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No Beeps on POST with memory...

J

jolly_olie

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Hi
I'v just finished putting together a new system, which will give the RAM missing beeps on startup without RAM, but with RAM will not post or beep at all, nothing happens? The fans come on, and thats it?
Im running: Intel E8400, Asus P5E3 Mobo, Corsair 2x2Gb DDR3-1333. Iv tried each stick individually, same result. Help! The PSU is an OCZ 500W job. The system did boot once, just after id built it and it brought up a 'New CPU detected, change settings?' message, so i went into BIOS, had a look-see, didnt change anything apart from boot priority, then carried on, nothing happened. So i restarted the system, tried again, brought up the same 'New CPU detected, change settings?' message, i said no, blank screen. Restarted again, nothing happened, and thats all that its done since?
Iv reset the Real Time Clock RAM jumper, which should clear CMOS, in the hope that I had just inadvertently screwed BIOS, but no change. Any suggestions?
Olie
ps I did originally have a graphics card and HDD plugged in, but iv taken them out to just get the barebones system
 
Remove the battery for a few minutes, then replace.
 
I have removed the battery when i rest the RTC RAM, didnt make a difference unfortunately
Cheers
 
I would unplug the system, unplug everything in the computer, and remove the battery... wait a day then put in it.
Tthen, if that doesn't go, try going with just the processor running only.. if you get ram beeps for the board, then you know its your ram...
If not, then its most likely the mobo.
 
OK
1. take a deep breath!
2. operate with only the following: a.cpu, b.1 stick of mem (slot A), c. graphics card and d. boot HDD - no dvds or mem in slot C.
3. if this boots up then test your second mem stick on the same slot.
4. if they both work in slot A, then try installing mem sticks in slots A and C.
4a. hope it works for you!
4b. if not then try slots B and D..... and if that doesn't work then you have a mobo problem!

5. if you got this far and you are up and running then check your dvd.... I know it is not a common problem but it does happen!

btw are these some kind of sli mem sticks? if so then you have to check the bios for appropriate set up!
 
Could also try booting with one stick of ram in the slot furthest from the CPU. See if it lets you into bios so you may set voltages and timings.

If that is a success, add the other stick in the corresponding dual channel slot and see if it will boot then!
 
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@jolly olie,

According to the specs for your Corsair CM3X2G1333C9S2, that RAM has a base operating frequency of 1066 and achieves 1333 using XMP which requires 1.7V. Since this RAM is not Asus' the QVL list for the P5E3 motherboard and all of Asus approved memory is either 800 or 1066, it's possible that the RAM voltage is lower than what is required for this Corsair. Do you have any other DDR3 RAM you can boot with to set the voltage (if moving it as suggested above does not work)? Also, the latest BIOS revision for this MB is 1201 (released on 8/25/08) and earlier versions had some higher speed memory compatibility issues. Are you using an earlier BIOS revision?
 
If it's powering up, but no video, no beeps and no signal then from my experience it's either a bad CPU or an unsupported CPU.
 
OzzmanFloyd120 said:
If it's powering up, but no video, no beeps and no signal then from my experience it's either a bad CPU or an unsupported CPU.
Click to expand...

jolly_olie said:
Hi
I'v just finished putting together a new system, which will give the RAM missing beeps on startup without RAM, but with RAM will not post or beep at all, nothing happens? The fans come on, and thats it?
Click to expand...

@OzzmanFloyd, I think it beeps (correctly) with the memory out, but then won't beep once the memory is inserted.
 
speedkills said:
@OzzmanFloyd, I think it beeps (correctly) with the memory out, but then won't beep once the memory is inserted.
Click to expand...

Try each stick individually, I have a set of tracers and one stick went bad, when I put them in I don't recall hearing any post code.
 
sounds like you have the incorrect voltage set in the bios for those memory sticks.... if you have other sticks you could "borrow" and boot with you can set the bios to the correct voltage.
 
What is the S-Spec for the E8400? My guess is maybe you got a new E0 Stepping E8400 and the BIOS does not currently support it.
 
