D3S BOARD not booting.

OK, I just put together a core two duo e6400 on a gigabyte ga-965p-ds3 board. The other ingrediants are:
8800 gts
80gig sata drive
2 GB ddr2 800 adata ram.
Seasonic 500w ps new
f6 bios
board version 1
On initial boot up after assembly, the machine would go into the continuous power up, meaning start, fans turn then two seconds later shut off and do it again. I swapped the ram aound in the two yellow slots and the machine booted. I noticed on the POST that only 1 GB was being read in single channel (naturally). I installed windows np then popped open the pc again and played with the ram.

Noting my initial configuration in case nothing else worked so I could get back in if I had to I got nothing trying to set the ram up in DC. I swapped out 1 and 2 sticks in every possible combination for an hour. Nothing worked. Even the way I had it work originally was not working now. No Post. The beeps would usually just be quick little beeps in succesion but also, and at no logical course, it would be a long beep. Then shut down and reboot again and again and again. I had to shut off the ps switch to stop it.

Getting incredibly frustrated and about to give up, lo and behold the machine booted and showed all my ram but only in single channel. Again, it worked in a configuartion that did not probably 2-3 times in the past hour. At this point I started looking on the net for solutions and ended up calling gigabyte suppost 2-3 days later. Those 2-3 days my machine ran great and even posted a 79xx in 3dmark 06. If not for the dual channel problem I would have left it alone.

Gigabyte support told me to up the voltage of my adata modules (which advertised run at 1.8v and are on the compatibility list) .03-.04 in the positive to make it run DC. In order to do that, I had to move one of the ram modules because they ended up working in the 0 and 1 slots or red and yellow this time. I did as was told and now the machine wont boot at all. I have tried reseating everything for 2 hours yesterday and 1 hour today and it will not post. I get the quick beeps on a continual loop or the long beep on a continual loop and no logical course for either. Meaning the ram modules can make it go off long beeps one flip of the power switch and short the next.

There is no way to flash a bios, my PS is supposed to be one of the best and works in this machine just fine and I dont have any available ddr2 to swap in.


I am literally pulling my hair out and wished I went asus. Any help is greatly appreciated.

just a gut feeling

Since GB had so much trouble with certain video cards on this board in the beginning, I would try a different card. If you have a lower end pcie card to try, I'd do that....like a 6600 or 7600 or something like that.

Edit.....sorry now i see your specs...no need to post them.

Probably just what Gigabyte said: The bios defaults ram to 1.8v and you probably just needed to up it to 2.0. I'm guessing that by now you probably changed your ram without turning off your power supply. That would fry DDR2

I never swapped out the ram without shutting off the ps...the only way to shut down the constant rebooting was flipping the ps switch. I am in the process of doing an RMA on the board and ram. This is ridiculous. I have never had so much trouble with what should be an easy install, especially seeing how many others are not having trouble. I will try and get ahold of another pci-e card if the board comes back and it still does the same. Actually, I will probably just get an asus like I should have.

EDIT: I did up the voltage to 2.2...as per my first post. It did'nt work.

IMO

viking12344 said:

I never swapped out the ram without shutting off the ps...the only way to shut down the constant rebooting was flipping the ps switch. I am in the process of doing an RMA on the board and ram. This is ridiculous. I have never had so much trouble with what should be an easy install, especially seeing how many others are not having trouble. I will try and get ahold of another pci-e card if the board comes back and it still does the same. Actually, I will probably just get an asus like I should have.

EDIT: I did up the voltage to 2.2...as per my first post. It did'nt work.

Click to expand...

IMO, it would make sense to swap the video card before you waste your time with an RMA. Unless you really just want another board. If that is the case, why are we trying to help?

I need to get a video card to do this...not an easy thing unless I purchase one. If this were the problem, you would think it never would have worked at all. I mean, does that make sense or no? If something is not compatible why would it work just sometimes? I do know other users on different boards who are running 8800's with this board and I have the f6 bios so I know its not the card itself but it may be my card.

