MSI P55 GD65 system wont boot first time

[fwgx]

I've just put together an i5 build consisting of:

i5 750
MSI P55 GD65
2x 2GB 1600Mhx DDR3
ATI HD5770 graphics card
4x HDDs
Corsair 550W PSU

I have a problem whereby when I turn the PC on everything fires up and sounds normal, the disks spin up, the CPU fan works, the mobo LEDs come on etc. Nothing appears on the screen at all and after about 10 seconds it will turn itself off. Then turn itself back on again, for 10 seconds, then turn itself off, then back on again, then off again, then on again and this time it will stay on but I don't get anything displayed on the screen (I've tried both DVI outputs on the graphics card). So at this point I turn off the PC (I have to use the power button on the motherboard). When I turn the PC back on using the switch on the motherboard, it works, the screen works, the PC POSTs and I can get into the BIOS! But when I save my settings and exit I have to go through the whole rebooting process again before I can boot properly. I have since been able to install and boot Windows 7 after all this process.

Now this behavior is with one one stick of memory installed. If I install both sticks of memory it seems to forever turn itself on and off and never stay on. I have tried unplugging all my disks and graphics card and got the same results.

The motherboard manual doesn't cover anything to do with problem solving or issues and what to try. I'm away for a few days but when I get back I'm going to check that my second stick of memory works on its own without the first stick I'm currently using. I am also going to try a different PSU.

What else should I try? I'm guessing this isn't expected behavior of the motherboard!!


TIA

 

[jkflyer]

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your new build.

I have just built a very similar system myself without a hitch :

i5 750
MSI P55-GD65
EKMemory 2x2GB DDR3-1600
ATI 4890 x 2 Crossfire
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Gigabyte Odin Pro 800W

What I noticed on page 9 of the English manual is that :

"To enable successful system boot-up (Lynnfield CPU especially), always insert the memory modules into the DIMM1 first." Therefore, if you haven't already done so, I would say insert 1 stick into DIMM1 and see if it works. If it does, then insert 2 sticks into DIMM1 and DIMM3.

Another thing I can think of is that maybe the motherboard is not getting enough power? If for some reason, if you connected only 4-pin power to the motherboard, then try removing the plastic tab and connecting 8-pin power to the motherboard.

I hope that helps.

- Jonathan

 

[fwgx]

Yeah I'm using the correct memory slots. I thought it might be the power supply because I'm running it with a 20 pin and a 4 pin connector (as it says that that is a valid combination) and my PSU is a fairly decent 550W Enermax.

So I've ordered a new 550W PSU with 24 and 8 pin connectors as well as a bunch of SATA and PCI-E, which will also make the case less crowded with all the adapters I have at the moment.

 

[jitpublisher]

Did you go through the new build checklist?
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-problems

 

[fwgx]

Yes I've done the checklist. It's not my first build. It's just a bit weird because once it does boot it seems pretty stable and I have no issues. It's just when I first turn it on fresh.

 

[fwgx]

I have now tried a new PSU and see the same kind of results.
Things are now not so predictable and I think it might be my memory that is bad.

I have tried resetting my CMOS countless times and after doing so the PC still doesn't POST.
When using two memory sticks it is definitely worse which I guess is because they're both bad and there's bouble the chances of using the bad memory areas with two sticks.
When I use no memory sticks I get the expected 3 beeps.
With just one stick it is now unpredictable as to what it will do. It seems to now stay on more often than restarting however usually I just get a black screen (i.e. no signal) and no indication that anything is being loaded from the disk.
It has crashed with the BIOS logo shown a few times now.
When I can get it to boot into Windows it will crash after 10-15 minutes.
I have managed to boot from a memtest86 bootable CD (after many many many attempts) and got this:

<-- click for larger

I don't really know how to interpret this screenshot but it looks bad to me - any opinions? I think I'm going to return the memory for a replacement.

 

[Guest]

i'm no expert, but everything seems to indicate that one of your mem sticks is doa.

i'd try phoning the place that sold you the kit, as going the RMA route with the ram manufacturers can take weeks.

 

[jkflyer]

Here's something I remeber from eons ago.

Once I had a flaky new AMD K62-300 build where I couldn't install Windows 98 correctly. It would always give me some kind of bluescreen during Windows installation. It turned out that the motherboard voltage regulator was not outputting the correct voltages. I RMAd the motherboard to have this fixed and everything worked perfectly after that.

You might want to check the voltages on the BIOS settings. In addition, if you have a multimeter, you might want to actually check the voltages using the voltage-check points as shown on the manual page 21.

- Jonathan

 

[fwgx]

Turns out it was the memorys fault. Got some new sticks as a replacement yesterday and its been running fine ever since

 

[tariqh]

i get the same problem even when i take out the memory modules ?

ive read another thread where they say check to see if the CPU is seated right. I have done so and it still turns on and off.

is there anyway to diagnose this ?

tried with one memory, 2 memory and no memory sticks ...

MSI p55 gd65
gskill ddr3-1333 pc3-10666 spd cl9-9-9-24 1.5v 2gb x 2
i5 750

any ideas?

 

[fwgx]

Well it definitly wont work with no memory installed. You need at least one stick installed. So if both the others are duff (as was the case for me) then you'll get those problems.

 

[Guest]

Well it definitly wont work with no memory installed. You need at least one stick installed. So if both the others are duff (as was the case for me) then you'll get those problems.

I have almost the same set up as yours except for the PSU and HDD. RUnning Memtest as I type this. Will see what that says hopefully before i go to bed. How did you find out that it was the memory exactly? Did you get the same kind of RAM when you replaced it?