A8N-SLI Deluxe Big Problems on POST - please help!

[Philip G]

The story so far:

I've had my mobo a good six months or so now without problems. However,
recently I discovered that Line In wasn't connecting both l&r channels
(only the right). I couldn't fix that (tried latest nVidia drivers etc),
so I decided instead to install an old SoundBlaster Live PCI card, and
use that for recording stereo. My PC *hated* the Live card, and many
BSODs later, I decided to remove the Live card, and use something else to
record sound. Ugh. So I remove the Live card. Rebooted... All seemed
fine - then I got a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION crash. Didn't catch the
number.

Since then my machine won't boot at all. When I switch the power on, the
mobo green led is on, all the fans spin, and the harddisks seem to power
up. The screen flashes very briefly (indicating some sort of connection)
but no image. There is no "beep" from the mobo at all. On one occasion
when I removed the power cables from the HDDs I did get as far as the
BIOS screen - but since then, with or without HDDs connected, nada. No
beeps, no synthesized voice warnings.

I've tried switching the memory modules around. Normally I have 4x 512Mb
RAM modules. I've tried various combinations of 1, 2 and 4, with no
luck. None at all, or two next to each other (incorrect positions) cause
long intermittent beeps from the mobo on powerup. Similarly, if I remove
the one PCI-E card I have (a GeForce 6600GT), I get a long beep on
powerup. Unfortunately I don't have any other PCI-E or PCI graphics
cards to test.

My power supply should be ample. It is an Antec 550W unit.

My mobo seems to be relatively free of dust. I tried a couple of times
reseting the BIOS by taking out the battery & temporarily moving the
BIOS-clear jumper, but that made no difference.

Anyone got any bright ideas?! I'm at my wit's end here! :-(

- Philip

P.S. I've already exacted my revenge on the SoundBlaster Live card with a
hammer. It was some small consolation!

 

[Paul]

The story so far:

I've had my mobo a good six months or so now without problems. However,
recently I discovered that Line In wasn't connecting both l&r channels
(only the right). I couldn't fix that (tried latest nVidia drivers etc),
so I decided instead to install an old SoundBlaster Live PCI card, and
use that for recording stereo. My PC *hated* the Live card, and many
BSODs later, I decided to remove the Live card, and use something else to
record sound. Ugh. So I remove the Live card. Rebooted... All seemed
fine - then I got a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION crash. Didn't catch the
number.

Since then my machine won't boot at all. When I switch the power on, the
mobo green led is on, all the fans spin, and the harddisks seem to power
up. The screen flashes very briefly (indicating some sort of connection)
but no image. There is no "beep" from the mobo at all. On one occasion
when I removed the power cables from the HDDs I did get as far as the
BIOS screen - but since then, with or without HDDs connected, nada. No
beeps, no synthesized voice warnings.

I've tried switching the memory modules around. Normally I have 4x 512Mb
RAM modules. I've tried various combinations of 1, 2 and 4, with no
luck. None at all, or two next to each other (incorrect positions) cause
long intermittent beeps from the mobo on powerup. Similarly, if I remove
the one PCI-E card I have (a GeForce 6600GT), I get a long beep on
powerup. Unfortunately I don't have any other PCI-E or PCI graphics
cards to test.

My power supply should be ample. It is an Antec 550W unit.

My mobo seems to be relatively free of dust. I tried a couple of times
reseting the BIOS by taking out the battery & temporarily moving the
BIOS-clear jumper, but that made no difference.

Anyone got any bright ideas?! I'm at my wit's end here! :-(

- Philip

P.S. I've already exacted my revenge on the SoundBlaster Live card with a
hammer. It was some small consolation!

Your problem symptoms say "try another PSU". It may not be the
PSU at fault, but by the time you've tried the cardboard test,
you'll have a better idea.

To aid in debugging, you might also plug amplified speakers into
the green (line_out) connector on the back of the computer. The
Vocal POST chip will deliver error messages depending on what
parts are missing from the board. (It does not matter whether a
PCI sound card is plugged in ot not, the error messages still come
out on the green Line_out connector.)

*****
No CPU installed - Triggered by processor not grounding a pin
System failed CPU test - Vocal POST chip timer times out ?

System failed memory test - All of these are CPU initiated, under
System failed VGA test BIOS program control. AFAIK, if one
System failed due to CPU of these messages is delivered, then
No keyboard detected the CPU executed some instructions.
No IDE hard disk
CPU temperature too high
CPU fan failed
CPU voltage out of range
Computer now booting from operating system
*****

If another PSU will not bring it to life, do the "cardboard test".
Remove PSU and motherboard, and assemble them outside the case.
On the PANEL header, all you need is the Power switch, or if you
are real careful, momentarily touching a screwdriver tip to the
two pins used for the Power switch, should turn the board on.
(Drain any static electricity off the screwdriver tip, before
touching it to the two pins!) Place a thick phone book
underneath the motherboard, to support and insulate the bottom
of the board from the table. (I hope no one makes metal covered
phone books )

One purpose of the cardboard test, is to check for something
shorting to the bottom of the board. If the board runs outside the
case, but not inside the case, check that each installed standoff
lines up with a plated hole on the motherboard.