Also, would the card make the pc only see 1gb one time and 2gb the next or not run in dual channel? If so, why? I am probably going to have to buy a card to do this and again, I find that an incredible added exspense and waste of time for something that should work.
But it is just about the only thing I have yet to try (less swapping out another core2)so I will do it before shipping the board back. I do apprecite the advice, JPH. I may have come across as not so in my last reply but have problems with GB fanbois and there, "mine works fine" or the ever popular "you did something wrong". Which btw, was not you. That kind of response does absolutely nothing to solve a problem.

Hey

Hey man....I understand the frustration. I just thought if you could get your hands on a PCIE card to borrow or something, it might help. I just remember very flakey problems in the beginning with the DS3 and certain video cards. I was thinking that since the 8800's have such different memory, etc,,, that might be the problem here.

I feel your pain.....my DS3 is on an RMA trip right now and I'm not sure I'll ever put it back in my machine. I may just sell it.

Edit.....you know....you could buy the 7600gs they have on sale at bestbuy for $149 and then return it.

He's right. I had all the problems in the world with my DS3 when they first came out. All the problems I had were pretty damned random. Some of them disappeared with a simple hardware change here and there. If your board was working I'd have you run CPU-z and check the motherboard section to see if the board was running at 1x PCI-E instead of 16x. That's a problem I had. I solved it by taking my video card back to the store and getting another one, but there are other solutions Like upping the PCI-E speed from 100mhz to 105 or so.

You would do well to get yourself a cheap, 20 dollar PCI video card. They're nice to have around for just such emergencies.

I'd definately try a LOT more things before giving up, sending in an RMA, and having the same problem once you get everything back.

EDIT: Just saw you had an 8800GTS. Now I'm SURE it's your video card. Either your power supply is just barely too weak (which would explain why sometimes it worked... sometimes it didn't) or you need to up the PCI-E speed.

Thanks Rainless. I was almost thinking ps as I put in the 500w before using the program to figure out what I needed (530w). I am going to pick up another vc next payday and let you both know, thanks!

OK, the more I think about it, the more I think you are both correct. Since the ps is borderline strong enough, once I raised the ram voltage to 2.2, would that draw more watts? I am not that coherent with the whole electricity thing. That would explain why it just would not boot after I did that. Also, one of the codes that the MB did emit over and over was the quick beeps before it restarted itself....which according to the manual is a power issue.

You guys are great. If I do find out this is the problem, should I go 600 or 650w with my setup?

IMO

viking12344 said:

OK, the more I think about it, the more I think you are both correct. Since the ps is borderline strong enough, once I raised the ram voltage to 2.2, would that draw more watts? I am not that coherent with the whole electricity thing. That would explain why it just would not boot after I did that. Also, one of the codes that the MB did emit over and over was the quick beeps before it restarted itself....which according to the manual is a power issue.

You guys are great. If I do find out this is the problem, should I go 600 or 650w with my setup?

Click to expand...

700w seasonic M12 series

I know they are a lot of money, but froogle it and see what deals you can find

Much thanks. Here is a link to my current PS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024

I link this because I found something I thought interesting in the customer reviews.

Here is the one I am wondering about:

Cons: This PSU might not be a good buy if you have a dfi board. The main problem is sometimes caused from the +5Vsb. The peak voltage of +5Vsb at the monent of power on is out of the spec of PSU. The original design of the +5Vsb is 2A which comply with the "Intel" spec. The loading of +5Vsb of a dfi system might over the spec. So the PSU senses the alarm and activates the over voltage protection to shut down. This can cause your computer to go into a "no boot" condition


Could this have anything to do with what I am getting?

INFO

viking12344 said:

Much thanks. Here is a link to my current PS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024

I link this because I found something I thought interesting in the customer reviews.

Here is the one I am wondering about:

Cons: This PSU might not be a good buy if you have a dfi board. The main problem is sometimes caused from the +5Vsb. The peak voltage of +5Vsb at the monent of power on is out of the spec of PSU. The original design of the +5Vsb is 2A which comply with the "Intel" spec. The loading of +5Vsb of a dfi system might over the spec. So the PSU senses the alarm and activates the over voltage protection to shut down. This can cause your computer to go into a "no boot" condition


Could this have anything to do with what I am getting?

