless it's totally incompatible, which is really fairly rare, implicitly supported or not).
Andy aka:
Xbox: TheMannishBoy PSN: Skinchanger Steam: MannishBoy
I figure I'll go by Best Buy tonight and pick up this stick of Corsair RAM to give it a try.
The Newegg description for that stick suggests it's similar to what [/i]I have already. The only other product from Best Buy, on their website at least, is a PC1600 stick of DDR3.
So, do you think I should try the PC1600 instead, then? As the PC1333 is practically identical to what I already have?
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Done and done. Neither stick made a difference. Granted, both sticks came in the same package, so I guess they could both be bad, but that seems unlikely to me.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
From wikipedia. I honestly don't think your cpu is stopping it from booting, but to be safe I keep saying "the combination of ram, motherboard and cpu."
If it were me, I'd pick up that 1333 stick from Best Buy and see if it works. If it works, send your ram back to New Egg, get something else and when that comes return the other stuck to Best Buy (since their prices suck).
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
Sounds good.
I just talked with the IT guys downstairs and they're wondering if it isn't the motherboard. They tell me that I should get a BIOS beep when a video card isn't plugged in to the motherboard, and if I recall, I don't think I did. They wonder if it's a bad batch of this board at Amazon, so whether I should try another board or not.
I can order a replacement by 4:00 or 4:30 today and still get it tomorrow, so that's probably what I'll do. I just want to confirm that I don't get that beep before I do it. I'm just not confident that I had the speaker plugged in when I last tried to turn it on without the video card in there. Surely I did, but I tried so many combinations of components that I can't remember now...
If I get the beep, then I'll go by BB tonight and pick up that 1333 stick. I've used faster RAM in motherboards before, but the mobo has always treated it as a slower stick. Interesting...
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
I ran into some similar issues with a Biostar board and RAM that was not designed for the mobo chipset. New RAM fixed it right up, and the old RAM works fine as well now. However, my issues were paired with plenty of beeps from the mobo. One other thing to check would be grounding. Weird things can happen if your mobo isn't grounded to the case correctly. Check your mounting screws and make sure you didn't place an extra screw where you don't need one. That has caused issues for me in the past.
Xbox Live Gamertag - Yoreel
Steam id - [GWJ] Yoreel
Thanks, but I checked that, too. I fried a board once with having a stand post in the wrong spot...won't do that again!
These are all in the correct locations. I also tried it on a cardboard box last night and got it to turn on, but again with no video.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Looks like the bios has a primary video controller setting Pasted below from the manual:
This option allows you to select the video controller in charge.
Options: PCIE GFX0-GFX2-GPP-PCI (Default) / PCIE GFX2- GFX0- GPP -PCI
/PCIE GPP - GFX0- GFX2-PCI / PCI-PCIEGFX0- GFX2- GPP
Could you possibly be putting the graphic card in a slot that is not set up as the default?
Xbox Live Gamertag - Yoreel
Steam id - [GWJ] Yoreel
Hmmm...interesting... I tried two separate video cards in two separate slots, so neither one is really working, regardless of the setting.
Is there even a way to change that when I can't see anything on the screen? I haven't seen a jumper that would allow this setting to be changed...
Good thought!
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Maybe pull the Cmos battery and do a full bios reset. Something goofy could have been set when the board was going through testing at the factory. Although since this is your second board, it seems unlikely.
Xbox Live Gamertag - Yoreel
Steam id - [GWJ] Yoreel
Stupid question: did you remember to plug the second power cable into the motherboard? You'll get exactly that symptom if you forget it.
edit: another thing to check -- if your power supply is 120/240 switchable, make sure the switch is in the right position.
Elewis17 wrote:
Not a stupid question: I'm sure whatever this problem is, it's something dumb. Regardless, I definitely plugged in the ATX 4-pin connector.
The power supply, I haven't checked to make sure the power supply is in the correct position, but I did put the old motherboard back in and the same power supply still worked with it, and brought up the BIOS screen. So, I know it's set correctly.
Thanks!
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
So, I'm going to RMA another motherboard. So far as I can tell from the manual, and from what the IT guys downstairs at my workplace say, I should get a BIOS beep of some sort if no video card is installed in the system. So, when I got home, I removed the RAM to ensure that I was getting BIOS beeps, and there were, indeed, beeps. Then, I put the RAM back in the system and removed the video card. No beeps. Which likely means that the motherboard(s) have no communication between the video card bus and the system bus (or whatever technical speak is correct for such things).
So, from what I understand, that means two of the same motherboard from Amazon were nonfunctional, suggesting it's a bad batch of motherboards.
Does this conclusion make sense?
Thanks!
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Sure, that's definitely possible.
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
Have you ever tried new RAM? You should replace the RAM for the first time before replacing the motherboard a second time.
You might also want to try a different motherboard, if you do end up RMAing another one.
Elewis17 wrote:
I haven't tried new RAM yet, but believe you me, if motherboard number 3 doesn't work tomorrow, I'll be trying another stick.
Amazon is pretty good about next-day shipping, so I'm not too concerned about it, at this point. If this third motherboard still doesn't work, I'll go buy another stick and give it a try. After that, another motherboard will be the next option.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
I think what you're doing there is costing Amazon and the motherboard manufacturer a hell of a lot of money for no good reason. You shouldn't have ordered a third board before you tried new RAM.
Hopefully it'll work, but if I were a motherboard maker and saw this thread, I'd be cringing.
Elewis17 wrote:
RAM is absolutely the next thing. There's no point in going more than a third motherboard, certainly from the same place. All these threads seem to suggest that the motherboard is more frequently the problem than anything else, and the IT guys downstairs thought that you should at least get some kind of screen, even if the RAM is bad (though I question that a bit...).
With the RAM and the motherboards, it comes down to whether it's a). more likely that both sticks of RAM were bad in a package, or b). that Amazon got a bad batch of motherboards from the manufacturer. From what I've read, it sounds like b). was the most likely option. But a). is still a definite possibility.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Well, it might just be incompatibility, nothing defective at all.
When you have multiple pieces, any one of which could be causing your symptom, you want to swap each thing once before you swap anything twice.
Elewis17 wrote:
That's my take.
MilkmanDanimal wrote:
NSMike wrote:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/garion333
Yup. Truth.
Again, I'm operating on the fact that I didn't get a BIOS beep when I removed the video card from the system, and according to the manual, I'm supposed to. At least, if I'm reading it correctly. Here are the codes for this particular board:
No dice on that last one. With no card in there, I get no beeping. But again, perhaps that refers to something else that I'm not aware of.
Regardless of that specific error, RAM is the next thing to try, though I can't do it until later today. That'll probably happen tonight, if this board still doesn't work. Tomorrow at the latest.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Well, folks, RAM was, indeed, the problem. I went by my local Best Buy and picked up the one kind of DDR3 RAM they carried, a 4 GB PNY stick for $55. Brought it home, and it booted right up.
I'll return the RAM I got to Newegg and I'll pick up something else. Thankfully, as it's Labor Day weekend, they've got sales abound. I'll be picking this up:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
...which, I checked against what the motherboard specifically supports. Indeed, it's on the list.
So, thanks again for all the suggestions. Glad I've got it working. Starcraft II never looked so good.
Steam: doctorandy | PSN: ilduce620
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates