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jumbo
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[SOLVED] ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:24 pm

Hi All

I have that PC with an ASUS P5B mobo (not sure if delux or other), core 2 duo E6600 CPU. It was running fine in a P150 ANTEC case with 450W PSU. I moved it to another case that has a 400W PSU. After I reassembled it in the new case, the computer would turn on (fans spin, HDD spins) but nothing would show on the screen, and there are no beeps.

However if i removed the 2 RAM sticks, i get long beeps. I tried another graphics card, same thing.

I tried to remove and put back the CMOS battery, nothing changes.
I tried all kinds of RAM combinations, nothing changes

One particular detail that caught my attention is the CPU fan. It starts at a certain speed, then after like 4 seconds it spins faster. Someone else posted about this same problem on another forum, but didnt bring any solution.

Could it be that my CPU is burnt out?
Or is the power supply weaker than it should be? (although I was reassured it was more than enough)
Last edited by jumbo on Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:45 pm

Have you swapped PSUs back? I had one late last year on a different board from MSI that was weird and temperamental like that. It'd crank up like it was going to start, and the fans and lights would come on, but no POST. Swapped PSUs and it took off. I ditched the PSU and bought a new one for that box, and life was fine.
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jumbo
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:48 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
Have you swapped PSUs back? I had one late last year on a different board from MSI that was weird and temperamental like that. It'd crank up like it was going to start, and the fans and lights would come on, but no POST. Swapped PSUs and it took off. I ditched the PSU and bought a new one for that box, and life was fine.


i didnt swap the other PSU as i dont have it anymore. I'll try to get another one and try it.
However does the CPU fan speed thingy tell anything?
 
Jambe
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:17 pm

If the PSU and case are the only different components, these possibilities occur to me, in order of likelihood:

  • the new PSU is flaky
  • you've grounded it somewhere
  • a plug isn't seated correctly
  • static zapped something during the swap

The fan changing speed isn't indicative; most CPU heatsink fans are PWM or voltage-controlled and change speed based on the mobo's control scheme.
 
jumbo
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:44 pm

Jambe wrote:
  • static zapped something during the swap



Thank you for your reply
Static zapped... do you think something could be broken for good on the mobo?
 
Jambe
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:51 pm

Could be. If you weren't skating around on socks on a dry day during the install, though, it's not too likely. The PSU being wonky or some plug/component being cockeyed or loose is far more likely.

Just to be sure: everything is exactly the same except the new PSU and case, right?
 
jumbo
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:35 pm

Jambe wrote:

Just to be sure: everything is exactly the same except the new PSU and case, right?


yes sir...

however, now that u brought up the static problem, i remember i had wrapped the motherboard in a bubble bag to transport it... you think that kind of bag could have affected the mobo?

on a side note, i read somewhere that someone had the same problem, caused by the CMOS getting reset, and he had to use slower RAM in order to boot, then go into the BIOS and change a setting that would allow the mobo to accept faster RAMs... only then could he boot up using his original RAM...

i'm going to try that, as well as a new PSU and post back..
 
BIF
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:49 pm

If I have to transport a motherboard and I don't have a motherboard-sized antistatic bag, I will just lay it in a cardboard box with no packing materials. Then I will close the box and not place anything heavy on it. Some plastics can cause static, so I would not use plain bubblewrap.

I also NEVER transport a motherboard with memory or CPU installed. I always de-install those before I take the motherboard anywhere.

Bear in mind also, if your heat sink/fan is exceedingly heavy and/or tall, turning the motherboard on its side (as it would be when mounted in an upright tower case) can apply downward lateral pressure to the CPU socket, and traces under the motherboard. About 10 years ago I had a board that did not like a tall heat-sink; the board would fail when I turned the case from horizontal to vertical. That was weird. I remember it very clearly... 2 am and me in a cold sweat saying "It just booted five minutes ago. All I did was close the case and put it under my desk! Why won't it boot now?"

That said, I'm with the others on this: try a new PSU before you give up hope. Also make sure that all of your PSU connections are proper, including any CPU or 12V rail plugs, the CPU heat-sink fan connection, etcetera.

Make sure that the motherboard is properly resting in the motherboard tray...for example, you have the correct risers and the back of the motherboard is not coming into contact with the tray; that can cause a short.

Make sure that the CPU, memory, and graphic cards are properly seated. You may need to try booting with only one stick of known-good memory (2 if your motherboard requires them in pairs).
 
jumbo
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:30 pm

Hi

I'm writing to tell you that the problem was SOLVED!

Well, it's a weird problem that someone else had with the same mobo, as I read on another forum...

If the PC is unplugged or PSU is turned off, when you try to turn it on again u'll get nothing on the screen and it wont boot... You will need to remove the memory stick(s) you have, put in another stick and then turn it on... You'll get a message saying that the CMOS settings are wrong... You'll go into the BIOS and configure the date and time, only then will you be able to replace your original RAMs and boot up normally...

Weird problem... I dont know if it happens with other mobos as well... It never happened to me anyway... and I'm not sure if this is related to a problem with the battery of the mobo... as when power is cut from the PC even if it's for a few seconds, something gets messed up in the CMOS...
 
Buub
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Re: [SOLVED] ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:09 am

Why not just use the CMOS reset jumper. That seems a whole lot easier than moving around sticks of RAM.

Simply removing the CMOS battery probably won't be sufficient, because the circuits may hold a charge for quite a long time before they reset by themselves.
 
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Re: ASUS P5B turns on but won't boot

Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:23 am

jumbo wrote:
Hi

I'm writing to tell you that the problem was SOLVED!

Well, it's a weird problem that someone else had with the same mobo, as I read on another forum...

If the PC is unplugged or PSU is turned off, when you try to turn it on again u'll get nothing on the screen and it wont boot... You will need to remove the memory stick(s) you have, put in another stick and then turn it on... You'll get a message saying that the CMOS settings are wrong... You'll go into the BIOS and configure the date and time, only then will you be able to replace your original RAMs and boot up normally...

Weird problem... I dont know if it happens with other mobos as well... It never happened to me anyway... and I'm not sure if this is related to a problem with the battery of the mobo... as when power is cut from the PC even if it's for a few seconds, something gets messed up in the CMOS...


This sounds simillar to what i had to go through when i changed my 2 GB of ram to 8 Gb (2 x 4GB)......
First i shut down the PC, turned off the PSU and unplugged it. Then i waited for the green (memory) LED to turn off and after that i removed the 2 GB stick and i installed one of the 4 GB sticks. When i tried to power the PC on, so that i could run memtest, the memory LED lit up red, a sign of incompatibility.....

I pushed the memOK button but it didn't fix the problem. In the end, after about an hour, i figured it out....i actually didn't push the sticks enough in the slot. It took some force to install it right and have the system boot normally....weird, didn't thought it needed that much pressure.

TL;DR
Maybe you didn't install the RAM correctly the first time around....and by reinstalling it a few times you just did it right at some point.
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Disclaimer: All answers and suggestions are provided by an enthusiastic amateur and are therefore without warranty either explicit or implicit. Basically you use my suggestions at your own risk.

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