No Post on P7N Diamond

[Nailezs]

Hello,
I've had my current set-up for 2-3 years now, and the entire time I have had random and rare no post's upon a cold boot. This problem was always fixed by doing a hard shut-down, or turning off the PSU at the switch. However, two days ago it started happening literally 90% of the time. I have re-tested my OC with IBT, OCCT, and Memtest. My video card is known good (because, you know, im using it right now haha). I have reseated the RAM, the Video Card, and even stepped down to using 4GB from 8GB. Even a CMOS reset with all settings at default I'm still getting this problem.
When the computer does the no post, usually(but not always) the hdd light comes on and stays on. There is no video, and my keyboard never powers up.

Any idea's? I know that no boots on a cold boot have been reported with this board, but I have never seen where it got this bad.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Can you test the PSU and see if its still good? Can you try stock settings and see if you can reproduce the problem? How long have you let the CMOS battery off the motherboard? Do you have the latest BIOS?

 

[Nailezs]

Can you test the PSU and see if its still good?

no, i unfortunetly have no way of testing the psu. but it was RMA'd last year.

Can you try stock settings and see if you can reproduce the problem?

yes, after the cmos reset the settings were at default, verrifed as the mb told me that the settings had been reset when i finally got a boot out of it.

How long have you let the CMOS battery off the motherboard?

i didnt time it, but well over a minute

Do you have the latest BIOS?

yes. i actually just doubled checked that on msi's website.

 

[Jack Doph]

I know that no boots on a cold boot have been reported with this board, but I have never seen where it got this bad.

If this issue hasn't been resolved, then chances are that this is the exact problem you have.
It will only be exacerbated over time, as the mobo ages (wear & tear, etc.).

Don't turn it off?

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

I had a problem with my system for well over a year and I managed to fix it by complete accident just about a month or so ago. The problem was that everytime I would shut down my computer, it would magically start itself back up after about 2 seconds of it being fully shut down. Originally, I was trying to get a higher overclock on my CPU but screwed up and my computer would not post so i had to take out the CMOS battery and put it bcak in again. I tried for 30 seconds and it still didnt post. So I said the hell with it and left it out for a half hour. It went through POST and I got to the desktop. After I got to the desktop i shut down my computer. I got a bit distracted during the shutdown sequence and after my computer shut down, it stayed off.

Try keeping the CMOS battery out for a bit longer. Even overnight if you have to and see if the problem reproduces itself. Other than that, I would try and RMA the board, buy a new one, or find a way to test the PSU. (id start with the PSU first)

 

[Nailezs]

for some reason the damn thing seems to be working fine again. im at 3 successful posts/boots in a row. <shrug>

EDIT: course, now that i've said that, i'll go home tonight and it wont do shit lol

 

[bang_ton]

I've experienced an almost identical problem with the P7N Diamond.

Similar set-up:
1) P7N Diamond
2) 4GB Kingston HyperX 1066 Memory @ 666MHz Dual Channel
3) QX9650 @ 3833MHz
4) Galaxy GTX285
5) A-Power 1200W PSU.

Removing one stick of RAM seems to make it more likely to post, however I suspect that the MB also doesn't like high voltage RAM as I can not make it run reliably with the RAM at 1066. When I ran it with 8GB RAM, the system also wasn't too happy. I have previously read in other comments that overclocking + 1066 RAM or >4GB RAM will simply overload the NB thus the instability. I love this motherboard and chipset, however nVidia never made really good MB, they always ran too hot.

Best I can suggest is that the MB is temperamental for unknown reasons. My usual solution is a complete rebuild/clean (of dust) and reflash the BIOS. A fresh reinstall of the OS is probably a good idea as well. Worst comes to worst, don't OC and run your RAM at 666 (for a 1333 FSB).

