new system build defies explanation

[Trubinator]

Hi,

I put together a new system about three weeks ago and I've had nothing but trouble since the start. I ended up RMAing both the cpu and the mobo, but nothing has helped. The computer will power on and everything will spin up, but nothing functions properly. And to make things worse, the POST beep is always the anomalous single repeating beep.

I checked all connectors (including power sw, the motherboard power cable, the pcix16 cable, the cpu fan cable and the cpu power cable). I have also tried reseating my ram in different configurations, once with one DD2 1 GB stick and once with the other. I have tried reseating the cpu and I reapplied the artic silver 5 compound to the surface. My video card has had no known issues and the power supply seems to be in working order.

Does anyone have any suggestions? It's just so weird to have EVERYTHING spin up and not even be able to get the keyboard to blink on. I'm ready to pull my hair out on this one so I'd REALLY appreciate some help. I'm not a novice here as I've successfully built over 40 systems but this, as the title implies, defies all explanation.

 

[robisbell]

well, did you make sure the ram you got is compatible with the motherboard.
did you makesure the 20(24),8(4),molex, and video card power connectors are connected?
did you verify that the cpu is securely locked into it's socket, and that you did not put too much thermal paste on it before installing the HSF?

Motherboard Manufacturer with Model and BIOS Revision:
CPU Manufacturer and Model:
RAM Manufacturer and Model:
CDRW/CDROM/DVD Manufacturer and Model:
HDD(s): Manufacturer and Model:
Video Card: Manufacturer and Model:
Sound Card: Manufacturer and Model:
PSU Manufacturer and Model:

 

[Trubinator]

I haven't checled ram compatability, but I did everything else you mentioned. My motherboard claims that it supports DDR2, but I'll check the manufacturer anyway.

 

[robisbell]

if you get me the info I can help.

 

[Trubinator]

The specs are:

-Gigabyte GA-M57-SLI-S4-rev. 2.0
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ @ 3.0ghz
-2 GB (two sticks) Corsair XMS DDR2
-BFG Tech 8800GTS 640MB not in sli mode
-rosewill 750 watt psu
-320 gb seagate sata hd

 

[robisbell]

exact model of the corsairs, please.

 

[Trubinator]

Nevermind. It turns out that the underside of the motherboard was grounding to the case near the memory area. I booted outside the case and everything worked fine. I am having an issue getting both DDR2 sticks to work though. I'm going to try modifying the voltage settings in the bios to see if that works.

 

[robisbell]

you've probably shorted out the memory slots and damaged the memory, and possibly the board.

 

[Trubinator]

The funny thing is, I CAN get one DDR2 stick to work...in one slot. The board suddenly seems very finnicky about which ram slot it'll take. I'm going to try the other stick just to confirm that both are good. I think you may be right though. At first, I thought running the board on its anti-static bag instead of the case stand ups did the trick, but now...

Hope this doesn't mean I'll have to trade in my ram sticks for a single 2GB DDR 2 stick.

*EDIT*

Here is the list of supported memory for my mobo. I got it off corsair's website. I believe that I have two 1 GB sticks of Corsair XMS DDR2-6400 ram.

 

[Trubinator]

Okay. Here's the latest. Stick one now works in every slot. Stick 2 always fails to POST. I guess I just got a bad stick. Can someone confirm that another XMS replacement stick will work in my board though? I provided a link to Corsair's page on the above post, but I just want to double check with you guys. This whole process has been awful so i'm eager to end it.

 

[robisbell]

umm, there is no link .

 

[Trubinator]

http://corsair.com/configurato...d=233108#other_modules

 

[robisbell]

well, I think when the board grounded out on the post it damaged the memory slot and that stick of ram, I'd replace both unless you rather buy another and burn it and the board out.

 

[Trubinator]

I'm sure stick number two is dead. I'm just wondering if it would be wise to try another Corsair XMS2 DDR2 PC-6400 1 GB stick since the one that DOES work posts in every ram slot. The part that concerns me is the memory compatability list. The Corsair page only lists 1 GB of XMS2, so I want to make sure that I can get at least 2 gigs out of the board. If I have to, I'll go with another brand. I guess replacing both sticks could work also...just hate to do it.

 

[robisbell]

I'd replace the board and both sticks of ram. if the boards under warranty, rma it. same for the ram.

 

[Trubinator]

replacing the board seems like overkill to me, especially since the one working ram stick works in all the slots. the motherboard shows no indication of failing in any other way.

 

[robisbell]

okay, when you fry out everything, because you failed to realize how much damage arching a motherboard can cause. I've seen too many people think it's nothing serious till the board burns out or catches fire. I never use a board that has been arched, and if it's under warranty, send it in, immediately.

 

[Trubinator]

What I'm trying to say though is that there's no evidence that this thing got fried. None of the ram slots were damaged and all the other parts are working fine. I thought that I had shorted out the board initially because moving the motherboard to the anti-static bag allowed me to POST, but I think it was because I also put in the good stick at teh same time.