Can you test a motherboard without memory?

[DTN107]

Is it safe to test a motherboard without memory install? Just to see if the motherboard will post or not.

 

[Syndicated_Death]

a motherboard will not post without memory. period

 

[GotNoRice]

You can test to see if the PC speaker works

 

[DTN107]

Damn... I wish I had another set of DDR3 to test my motherboard then or another motherboard to test my DDR3.

 

[BillParrish]

Its the way you worded the question that is tripping you up.

To "POST' implies passing the POST = Power On Self Test and ending up with the single beep after which you can go into the bios or boot an OS. There is a procedure the bios runs the system through when it is powered on, I have long ago forgotten the details but basically it tests/waits for a power good signal to indicate the power supply has provided the proper voltages and they are stable. Then it looks for a CPU and some other stuff and then starts a memory scan and test which in your case, assuming you have a CPU installed , it will instantly fail and emit the beeps (if you have a speaker hooked up to the front panel speaker connections, not the audio jacks on the back) indicating a memory failure. Check your manual for the memory fail beep code. Usually in the troubleshooting section.

So you could power it up and expect it to fail at the memory and if it gives you the memory fail beep code you could assume everything up to that point is OK.

But no - it will not finish "POST" and let you get into the bios. It is going to power up and start beeping in about 1 second with perhaps a memory fail msg on the screen if you have a video card installed.

I should not hurt anything to power it on and let it fail, on the other hand it is not going to tell you a lot and there is little point in messing with it. I just wanted to clarify the "POST" deal a little. I recommend you wait till your memory shows up.

 

[DTN107]

Thanks BillParrish for clearing it up. My apology for being a noob.

I thought I had a bad motherboard and sent it to RMA. Got the new board and still does the same thing. No video will come up nor will my monitor recognize a signal. I have tested the videocard in another computer.

I'll try booting up without the memory this time.

Edit:

Looks like I got some beeping action without the memory install. Before I wouldn't getting any beeping and the fans would whine up and whine down. But without the memory all the fans run normal and at least I get some response from the motherboard.

 

[dynkin]

Thanks BillParrish for clearing it up. My apology for being a noob.

I thought I had a bad motherboard and sent it to RMA. Got the new board and still does the same thing. No video will come up nor will my monitor recognize a signal. I have tested the videocard in another computer.

I'll try booting up without the memory this time.

Edit:

Looks like I got some beeping action without the memory install. Before I wouldn't getting any beeping and the fans would whine up and whine down. But without the memory all the fans run normal and at least I get some response from the motherboard.

If fans are changing speed, probably the system is trying booting but there is no output to the video card. Try to unplug everything, remove the battery and clean the bios to see if it helps. With no memory at all, the system will not boot and all fan will stay at top speed.

By the way, you don't need 3 sticks of memory to boot the system. One stick is enough to boot the system.

 

[wdethomas]

Try an pencil eraser on the memory connectors CAREFULLY. Sometimes when you erase the connectors to get them clean they will work. Do it gently just to clean the connector a bit,

 

[pgaster]

Sounds like an unrecognized cpu. What board is this, what bios, and what cpu are you trying?
Also is the memory on the QVL list?

 

[x509]

Its the way you worded the question that is tripping you up.

... it will instantly fail and emit the beeps (if you have a speaker hooked up to the front panel speaker connections, ...

This doesn't answer your question directly, but for not that much scratch, you can pick up a speaker that plugs into the motherboard pins for the speaker. For example, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motherboard...867?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33822983b3

My guess is that the shipping will cost more than the item itself.

Or, http://www.amazon.com/PC-Internal-Mini-Onboard-Speaker/dp/B002W4M0DW