immediate shutdown

[scape]

hello here.

i just put together a new system. i do this all the time for my work. but this time something is wrong.

when i press the power button, it starts, and shuts down immediately again. within 1-2 sec.

i tried starting it without DVD drive, HDD drive, front usb, different power supply.

anyone has an idea what might be the problem?

i have ASUS P8H61-M motherboard, Intel Core i5-3450 and 4GB DDR3 Crucial RAM.

looking forward to your help.

scape

[yogibbear]

reseat the cpu heatsink / check it is on tight.

check earthing gromet thingies are in securely.

take all ram sticks out except for 1. If that doesn't help swap that 1 for another 1.

[scape]

i did that with the cpu. that didnt help.

what are gromet thingies? my main language is dutch..

unfortunately i have only 1 4GB RAM module here today so i cant try it with another RAM module.

what else can i check or try ?

thx in advance

[Captain Ned]

what are gromet thingies? my main language is dutch

The standoffs that go between the motherboards' screwholes and the holes in the case. If there's one on a place where it hits the back of the motherboard it may cause a short-circuit.

[absurdity]

There are two power connectors that need to plug into the motherboard. One is the big one (24 pins I think), one is smaller (4 or 6 pins, near the CPU). Do you have them both firmly connected?

Make sure you have power to your video card as well, if it requires it.

[scape]

The standoffs that go between the motherboards' screwholes and the holes in the case. If there's one on a place where it hits the back of the motherboard it may cause a short-circuit.

i checked the motherboard for places where it might have touched the back of the casing. i dont see any place where it might short circuit.
i took out the screws in the motherboard and pulled it up from the casing to be sure, and still it wont start up..

[yogibbear]

If you've got lots of spare parts lying around because this is in an office, can you just shift the ram, cpu, power supply etc. over to another mobo to rule out nothing wrong with the mobo?

Failing that open up another PC that accepts the type of ram you've got i.e. DDR3 / DDR2. and remove all of the existing ram and slot this 1 4GB module in and see if that other PC boots.

[DPete27]

Your motherboard only supports the i5-3450 with BIOS version 3605 or later. Theres a chance that the board has version 0504 which is labeled as the "release BIOS"

I know some mobo manufacturer has the ability to flash the UEFI/BIOS without a processor installed, does this one support that? If not, you can stick a Gen-2 Sandy Bridge processor in there and should be able to flash the UEFI with that, then switch back.

[scape]

this board should support 2nd and 3rd generatie i5 processors.

either way, i picked up a new mobo today, problem solved

thx for helping and thinking with me.

case closed.

scape

[DPete27]

this board should support 2nd and 3rd generatie i5 processors.

It DOES support both 2nd and 3rd gen i5 processors with the proper BIOS version. However, you have to remember that the 6-series chipset (H61 for example) was released with Sandy Bridge, one year before Ivy Bridge came out. While I have seen motherboard manufacturers update the "shipping BIOS version" over time, it's not something you can just take for granted. That really depends on the company and/or how long the board has sat on the shelf. For your motherboard, the 3605 BIOS revision that supports the i5-3450 was released in March 2012, so if the mobo was built before then, chances are good that it didn't ship with that version. The only guarantee when you buy a mobo is that you'll get the lowest BIOS version number, or in this case, the one labeled "release BIOS."
Now, I don't know if you got another of the exact same motherboard or not, sounds like you'll never know if it was the BIOS version on the original mobo or not, but I've learned this lesson the hard way. BTW, I believe this issue makes up a large portion of DOA mobo reviews on newegg.

[just brew it!]

Yup. Outdated BIOS can cause all sorts of squirrelly behavior, anything from just a warning during startup or incorrect CPU speeds, all the way up to complete failure to POST.