GA-P55-UD5

[Divingcatchtb]

Hey guys, I'm a first time computer builder, so maybe I'm just making a noob mistake, but I have only my memory and CPU connected, but yet my ACPI S4_S5 LED keeps coming on. My power button is also lighting up, and when I power on my machine it powers on for a few seconds and cuts off. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Proximon]

Here you go:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-video-problems

Let me know if that doesn't help, but follow it closely.

 

[Divingcatchtb]

Very informative sticky, but I didn't find my problem within that thread. I've gotten my board to stay powered on, but I'm not getting any beeps from my mobo. I believe my RAM is possibly not posting.

 

[Proximon]

You would need to have a speaker connected to the board to get beeps. I do not think that one has a built-in speaker.

I'm not sure what problem you are trying to fix at this point, but maybe that's just a lack of clarity.

You say your board, with CPU and RAM installed, will power up.... are you expecting it to POST without a GPU?

 

[Divingcatchtb]

Well I have my GPU in as well, I think I used the wrong term. The system is powered on, but nothing is happening. Nothing is showing up on the screen.

 

[Proximon]

Full parts list?

Since you have done everything on the checklist, it's down to faulty parts or perhaps memory incompatibility.

 

[Divingcatchtb]

Radeon 4550
Intel i5 750
G.Skill 1600 (PC12800) 2x2gb
WD Green 250GB HD
Corsair H50 cooling

 

[Proximon]

There are 9 different memory kits that fit that description on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%2050008476%201052129233%201052429371%201052315794&name=G.SKILL

I could see one of those causing an issue, possibly.

Did you remove the covering from the thermal interface material on the H50 before installing? And is the fan spinning?

What PSU? You don't need a strong one but you do need quality. Unstable voltages can cause a POST failure.

 

[Divingcatchtb]

I have a RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2, and also specifically the RAM is F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ kit

 

[Proximon]

Hmmm the PSU is very poor indeed. There are not many PSU brands rated lower by those who know. There is no quality review on that one of course... they don't send their PSUs to quality reviewers.

There is no way of knowing if that's the issue really, unless a multimeter showed out-of-spec 12V. If it was fine on the multimeter it would still not mean it was OK.

The RAM should work, unless it's faulty of course. Did you try with each stick individually?

 

[Divingcatchtb]

Yes, I've tried each stick in all 4 slots. This is frustrating. -_-

 

[ekoostik]

Get a case speaker as described in step 16 of the thread Proximon gave you: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-video-problems

Also, breadboarding is a good way to troubleshoot build issues: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-262730_13_0.html

One last thing to consider - see if you can get everything running using the stock cooler to rule out problems with the H50. Taking that out of the equation really would help narrow down the problem. Use the stock cooler while breadboarding, and if that doesn't work getting that case speaker, step through all that and you'd have a lot of good information.

 

[Divingcatchtb]

I'm afraid of breadboarding, haha. I'll try that though, along with your other suggestion about the H50. I appreciate all the help thus far. I'm really getting depressed though. -_-

 

[ekoostik]

Don't stress about it. If building computers was easy, everyone would do it. You're at the stage now where you'll really learn about your components. More than likely it's some little thing that you missed because you've looked at it too many times and it just seems way to obvious. Just go slow, read all instructions and look at everything very carefully. Take your time and try to enjoy the troubleshooting - or at least don't let it get you down. After it's fixed and working you'll enjoy your computer 100x more than you would have if it had just worked right off the bat.

 

[bilbat]

Here's a fairly straightforward process:

Mind you, there are two ways to do this: you can do it either in or out of the case. The advantages and drawbacks:in the case is easier and faster, but will not find case-related problems, like shorts from extra, mispositioned standoffs, or ground plane problems; out of the case takes longer, and you may run into 'reach' problems - power supply cables and front panel power switch headers may not be long enough; for the power supply, it's usually just a matter of removing four screws to temorarily relocate it; for the power switch, you can just do this (carefully):

You only need to short the pins momentarily - that's all the power switch does...Out of the case also affords you an easy opportunity to 'flip' the board to check your heatsink/fan attachment setup, to be sure all the pins are fully seated, locked, and not cracked... If you do the out of the case, you need to lay the board on a non-conductive surface: the box the MOBO came in is ideal; but - the foam pad it came with, and the bag it was in are not - being 'antistat', they are somewhat conductive, and may induce problems...

Another item worth mention at this point is case speakers: if you haven't got one - get one!
http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html
A lot of people operate under the misaprehension that the 'diagnostic beeps' should come through the speakers attached to their sound-card/chip - not so! Your three hundred dollar Altec-Lansings won't do you any good here - you have to have a case speaker attached to the front panel header, and, often by this point, it's the only diagnostic info you'll have to go on...

