EP35-DS3 boot issue

[darksander]

Hello there,

I have some problems for a while now. My PC won't get past POST unless I power-up multiple times (sometimes even that won't do).

The first couple of months I had no issues, except for 2 or 3 somewhat random BSODs.. but these last few weeks the situation above happens.

I've taken it to the service, and some guy there put the RAM in different slots (I had them put in same color, he put them in different colors) and it worked.. but only for a couple more weeks. Now it wont start no matter how where I put them. I also tried with different ram modules, no luck.

Any ideas?
thanks

 

[Mussels]

you sure its not a PSU issue?

 

[darksander]

Hello, Mussels, thanks for replying. I'm not sure if it's PSU related.. the service guy told me the PSU i'm using is quite good.. Now, I am somewhat computer savvy and even considered that option and now I'm trying to cover all possibilities.

I was told to run a memtest and the memory turned out to be just fine, and the MB manual says it'll beep for power issues.

One quick question.. should the speaker go crazy if there is no RAM present?

 

[ShadowFold]

What do you mean the computer wont start? Like no image shows up on the monitor?
And what's the PSU brand?

 

[darksander]

I mean the fans start spinning, the MB's leds turn on.. but I guess the POST fails or something.. I don't get the 'everything ok' beep. You can see the PSU in sys specs, Fortron Blue Stom II 500W

 

[ShadowFold]

Oh my god.. I had the same problem with my gigabyte DS3... That motherboard is one the reasons I don't get gigabyte stuff anymore. It's definitely the mobo..

RMA it. Not much else you can do

 

[Mussels]

powering up multiple times can sometimes bypass severe issues with a PSU.

Sure fortron is a great brand, but that doesnt make it immune to a cockroach crawling in there and dying on something important, and so on.

One of my housemates has that same board, with a Q6600, 8800GT and 4x1GB 800MHz ram and he has no boot issues at all. His hardware is similar enough to yours that i'd definately be looking at faulty hardware as the cause.

If the system is stable on the rare times it powers on, that means CPU, ram, video card, and PSU should all be fine. That pretty much leaves the motherboard, or something random. My housemate had a bad USB hard drive enclosure cause his system to BSOD whenever someone turned a light on in the kitchen - random weird things can happen, so make sure you're using the MINIMUM amount of hardware when testing. Mobo, CPU, PSU, one stick of ram, video card. You just want to narrow it down as much as possible to find out what piece of hardware is stopping the boots.

The motherboard BIOS could be at fault here too - most modern OCing boards detect multiple failed POST's and default to safe settings... its possible your motherboard has something set wrong in the BIOS (voltages too low, overclocked, etc) - so reset it to default values, and make sure the CMOS clear jumper is in the right position, and the CMOS battery is installed (and in working order)

long post is long, lol.

 

[darksander]

@Mussels: Not at all, I enjoyed reading, lol. And yes, when the system starts, it is stable. At some point I reset the BIOS and everything, but it didn't make any difference.

@modder: tried that.. and, some time ago, when it did start, I loaded with defaults. The only change I made back then into the BIOS was to disable that logo, tho'. After the said trip to the service I haven't tried without hdd/optic drive anymore (I gave my RAM to a friend to test it.. apparently it works); tonight, after I get my RAM back, gonna try again.

Edit: OK, so I listened to the advice for checking other peripherals and.. I have this usb cable from my monitor which, when connected to the PC offers two more USB ports.. I disconnected that, and the system started.. one module used. I shut it down, inserted the other module, and again it booted. I don't know what to think.. I'm gonna leave it like that for a while and see if it boots without that usb connection.

Thank you for giving me the idea, Mussels, I appreciate it.

 

[darksander]

Very good point of view. I see you got that from the manual, lol. I missed that thingy and truth is, my keyboard doesn't even have a wake up button, hehe. Thank you.

 

[darksander]

I'm back..

I've took the pc to service again, only for the dude to tell me that there's nothing he can do.. What amazes me is that when he tries to boot it, at service, it starts without any issues. Once I try at home no beep..

Now, he gave me another PSU and, back home, it was even worse than with the previous. So we switched back o the fortron. Then, he taught me a trick: the moment it works I should never shut windows but only press the power button shortly, so it enters sleep mode; then, when I need it back on, turn it on (which would fail to boot), power off from button, turn the PSU off, power on PC (which will turn the pc on for a millisecond), then turn the PSU on, and the pc starts without pressing power button again. This worked for a week or so, then, last night, the pc powered on its own, apparently, since I know I pressed the button so it would sleep, cause I found it running. It hadnt boot tho. Now that trick does not anymore..

I'm more than puzzled by this thing..

Any new suggestions?

Thank you

 

[Mussels]

try it at another house, with an entire other set of peripherals.

At this stage it could be anything - bad power, a mouse or keyboard with a bad cable, anything.

If it works in the store but not at your house, EVERYTHING that is different could be the cause - so you gotta narrow it down.

 

[darksander]

Hey, Mussels, ty for replying. I did try it in another house, with whole new set of peripherals, and it didn't work. I event plugged an old PS/2 keyboard. I kinda suspect the wireless kit, tho. Sometimes the mouse does not get recognized anymore.

Anyway, I just returned from a trip, and the PC booted at first try (I switched off the PSU before I left). This leads me again to some MB problem..