Completly new build, won't post, keeps rebooting -- UPDATE need some more help

[otherwise]

Hello all. I am in the middle of building a brand new system, and am having severe problems.

The system, as it stands right now, is an Intel P35DPM Motherboard (P35), Intel C2D 4400, a eVGA 8600GT, 2Gb of Corsair DDR2, and an Antec 380W powr supply. I have no other components connected to try to isolate the problem, and the computer is currently in pieces on my desk am I am completly sure that nothing is shorted out.

This problem has evolved. At first, the computer simply wouldn't post. I've delt with this before, and I did the following:

1. Swapped the video card with a known working one. Same problem.
2. Removed all the memory from the motherboard to make sure it was functioning on some level. Got the expected beep code.
3. Ran on one stick, thinking maybe compatibility had some play here.

No go. Still not posting.

Now things get rougher. In addition to the problems before, I am encountering a new one. About four seconds after starting up, the computer reboots on its own. And it will keep doing this indefinetly. Holding down the power button for 4 seconds does nothing, the reboot cycle is too fast for it to register.

Now before I start the whole RMA mess, anything else I could try? Are there already some known P35 issues this early that might be a cause of this?

Also, if I do RMA the board, can someone reccomend a C2D board around the same price range ($100) that has a reputation of being rock solid? All I need onboard is ethernet.

July 13th Update

Returned the Intel motherboard, got a Gigabyte P35 board. Put it all together on my desk, and boot up.

Video! Success!

"Award Bootblock BIOS v1.0 Copyright © 2000, Award Software, Inc. Searching for BIOS image from hard drive"

Uh oh . . . that does not look good. I let it search for a while (no drives connected) and then shut it off, because the CPU fan is not working! It spins up for a second, then stops, and I wasn't going to let this go too long without a working CPU cooler.

Now, whenever I reboot, one of three things happens. 90% of the time -- nothing. No video, same as before. 5% of the time I get the Gigabyte splash screen, see it access my flash drive, and complete freeze. 5% of the time, I get the above message, sometimes saying the CMOS checksum does not match, sometimes saying it does.

Doing some reasearch pretty much the error message means that the BIOS is corrupted beyond repair. Ordinary it would then look for an image in the a: drive and reflash the BIOS. I created a repair disk as instructed (freedos boot disk, autoexec.bat to run the flash utility in automatic mode, and the image) but it didn't work. According to some more research Gigabyte modified the behavious of the BIOS s.t. it stores a good image in a hidden portion of the hard drive, and if corruption is detected it loads from there. Well, considering it never had a hard drive to store this file on to begin with . . .

So now, I have another non-functioning system. At least we can rule out the memory, so the CPU, the MB, and the PS are the culprits. I have some questions I need answered to try to figure out what is wrong now, though any other feedback will be well appreciated.

tl;dr, start here

1. Would a faulty CPU cause any sort of non-CPU-check-specific BIOS errors? I was under the impression that during POST some basic CPU functionality was tested, however the actuial CPU was not used to do calculations (i.e. in this case, the BIOS is calculating its own checksum and showing they don't match).

2. Could a faulty power supply be responsable for BIOS errors? I haven't swapped power supplies again because it's such a huge pain in the ass (but I'm going to right after I finish this edit) but the fact the CPU fan won't spin up tells me there might be a power issue.

3. Is there any way to get the AWARD bios to force Giga-byte's modified Bootblock BIOS to look at the floppy drive for an image instead of the hard drive?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Trashman]

Have you tried another PSU, that Antec380 may be on the low side (+12v rating) for that video card.
You mentioned swapping video card, what video card other than the 8600GT have you tried in that board?

 

[deathwalker]

Originally posted by: Trashman
Have you tried another PSU, that Antec380 may be on the low side (+12v rating) for that video card.
You mentioned swapping video card, what video card other than the 8600GT have you tried in that board?

I also like the idea of a PS swap out...but with a much more capable one that you currently have. Something in the 500W+ range and with a good performance track record.

 

[otherwise]

I'll try the swap out, but I think the card should have enough juice. I added up the power needed when I built the computer and it's well within spec. The video card doesn't even have a 6-pin PCI-E connector.

 

[otherwise]

I just finished a power supply swap with a SLI-approved 635W Enermax.

No go.

So far, I've tested every component I could. As far as I see it, the possible cause is pretty much down to three things:

1. The memory is defective.
2. The CPU is defective.
3. The Motherboard is defective.
4. Some odd compatibility issue.

From past experience, I am ruling out #2. I am extremely hesitant to suspect #1 because the Motherboard does have the proper beep codes for one specific memory error (memory not present) so it is diagnosing the memory correctly to some extent.

In my eyes, it's down to #3 or #4. In either case, a MB swap is in order. If you have any experience that would lead you to believe otherwise, please share because things are going to start to cost money at this point 🙁

As for a new motherboard, I am definitely not getting the same one. The P35 is such a new chipset that compatibility issues are too big of a concern, and this system must be rock solid. It's not a gaming system, it's going to be storing some very important financial data. Don't even think about overclocking!

So, the question is, what board? I am thinking about two options:

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128012]Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3[/ur]. Has a good track record, solid caps a huge plus.

2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813121052]Intel DG965WHMKR[/url]. Also has a good track record. Integrated graphics so I can return the video card to help cover the RMA fees.

#1 seems like a no brainer, but I chose an Intel board for the very specific reason that Intel's "Matrix RAID" offers a lot of the same reporting features that dedicated RAID cards do, which for this system is a huge plus. #2 would then seem to be the no brainer, however there is a small chance that if it is a compatibility issue, then it might extend to previous Intel motherboards (even though it uses a new chipset) and it would make ruling out a defective CPU extremely difficult.

What would you do?

 

[Trashman]

It very well could be defective hardware, but to make sure, and maybe you have already, but i would disconnect everything and start build over.
It could be something like an extra standoff shorting out the board. could even try taking the board out of case and see if it works.

 

[otherwise]

Originally posted by: Trashman
It very well could be defective hardware, but to make sure, and maybe you have already, but i would disconnect everything and start build over.
It could be something like an extra standoff shorting out the board. could even try taking the board out of case and see if it works.

Thanks for the advice. I've been working on the board on my (wood) desk 🙁

 

[Trashman]

That sux man, looks like rma time i guess, sorry.

 

[otherwise]

July 13th Update -- System still dead. See op for more info 🙁

 

[RadiclDreamer]

1. Would a faulty CPU cause any sort of non-CPU-check-specific BIOS errors? I was under the impression that during POST some basic CPU functionality was tested, however the actuial CPU was not used to do calculations (i.e. in this case, the BIOS is calculating its own checksum and showing they don't match). Its possible

2. Could a faulty power supply be responsable for BIOS errors? I haven't swapped power supplies again because it's such a huge pain in the ass (but I'm going to right after I finish this edit) but the fact the CPU fan won't spin up tells me there might be a power issue.Yes Also possible