Can't get Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 to POST

[Hans Gruber]

I had the same problem with my Gigabyte board. Same model as yours. Nothing worked, no beeps and it would not post. The easy solution is always to accept defeat and RMA the board to the manufacturer. I like to live dangerously myself. I believe the only death to electronics is static electricity and bad thermal compound. The last one was a joke. These parts can take serious beatings. You can drop ram and ding it up and it will still boot.

There are very few genius' in this large world of ours. Some credit genetics for brilliance but I credit hubris and having a worthless mother. My problem was overly tight screws on my Thermalright Ultra 120 fan. No joke like those of you who are stupid enough to use stock cooling. I don't know why the screws would cause the booting problem but they did. I removed the 4 screws and the system booted every time.

I should note that my system was stable for 3 days until I shut it down waiting for the correct fan for the Thermaltake Ultra 120. I removed the Ultra 120 and tightened the screws too tight apparently causing the error.

I have said many times that 99% of the time electronics problems are caused by the user not the manufacturer. The only exception is if you buy from PNY, they make crap that craps out quickly.

I envy the retarded men and women because they are too stupid to know how bad they have it. Genius'a are cursed with anxiety and poor spelling as well as debilitating neurosis.

 

[crimedawg]

I wanted to thank everyone with their suggestions and advice on my problem. The board was RMAed and I repurchased from Newegg and just got it yesterday. This morning I plugged everything in and fired it up with no problems. So again, thanks for helping me isolate the mobo as the issue.

 

[Jeff7]

So I'm still not clear, what exactly happens when you press the power button? Does anything spin up - fans, hard drives, etc?
If it beeps, how many beeps?
Edit - Oops, I just saw that you say it powers up for a few seconds and then shuts down. Sounds like it could be the heatsink - if it's not mounted properly, the CPU will quickly overheat and shut down the system.

Quick way to check this:
- Remove the motherboard from the system and set it on a nonconductive surface. I find that a book or cardboard box works fine, though this may not be ideal due to static electricity reasons.
- Anyway, with the motherboard out, power it up. Once it shuts down, switch off the PSU, and feel the CPU heatsink and then feel the back of the motherboard where the CPU mounts.
If the back of the motherboard is really damn hot, then the heatsink probably isn't mounted right.
I bought the retail CPU package, and putting the heatsink on was scary - it puts a LOT of force on the motherboard, such to the point that it bows out considerably. But I followed the instructions, and everything snapped in place like it should.



I've got a similar system, only with an E6400. I've also got Corsair RAM - TWIN2X2048-6400C4, and an MSI 7600GT. That videocard also has no connectors on it for extra power.

The system actually booted perfectly on the very first try.

2. With the power connected, use something like a screwdriver to "short out" 2 of the pins (I can't remember which ones, as it's very rare that I need to do this), but you'll hear a small click, and maybe the CPU fan might spin by a few degrees.

I don't think you should do this with power connected. 1) it doesn't need to be connected, 2) if you slip and short something else on the partially powered motherboard, you could damage parts.

The CMOS short out on this particular motherboard isn't with the front panel connectors. If I remember correctly, there are two jumper pins by themselves, with some solder pads right nearby. Check the manual though to be sure of the CMOS Reset location.