Hi, thanks for all the posts
I've tried each stick of ram in each slot, no difference :( iv also tried completely taking the system apart, and assembling it outside the case, no difference. Iv tried taking everything off it including CPU, graphics, HDD and memory, it didnt do anything (no beeps). But when CPU is added it Beeps One long, Two short, which my Mobo Manual informs me means that no memory has been detected, yet when memory is added, it dosent beep at all?? In both cases (with and without memory) the screen dosent come out of standby, although the HDD does spin up.
Unfortunately i dont have any spare DDR3 lying around (anyone in cheltenham area UK.....lol) this being my first build really and a local shop wants to charge me £24-£48 (sterling) to possibly 'fix it' which im not hugely keen on spending. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Olie
 
Oh and also, my E8400 is a SLAPL, and my memory is Corsair TW3X4G1333C9DHX which isnt on the Asus QVL for my MoBo, but Corsair CM3X1024-1333C9DHX is.
What is confusing me though, is how when the first time i started it up, it posted, declared that a new CPU had been detected went into BIOS and I saved and quit and it froze, but the second time when i skipped BIOS after it declard a new CPU it froze and didnt work after that? It just sounds like a component gave up the ghost? Surely if it was a memory voltage problem it would have been there from the start? not just randomly happen after two starts? Any clues?
Thanks again
Olie
 
other think,install one memory module in DIMM_A2 and one in DIMM_B2.
see your user's manual page 2-13
 
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Do you have another pc so you can try to d/l and flash BIOS ?
With my mobo , asus p5k3 , I had to flash it for the e8400
Mine would post but I got a screen that said " new CPU " and it wasnt supported.
I posted fine with 65nm e6600 chip but mobo had to be flashed for 45nm e8400
 
@bohica 34613
Unfortunately no i dont have another pc or any components to try anything, i suspect that what you were saying about my mobo needing flashing to support E8400's is true, as that would explain the 'New CPU, change settings' message i originally got, however since then my system hasnt workied at all :(
I'm beginning to suspect i may have to go to this computer shop and hand over more of my hard-earned, but supervise them as they do it, cos i dont want to be charged half my limbs for the honour.
olie
 
@jolly_olie,
That's what I had mentioned earlier in the thread, the current BIOS revision is 1201 (released on 8/25/08). If that has CPU compatibility issues, you will need another CPU to even flash the BIOS before using your CPU. There's no real way around that one without a second CPU.
 
Yeah speedkills I know you mentioned it in your earlier post
I was just letting jolly olie know that the same thing happened to me when I changed from 1 cpu to another. Somehow I posted 2 times and flashed to the newer BIOS eventhough I had the e8400 chip installed.
 
Yeah jolly olie I'd want to watch what they do too.
When ya get it runnin let us know.
 
Hey bohica,

Actually I thought you added a different twist, since I was talking about memory compatibility with the BIOS revisions and you were talking CPU. Honestly I think either are possibilities, but without a good boot or a second CPU or memory, he really can't flash higher.

A week ago, I had my own Striker Extreme system start intermitently freezing (every few hours or so) and rebooting with a BIOS error "configuration invalid - reset to defaults" (no beeps). After troubleshooting for two days, I swapped out the Crucial Ballistic PC1000 DDR2 RAM for some Patriot PC1200 DDR2 sticks I had as spares and the problem went completely away. Issues with RAM modules can often look like something completely different.
 
Speed
You got lucky that you had some spare mem sticks.
I thought you were talkin about the CPU also.
I've been lucky , never had any probs with the ram or anything else exept when I put the new CPU in.

Yeah if he had another or could borrow another CPU that the mobo supports , I was lucky I had the 65nm that I matched with the mobo, he could change them and get it running just to flash BIOS and then swap the CPU back to the e8400.
 
Hmm so it looks like its the BIOS that needs updating then, is it actually possible that the wrong BIOS would cause a no-POST? ie due to unsupported RAM or CPU? My Mobo has EZ-Flash, so it can update BIOS from a USB flash drive, and the manual says 'during POST', would that work?
Thanks
Olie
 
@jolly_olie,
I have used EZ-Flash before, but not on a motherboard where the RAM or CPU were not compatible with the current BIOS revision. If you can get EZ-Flash to work, I would certainly give it a shot, but you will need to enlist help from someone with a computer to place the new BIOS files onto a flash drive.

The reason I thought it might be RAM rather than CPU was because I had the exact same problem you are experiencing (beeps without RAM, put in the RAM and then it doesn't beep at all) when I first put together my Asus Rampage Formula earlier this year. For me, the issue turned out to be my G.Skill 4GB RAM modules needed 2.1v to operate and the shipped Rampage BIOS version did not auto sense my type of RAM for voltage. I used some stock (low end RAM) to boot up the Rampage, flashed to BIOS and then the board worked with the G.Skill. I also could have used the low end RAM to manually set the voltage to 2.1v instead of flashing the BIOS, but you could accidentally overvolt the low end RAM as it reboots.
 
In the long run bud,its prolly better to go to the shop and let them do it,better than tearing your hair out.
 
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