Problem With New Motherboard And Graphics Card

[Miasma]

Hi there guys,

First time poster, long time reader here.

I recieved a new motherboard (Gigabyte K8NE) and graphics card (Sapphire GTO²) today. I took my existing motherboard (Asus K8V-SE Deluxe) and graphics card (Chaintech 6600GT) out of my machine and installed my new hardware. I wired everything up, and it all looked good to go, so I went to try my first boot after the upgrade.

I plugged in all the leads to the back of the PC, and then I hit the power button. Everything powered up and all the fans span up for all of a second before the system switched off. I sighed, as I expect something to go wrong every single time, and tried again. The system powered/span up, then after a second it shut down again.

After much investigation, I eventually got the PC to actually turn on and maintain power, but now my monitor goes into standby the moment the system is switched on.

I've checked all the connections, checked for any contact where there shouldn't be, I tried stripping the system down to the minimals (HDD, one RAM stick, processor, video) and I tried clearing the CMOS by taking out the battery for half an hour. None of these things worked, and my monitor still stays on standby when I start up the machine.

I threw my hands into the air and decided to admit defeat temporarily, I reinstalled my original motherboard and graphics card, and the machine booted first time without a single problem. I'm going to call the supplier tomorrow and see what they say, but I am hoping that this can be fixed without resorting to an R.M.A.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

How silly of me, I forgot to mention my current specs: -

Akasa Paxpower2 Ultraquiet 460w PSU
AMD Athlon64 3400+ Newcastle (with stock heatsink, no overclock)
1GB (2x 512MB) PC2700 Value RAM (due to be upgraded, no overclock)
Chaintech Geforce 6600GT 128MB AGP
Onboard Audio
2x 120GB Seagate Barracuda HDDs

Hardware I'm trying to upgrade to is mentioned in post.

 

[letstalkcisco]

It does sound like you have a faulty MoBo, but I noticed something funny on the Abit KN8-Ultra I got last week that I wanted to relay. The motherboard has both the 24-pin power connector and the 4-pin connector. My PSU came with the 24-pin cable so I plugged it in and let 'er rip. Nothing happened - system wouldn't boot, CPU fan wouldn't even kick on. So I plugged in the additional 4-pin connector and the thing booted just fine. I'm not sure if it's that the PSU 24-pin cable isn't actually wired properly or if the board isn't, but I was surprised either way. You sound like you know what you're doing and this probably isn't the issue, but your symptom sounds curiously similar to the one I experienced. Best of luck.

 

[Gravity]

Check the simple stuff, heat sink is installed properly? PSU power connecter is firmly inserted? Additonal MB connector from PSU inserted into MB?

Ram firmly seated? Vid card firmly seated?

Any loose screws under the MB?

Just a few things to check. Nice rig btw.

 

[Miasma]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've basically just been taking it completely apart and starting from scratch to try identifying any problem at all that could be popping up, but it seems completely random. I've checked for loose screws, etc. and found none although the PCI-E slot seems to be extremely loose (the video card can literally sway up and down a good centimeter in each direction.) I'm not sure if this is normal for PCI-E slots, as this is my first, but my AGP 6600GT is held very firmly even when not screwed in, so this worries me.

I just tried it again, and it actually booted this time and the monitor would actually display. However, on POST it said that my CPU core speed was 200mHz (worked fine in my K8V-SE Deluxe mere moments before) and asks me if I would like to boot Windows XP in normal or safe mode. Whichever I select reboots the machine back to POST again.

I managed to get into the BIOS to check all the settings, I set the ones which didn't have completely random options and tried to boot again, still no luck. Can't tell what the problem is from those screens so I am guessing it really is just a faulty motherboard.

Shame really, because I was going to buy an Asus board again but they went out of stock the same day I decided to spend.

 

[Miasma]

Originally posted by: letstalkciscoYou sound like you know what you're doing and this probably isn't the issue, but your symptom sounds curiously similar to the one I experienced. Best of luck.

Yeah I wondered if it was the motherboard power connector, but I also tried it with the adapter I use for my K8V-SE and nothing happened. I usually do know what I am doing with these things, but unfortunately, this A8NE really has me over a barrel.

 

[Gravity]

Dang. You gonna rma it? keep us posted.

 

[Miasma]

I called technical support at the retailer this morning at http://www.overclockers.co.uk and we managed to work out the problem. Can't remember what it was now, as it was something way over my head, but he guided me through fixing it and it's now running everything smoothly as silk.

Ran 3D Mark '03 on the Sapphire X800 GTO² and got 9173 3D Marks, about to unlock and overclock it to an X850 XT PE now hehe. Thanks for the help guys, you've been smashing.

 

[montag451]

ooohm come on, you gotta remember something.
I RMA'd a mobo and cpu to overclockers a few months ago when I had the same problem. they sent me a new mobo and the cpu back with a bent pin. which is working out ok at the moment.

 

[Fern]

I recieved a new motherboard (Gigabyte K8NE) and graphics card (Sapphire GTO²) today. I took my existing motherboard (Asus K8V-SE Deluxe) and graphics card (Chaintech 6600GT) out of my machine and installed my new hardware. I wired everything up, and it all looked good to go, so I went to try my first boot after the upgrade.

One mobo uses a VIA chipset, the other nVidia's NF4 chipset. They each reqiure different set's of drivers. That's the problem.

Fern

 

[montag451]

hey fern,
if it would've booted to windows, i'd be with you on that one