Help! A8N SLI Deluxe won't post!

[binister]

Put a new rig together in March (see sig) and everything came together nicely. I received a replacement chipset HSF from Asus because mine was way too loud. Apparently they have a new chipset HSF for this board because the original one has a history of failing.

Here are the sequence of events...

10pm: Everything running like normal. I shut off the computer to do the chipset HSF swap. Take out the mobo and replace the chipset HSF. This required me to take every card out of the mobo and unplug everything. I also rearrange some power cables for airflow purposes.

10:15pm: Put everything back in the case exactly as I found it. I try to boot it up and everything seems good. HDDs spin up, fans spin up, internal speaker makes the standard singal beep, and the monitor warms up ("bong" sound with the following static sound). The problem is there isn't any video. The keyboard lights are on and I can toggle them for about 20 seconds then they freeze. The computer sounds like it is running normally but no video at all.

10:30pm: Reset CMOS and try again. Same problem.

10:32pm: Test the monitor with another computer. Works fine.

10:35pm: Reseat all cards and try again. Same problem.

10:40pm: Try switching the EZ SLI Select plug and clearing CMOS. Same problem.

10:45pm: Remove the RAM and try to boot. The Asus Voice Boot thing tells me I am missing memory. So that tells me the mobo is at least working.

10:50pm: Remove all non-essential items and try to boot. Same problem.

11:00pm: Cry myself to sleep.

Anyone have any ideas? I am pulling my hair out...



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AMD64 3500+ Winchester (Stock)
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (Bios 1006)
XP-90 HS w/ Panaflow 92mm fan
Corsair Value Select (512Mx2)
eVGA 6800GT
Antec NeoPower 480
Audigy 2 ZS Gamer
WD 74gig Raptor
NEC 3520A
CoolerMaster WaveMaster (Black)
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 speakers

 

[binister]

Bump for night crew

 

[Papa-Ming]

Hi,

Do they suggest giving the card its own power rail as well. I mean in addition to the EZ plug. Easy to over look those small things when we're frustrated. We've all done it.

I don't have that card, I was just asking.

Edit: Something I saved along while ago. May not apply to you at all but I'll just put it here because I just found it again, and it's short.

Power supplies tested with GeForce 6800GT and 6800 Ultra in SLI

- Tagan TG480-U01
- Antec NeoPower 480
- Fortron Source FSP550-60PLN*
- Antec TruePower 550 EPS12V*
- PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 SLI**

**The PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 SLI is currently the best PSU for running an SLI configuration or a high-end PC and comes with dual 6-pin PCIe connectors.

The power supplies designated with a * are needed if you want to run the A8N-SLI with an Athlon 64 FX 53 or 55 processor, two GeForce 6800 Ultras and two or more high capacity Serial-Ata drives. However they need to be modified in order to convert the 8-pin 12-volt connector, coming off of the 2nd 12-volt rail to two 6-pin PCIe power connectors, this is a simple procedure that means extracting the pins from the original connector and splitting them out to two 6-pin PCIe connectors. These will be connected to the GeForce 6800 Ultras directly, hence powering them off of their own 12-volt rail within the power supply. From our testing this is the only way to guarantee absolute stability. Take notice that when running SLI the EZ-Plug must also be connected to guarantee stable operation.

gl

 

[binister]

Just an update...

I bought another PCI-e video card to test with and the computer started working. I did get a 'CMOS Checksum error' but I figure that is because I was hard booting so many times.

I have no idea how the video card was fubar'd. I used a grounding strap and only set the card on the static bag when it wasn't in the case. The fan on the card spins up just fine and the green LED on the card (indicating PCI-e molex is plugged in) lights up.

I have never actually seen a PC component killed by static before. Something else must have happened. Now I am worried if I get another card the same thing will kill it. Argh.

Oh well, guess I have to RMA it.

Thanks for everyones help.