CPU dead? New computer power up was tonight: no bios initialisation

[ocoileain1890]

Hi Guys,

It's my first time building a PC, I'm a complete newbie and have enjoyed it immensely as a learning experience thus far. Having taken everything extremely slow and being ridiculously cautious I'd worked on the machine a bit every evening after work over the past month and the big turn on was tonight! : Heres the components I have in my Antec P160 case at the moment.

1. Mobo = ABIT IN9 32X-MAX WiFi, nForce-680i SLI, Socket-775,ATX,2xGbLAN,DDR2,2xPCI-Ex16
2. Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz Socket LGA775
3. PSU: Enermax galaxy 1000 kw
4. Sound card: Creative X-fi extreme
5. Graphics: BFG OC 8800 gtx
6.Memory: Crucial ballistix ddr2 6400 x2 gig


After breathing a sigh of relief when it didnt blow up in my face having hit the on switch , all my fans running beautifully (Graphics card, cpu + two additional 120mm ones installed rear and front), I noticed no Bios initialisation on my connected monitor. The monitor would power up for a few secs then go into standby mode, a black screen greeting me in both states. I applied the supplied dvi-crt adapters that came with the card, I tested another old 19" crt but to no avail. Its kind of heart-breaking as I type this bleary eyed but is my Bios not coming up because my CPU is dead and failing to communicate with the mobo? The motherboard is grand, all the relevant lights flashing etc. but i think I must have fried the CPU.

Any suggestions as to what the problem might be are be greatly appreciated guys!

Kind regards,
OcO.

 

[Mondoman]

Do you have a case speaker connected to the 2 speaker pins on the MB? This is different from audio in/out - the case speaker handles the BIOS turn-on beeps and any warning beeps/sounds.

 

[ocoileain1890]

Sorry I mean Initial start-up screen or "post Screen", falling asleep here!

 

[notherdude]

It's almost certanly not the CPU. They almost never go bad. It will turn out to be something else. MOBO, RAM or power, maybe video. Hopefully something minor is amiss and it will still run for you after you get to the bottom of it.

You have power plugged in to all three locations? Video card, main mobo, AND the 4 pin CPU connector?

You put the standoff's on the mobo chassis? The MOBO could possibly be shoting to the case floor.

As mondoman said it wopuld help to know if you are getting beep error codes from the PC speaker.

 

[ocoileain1890]

Lads, was just about to hit the hay and just had this sudden urge to have one last look before bed. I said to myself, "I'll try remove something" and see if it has any effect. Took out the soundcard - nothing (unsurprisingly, but i was clutching at straws.) Took out a memory module and i got the bios screen! hallelujah! Anyone know why the memory was causing this problem and does this mean I wont be able to use my second gig? Cheers for your suggestions so far!

 

[notherdude]

Good. Set that RAM voltage in BIOS manually to 2.2 volts which is what the Ballistix runs on and try again. Your BIOS is probably only supplying 1.8 volts.

I don't know where exactly that setting will be on your ABIT's BIOS but probably where you set the main things such as CPU speed and bus speed.

Other possibility is that stick is defective but you could rule this out by putting that stick back in and removing the other.

 

[ocoileain1890]

Dont really have a clue as to the next step bios wise. Is it simply a case of navigating the menu's and setting the cpu speed at 2.4GHz (Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz) and doing the same with the memory voltage. How doe's one determine the bus speed? Forgive my ignorance, I'm googling at the same time, but I've found that on forums someone might just happen to mention something that clarifies things and puts it more succinctly!

 

[Grimmy]

Heh.. one thing that all bios shares, they have settings, and in some case, an over whelming amount of features.

The other, different bios have different ways of getting there. So not everyone can say exactly what menu to follow.

I'm guessing the voltage settings should be on the same menu where you do OC settings for the CPU. Looking at the manual, or PDF of it may help you find it faster.

 

[ocoileain1890]

Yeah - time permitting + you'll notice the hardware isnt exactly budget trash thus i was extremely cautious not to fry or F*ck things up on my first ever build

 

[onestar]

Cautious is always good. Far better than foolish.
A first timer might try to set the BIOS to default and try different settings till he finds what works for him. There are an abundant and sometimes confusing number of bios speed settings for memory, but sometimes it is nothing more than having the module seated correctly in the slot. Abit is notorious for having tight fitting memory slots.

 

[k2gremlin]

Just a quick suggestion before you go peaking through your bios settings.

I would switch out Ram sticks before going any further.. never know.. you may have a bad stick..

Leave the settings as they are and switch em out see what happens

 

[ocoileain1890]

Thanks for all the advice lads.

 

[onestar]

We all hate to see a good board gone bad <smile>