Click to expand...

There was no link. But I'm not an electrical engineer so I'm no good at answering your question about the +5 anyway. I can vouch for the seasonic PS from multiple experiences of a friend. He swears by them. I can vouch also for modular power supplies. That was the best decision i ever made.

Just found this

I just found these system specs from another user on this forum and I'm wondering now if we are on the right track.

Pizzapieguy

My rig:
Cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.8Ghz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
Graphics: eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
Hard drive:Western Digital Caviar SE 250GB
Memory:A-DATA 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 (cheapy gotta replace)
Cooling:cpu Thermaltake Blue orb II
Power supply:COOLMAX 500W Power Supply
Case:LIAN LI PC-G50B

EDIT!!!!! Never mind.....I just read his posts and I don't think he has even built that system yet. Sorry
He might be someone to contact though to see if he has the same problems.

OK, I have borrowed a ati 9250 to boot up the machine and its still a no go. Same symptoms. I have also talked with someone on the uk o/c forums and they are running an 8800gts and a 6600 dc with a cheaper 500w ps. I think at this point I am going to rma. I thank you both for your time.

Just to keep you both updated for diagnosis purposes in the future and closure. I recieved my new parts today (rma from newegg, they are getting even better if thats possible). Threw it all together, the new board which was a revision 2 instead of one with the f7 bios and two new sticks of adata ram. The machine booted on the first try in dual channel and even came up 500 points higher in 3d mark 06 for no other reason I can decipher. This board kicks much azz as I am know playing with different o/c options. I am a very happy newegg and gigabyte customer. Thank you both for your assistance.

INFO

viking12344 said:

Just to keep you both updated for diagnosis purposes in the future and closure. I recieved my new parts today (rma from newegg, they are getting even better if thats possible). Threw it all together, the new board which was a revision 2 instead of one with the f7 bios and two new sticks of adata ram. The machine booted on the first try in dual channel and even came up 500 points higher in 3d mark 06 for no other reason I can decipher. This board kicks much azz as I am know playing with different o/c options. I am a very happy newegg and gigabyte customer. Thank you both for your assistance.

Click to expand...

I am sorry but I have a problem understanding this.

On the 22nd you said you were going to rma the parts and on the 27th, you got the new parts back from newegg.
The 22nd was the friday before christmas. Christmas was monday. And you say that you got the boards back wednesday. How did you work that?

I actually sent out the parts last thursday morning and posted here a bit late. Six days to get the ram and board back to me-both brand new and thats with a holiday in between. I was not expecting to get my stuff until next week (week after new years) to be honest. I was also expecting them to send at least the ram or board back and tell me its fine. This is the first time I have ever RMA'd anything from newegg (been buying there for 4 years) so really did not know what to expect. What can be said? These guys are awesome and I will never buy electronics from anyone else, ever. I recieved my tracking number on tuesday and the parts showed up on my porch yesterday via ups from jersey. I live in NY.

Incredible

viking12344 said:

I actually sent out the parts last thursday morning and posted here a bit late. Six days to get the ram and board back to me-both brand new and thats with a holiday in between. I was not expecting to get my stuff until next week (week after new years) to be honest. I was also expecting them to send at least the ram or board back and tell me its fine. This is the first time I have ever RMA'd anything from newegg (been buying there for 4 years) so really did not know what to expect. What can be said? These guys are awesome and I will never buy electronics from anyone else, ever. I recieved my tracking number on tuesday and the parts showed up on my porch yesterday via ups from jersey. I live in NY.

Click to expand...

I just had a good experience with them too. Mine took longer, but was still very quick given the holidays. Glad things worked out for you. My replacement board whould be here tomorrow.

What a great board the ds3 is. I am running the 6400 400x8 (3.2GHz) and my TAT temps are 46c idle and 59c under the orthos load. I ran it for 10 hours and its stable but I have to wonder if the temp is too high? I have heard to keep it under 70c and I really dont even want to hit 60c to be honest. Any rule of thumb on this?