GIGABYTE motherboard won't post

[mankiew]

this is the third gigabyte motherboard in a row that is having the same exact problem. system fan runs but no post.

I have followed the bench test procedure on the board to the letter and have tried multiple cpus on the other gigabyte motherboard as well as four different stick of ram and just for kicks I switched out monitors and tried vga and dvi connectors.

the only constant has been on the first attempt I was using a brand new antec power supply (TruePower TP-550 550W ) which I tested with a friends Coolmax PS-228 ATX power supply tester... it checked out fine.

I am going nuts at this point

current motherboard GA-MA785GM-US2H
AMD 940 cpu
coolermaster hyper 212 cpu cooler
patriot pc2-6400 ram


is it possible to get three DOA motherboards in a row?any help appreciated

Thanks
Craig

[MonsterMiata]

Are there any lights on the motherboard that come off or go one in any sequence when its turned on?

[dai]

what video card

[mankiew]

onboard video. otherwise I also tried a asus 3450 card.

Update...I got board to post on bench test using some Nanya pc2-5300 ram I have from a Dell....but when I installed the board in the case It will no longer post with that memory. I am going nuts here. so frustrating.

I tried clearing the CMOS and that didn't help. not sure where to go at this point...absolutely tired of throwing money at this.

any advise?

[Stu_computer]

getting beep code when no ram installed?
getting beep code when no video cable connected?
used thermal paste on cpu?

[Tyree]

Originally Posted by mankiew

I have followed the bench test procedure on the board to the letter and have tried multiple cpus on the other gigabyte motherboard as well as four different stick of ram and just for kicks I switched out monitors and tried vga and dvi connectors.

the only constant has been on the first attempt I was using a brand new antec power supply (TruePower TP-550 550W ) which I tested with a friends Coolmax PS-228 ATX power supply tester... it checked out fine.

The only constant has been the Antec PSU and they are not reliable.

After properly doing a bench test and there is a a problem refer to the last paragraph.

Remove EVERYTHING from the case
Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! It can actually conduct electricity! We are going to try and assemble a running system outside of the case.
Install the CPU and heat sink.
Install 1 stick of RAM.
Install the video card and attach the power supply connection(s) to the card if your card needs it.
Connect the monitor to the video card.
Connect the power supply to the motherboard with both the 24pin main ATX Power connection and the separate 4 or 8 pin power connection.
Connect power to the power supply.
Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard. Consult your motherboard manual to find which two pins connect to your case's power switch. Then touch both pins with a screwdriver to complete the circuit and boot the system.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. Then assemble the parts into the case and try again. If the system now fails to boot, you have a short in the case and need to recheck your motherboard standoffs.

If the system does not boot after this process, then you most likely have a faulty component. You'll need to swap parts, start with the power supply, until you determine what is defective.