X2 Opteron 6128 build no post :(

hexedosok

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Jul 18, 2006
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18,510
I'll try to make this long story short.

I received a Asus DGPE-D16 and 2 Opteron 6128 (8 core) from the egg. Along with it I also purchased 32G of regular DDR3 (which the board supports), a Rosewill server case, and a 750W Antec Earthwatts.

I put together everything and powered it on and I received no post. No beeps, just fans spinning. I have to either flip the off switch on the PSU or unplug the PSU to shut it off. The power button is not functioning at all beyond the point of turning it on.

I finally put the mobo on the box it came in, and with 1 CPU connected and 2 sticks of ram, the computer posts with no issue. When I add a second opteron 6128, along with another 2 sticks of ram, I get absolutely no post as described above. Here is what I tried to troubleshoot:

1. Made sure that my second processor was functioning correctly by putting it into socket 1. It boots up with no issue so I can safely say that there are no real "problems" with the CPU.
2. I have a 550W power supply that I changed out the earthwatts for. I figured it is 200W lower than my earthwatts, but right now I am only worried about posting. This is with minimal ram, no HD's connected, no fans connected. Just 2 processors, 2 sticks of ram, and the power switch plugged into the mobo. It still displayed the exact same issue.
3. Checked the second socket for bent or stray pins. I seriously spent 15+ minutes going through this thing with a magnifying glass and a flash light. I have very good vision so I was able to see that every pin appeared to be perfect.
4. I checked to see if there are any jumpers on the board that could affect the 2 cpu's from posting. None that I could find
5. Checked the mobo with a magnifying glass for burns, capacitor buldges, etc..etc. It looks perfect.

So I called up Asus support. After going round and round with motherboard support telling me that they cannot help me until I "look hard enough" to find the serial number because the one I am giving them is not a real serial number. Once I spoke with a second person I asked them if there was a difference between motherboard support and server motherboard support. He said most definitely and transferrred me over to server support. They got all the troubleshooting info and then issued an RMA. It was supposed to be shipped overnight (standard for server motherboards). The guy that shipped it out acidentely did it ground so I complained and another tech sent ANOTHER motherboard overnight.

Well it arrived yesterday and the first thing I did was put it on the box, and attempted to boot the motherboard with 1 cpu. 1 cpu worked with no issue. posts beeps and everything. When I installed the second cpu, I get absolutely no post. WTF!!!!

So what do you think? What is the most likely culprit? I have been doing this for such a long time that I could probably build these things blindfolded (of course I didn't though) so I highly doubt that it has anything to do with me. Could I have received ANOTHER defective board from Asus? I just think it is highly unlikely that that is the case. What am I missing?

I spoke to Asus tech support again this morning and they were dumbfounded. The only thing that the tech could do was make another case and refer me to the RMA department. At the end of the call she told me that I should make sure the stepping is exactly the same on both Opteron 6128's. I bought these processors from newegg at the same time. I highly doubt that they are different stepping but when I get home after work I will check. Do you think that is my issue? Could a different stepping for these Opteron's even cause something like that? This is my first dual processor board so even though I am confident in my building ability, I wanted to see if any of you with experience with this config have any ideas or suggestions.

So far though I have ANOTHER board that was shipped ground that is still in the process of shipping to my house and will be here Friday. I guess I will find out if it is the board or not because if all 3 have the same issue then I can most assuredly say that there is some other factor I am totally missing. the only other factors are:

1. Power - Right now I have my computer up and running 4 VM's using about 20G of memory, with 6 SATA hard drives, 5 120mm fans, 2 80mm fans, and a DVD drive. With that said, could the power supply still be the issue? Do I need some sort of specification I am missing?

2. RAM - Couldn't possibly be the issue because without ANY ram installed, I should at LEAST get the "no ram" post beeps like I do when only 1 proc is installed

3. Processors - Couldn't possibly be the functionality since each processor is able to run my 4 VM's in 1 socket with no issues whatsoever. Only thing I have not checked is the stepping, what do you think?

4. Motherboard - Even though this is the second motherboard, this is really the only thing I would assume it is. Am I crazy to think that? I get a 3rd one on Friday so I guess I will know for sure

Thanks in advance to anyone who evern read through this long ass post, and special thanks to anyone who even attempts to give me any ideas.
 

hexedosok

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Jul 18, 2006
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18,510
wow.. not one response from all of these people. I posted the same thing in hardforum and anandtech and hardforum got to the heart of the issue in about 4 hours.

This ended up being an issue with the molex to 8-pin adapter I was using. Strange because 1 CPU was working perfectly, and if I unplugged the adapter and let the machine run with only 1 8-pin plugged in, it would not post even with 1 cpu. Plug it back in and it will post with only 1 cpu, not 2. Went to Frys and bought another adapter and it is now up and running with no issues.