P4N SLI-FI booting problems

[agendrano]

I just assembled a PC with:
MSI P4N SLI-FI
3.2GHz P4 (640), 1GB RAM Kingston DDR2 PC533 (2 pcs of 512MB each), MSI NX6600GT, HEC 450 watt power supply.

When I power up the system, it will lock up with blank screen, when I press the hardware reset, it will continue booting. When I power down and then press power switch, it will again lock up. When the system have warmed enough and I power down and power up, it will continue booting. Once cooled down (about 3 to 5 minutes), it will lock up again on boot.

All the components I used are brand new, after booting, I ran burnittest (stress test) and all components PASSED!

I am suspecting the PSU, any thoughts?

 

[The_Unmaker]

Are you using a 20 pin power supply on a 24 pin motherboard? I have heard of issues with this (even though there should not be any). Some parts on your motherboard may not be getting enough power.

Can you take your power supply to your local computer store and get it checked out for free?

Does your computer do the Power on Self Test (POST)? If so, do you get

Is your motherboard compatible with the memory modules (need to check out the Kingston site for that or contact them)? If it is, then can you enter the bios and check to see that your memory voltage matches that of the sticks (the board you mentioned defaults to 1.8 V. Your memory might require more. Also check the timing).

These are just a couple of things to look at before your start suspecting anything. The PSU could be it... but I don't have enough info to conjure up a conclusive argument for it.

 

[agendrano]

The PSU have 24 pin, so it matches the mobo.

The DDR2 is rated at 1.8V and so is the motherboard, so not an issue. On the timing I set it on auto, I will check the rating at Kingston site and check my timing when I get home tonight. The mobo can take DDR2 either a 400 or 533. I already checked if one of the DDR2 is at fault, both seems to work.

The only thing I noticed is my PSU have two 12V rails, one is rated at 17A (powers the 24 pin connector and the peripheral connectors) and theother at 15A, powers the 4pin 12V ATX connector and the 6 pin PCI-E connector.

The mobo have 3 power connectors, 24 pin (labeled ATX1), ATX 4 pin (labeled PWR1), and a 4 pin (labeled JPWR1) like the peripheral connector. The mobo manual says that the 12V should be more than 20A. Since the ATX1 and the JPWR1 is getting power from the first rail (rated at 17A) rated less than 20A, would this be an issue?

 

[The_Unmaker]

That might pose a threat... I don't know too much about this, but based on what I have read, dual railed PSUs are not popular because of the amperage splitting (less amperage per rail). The 12V connector adds more power to the CPU while the 4 pin connector is to add additional power to the video card.

Your CPU might not be getting enough power (though I may be wrong on this. I hope someone who REALLY knows their stuff can comment on this). I'm not much of a computer buff, but have been around to at least know the basics.

Did you successfully install Windows (Linux?)? Does it just hang after the bios POST tests? Does it get past the POST?

It sounding more suspicious for the power supply. Check the memory timings, perhaps clear the CMOS, and see if anyone else can comment on the PSU issue.

 

[agendrano]

On the first time power up, it freezes on POST, but when I press the reset button, sometimes just once or twice, it will continue past the POST and boot up (I installed Win XP Pro). When the system is warmed up enough, I can shut down and power up with no problem, else, when it cooled down, then I will have the freeze up on power up then when I hit the reset button, it will continue.

I was inclined to believe it is the PSU because of the symptoms as I have described above, i.e., when I hit reset after initial power up, the system is already energized, hence I think it continues to boot.

I will try the RAM timing settings later and will post the result, I am also getting a bigger PSU later today, Enermax rated at 525 watts.

 

[The_Unmaker]

I would try to avoid the dual rail Power supplys (I try to stay away from those things simply because I do not understand them and I think the amperage deficiency seems to hurt you more than the dual rail voltage helps you.. Though I am not sure how it works)

I am a Mechanical Engineer, so I tend to think about temperature a lot. It sounds kind of cryptic. But your say that the PC works only when it is warmed up enough? (Sounds like a car engine or a furnace controller!)

Anyways, There is a temperature sensor on most of these PCs that is used to shutdown the power when a critical operating temperature is reached. That might not be the issue here because it sounds like you can't "cold crank your machine."

It might very well be that the initial amperage required to start up the machine is greater than the amperage that it takes to maintain operation (like the case is when you are cold cranking a motor). In that case, the power supply could very well be the culprit... Sounds like a strange problem. Try posting this on the MSI forums and see if anyone there has anything. Also try the OCZ forums for your power supply:

http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?sid=
http://www.bleedinedge.com/forum/

Best of luck to you. Sorry that I can't be of more help

 

[agendrano]

Thanks, I have posted on the MSI forum and also posted a question on MSI Tech Support since yesterday, am getting no answer.

I will just have to RMA the parts to the supplier and get a new set.

Thanks.