faetal on 16/6/2015 at 08:30
Already done this - see above. I'm pretty meticulous about getting the motherboard screwed into the case well - I take this step very slowly and methodically as it's my least favourite bit (used to be seating the heat sink and fan, but that's a breeze these days).
I'm down to the following options unless someone can eliminate / add any:
1- Faulty board
2- Faulty CPU
3- Faulty CPU fan
4- Faulty RAM
5- BIOS / CPU incompatibility
3 is essentially not a concern as I've ordered a well-recommended and inexpensive cooler master heatsink and fan, which isn't a bad thing to do either way.
5 can be remedied by the cheap Celeron, but you seem to want to rule this one out. Just out of curiosity, why can you guarantee it's not this? I believe you, it's just useful info assuming this isn't the last system I build.
I guess I'd need to rule out 4 before starting the RMA process for 1 or 2. Will the RAM from my old machine work in this one? - 2 x Corsair 4GB (2x4GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Kit CL5 1.8v (8 GB total)
voodoo47 on 16/6/2015 at 09:59
the motherboard, unless completely dead, should produce a beep sequence that indicates what part is faulty/missing (note that it either needs to have an integrated speaker, or you must connect an (
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=internal+pc+speaker&_sop=15) internal one for the beeps to be audible). once you have the beep sequence, it should be pretty easy to google it and find out which component is the mobo failing to see.
and no, ddr2 memory will not work in a ddr3 board.
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also make sure the clear cmos jumper is not in the "clear" position (the new mobo is probably jumperless, but never hurts to check).
faetal on 16/6/2015 at 10:37
I have ordered an internal speaker (as mentioned above) as the case / mobo don't have one. Once that arrives I can be a little more creative with the diagnostics.
CMOS jumper isn't attached.
voodoo47 on 16/6/2015 at 16:14
one thing you can try in the meantime - use just one memory module, swap it around different slots and see whether something changes. do the same with the second module. if there is no change, it's almost certain that the memory modules are not faulty (chances of two modules faulting in the same way are extremely low).
Al_B on 16/6/2015 at 17:08
Quote Posted by faetal
CMOS jumper isn't attached.
Clutching at straws (again) here but it might not be the worst idea to clear the CMOS just in case something's amiss with its settings.
faetal on 17/6/2015 at 07:16
Quote Posted by voodoo47
one thing you can try in the meantime - use just one memory module, swap it around different slots and see whether something changes. do the same with the second module. if there is no change, it's almost certain that the memory modules are not faulty (chances of two modules faulting in the same way are extremely low).
Already done.
Quote Posted by Al_B
Clutching at straws (again) here but it might not be the worst idea to clear the CMOS just in case something's amiss with its settings.
Ditto.
I've been reading a lot of fairly exhaustive guides on places like Tom's Hardware etc...
I think the next step is to wait until my internal speaker arrives and I can see what type of beeps I'm getting. WHatever happened to mobos with the snazzy little LCD display which showed you codes so you know which boot stage you're at?
faetal on 17/6/2015 at 08:31
Hmmm. They're cheap enough that it might be worth getting one if the speaker doesn't tell me what I need to know.
Or maybe I should stop with the kitchen sink approach.
voodoo47 on 17/6/2015 at 14:29
my money would be on the board (assuming you did try a different graphics card). unless it's some freak incompatibility (or something really dumb, like system not allowing boot because it detects chassis intrusion).
also remember, the graphics card needs extra power from the psu, the pc (typically) won't boot if the gpu is unpowered. same goes for drives, having one connected but not powered may cause the system to freak out. double check whether ALL the board power connectors are connected properly. clutching at straws as well.
faetal on 17/6/2015 at 14:34
Just to avoid going over old ground - I have powered up the board without anything other than CPU and RAM plugged in and the same thing happens.
I've reset CMOS by removing the battery for 30 mins, I've tried the RAM in various configurations.
