Can't get A8V-E Deluxe to post

[chibhawk]

Hi everyone, I'm building this computer for my friend and I'm stuck right now.
Here's what it's got.

AMD64 3200+ 393 week 51 Retail
Asus A8V-E Deluxe with factory set bios
2x 512 Corsair 3200 CAS 2.5 (VS1GBKIT400 I believe)
XFX 6600 GT 128 MB
Antec SLK2650-BQE
Samsung 120Gb SATA
Lite-On DVD 1633S

Every time I turn on the computer it says, "system failed cpu test".
First time said the 'overclock one' which it wasn't for the first boot ever. And sometimes it'll say the 'no vga' one.
I've read a bunch of other posts but most deal with the non -E (KT800) and not the one I have -E (KT890).
Biggest problem I think it could be is the fact the PSU isn't a 2.0 version and so the power cable is only a 20 pin. Obviously the mobo has a 24pin connection but I read a few posts that it would still work. Plus since it's only a 6600gt and wouldn't suck as much power. But would this even effect the whole 'failed cpu test'?
I cleared the BIOS a billion times which is a pain too since it's stupidly placed almost under the videocard. Guess they figured no one would ever need access to it.
So I've tried the EZ-Flash which despite the name isn't. I've tried Alt+F2 countless ways: Holding down, tapping, before turning on, after on, but the result is the same; it never goes into the step and just repeats the failed cpu message. Also only ONCE did it actually do something remotely close and actually accessedthe floppy drive!!! wow, crazy but then it just stayed at the usual blank screen.
BUT regardless, asus website says ALL revisions work with this cpu.

So I am stuck on what to do! would a 24pin psu really make the difference because finding one around will be hard and I don't want to buy something else online that will end up not working.

All this will do is sit at a black screen saying "system failed cpu test" forever

Please help!

Thanks,

Dan

 

[montag451]

Have you plugged in the extra square 4 pin supply ?

If yes, and you can't get anywhere, did you plug in the fan?
Also, can't remember which board, but there is one that needs to boot with a 110nm cpu, then you have to upgrade BIOS, then you can put in the newer 90nm cpu.
Might be that one - dunno.

 

[chibhawk]

Yep I pluged the 4 pin into its own spot.
CPU is plug in as well as the PSU and case fan.
I don't really have any other A64 around to test or update the bios with.
Am I able to take out the processor and turn it on and update the bios without it?
I don't think this is that type of board either since it is fairly new and probably has that 90nm kink worked out.

Dan

 

[dklingen]

Did you see the remarks about the 6600 GT not working on this MB. I believe they stated a bios update to 1.03 (or something) is suppose to fix the problem.

 

[chibhawk]

I don't know if it matters but with the 6600GT in or out it still says "system failed cpu test".
I'd assume this means it goes through steps and it encounters a problem with a cpu before it reaches the video card and not the video card messing up the cpu.
Even if it is the problem, I don't have another pci express video card.

I thought I stumbled on something encouraging when I saw bios update 1003 fixed a problem with VS512 DDR400, which is in there now. So I put in some older 512 DDR333 and didn't change anything.
I'm going to call up ASUS first thing in the morning, maybe they have some miracle.

Dan

 

[lockmac]

Originally posted by: montag451
Have you plugged in the extra square 4 pin supply ?

If yes, and you can't get anywhere, did you plug in the fan?
Also, can't remember which board, but there is one that needs to boot with a 110nm cpu, then you have to upgrade BIOS, then you can put in the newer 90nm cpu.
Might be that one - dunno.

Its actually a 130nm CPU that requires the extra BIOS, and there is a work around instead of using a new CPU. If I recall, you just use ram moduel B1 until the upgrade of hte BIOS is done. This is only necessary if you have a 90nm CPU

 

[chibhawk]

I looked on the Asus website and the fact I have a 3200+ 90nm doesn't matter if you look at this
As you see it says all bios work with this cpu on a A8V-E Deluxe.

I tried booting again this morning and first time it said, "system failed vga test".
Then I turned it off and on again and it went back to "system failed cpu test".
So is the CPU ok? Is the video card bad? does the bios not like the video card?
I could really use some help please.
I called asus today but they're closed due to the holiday, of course.

Dan

 

[Rakewell]

I had a similar issue with my A8N-SLI Deluxe, and I was told by my PSU supplier (OCZ) to use the full 24 pins... that cleared it up.

