POST problem with P45 / E8400 new build

oghurd

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Jun 23, 2008
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These new components seem to be working fine for the last few days - but as of last night the system refuses to POST unless I first Clear the CMOS.

o Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
o PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W
o MSI P45 Neo-F LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
o Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 -
o OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit
o ECS N8800GTS-512MX GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI


Here are the symptoms and other oddities I've noticed:

- When the power switch is hit (to Power OFF) - it initiates Windows shutdown as normal.

- Power ON (what happens when it is working) - fans all spin up to a very high speed for 4 seconds then slow down to operating speed and the system POSTs.

- Power ON (what happens now)...fans never slow-down - system never POSTs.

- Shut Down / Clear CMOS / Power on -> no problem.

- Flashed to the latest ver of BIOS (v 1.2 6/11/08) - No Joy.

Additional Notes:

- 3dMark06 gives me about 12600 out of the box - which seems about right.

- I have not tried OC'ing at all yet (i.e. I didn't break it) - except for....

- the MSI Dynamic Overclocking Tech (DOT) seems to blue screen the system as soon as *any* load is put on the system (does anyone have experience with DOT - or is this just crap?)

- the RESET switch has not worked since first build - it blanks the screen and the system never reboots (although the fans continue to run)


I'm thinking that the Mainboard is in need of an RMA.


Any ideas or feedback would be greatly appreciated


 

kyeana

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May 21, 2008
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for the RESET switch, make sure that it is hooked up to the mobo correctly, this could also have adverse effects on the rest of the system if it isn't. As for the computer not posting unless you clear the cmos, have you tried manually setting all the clock speeds, voltages, etc in the bios?
 

oghurd

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Jun 23, 2008
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I have not tried manually setting voltages (It would be pretty sad if that was actually required to make it boot).

In a related question, when I do decide to try OC'ing where can I find the proper settings for each incremental increase as far as FSB/Voltages and even memory settings? - any good reference with specific information on my components?

thanks
 

oghurd

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Jun 23, 2008
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Still looking for opinions if this problem seems to be the Mainboard or not - or could it possibly be another component (CPU/PSU) - however unlikely.

Another note... the reset switch seems to be working now after reconnecting yet again.