EVGA Mobo FF Message, No boot!

[masamune2387]

I'm having a bit of trouble getting my new rig working...

The EVGA x58 Mobo shows "FF" which I assume means that everything should be working. However, when I boot, there is no video display, and neither my keyboard nor mouse lights up.

I've tried reseating the RAM, gfx card, clearing CMOS, but nothing seems to get it to boot. I am also running a single DVI cable to my NEC 3090WQXi, not sure if it needs two to even run on low resolutions...

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[sivart]

Try booting with bare minimum (no DVD ROM, no hard drive, etc) and use analog out (RGB) if available on your monitor.

Make sure that your mobo isn't shorting out on the case somewhere.

Try with a single stick of RAM in the Memory 0 slot.

Do you hear the BIOS POST beep or not?

 

[masamune2387]

No beep, I think there are some bent pins in the CPU slot. However, I've put a bunch of these together before, and when I closed the CPU bracket lever, it felt especially tight.

I might try RMAing the board, but has anyone ever noticed that you need a LOT of force to get the lever down all the way? Is this normal?

 

[sivart]

No beep is either a bent pin, like you noticed, or a incompatible processor. My socket 775 closes with minimal effort and stays tight.

 

[pcgeek11]

I might try RMAing the board, but has anyone ever noticed that you need a LOT of force to get the lever down all the way? Is this normal?

Not normal at all....

 

[hennessy1]

masamune2387 try this and see if it helps at all couldn't hurt.

1. Shut off the computer with the power button if it's on.
2. Turn off the power supply switch on the back of the computer.
3. Unplug the power cord.
4. Move the CMOS reset jumper to the 2 left pins
5. Remove the CMOS backup battery (round silver object just above the reset pins) - put your finger nail or something non-metalic under the edge facing the reset pins and pop it up.
6. Push the power button (this will drain any remaining power).
7. Remove all RAM DIMMs except the one closest to the CPU - be very careful about handling RAM, any static will kill it so touch something that you know is grounded before you handle it (e.g. a screw on a light switch or outlet cover) and make sure you lay the DIMMs on something non-conductive like a desk.
8. This part is important. You need to wait for at least 30 minutes. Although a computer should normally reset its CMOS about 2 seconds after you short the reset jumpers, these boards are known to be very stubborn about clearing the CMOS so as rediculous as it sounds, wait the full 30 minutes.
9. Plug the power cord in and turn on the rear power supply switch
10. Replace the CMOS battery.
11. Move the CMOS reset jumper back to the right 2 pins.
12. Turn on the power.
13. If it still doesn't boot up, RMA the motherboard.
14. If it boots up, hit the Delete key to go into the BIOS settings and select "Load Defaults" then power down and install your remaining RAM.

(This is all right from the EVGA website and it has worked on my board everytime.)

 

[mpilchfamily]

Originally posted by: sivart
No beep is either a bent pin, like you noticed, or a incompatible processor. My socket 775 closes with minimal effort and stays tight.

The reason there is no beep is because the motherboard doesn't have a built in speaker and you don't have one attached from the case. Thats what the digital readout is for. It displays a problem code rather then the board beeping. Its odd that its not posting yet showing the FF code.

 

[hennessy1]

That's not entirely true the motherboards he is talking about do come with a built in speaker. The FF error code happens before the boot process is initiated. It is normal to not receive an audible code alert.

The error code can also happen from a short being produced or a loose BIOS chip. But in my case it happened because of a memory mapping error. When I added all my new hardware to the board it was vastly different then what was added at the factory. At least this is true from what I read. So in clearing all the memory completely it fixes the problem.