The cardboard test also gives you better access to everything,
say if you wanted to measure power supply voltages and the
like. Clip the ground lead from your multimeter, to one of the
screws on an I/O connector in the I/O panel area - then you'll
only need one hand to handle the red lead on the multimeter,
while measuring voltages.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Philip G]

(e-mail address removed) (Paul) wrote in

Your problem symptoms say "try another PSU". It may not be the
PSU at fault, but by the time you've tried the cardboard test,
you'll have a better idea.

Paul, thank you very much for your reply!

Unfortunately, I don't have another PSU to try that's compatible with the
24-pin + SATA power connectors, unless I buy a new PSU - which I'd rather
not have to do till I'm more sure that it's the cause of the fault.

Let me explain the latest happenings. This morning, the PC booted.
First time. There were all sorts of problems I had to fix (XP wouldn't
boot, not even in Safe Mode, then I made an emergency repair, which of
course didn't include SP2, which, when installed, zapped my USB2 ports -
but I fixed that).

During this reinstall, the machine rebooted several times... Or rather,
it didn't exactly. It would shut down, and instead of booting up again,
I'd get the same old no POST problem. But then, by hitting the reset
button, the machine would load. No big deal, I thought. By this
afternoon my PC was back to normal, working fine, with all the HDDs etc
connected. I shut down XP, moved the PC back into the corner (its usual
position) to connect to my main monitor. Switched the power back on.
Same problem, but this time, reset wouldn't fix it.

To aid in debugging, you might also plug amplified speakers into
the green (line_out) connector on the back of the computer. The
Vocal POST chip will deliver error messages depending on what
parts are missing from the board. (It does not matter whether a
PCI sound card is plugged in ot not, the error messages still come
out on the green Line_out connector.)

No, as I mentioned in my original post, this is not working at all. I
know the line out works (rather, worked), so it's not like the dodgy line
in connector.

If another PSU will not bring it to life, do the "cardboard test".

I've just tried this with my current PSU, and no joy. :-( Again, I tried
various combinations of components. The LED is on, the fans whizz up
when the power is turned on, but no beep, and no messages via the line
out jack.

So, finally, I have to ask: what is most likely to be the cause of the
problem? Still think it's the PSU? What is next likely? What is not at
all likely?

Thanks again for your help!

- Philip

 

[Philip G]

(e-mail address removed) (Paul) wrote in

Your problem symptoms say "try another PSU". It may not be the
PSU at fault, but by the time you've tried the cardboard test,
you'll have a better idea.

Small update: I tried another PSU (I craftly bought an adaptor,
20-pin->24-pin, so I could use the 430W one from my 2nd PC; much cheaper
than buying a new PSU to test!) - and the problem persisted. So it's
definitely not the PSU.

- Philip

 

[Paul]

(e-mail address removed) (Paul) wrote in


Small update: I tried another PSU (I craftly bought an adaptor,
20-pin->24-pin, so I could use the 430W one from my 2nd PC; much cheaper
than buying a new PSU to test!) - and the problem persisted. So it's
definitely not the PSU.

- Philip

OK. When you work on the insides of your computer - do you always
at minimum, flip the power switch on the back ? Have you ever
added or removed hardware while the green LED on the motherboard
was lit ? Adding/removing hardware while the green LED is lit can
damage the device being added/removed, or it could damage the
motherboard.

Reviewing the symptoms -

When the motherboard beeps, that means the BIOS code is executing.
That means the processor is alive. (No beeps could mean no code
got executed.)

The lack of synthesized voice warning could be a BIOS setting.
"Speech IC Reporter" [Enabled]. If you cannot get to the BIOS
screen, clearing the CMOS should have re-established the defaults,
and the Vocal POST should be enabled again.

I'm told, that even of the FP_AUDIO header jumpers are missing,
the Vocal POST will still send error messages to the green connector
on the back of the computer. So that isn't the problem.

Your problem could be power related, but it could be some power
circuitry on the motherboard. Like a bad Vcore or bad PowerGood
indication. I still think simplifying the system, is a good way
to isolate the problem.

