P5K Deluxe requires MULTIPLE powerups before it will POST

Hello! After chugging along with a P4 system for a few years, I recently blew a grand to build what I thought was my "dream" system, but I am having a nagging problem that is getting worse.
My system stats:

P5K Deluxe WiFi
Core 2 Quad 6600 with stock fan (for now)
2GB nVidia Z6B-OCZ2N-1066 PC2-8500
XFX GeForce 8600GT PCIe
Antec TP3 650w P/S
Seagate 500GB SATA
Vista Ultimate

All BIOS settings factory default (haven't even tried OCing yet!) Have upgraded to the latest BIOS from the ASUS website.

Operating temps: MB 35-39C/CPU 45-50C

Once the system is booted, it runs great. No freezeups or bluescreens. It is a very nice system and gives a 3DMark06 figure of 5260 3DMark06s and 17180 3DMark03s.

HOWEVER, once turned off, it is almost impossible to get it to start up again. Power on: all fans, drives, etc. spin up, but no keyboard light flash, video, USB power, anything like that. Pressing the RESET button powers it off. It has gotten to the point where it takes a combination of soft and hard (unplugging power supply from the mains) powerups to yield a successful POST after 10-15 tries. I have tried clearing BIOS with the jumper, no luck. Same tedium with every power-up or reboot.

Once I get it powered back up, BIOS reports "Overclocking failed!" which is confusing as I haven't even tried to OC yet. I press F2 for default values and it's fine.

I am wondering if I have an actual HW problem or if the default BIOS settings simply aren't right for my hardware. Are there some settings I should try to get it working right? I would like to eventually OC it as I bought what I did on the understanding that it is very OC-friendly, but I would just like to get it to power up reliably for now.

Thanks! Doug

That is strange i only got that happening when i pushed my oc to far and the system crashed. It may be that you have a duff board you might want to consider an rma for it.

have you tried updating your BIOS just in case?

for me when i powered my rig up for the first time with the quad, i ended up haveing to put one stick in the farthest slot, and go into bios and save settings. pull out the ram and stuff em in the yellow slots, worked like a charm..

You may need to set some things manually in the BIOS. Disable anything you aren't using, and go from there. This Asus boards can be finicky, but work great once you get the settings right.

Thanks to everyone for the info. Yes I have updated the bios to 0501 (a beta; could that be an issue?) I did try downgrading to 0404 (current released version) but it said I had to use the DOS utility and I don't have a floppy drive in the system. I did plug the RAM sticks in the yellow sockets (1A and 1B I think) when I first put it together.

I may try fiddling with some bios settings to see if that helps but may end up RMAing the board if the problem persists. Is ASUS pretty good about RMAing stuff?

Welcome to the Forum! http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=491697
DesertTripper

I use a flashdrive for bios flashing on my p5k.. I used to use a floppy.

Sounds like something isn't getting the proper voltage. Try giving your memory 2.2v and see if that does the trick. Whenever I have to clear CMOS I can never get the system to boot up with my Ballistix. I always have to plug in an older OCZ kit and it boots right up.

Sounds like you are having similar problem that i have learned to live with. When i shut down my PC, i HAVE to turn OFF the power switch on PSU, other wise, next time i boot my PC it will go through post and then just hang there. After a month of testing i havent found the solution.

So i learned to live with it, by turning OFF the power switch on PSU after shut down.

Nix the Beta BIOS for starters and take it from there.

Its not the Beta BIOS. At least for me.

That was for the OP. Sounds like you're having similar problems too though My P5B was sort of be the same way, had to remove all power from the board by turning off PSU but that was only after a failed overclock.

inkfx said:

Sounds like something isn't getting the proper voltage. Try giving your memory 2.2v and see if that does the trick. Whenever I have to clear CMOS I can never get the system to boot up with my Ballistix. I always have to plug in an older OCZ kit and it boots right up.

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Bingo. That should fix your problem I have had the same thing happen to me with this board. I actually have a old stick of mushkin ram that I keep on my desk for this reason. Set your voltage to 2.2 or whatever your sticks are rated use only one stick of ram and use the black slot farthest from the CPU.
Another thing I noticed is this board will actually boot more consistently if you are running your FSB at 400+.


Also, the Black slots will OC better on this board if you are using only two sticks of ram.

It's normal on my Deluxe with high FSB/clock settings, it doesn't do it when running default or a moderate overclock.