computer won't boot into the bios

[Despot_Desponde]

Hi,

I've recently built a new computer from scratch. Everything was working fine and then all of a sudden the computer won't boot up and won't even go into the BIOS. I have no idea where to start in diagnosing and rectifying this problem.

At the moment between every 30-60 seconds I hear a beep (as if the computer is booting up from scratch) and that is it. All I can see is a blank screen.

Any pointers, hints or website tutorials on where I should start would be much appreciated.

Here are my hardware specifications:

Processor - AMD FX 8150 Black Edition with Water Cooler, S AM3+, 3.6GHz, 16MB Total Cache, 125W, Retail
Hard drive - Seagate 500Gb 3.5" Barracuda Hard Drive 7200rpm 16MB Cache
RAM - 16GB (4x4GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.5V
Case - Lian Li PC-A05NB Black Aluminium Mini Tower Performance Case w/o PSU ATX
PSU - 850W Silverstone Decathlon SST-DA850, Modular, 80% Eff', SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Quiet Fan, ATX, PSU
Motherboard - 90-MIBFM0-G0EAY00Z - Asus Crosshair V Formula, AMD 990FX, S AM3+, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), ATX
Graphics Card - NEAT100HD06-1193F - 1GB Palit GT 610, PCIe 2.0 (x16), 40nm, 1070MHz GDDR3, GPU 810MHz, Shader 1620MHz, 48 Cores, LP

Thanks

[HiVizMan]

May I suggest that you start from scratch again. It may just be that one of your components has come loose. Take your entire system out and build it up on the box the motherboard came in. That way if you need to do anything drastic like a full clear CMOS (needs the CPU to be removed) you will be ready to do it.

[Thorn2011]

Yep that happened to me on one of my 'Upgrades' i.e new Motherboard, RAM, Video Card, CPU.... most of the time it is a power cable that has become loose, it maybe that it was making part contact now it has worked its way out completely! If it was anything like faulty RAM you would think it would have done it right from first Boot! One other time this happened I removed the CMOS battery and the CPU and reinstalled both, whalla it started to boot again, somehow either I or the system had mucked up the settings in the BIOS (more likely me) and it refused to boot!

I once had a power cable out of a SATA HD and some old motherboard refused to post!

[Despot_Desponde]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

So here is what I have tried so far.

1) I have disconnected the hard drives and the CD drive from the motherboard and the power supply. I did this to check these components weren't causing the problem, but the same problem still persists.

2) I have also tried using my graphics card in a different port. I read somewhere that you can have a faulty slot and this can cause problems. Anyway, it didn't help and the problem continues.

3) I have also tried removing the graphics card completely. I can't check whether the computer has booted into BIOS, but I can still hear the beep every 30-60 seconds so I assume not.

4) I have removed the CMOS battery and cpu and then reinstalled them. No luck there either.

The heatsink actually stuck to the cpu and bent some of the pins when it can out. I think I managed to put them back into place properly. At least it still fits into the socket and when I boot up I don't get a hardware failure beep message from the motherboard.

5) I've also had a look at all the connections and they all seem fine.

I have yet to try removing the RAM, but I can't really see why this would be a problem if it was working previously.

I pretty much completely stumped now.

[HiVizMan]

Please take your motherboard out of the case, and remove all the components. RAM including. And if you think ram cannot just up and die then you you do not see as many cases of dead sticks of ram as I do 🙂

Electronics can and does fail at any time.

For all you know your CPU could be dead, we need to eliminate all possible causes and what is left will be most likely be the cause.

So place your motherboard on the box that it came in, that is a nice non-conductive surface. Then remove the battary so that nothing is on or in the motherboard. Clear the CMOS and leave for a couple of hours.

Once that is done.

Fit only Keyboard and mouse
VGA
One stick of ram
CPU and cooler (any cooler for purposes of this test)
And the PSU connectors.

Boot to BIOS if possible.

[hsp25]

It's best to follow the advise HiVizMan has given you. He is trying to help and will find the problem via process of elimination. You need to do as he tells you exactly.

[Despot_Desponde]

Hi HiVizMan,

Thanks for the advice. I will try what you suggest next chance I get.

One thing, and this is probably a stupid question, but when I try my motherboard again (after I've left it for a couple of hours) should I do it in the computer case or on the motherboard box?

Also, I was under the impression that removing the motherboard battery would clear the CMOS. From your reply it seems this might not be the case?

Thanks

[HiVizMan]

No question is a stupid one, there are only stupid answers.

Please leave your motherboard on the box, simply think of it as an organic test bench.

And no taking the battery out just means that their is no means of saving new imputed data or entries once power source is removed. You will physically have to induce the clear of the BIOS. Once the battery is out. This process is required due to the nature of the materials used it does not just happen with a flick of a switch - the chips will retain some residue and so will the other bits and bobs that can impact on the firmware and BIOS. So best leave it for as long as you can without the battery and without anything attached including the PSU.

[Myk_SilentShado]

Have a look at the long white sticker near your PCIe lanes and please tell us the last 4 numbers on it.

Sounds like there are still a number of boards out there with the pre-updated for 8 core CPU BIOSes

[maryinbulb]

yeah,Have a look at the long white sticker near your PCIe lanes and please tell us the last 4 numbers on it.