weird problem...is this because of the mobo? (Asus P5K)

i've been having a really annoying problem with my mobo for a few months now. if i turn off my computer and try to turn it back on, 19 out of 20 times:

1. my monitor will say that it is not picking up the signal
2. my fans are running, my hard drive sounds like it's spinning
3. will not post

how i have to solve this problem is...i have the turn off my pc, plug and unplug the hdmi plug, and try to turn my computer on again with the 19/20 failure rate. EVENTUALLY (and randomly)...my computer will turn on, post, and run like normal. however this is really frustrating and i never turn my computer off anymore...and it's what's keeping me from going to windows 7

here is what i have tried:

1. made sure the monitor, cable, and hdmi to dvi converter works by trying it on another computer
2. bought a new video card which was better than what i was using, and reseating it
3. upgraded my psu
4. tried to system restore

some fyi:

1. i do not overclock (hence, haven't touched any settings in bios except boot sequence)
2. this problem started out of the blue one day, not after an update or install of something new
3. my comp specs are in my sig

so...i don't believe this can be the cpu or the ram, so it must be just a dying mobo, right? logically that has to be it, but i've never heard of this problem before. i'd like your expertise on this matter

thank you for your help in advance

Howdy,

If you look at my sig I have a P5K WiFi, the first one from Newegg was DOA in the box. The second one is working great.

Your power supply is suffecent, how ever it could be the source of your problem (keep that in mind). Your OS is not the problem, if it is Windows you would get random restarts, blue screens, and other errors when it is running. Sounds like a hardware problem to me.

I don't have a HDMI monitor but the card I have is only HDMI and I use a vga adapter.

So what I am thining is your motherboard is dying. Sorry but that may be the only option.

Have you tried putting the video card in the second slot? Moved any other add on cards to other slots?

Before you go buy a new one have you done any BIOS updates on the MB?

I have done two so far, one corrected a problem with the WiFi adapter (I don't use it but it was causing errors in XP even with it disabled) and the other one was for a memory problme (I have 4 gig of ram, normally 32 bit systems can only see 3.25 GB ram, when I loaded up Windows 7 I could only access 3.5 GB of ram so did the update on the BIOS and now it sees all the ram, don't know if it was the MB or the ram itself).

So try a couple of BIOS updates before giving up. (That is the cheapest and fastest route).

MHO...

Rider200 said:

Howdy,

If you look at my sig I have a P5K WiFi, the first one from Newegg was DOA in the box. The second one is working great.

Your power supply is suffecent, how ever it could be the source of your problem (keep that in mind). Your OS is not the problem, if it is Windows you would get random restarts, blue screens, and other errors when it is running. Sounds like a hardware problem to me.

I don't have a HDMI monitor but the card I have is only HDMI and I use a vga adapter.

So what I am thining is your motherboard is dying. Sorry but that may be the only option.

Have you tried putting the video card in the second slot? Moved any other add on cards to other slots?

Before you go buy a new one have you done any BIOS updates on the MB?

I have done two so far, one corrected a problem with the WiFi adapter (I don't use it but it was causing errors in XP even with it disabled) and the other one was for a memory problme (I have 4 gig of ram, normally 32 bit systems can only see 3.25 GB ram, when I loaded up Windows 7 I could only access 3.5 GB of ram so did the update on the BIOS and now it sees all the ram, don't know if it was the MB or the ram itself).

So try a couple of BIOS updates before giving up. (That is the cheapest and fastest route).

MHO...

Click to expand...

thanks for replying

i did say that i replaced my psu, unless you are saying the one i have is defective or crappy.

and yes i did plug my card into another slot. in fact, afaik, my first slot has a zero percent chance of posting if there it's being used.

BIOS update sounds like it could certainly fix my problem...so i'll try that

Hi

i did say that i replaced my psu, unless you are saying the one i have is defective or crappy.

Click to expand...

It may be defective, when I went thru ASUS's troubleshooting with one of their techs before they would issue the RMA for the dead MB one of the things that he asked was the wattage of the PSU. I have a 550 Antec and he said the MB needed 450 watts to start and the consumption for a Core 2 Duo processor (I had a Core 2 Duo in the socket) was 300 watts during normal operation. So your 600 watt should be suffecent.

If the MB will not post with the video card in the #1 slot then the MB has a problem, that slot is the prefered slot for single video cards.

I would suggest if the BIOS update doesn't fix your problems to contact ASUS support about getting the MB fixed/repalced if it is still under warranty.

MHO...

Disconnect or remove everything that's not needed for the PC to POST, including all but 1 stick of RAM, HDD's, opticals, PCI / PCIe cards (TV card, LAN card, etc.) You might also want to check out this sticky thread...

"Help My Pc Won't Boot!" Troubleshooting Guide
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=266936

when the system locks up in POST, where specifically does it freeze? And what are you system beeps doing (you need to have a speaker plugged in)? one long beep before the mem test implies you don't have enough power, however with a new PSU, I'd start looking at fans (especially fans that you can slow down) & optical drives. One short beep followed by three beeps usually means there's something with the ram, could be good ram and a screwed up socket. Trust me, the speaker will tell you everything you need to know.