Is my EVGA 750SLI dead?

C

Choder

[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 14, 2000
Messages
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So out of the blue, my EVGA 750 SLI FTW just quit working.

The CPUs, RAM, power supplies and video cards I used to test the it are known-good and work in other systems.

The 750i powers up, the fans turn and the LCD readout on the board always says "FF". There is no beep at POST. The connected monitor stays in sleep mode. Clearing the BIOS via removing the battery or by pressing the BIOS clear button for 30 seconds while the power supply is off also does not help. There are three LEDs that are lit up at the top right of the motherboard, one each Blue, Green and Orange.

Any ideas guys, or should I just start the damned RMA process? I's really like to avoid it at all possible.

 
Try installing one RAM module in the farthest slot from the CPU and then powering the system up. See if you can get it to POST then.
 
i had 2x 750i boards before the ftw and that happenned to both of them. an asus (of course) p5n something that ran for about 2 days and an msi that ran for a few weeks. both were bad mb. if you have the cash, and its available to you at this point, do the e.a.r. rma process. rather than ship your board out and wait a couple weeks, you will have a new/refurb board in a couple days, pre-shipped.
 
Choder said:
Dan, putting one module in the fathest slot didn't help.
Click to expand...

Have you tried a different PSU? Have you tried a different video card? Have you tried powering the system on with only the video card, RAM and CPU installed? (Meaning all the drives and unecessary items disconnected.)
 
when you have these non-booting or non posting problems this (above) is what you should always do. this helps troubleshoot, and takes things like shorts, opens, switching probs out of the equation. its also easier to swap known working/non working parts in and out. but like i typed before, i had this same thing happen to 2 750i boards, time for an rma.
 
Dan_D said:
Have you tried a different PSU? Have you tried a different video card? Have you tried powering the system on with only the video card, RAM and CPU installed? (Meaning all the drives and unecessary items disconnected.)
Click to expand...

I've tried different PCI-Express and PCI video cards, as well as all other components. All tests have been conducted with the bare minium of known-good parts (CPU, HSF, RAM, PSU, Video all borrowed from working machines). The motherboard is not mounted inside a case, so there is less chance of the soldered components below the board causing a short.

I'm fairly certain the board is dead. The only thing I've had to go on is the "FF" debug code. According to the manual "FF" means it is booting, and I am not sure if that means it is attempting to POST or it has passed POST and is simply not displaying any information. As there is no POST beep, and I think there should be, I'm leaning towards "FF" as meaning "attempting to POST but I can't cause I'm fraking dead".

It looks like I'm not the only one who sees "FF" when the board is no good, so I'm going to call up EVGA tonight and see what they say. I really wanted to avoid this, as I haven't had the best luck with EVGA's RMA process in the past.
 
vanilla_guerilla said:
when you have these non-booting or non posting problems this (above) is what you should always do. this helps troubleshoot, and takes things like shorts, opens, switching probs out of the equation. its also easier to swap known working/non working parts in and out. but like i typed before, i had this same thing happen to 2 750i boards, time for an rma.
Click to expand...

I agree. When I can't get a machine to post the motherboard gets ripped out of the case and tested on my desk with just a CPU, HSF, RAM and video card (if needed). That is what I did in this case as well. Right now the 750i is on top of the box it came in on my desk, surrounded by the parts I've used to test.
 
Well I've seen problematic boards give the "FF" code and not be in working order. I suspect that somehow during the POST, or initial OS load, something happens that causes the system to lock up before an error code can be displayed. Do this: Go into the BIOS and look at the hardware monitor. What's the idle temperature of the MCP? If you see anything above 50c after the system was just powered on, then the board is toast.
 
Dan,

The board gives no indication that it passes POST. Nothing displays on the monitor when the system is powered on. So, in short, I can't get into the BIOS.

If the board were dead, I would expect a debug code other than "FF" to display.
 
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Choder said:
Dan,

The board gives no indication that it passes POST. Nothing displays on the monitor when the system is powered on. So, in short, I can't get into the BIOS.
Click to expand...

Got it. I hate to say it but it is looking like its time to RMA it.
 
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