New APU system won't start

[spacehelmet]

I have the following components:

Asus F1A75-V Pro Motherboard
AMD A8 3870 APU
Kingston HyperX Ram 16GB- KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
and an OLDER power supply: Thermaltake TR2-430W (W0070RU) - which was working on an older build until I took it out 2 hours ago and dropped it in my new case.

I (foolishly) installed everything in my case, and connected a brand new Corsair SSD (Force3), and connected in all the front panel stuff (USB2 ports, audio in/out, power and reset switches and LEDs). With everything connected I plugged in the power supply and flipped the switch on the PSU. The Standby Light on the Motherboard came on. I pressed power button on the front of the case, but nothing happened (nothing changed that I could discern, no noises, no fans, no additional lights, no flicker in the standby light, nothing...) .

I have since disconnected everything, and pulled out all but one stick of ram (I've rotated which stick, and which slot I'm using), but I still get the exact same results. The Standby light on the MOBO turns on, but nothing else happens when I hit the power (or reset) buttons. I've also tried unplugging the leads to the power switch and manually bridging the gap with a screwdriver, but with no different results.

All that is connected now is: APU is on motherboard, with provided heat-sink/fan installed and plugged in.
One 4-gig stick of ram
The Power supply 24-pin connector is plugged in securely, the 4-pin 12V connector is plugged into the rightmost half of the 8-pin cpu power plug on the board (the only way in which it will physically go in, and also the only way it would cover the pin labelled "Pin 1" on the motherboard).


OK- so probably way too much info, but here are my theories, hopefully you can invalidate them or provide others.

1. The quad core APU can't run on only a 4-pin power supply- if so, would a simple 4 to 8 pin converter fix my problem?
2. The ram is incompatible with the board (this exact set isn't listed as being compatible, but the 12-gig set with essentially the same number is on the list: http://support.asus.com/QVL.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=1&s=41&m=F1A75-V PRO&os=&hashedid=xbv8oy3YyHxt4ljn)
3. The Motherboard is DOA.


Am I missing something obvious? Is there anyway to test the above without buying anything additional? Is there another problem that I could be having? Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[abekl]

I think your theories are sound. I'd start with the power supply 4/8 pin issue.

 

[tlmck]

You need a newer power supply with an 8pin EPS 12v power connector to match the one on the motherboard. The 4 pin is not enough and there is no adapter for this.

Unless you plan on adding a high powered video card, either of these PSU's will work fine. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=100007657&IsNodeId=1&Manufactory=2031%2C1516%2C1550%2C1669%2C1697&PropertyCodeValue=1313%3A16572%2C1314%3A58372%2C1314%3A58376%2C1314%3A58383%2C1314%3A58388%2C1314%3A58389%2C4097%3A30089%2C4097%3A43845&bop=And&CompareItemList=58|17-207-018^17-207-018-TS%2C17-371-034^17-371-034-TS

One note on the Antec, you will need to reuse your old power cord as they do not include one in the "green" series.

 

[spacehelmet]

Thank you both for your quick and conclusive replies. I'll get myself a new PSU, and we'll see how it goes!

 

[spacehelmet]

So I got a new power supply, a 460W Coolmaster. The power supply works in an older build, but when I hook it up to my new set up, I get the same response: the standby LED on the MOBO comes on, but I can't get any other response. This are the same if I disconnect the CPU power, or try to start it with no RAM. I get the standby light when I turn on the CPU, but I can't get any other response.

Tomorrow I will pull the motherboard out of the case and try to get it to post outside the case (with only the APU and one stick of RAM installed). Is there anything else I should check?

I am thinking that I just got a bad motherboard... is there anything else this could be? (insultingly obvious suggestions are welcome at this point... I've tried unplugging and replugging everything in from scratch, and also tried to get a beep (the case speaker is attached) by attempting a start with no RAM (or hard drive) attached, but even this gets no response).

Thanks, I'll try to bread box the MOBO tomorrow, and let you know how it goes if I don't hear anything else here!

 

[spacehelmet]

Well- I've tried everything I can think of. Even with the board out of the case (sitting on the MOBO box), I can't get anything but the standby light to come on. I removed and replaced the CPU and heatsink/fan, and have unplugged and plugged in all the power cables many times. As I mentioned, I've also switch the ram and moved the stick around, and tried to start it with no RAM at all... I get no response under any circumstances. I've reset the CMOS with the jumper, and with the battery (separately with power on tries between), and also tried switching the TPU and EPU switches to all possible combinations of on and off (interestingly, the indicator LEDs for these switches do respond to setting changes... so I was able to get these 2 LEDs to turn on and off in addition to the Standby LED).

I'm packaging the MOBO up for a return... please stop me if there is ANYTHING else I should try.

 

[Master_Taco]

Just for shits and giggles, did you try powering on the motherboard without the CPU? It should power on and beep at you if it's not DOA.

 

[spacehelmet]

Never tried powering things up without the CPU (APU actually) in the socket, but I did try without the CPU power and without the CPU fan plugged in... no different response under either circumstance.

I think I just had a bad Mother Board. I returned it and got another. It worked out of the box as I would have expected, and it's up and running in the case with everything!

Thanks for all the help

 

[fatstanley]

Hey Spacehelmet - Did you just get another ASUS F1A75-V Pro motherboard? I'm running in to nearly the identical problem, but no issues with my power supply.

Dram Light comes on, and stays on. No boot to BIOS or anything. Did I get a DOA motherboard too?

 

[dannynoo]

Hey Spacehelmet - Did you just get another ASUS F1A75-V Pro motherboard? I'm running in to nearly the identical problem, but no issues with my power supply.

Dram Light comes on, and stays on. No boot to BIOS or anything. Did I get a DOA motherboard too?

I just picked up this motherboard today and I have the same problem! I was assuming it was powersupply related...and I actually have the same power supply (thermaltake 430w) as spacehelmet was initially using. I'm going to take it back to the shop in the morning and see if they can get it to boot in one of their cases.

 

[fatstanley]

After trying two different sets of RAM, I called ASUS, they suggested it was a DOA motherboard. Sent it back to Newegg.com, and they shipped me out another one.

This one booted up on only one of the two sets of RAM... So if you eliminate RAM as part of the issue, it may be the motherboard.

I just picked up this motherboard today and I have the same problem! I was assuming it was powersupply related...and I actually have the same power supply (thermaltake 430w) as spacehelmet was initially using. I'm going to take it back to the shop in the morning and see if they can get it to boot in one of their cases.

 

[dannynoo]

Thanks,

Yeah I took the motherboard back to the store today and he quickly pointed out that the motherboard had been burnt out. He gave me a replacement which I installed and is working perfectly.