 

[Nailezs]

i will have to try playing with the ram than. currently with the 4GB in its been just fine - im wondering if i just need to go back and tinker with the voltages a bit due to the board getting worn. i also have not been able to get the ram to run past ~1066

in reference to your settings though, and im assuming that your ramV is supposed to be 2.1-2.2v, try putting your ram at 2.1v and bumping your NBv. stock/auto NBv is 1.3v i think, and i have mine running at 1.375v to stabilize the ram. something that surprised me though is that running 2 kits of my OCZ Reaper, according to OCZ my timings should be 6-6-6-20. i have been able to get my ram to run at 5-5-5-18 2.1v 1061mhz. being able to tighten the timings really gave me a nice boost in ram bandwidth.

i remember that when i switched from my 9800gx2 to the gtx285, and changing nothing else, all of the sudden the ram was unstable. just switching the cards made me have to add NBv to re-stabilize the ram. maybe i'll have to add another .25v and to the NBv and see what happens when i add the other 4GB back in.

i actually have been running w/ stock settings for now(no OC on anything) to make sure that it will still boot. i'll try my OC settings tonight with 4GB and see what happens, then move back up to 8GB

thx for the input dude

 

[Nailezs]

ok i got it figured out, and i wanted to post back in case anyone ever had a similiar problem
the motherboard has developed a problem with my ram settings - the same settings that i have been running stable with for well over a year.
the settings are as follows:
2x4GB OCZ Reaper
5-5-5-18 2T 2.1v
1.375v to the NB (stock/auto is 1.3v)
i had to run the extra .075v to the NB to stablize my ram after switching from a 9800gx2 to a gtx285 (refer to http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=132680.msg998784#msg998784 for more info on that)
heres how i figured it out
i reset my cmos, and just used 1 4GB kit. after 1 no post i was finally able to boot into windows. i ran like this for a week to make sure it would boot reliably. then, i put in my OC settings. still A-OK.
at this point i figured that maybe it was just a bug, so i put in my other 4GB kit of ram. no post(damnit!)
i take out the 4GB i just put in, and after 1 no post, it boots again
next i played with my voltage settings. previosly i had been running my NBv at 1.375v in order to stabilize my ram. so i bumped it to 1.4v and my ram to 2.2v. put in the second 4GB kit. after 1 no post(this is a recurring theme for some reason now) it posted and booted sucessfully, but only once. after the initial boot and shutdown, it went back to no posted.
at this point i really have only 1 thing left to try, as im not willing to raise the NBv or RAMv any higher than it already is. my RAM timings are set at 5-5-5-18, which is what 1 kit of my ram is supposed to run at. according to OCZ 2 kits requires 6-6-6-20. i had beena ble to get the ram to run at the tighter timings so i never worried about it until now. so i reset the timings to 6-6-6-20, put in the other 4GB kit, and after 1 no post, i was successfully able to post and boot into windows several times. right now, as im at work, i have memtest running at home to verify that the ram is still stable. when i get home tonight i will try and reduce the NBv and RAMv, one at a time, back to where i had them before.
so, it seems that my MB no longer likes to play nicely with my ram. if it gets worse i will have to RMA, but for now it seems to be fine.

 

[bang_ton]

Hello Nailezs,

Was your problem due to upgrading to a GTX 285 (which probably strains the NB more)? Or did it run stable for a while with the GTX 285 and then just start acting up? My setup has been stable for ~1.5 years, with no real changes to the system (added 2TB about a year ago). It would very rarely fail to post on a cold boot but was otherwise fine.

That's the part I can't understand, all good for so long then for no reason starts to randomly hang and repeatedly fail to post. I'll play around with the NB voltage and RAM timings as you suggested and see what happens. I was hoping to hold off a upgrade for at least another year. The bump in speed going to i7 is just not worth it (even if they were cheaper).

Cheers

 

[Nailezs]

this current problem was not due to upgrading to the gtx 285 - that was probably ~1.5 years ago when i did that. but when i did do the upgrade, that was when the ram went unstable and i had to add the .075v to the NB

this current problem just cropped up out of no where, which is why i atributed it to wear and tear on the NB.
it seems that the NB just decided that it didnt like the 5-5-5-18 timings anymore. running 6-6-6-20 w/ the voltages reduced back to 1.375v for the NB and 2.1v for the RAM everything is a-ok again.

im with you on holding off on an upgrade - im waiting to see what ivy bridge has to offer.