Failed bootup on new system

[Brent1970]

Hey guys, I bought a ASUS p8z68-v PRO/GEN3 motherboard along with a i7 2600k and 8Gb G.Skill Ripjaws-X 1600 ram.

After it was all put together and I tried to boot it up it would just cycle. It would look to be powering everything up then shut down, restart and do the same thing again, over and over. Nothing would ever show up on the monitor however. A tech guy told me he thought it was incompatible memory. So ok, I went and bought some Corsair Vengeance 8Gb 1600 ram and replaced it.

Now it seems to stay powered up but, again, nothing shows on the display. I've tried both dvi sockets and the on board dvi socket. Nothing. The tech guy said it was probably a bad DIMM socket on the motherboard. I don't know but I read about something similar on some forums where the guy said his processor was DOA and his was doing the same thing - well, cycling in anycase.

Anyone have a prognosis/helpful hint?

I've already ordered another motherboard (ASUS z77 board) but I'm still not convinced its the DIMM socket. It might be the cpu?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Hey guys, I bought a ASUS p8z68-v PRO/GEN3 motherboard along with a i7 2600k and 8Gb G.Skill Ripjaws-X 1600 ram.

After it was all put together and I tried to boot it up it would just cycle. It would look to be powering everything up then shut down, restart and do the same thing again, over and over. Nothing would ever show up on the monitor however. A tech guy told me he thought it was incompatible memory. So ok, I went and bought some Corsair Vengeance 8Gb 1600 ram and replaced it.

Now it seems to stay powered up but, again, nothing shows on the display. I've tried both dvi sockets and the on board dvi socket. Nothing. The tech guy said it was probably a bad DIMM socket on the motherboard. I don't know but I read about something similar on some forums where the guy said his processor was DOA and his was doing the same thing - well, cycling in anycase.

Anyone have a prognosis/helpful hint?

I've already ordered another motherboard (ASUS z77 board) but I'm still not convinced its the DIMM socket. It might be the cpu?

First, the G-SKILLs shouldn't be "incompatible;" they should be fine. Second, you didn't say if you got a graphics card for your system -- call it a "dGPU" henceforward.

Second, you should punch the MemOK! button on the mobo according to the mobo instructions. Make sure you have the minimum of components -- mobo, CPU, RAM, HDD and optical drive hooked up.

Third, these boards have two onboard "processors" for power regulation and auto-over-clocking. You WILL see the board cycle a few times before you have everything set up.

If you DID put in a graphics card, it will be default automatically. So if you hooked up your monitor to the iGPU of the mobo, you'll get a blank screen.

 

[Brent1970]

Yeah, sorry. I did install a dGPU, EVGA gtx 570 classified. I actually installed all the components (my first build).

CM Haf X
Asus p8z68-v PRO/GEN3
i7 2600k
Gtx 570 Classified
8GB G Skill Ripjaws X 1600mhz (then 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz)
Seasonic platinum 860w

I did in fact press the MemOK button but it didn't seem to work on the first ram, just kept cycling. The second set of ram like I said seems to keep everything powered up but nothing ever shows up on the monitor no matter what port I use.

The hdd ..its a brand new WD black 1TB but it does seem to make clicks like "clicks of death" but it stops after awhile and the pc just stays powered up but doing nothing.

Can it be the cpu or would a bad hdd make it show nothing on the monitor?

 

[Meghan54]

First, I don't claim to be an expert in computer building, just have been doing it for around 20 years.

Second, I've built up over a couple dozen SB/IVB computers in the last few months using a combination of H61/H67 and Z77 motherboards and have yet to see your symptoms, except when there's a hardware problem. And the hardware problems I've seen have never lead to a dead/DOA cpu....in fact, have never seen a dead cpu except when I killed it on purpose (static discharge, letting the dogs chew it, etc.)

I'd start with NO discrete gpu on board for your purposes. Remove the mb from the case and reassemble the computer OUTSIDE of the case on something non-static, such as a piece of cardboard. (This will ensure nothing inside the case is shorting out the mb inadvertently.) Put in what's absolutely necessary to get it to boot and allow you to get into the BIOS....cpu and memory. That's it. It will boot and allow you to get into the BIOS with no hdd. Use the on-board graphics for your video output.

If you get it to boot into the BIOS with that minimal setup, you've established the mb, cpu, and RAM are working. Then add the hdd and see what happens...bet it still boots, allows you to get into the BIOS and "sees" your hdd.

