Motherboard Starts Immediately With Power

[ColdZero]

I've got to be missing something right in front of my face or have really bad luck. Here is the situation, if anybody can figure this out, I'll be eternally grateful.

I ordered 2 Opteron 246s and an IWill DK8X and a EPS12v power supply. I plugged in the opterons the board and the memory. I then plugged in the power supply. As soon as I connected the p/s to the wall, the system started up, no video. I tried clearing the CMOS, no luck. I called up newegg and ordered another DK8X and RMA'd this one. When I got that board, the same thing happens. I have 4 sticks of registered ddr that I've tried individually and both processors serperately. The same thing happens over and over with both boards. As soon as they get power, they turn on and the system doesn't go any further.

I can't even close the power jumpers to shut the system off after 4 sec, I have to unplug it. I do however hear the board reset when I close the reset pins. I know the video card works as I've put it in this computer that I'm typing on to test it. I'm not sure about the memory or processors since I have no other way to test them, but 4 sticks of memory and 2 seperate processors all being bad seems to be stretching it. I'd like to give this one more change before I send the whole thing back. If anybody has any ideas on how to get this to work, I'd be amazed.

-Tom

 

[Balt]

Is it powering up before you've plugged in any of the case wires to the pins on the motherboard (including audio, USB, etc)?

Is it possible that the motherboard is touching something metallic that it shouldn't (ordinarily I would say that grounding would cause the motherboard not to start at all, but...)?

What kind of power supply are you using? Have you tried a different one?

 

[ColdZero]

I've tried it in the case and out on foam, same deal with both boards. When I RMA'd the first motherboard, I also ordered a second EPS12v power supply just in case. Same difference. The P/Ss were from Antec.

-Tom

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: ColdZero
I've tried it in the case and out on foam, same deal with both boards. When I RMA'd the first motherboard, I also ordered a second EPS12v power supply just in case. Same difference. The P/Ss were from Antec.

-Tom

I have no idea, then. Hopefully I've kept someone more knowledgeable from having to ask the same questions, though.

Good luck!

:beer:

Edit: Do you have an ATi card installed? The symptoms mentioned don't match yours exactly, but they are somewhat similar.

 

[The Internal]

alot of motherboards are designed to power on at first power. Most mobo manuals will tell you this. Put all the basic components in before you connect the power. (that is perfectly normal from my experience with AMD systems. It's not worth RMAing until you find out if the thing doesn't work). Expect it to power on once you hook up the PSU.

 

[The Internal]

oh... and if you can't get it to turn off after holding the power button for around 3 to 4 seconds, and you have the power button of the case properly connected to the mobo, then you know you might have a problem. Is this your first go at building your own rig?

 

[ColdZero]

The thing is, there is no video at all, and I know the video card works. And both boards are doing this. I'm at a loss.

 

[ColdZero]

I've tried the case and jumppering it myself. No this isn't my first rig, I've build 5-6 before this.

 

[The Internal]

ah... a video card issue. Some mobos don't support certain voltage video cards. Make sure yours is an approved wattage. (My somewhat older AMD mobo won't take 3.3volt AGP card, for example. In fact, I could damage my system by trying to do so (according to the manual). I'm guessing a server level board might be much more picky. Also, what is the video card you're using, and is the AGP slot standard, or pro?

 

[ColdZero]

The slot is AGP Pro, the card I'm using is a Gainward GF6800GT. Thats the card that is in this computer I'm typing on. I've also tried a Radeon 9700 Pro. Same deal.

 

[mechBgon]

1) its default setting is probably to power on after an outage. Makes sense... if your email server were running on one of these, you do want your server to fire up again when the power comes back on. Right? If it bothers you, go into the BIOS and tell it to stay powered down, once you get it to POST.

2) Did you make sure to follow the manual with regards to the placement of the memory modules? Four modules, four memory controllers, how many wrong ways can this be done...

Check whatever jumper settings it might feature, too. If you can't get it working, posting an exhaustive list of specs (memory modules in excruciating detail, etc) could help us get to the bottom of it.

 

[ColdZero]

IT WORKS!!!!!!!

For some reason, it matters where you put a memory stick matters, even when you put it where the manual says. But a friend just came over and helped me figure it out. You guys put us on the right track, thank you so much, you guys rock.

Very Many Tanks,
-Tom

 

[mechBgon]

Right on Enjoy the new rig and make sure you have a really good surge supressor or UPS for that beastie