could use some help; please - boot problem

[hockeydad33]

I m having problems with the system I just built.
system info: Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe Rev 1008, AMD xp2500 barton core CPU
maxtor 120 gig hd, 2 sticks - crucial 256 meg ddr pc2700 memory in slots a1 & b1
samsung cd burner and a digtal research dvd burner, crucial radeon 9200 graphics card
samsung syncmaster 17" monitor no floppy, Eagle case and a 420 watt psu

Problem: the system starts to boot and then stops, no beep, no signal to the monitor (acts like it is in standby). I can hear the hd start up but then nothing. I can finally get the system to boot by turning off the psu until the light on the mb goes out and then turn it back on and it will boot normally most of the time. if not I just turn off the psu (using the rocker switch in back) a little longer and then back on. Never had this problem with other systems I built. I am stumped. When I finally get it to boot I don't have any other problems. The mb rev was 1006 when I got it but flashed it to the latest to see if that would cure it. NOT Hopefully I haven't left anything out.

Hockeydad33

 

[bigalt]

did you mess with the bios settings at all?

try clearing the cmos and resetting to defaults.

 

[hockeydad33]

the only thing I changed in the bios is I let it know there wasn't a floppy dirve otherwise it gives me an error and I had to tell it that I was using an agp card and enabled the 8x agp. it did this from the first time I tried to boot it. When I turn it off by shutting down windows after it has run awhile then it seems to boot up fine if I boot right back up. not trying to mess with anyones minds but it is messing with mine.

hockeydad33

 

[hockeydad33]

tried clearing the cmos and resetting defaults, no luck, thanks for the suggestion. am willing to try just about anything. could this be an issue with asus mb?

 

[OrRaCLe128]

ok first when u boot it dont work properly but after you reset it and then it boot normal? if thats the problem check your jumper on your hard drive. set the jumper to CS if you are using only the primary master on the IDE wire. i had the same problem because i didn't set my jumper on the HD correctly

 

[hockeydad33]

Thanks for the suggestion. Checked the hd and it was already set to cs. The cd rom and dvd were also set to cs on the secondary ide. cables were hooked up correctly unless they are incorrrectly marked (doubt it). For grins and giggled I tried setting them to master for the hd on primary ide and master for the cd rom and slave for the dvd on secondary ide. Didn't seem to help. I appreciate all of your suggestions and will keep at this until I (we) can get this thing figured out. Any other suggestions, please? C

 

[mechBgon]

Unplug the two optical drives from both the power supply and the motherboard and try again. Also go into the BIOS and set your RAM to at least 2.6 volts or else 2.7 volts. If problems persist, try Memtest86 to test your RAM.

Sometimes this is also a sign of a weak power supply. Wattage ratings don't always tell the whole story, and if nothing else works, I'd say to pick up a quality-brand power supply in the 350W+ area, maybe an Antec SL350 or Enermax 365-series, and try that next.

 

[hockeydad33]

mechBgon,

Tried your suggestions except for the psu and memtest86. The memory voltage is set at 2.7 and I undid both optical drives both from the mb and the psu still had to reset the psu a couple of times before I got the mb to beep and come on line. Can memtest86 be run without a floppy, don't have one installed at this time. I have another psu I can try but I thought I would try the "easy ones " first. Thanks for your interest and I will be trying your other suggestions, hopefully, today if I can get time. Also noticed that if it does post correctly I do not have any message after the line "verifying dmi pool data" if I have trouble then after that line is "update success"

 

[hockeydad33]

Well, I have replaced the psu without any luck, last thing to try is get a floppy and run memtest86. Will try to get that done in the next couple of days or find someone who will let me borrow a stick of pc2700 memory and see if it boots up everytime with it. I really appreciate everyone who has taken time to try and help, thanks. If anyone has any other suggestions other than the memtest86 I am open to try anything.

 

[mechBgon]

If you have a CD burner available to you, you can also burn a Memtest bootable CD