Then, add in your GTX 670. I'd almost wager this is where you're having your problem. Seen too many discrete video cards cause a no-boot situation, even when it's just sitting there and not being used.

BTW, when the computer just sits there, is the mb giving fault code beeps? The fault beeps could give you an indication where the problem is.....

 

[Brent1970]

Hi, Meghan. I will certainly try what you have suggested tonight after work, thanks. As for the fault codes - nope, no fault codes. I would have thought there would be some too.

Omg, I hope its not the 570 thats DOA, thats going to suck. =/

On another note, however, if a hdd is going out would the "clicks of death" just stop after a bit? I do have an ssd I can use instead of it till I can get a replacement. Man, you buy all new, quality parts and multiple things go out.

 

[dma0991]

On another note, however, if a hdd is going out would the "clicks of death" just stop after a bit?

You could take the chance that the HDD might not be affected in any way from the clicking noise. I did that with my laptop HDD that will click ever so often, I believe it has been 2 years since I've bought it and it is still running strong. This doesn't mean that I could guarantee that you won't have a dead HDD filled with important data, by all means get it replaced if you could.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Hi, Meghan. I will certainly try what you have suggested tonight after work, thanks. As for the fault codes - nope, no fault codes. I would have thought there would be some too.

Omg, I hope its not the 570 thats DOA, thats going to suck. =/

On another note, however, if a hdd is going out would the "clicks of death" just stop after a bit? I do have an ssd I can use instead of it till I can get a replacement. Man, you buy all new, quality parts and multiple things go out.

I'm assuming, although you didn't say explicitly, that you hooked up the monitor to the dGPU / nvidia 570.

I really doubt the HDD has anything to do with it, because you'd be able to get into BIOS or see the system post before the HDD comes into play. Meghan54's advice is in "center-field."

Did you properly hook up the CPU fan? Just another thought, there . . .

I understand the dilemma of first-timers to DIY builds. For the rest of us, it's always good to have a cheap, compatible, known-reliable graphics card handy, and you can get something like a GTX 430 for maybe $30. I've occasionally felt devastated by the stuff I've collected in my "parts locker" over the last five years, but I'm always happy to know that I have some spare parts when I need to test a new one.

 

[Brent1970]

Hello, BonzaiDuck. Yes, I hooked the monitor up to both dvi slots on the dGPU and then the dvi slot on the iGPU. Nothing on any of them.

I just thought it was kind of weird that with the first RAM it would endlessly powercycle but with the second RAM it stays powered up but just doesn't do anything. Very strange.

Tonight I'll first take out the 570 and try to boot using just the iGPU/RAM/CPU hooked up. I would like to avoid taking out the whole motherboard again if possible though certainly I can do that if needed.

So, so far, I have: 1) It could be the graphics card, 2) It might be the CPU fan? and possibly 3) It might be a dead CPU?

Ugh.

 

[jidery]

I seriously doubt its the CPU. We can easily narrow this down to just a couple things.

- Take out the GPU and switch to the integrated one on your CPU/Mobo. If you still see no picture, leave the GPU out of the equation until we figure out what is going on.
- Do you have another power supply? That could explain the powering on and off. I have had faulty power supplies and it causes weird problems. Try a power supply from an older build, or return the one you have. Seasonic is a good brand, but I guess its not immune from failure.
- Start the system with only the PSU, Mobo, and CPU. You should get some beeps saying to connect the RAM, do that next. We want the minimal parts to see the Bios. Slowly add parts in this order -> RAM -> HDD -> CD Drive -> dGPU.

 

[Brent1970]

Ok, I took out the dGPU and just used the iGPU with nothing plugged in but the cpu/ram/psu. It powers on, powers off, powers back on and stays on with nothing ever showing on the monitor. No beeps. The MemOK LED is flashing once per second however, if that means anything. All the fans are rotating/blowing even the PSU.

I don't know guys. Any other ideas? I guess I could take the whole motherboard out now and try the same test with it outside the case.

 

[lakedude]

I'm not a big fan of the out of the case suggestion, sorry Megan. A case protects what is inside.

Sure you could have perhaps added/left a standoff that hits the MB and shorts something out but I'd just assume do a visual check for anything touching the MB where it shouldn't.

If you do run the system outside the box make sure you keep anything metal away from it (so it don't short out) and be careful of things that could develop static as well.

 

[Kenmitch]

I don't know guys. Any other ideas? I guess I could take the whole motherboard out now and try the same test with it outside the case.

Might be worth a shot to see. Another possible thing that may help is reseating the CPU and checking for bent or damaged pins in the socket.