You should be able to operate an Asus Deluxe motherboard with
just a PSU, amplified speakers (to listen to Vocal POST), and
a power switch connected to the PANEL pins. I've done that
test on a couple of my motherboards. I actually build the system
up on the table top, and if the hardware checks out, I spend the
time to put all the gear into a case. It could be, you'll find
that the Vocal POST starts to work, when something else on the
motherboard is removed. With no hardware on the board, it should
tell you "No CPU" via Vocal POST, when you press the power switch
you've connected to the two power pins on the PANEL header.

If, after testing the motherboard outside the case and you're
still not getting any responses, you'll be all set to RMA the
motherboard back to Asus.

If you do get some responses from the motherboard, add components
one at a time to the motherboard, noting what happens to Vocal
POST each time. It takes longer for the Vocal POST to respond
to some missing hardware than for others. For example, it takes
30 seconds, to hear the "No keyboard" message, as it takes a bit
of time for the BIOS to get to the code that checks for a keyboard.
I add processor, RAM, video card, hard drive, keyboard, mouse, and
listen for the message after adding each one. (And unplugging the
power each time, before adding or removing hardware. Even adding
keyboard and mouse, the power should be off, as I believe the
A8N-SLI uses +5VSB to power everything. I don't see the usual
PWR headers that allow selecting +5VSB or +5V for power.)

Also, does this problem only happen when you are connected to your
main monitor ?

Paul

 

[Philip G]

(e-mail address removed) (Paul) wrote in

OK. When you work on the insides of your computer - do you always
at minimum, flip the power switch on the back ? Have you ever
added or removed hardware while the green LED on the motherboard
was lit ? Adding/removing hardware while the green LED is lit can
damage the device being added/removed, or it could damage the
motherboard.

No, I always turn off the power switch at the back. I even wear an anti-
static wrist strap!

Reviewing the symptoms -

When the motherboard beeps, that means the BIOS code is executing.
That means the processor is alive. (No beeps could mean no code
got executed.)

The lack of synthesized voice warning could be a BIOS setting.
"Speech IC Reporter" [Enabled]. If you cannot get to the BIOS
screen, clearing the CMOS should have re-established the defaults,
and the Vocal POST should be enabled again.

This was always enabled in the BIOS.

I'm told, that even of the FP_AUDIO header jumpers are missing,
the Vocal POST will still send error messages to the green connector
on the back of the computer. So that isn't the problem.

Your problem could be power related, but it could be some power
circuitry on the motherboard. Like a bad Vcore or bad PowerGood
indication. I still think simplifying the system, is a good way
to isolate the problem.

You should be able to operate an Asus Deluxe motherboard with
just a PSU, amplified speakers (to listen to Vocal POST), and
a power switch connected to the PANEL pins. I've done that
test on a couple of my motherboards. I actually build the system
up on the table top, and if the hardware checks out, I spend the
time to put all the gear into a case. It could be, you'll find
that the Vocal POST starts to work, when something else on the
motherboard is removed. With no hardware on the board, it should
tell you "No CPU" via Vocal POST, when you press the power switch
you've connected to the two power pins on the PANEL header.

Yes, I had realized I'd never tried without even the CPU, so after my
last message, I tried that, and I got the "No CPU" message. With just
the CPU (+ its fan!) attached, nothing. So I suppose the CPU could be
bad, and not the motherboard, but then again, why isn't the mobo
reporting the fact that the CPU is bad, if it is?

If, after testing the motherboard outside the case and you're
still not getting any responses, you'll be all set to RMA the
motherboard back to Asus.

This is what I've now done - at the very least they can fix the "line
in" problem, and they'll be able to confirm if the rest of the board is
working, or whether I need to RMA the CPU too. I emailed Asus, and they
told me I had to go through my supplier (Dabs.com). Dabs advise me it
will take about 4-6 weeks. Ugh. (And maybe a further month if I then
need to RMA the CPU!) Thank Goodness I keep a backup PC.

If you do get some responses from the motherboard, add components
one at a time to the motherboard, noting what happens to Vocal
POST each time. It takes longer for the Vocal POST to respond
to some missing hardware than for others. For example, it takes
30 seconds, to hear the "No keyboard" message, as it takes a bit
of time for the BIOS to get to the code that checks for a keyboard.

Yes, I was waiting at least a minute each time for the Vocal POST.

I add processor, RAM, video card, hard drive, keyboard, mouse, and
listen for the message after adding each one. (And unplugging the
power each time, before adding or removing hardware. Even adding
keyboard and mouse, the power should be off, as I believe the
A8N-SLI uses +5VSB to power everything. I don't see the usual
PWR headers that allow selecting +5VSB or +5V for power.)

Also, does this problem only happen when you are connected to your
main monitor ?
Nope.

Paul

Thanks again for all your help. I'll update this thread (or start
another) when I get my mobo back from Dabs and I know exactly which
component was causing the fault.

- Philip