Co_conspirator

First off, I'm not exactly a newb, but it's been several years since I slapped together a pc, so I might be a tad rusty.

Here's my parts list:

MoBo - Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H
Proc. - AMD Athlon 64 x2 4000+ Brisbane core
Mem - 2x 1GB GSkill PC26400 Dual Channel
VGA - PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
DVD - Samsung LiteScribe DVD burner SATA
HDD - Western Digital Caviar 160GB SATA
Case - Athenatech case with 450Watt PSU
Monitor - Acer 22" LCD
,
After assembling everything, I fired it up. Drives spin up, fans run, case lights work. Then nothing. Well, not exactly nothing....It starts up with a 3 second pause then a one second beep. This pattern repeats indefinitely. It never posts.

Initially I tried reseating the video card and ram. I checked all cabling for nicks in the jackets, and reseated them. nada.

I then hooked up only the mobo, proc+cooler, 20+4, 4 pin proc power, one stick of ram in 1st slot, power button lead, Video card with included 6 pin PCIE lead. All of this was put together outside of the case to rule out case shorts. Resulting in the same patern of pauses and beeps.

::Edit:: Just to be thorough, yes, I did try the above config, sans 8800GT, using onboard video with identical results.

I RMA'd the MOBO....new mobo yielded the same issue.

Unable to find my multimeter to test my PSU, I bought a new PSU. This time a 500W Apevia (yes i know it's not the best but this isn't going to be an overclocked gaming rig, and it will get pretty light use overall) Same problem.

It's my guess that the processor is bad, but in my vast, albeit not current, experience, the processor is usually the last thing to fail. I am consulting this hive-mind of uber-geekness to tell me what i should do next. I'm already 3 weeks into ownership of a useless pile of wires and blinkinlights and the RMA of the processor will easily take another couple of weeks, due to my remote living conditions.

I really hate the feeling of having bitten off more than i can chew, especially when i've assembled pc's professionally in the not so distant past. I would appreciate any and all comments/criticisms regarding my choice of parts. The quicker the better, 'cause if I need to return for refund any or all of the parts, the time is drawing near.

Thanks in advance for your pearls of wisdom

linderman

try this and let us know what you find


How to Bench Test Your System

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woodss

sounds like you need to take the computer to a service department for this one.

did you install the cpu, ram, video card properly?

go back to bare bones with cpu, mobo, ram and video card and power supply with nothing else installed and see if it boots up, if it doesnt even do this then something is faulty.

and add each piece of hardware till you get the problem, take the computer to a computer service department it sounds to me your not experienced enough.

if there was a at least a picture coming on the screen it would be fine, nothing on screen sounds something serious.

go back to the ram, cpu and connections on the motherboard.

Co_conspirator

Yeah, I followed that bench test procedure and it always gives the same result. pause, beep, pause etc.

Same is true for running without any ram in the slots.

I truly miss the good 'ol days when error beeps were instantly identifiable..

So, just to clarify, here's what i've done:

mb was placed on box top so vid card could install flush
Installed the cpu into the mb.
installed cpu cooler and fan
attached fan lead to mb
installed 1 stick of ram into slot 1
attached 20+4 molex to mb
attached 4 pin cpu power lead to mb
installed video card to mb
attached 6 pin pci-e molex to the video card
attached case speaker
attached case pwr lead to mb

Before i fired it up, while the psu was unplugged from the wall, I removed the cmos battery for a couple hours while i had dinner and tried to stifle my frustration...

when i fired it up, as before, all fans started then after the 3 second pause, a one second beep, and so forth.

I powered down, unplugged the psu and removed the cmos battery. I then switched the sticks of ram and double checked all connections and card seating.

tried again, with same result.

dai

check the bios beep code here
www.bioscentral.com
turn the computer off
remove the power lead from the back
take the side off
remove the cmos battery
move the cmos jumper from pins 1 and 2 to pin 2 and 3 and the back to pins 1 and 2
replace the battery
put the side on
replug in the power lead
boot the computer
see if you can borrow a larger psu to try in it

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Co_conspirator

well, first off, i have no idea what the size of the psu would have to do with anything....it's only trying to get to post with mem/vga/proc+cooler. While I tend to agree that 500W would be underpowered for hardcore gaming or overclocking, it should have absolutely no problem getting this bench test arrangement to at least post. And I actually have a 450W that came with the case, so i seriously doubt that i have two brand new, bad psu's, producing the same error..

As for the Award Bios beep codes, there were none listed on that website that fit the pattern i'm hearing.

There are no jumpers for clearing the CMOS on this mobo...just two pins that you short across for 15 seconds, whilst removing the battery. I might not have been clear about that earlier, but I shorted across those two pins when i cleared the cmos, per the manual that came with said mobo.

dai

is the beep continous

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Co_conspirator

I'm only guessing, but I think you're referring to the duration of the beep? each beep is one second long. It continually beeps and pauses until you shut it off..

dai

Repeating (endless loop) Memory error Check for improperly seated or missing memory.

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Co_conspirator

Well, if that's the case, then I have two bad sticks of memory. oh well, it was either that or the processor...I'll RMA that memory and go from there.

thanks for the help, guys, dai in particular.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Also, if anyone has any further comments, i'll be checking back

linderman

make sure you install one stick of ram in the slot closest to the cpu / not all ram slots will work with a single stick occupation


if you dont pull the cord from the power supply when you are doing a cmos reset / then you arent getting a bios reset

the power supply emits a small amount of voltage even when powered down / thats why you see a small green light on the motherboard when the system is powered down

BTW: does the cpu fan spin when you power up the system ?????

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Co_conspirator

Yep, I've pulled the cord every time i've done anything...each new test was like a fresh assembly, with reset cmos.

Yes, the cpu fan spins up, as does the fan on the video card, and even the case fan, when it was connected when i initially set up the computer. The hard drive and dvd burner also seemed to work when it started up.

I tested both sticks of ram, one at a time, starting with slot 1 through slot 4, just to be sure it wasn't somehow a bad slot 1.

Like I've said, I'm not new to putting this stuff together. I've just not put one together in 4 or 5 years. I'm just hoping that i've forgotten some little thing, but it doesn't appear to be that way. I even wore a static strap, which is something I've rarely done in the past with no ill effects as long as i've grounded on the psu or something...never esd'd any parts before. I've had bad sticks of memory, but never two in the same box. and i've even heard/read good things about that gskill memory.

woodss

When the beep is beeping around in a loop that usually means faulty memory or the video card in not sitting properly, you have to trust me, I have built many systems in the past 15 years.

And my experience tells me that the memory is at fault, it sounds like a memory being faulty having a it beeping in a loop.

I have seen this problem many times over the years and it always lead to either those.

See the seller of the parts whom you bought it from, and have them to check the system over.

Co_conspirator

I tend to agree at this point. It's most likely the memory.

I bought these parts from Newegg, so there's no taking the stuff back. I'll have to ship it back and wait for them to ship replacements. inconvenient, but i guess it's worth it in the end.

woodss

Well you can always apporach the manufacturer for warranty support, my money is on the memory, I have never encountered problems with memory from the packet.

Chances are you blew them up yourself during handling.

Its best to deal with a bricks and mortar business that is local, don't deal with piratebay sellers.