The standard 'strip-down':

Power down at PSU switch
remove everything except
CPU and heatsink/fan (check carefully that the fan retaining pins are fully inserted, completely locked, and not cracked)
one stick of RAM, in slot closest to CPU
video card and monitor connector (if more than one PCIe slot, again, in slot closest to CPU)
all power plugs - 20+4 or 24, 2x2 or 2x4 ATX power, graphics card power
case speaker and power switch connectors
keyboard (don't need a mouse at this point)
place jumper on RST_CMOS pins
remove jumper from RST_CMOS pins
power up at PSU switch
power up by depressing case power switch (or shorting the 'power' pins...)
If you get video, enter BIOS with <DEL> (may need a <TAB> to get to POST screen, if 'splash' screen is enabled)
Select and execute "Load Optimized Defaults" - save and exit, reboot
power down
reinsert other components, one at a time, testing each time after addition...

 

[Divingcatchtb]

Did the out of case breadboarding, I don't have a system speaker so I'll have to wait for a bit, but I am still getting the S4_S5 ACPI LED (which is a light on my mobo telling me something is wrong) and still no video. I put the standard Intel fan and heatsink back in, and only have my graphics and ram and obviously processor in at the moment and still no luck. -_-

 

[ekoostik]

Minor correction to step 4 in the strip-down, with the socket 1156 boards the one stick or RAM should go in the second slot from the CPU.

 

[bilbat]

S5 is, essentially 'off', and is normal - for 'off'!

S4 "Suspend to disk" MS: Hibernate
All hardware is in the off state and maintains no context. The system may only be resumed by timer or other hardware resume devices (such as WOL or WOR), but not by interrupts. The contents of RAM are saved to disk and replaced on resume. The PSU is in the off state. Power may be mechanically removed without ill effect.
Note: S4BIOS is a variation of S4 wherein the BIOS reloads the image and not the OS boot loader. As NTLDR is S4 compatible, this is generally used with other OS'. Linux S4BIOS support is "experimental". Note also that using Windows2000 or XP with grub or lilo WILL break S4 support.

S5 "Soft-Off" MS: Hibernate
All hardware is in the off state and maintains no context. CMOS is maintained by 5Vsb, as in S4. The PSU is in off state. Power may be mechanically removed without ill effect.

As Proximon said, you can at least do a cursory check of your power supply, if you have, or can get access to, a VOM (otherwise known as a 'multimeter') to see if it appears to be working...

"Paper-clip trick" to turn it on is here:
http://aphnetworks.com/lounge/turn_on_psu_without_motherboard_the_paperclip_trick
Connector pin-out is here:
http://pinouts.ru/Power/atx_v2_pinout.shtml
Note pin 8 (PWR_OK - gray) - if it does not come 'high' (over 3.3V - should really be right around 5V), your system can never 'start-up', even if all the 'rail' supplies are at nominal voltage... Also, be aware, that as he pointed out - while you can check 'no-load' voltage, if there's a short somewhere, or the rail itself is bad, it may be 'folding back' under load (kind of like blowing a fuse or a circuit-breaker), and not actually delivering the power you 'see' at 'no load'...

 

[Divingcatchtb]

I have an older power supply from my previous computer that I know works, should I try to use that to see if I get any change?

 

[Divingcatchtb]

Success! I put an old power supply on the system, powered right up with video. So new power supply is in order, but I don't believe this power supply can support the power because the system keeps resetting.

 

[bilbat]

I have found this:
http://www.antec.outervision.com/
to be reasonably accurate, without having to go through the (sometimes impossible, considering what passes these days for 'documentation!) hassle of looking up the current draw for everything you own

 

[Proximon]

Your system would easily run on a quality 380W PSU. It's just a matter of what you want to have on hand for future builds really.

This Antec NEO ECO 520C is one of my favorite high-quality units right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030&cm_re=NEO_ECO-_-17-371-030-_-Product
Just be aware it ships without a power cord, on purpose.

If you would like an "good" unit that is a bit less:

Corsair 400CX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

Antec EA-380D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033&Tpk=EA-380D

 

[Divingcatchtb]

I'm going to be running a Crossfire set up on this, so I'll need an adequately powered system. I got everything up and running successfully. The only problem is my old power supply doesn't have any SATA connectors, so what I did was hook up that junk of a power supply Raidmax and hooked its SATA power connector to my hard drive for the time being and used the "Paper Clip" trick to power it up. Unorthodox, but effective until I get a new power supply.