Perhaps Antec is open today, you could give 'em a call...

Cheers,

Rakewell

 

[drcheesebeer]

I am having the same EXACT problem!!! Here is my hardware:

Asus A8V-E Deluxe, Factory Set BIOS v1003
AMD Athlon64 3500+ (Winchester Core) CPU
2x 512 Corsair 3200 CAS 2.0 XMS Series Memory
XFX Geforce 6600GT 128 DDR3
ThermalTake 560W PSU (w/20 to 24-pin Motherboard Adaptor), 4-Pin connected
Seagate 200GB SATA Hard Drive
Sony DVD+/-RW Drive
SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS

I have not performed a test of all parts yet in a known good system, but I have performed a fault tree analysis on the system. When the system posts, the Asus voice reporter repeats "System Failed CPU Test". The first thing I tried was to remove the SB Audigy Soundcard and hard drive - still no change. When I removed the video card however, the system APPEARED to get further in the POST process - there was much more activity with the drives (floppy drive seek, hard drive light activity, and DVD drive seek), but I get a "System Failed VGA Test" of course.

My primary suspicion is a compatiblity issue between the video card and the motherboard. Again, I can not know for sure until I test the components in a known good system. I will be attempting to test each component in a known good system later this weekend. I have contacted Asus tech support via their online support form - maybe they know what might be going on. If Asus doesn't have a solution and all my other components test out fine, I will probably return the Asus in favor of another board. If it is in fact a motherboard problem, this will the first problem I have had with Asus products in the five years I have been building systems.

Cheers,
Keith

 

[drcheesebeer]

The problem is a compatibility issue between the Asus A8V-E motherboard and the XFX Geforce 6600GT video card. The system boots fine with other cards with different chipsets (PCI and PCI-E). I am not sure if this is exclusive to the XFX brand or not. The consensus around the web seems to indicate that there are a number of issues with the Nvidia 6600GT GPU.

To solve the problem, I replaced the video card with a regular PCI video card temporarily. I am awaiting the arrival of an Asus Radeon X700 PCI-E.

 

[chibhawk]

drcheesebeer, thanks for the replies.
Since I had no way to test components individually I just defaulted to RMAing the motherboard and cpu since I didn't want to waste time sending one at a time. I realize that it's probably not both components that need replacing but maybe they should think of a better way of knowing for sure. I held off sending the video card back since I got it from Monarch and they said they have a 60 warranty. I'll let you know when I get these back if there's anything change. Doesn't look hopeful.

I haven't seen anything with a problem with the video card and mobo, do you have any links? I'm curious why they wouldn't work together.
I don't really want to send another part back and get tacked with a restocking fee so I really want some way for this to all work.

Dan

 

[drcheesebeer]

Dan,

There isn't much in the way of infomation about this board on the web (yet). I am a computer service technician and systems administrator. I have access to a shop where I can test various hardware devices with known good hardware. I tested the XFX Geforce 6600GT in 3 motherboards: Asus A8V-E (with VIA K8T890 chipset), Chaintech VNF4/Ultra (with Nvidia nForce4 Ultra), and Asus P5AD2 Premium (Intel 925X). On the Asus A8V-E, the system would not complete POST. On the Chaintech and Asus P5AD2 the video card worked flawlessly.

I also tested two other brands of video cards with each motherboard: Asus and eVGA (both with the Nvidia 6600GT). The eVGA video card failed to POST in the Asus A8V-E, but worked in others. The Asus video card got it past POST in the A8V-E, but caused a BSOD before Windows could finish bootup. I also tested a Nvidia 6800GT in the A8V-E board, it worked without a problem.

I recieved my Asus Radeon X700 PCI-E video card on Wednesday, it has been working perfectly since I installed it. So, by logical deduction - there seems to be a compatibility issue between the Asus A8V-E and video cards based on the Nvidia Geforce 6600GT graphics chip. My theory is the problem has to do with:

a) how Asus implemented PCI-E subsystem in the BIOS (which could be fixed with a future BIOS release,
b) there is a major compatibility issue with the VIA K8T890 chipset (more severe, no fix for the end-user unless Asus *CAN* implement a BIOS work-around :-( )
c) possibly a combination of both a and b

Hope this helps...

Keith