Gigabyte GA-x79-ud3 rev 1.1 based pc 5 years old -developed start up problem

[scrapfarm]

Hello,

the problem:
I Cannot get my pc to progress beyond the gigabyte bios splash screen. cannot start or access bios

Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-x79-ud3 rev 1.1
Processor I7 not sure exactly which -think its quadcore.
Ram 4x4gb corsair vengeance
Graphics card GeForce GTX660
Soundcard
2 sata 1tb hard drives wd black
Lg cd drive
Windows 7 64bt

This computer has worked fine for around 5 years. Some issues with the c partition in sata0 being too full. I want to install windows 10 on a new 500gb SSD and improve the set up in a few ways only now I have hit a problem.

Turn on :0 seconds
Get first single short beep  after 9 seconds
Get gigabyte ultra durable series motherboard screen though this is smaller and not scaled to the screen size. 10 seconds
Get second single beep after 42 seconds
Get third single beep 1.08
Get 4th single beep 1.42
Get black screen with horizontal flashing cursor in top right hand 1.42

Pressing any of the suggested keyboard commands (tab,del,f9,f12,end ) give a clicking noise from the small motherboard speaker and don’t result in any change of the above behaviour. Typing anything when I get to the black screen does not write anything on the screen. I cant get into the Bios controls.

Things I have tried so far
I have unplugged internet cable, audio interface, sata 1
Have removed ram sticks and currently on have one in
Have taken out the battery and tested it, it seems ok(3.1v ) kept it out for a while with power unplugged.
Unplugged a lot of connectors and re-plugged them.
Took out graphics card and then re-seated it in the same slot.
Tried starting without keyboard and mouse plugged in.
I have a windows 7 recovery disk in the cd drive. This whirrs around a bit but doesn’t make anything happen. Have used this successfully before.

I haven’t touched the processor yet or removed the heatsink/fan.
I am suspicious of the power suppy which was bundled with the case though its 850w artic blue + it has few reviews which are quite mixed-  so I guess I should be pleased it lasted 5 years…

As you might guess I have read through a batch of forum entries and have tried out a variety of things but not very systematically. Should I jump in an update the power supply next or try a few other things first?


Any guidance very much appreciated.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

This descriptions sounds like a POST initialization failure.

Turn on :0 seconds
Get first single short beep  after 9 seconds
Get gigabyte ultra durable series motherboard screen though this is smaller and not scaled to the screen size. 10 seconds
Get second single beep after 42 seconds
Get third single beep 1.08
Get 4th single beep 1.42
Get black screen with horizontal flashing cursor in top right hand 1.42

Typical causes:

Component failure
Incompatible hardware connected

0.9 sec before first beep sounds excessive. Strip the board of absolutely everything non-essential for boot during troubleshooting.  Perform a CMOS reset 

This jumper is located lower left corner above the F_PANEL connector.  On your system, turn off computer and disconnect power before clearing

Also confirm you are outputting video to a standard display and not using any adapters to connect to large screen TV, etc?

Memory, install single DIMM into DDR3_4 which is farthest slot on left.  You can try alternating with another module of your existing DIMMS since its unlikely more than one would be faulty. 

I would borrow a PSU for testing unless your plan is to purchase a new one moving forward.  If all fails, you can remove the board from the case for further bench testing and at that time, evaluate how much time you want to spend continuing to troubleshoot. 

[scrapfarm]

Thanks for the reply Shadowsports,

I have tried the CMOS reset again and the single stick of ram. No success as of yet.
When you say typical cause might be a component failure- do you mean something like a capacitor, IC, or diode on the motherboard? So, I might need to face up to the MB being faulty now and replace it? Is there a suitable product that would take the same cpu? Im guessing its all moved on..quick google didnt offer much.
Im going to do a complete stripdown, clean and reconnect as a last chance thing. Are there any other tests/ things I could try?

Worst case scenario I will build up a new pc I’ll probably go with a new power supply so I guess I’ll buy this first and test it out just in case.

Any advice or thoughts very appreciated,

richard

[shadowsports]

Thanks for the reply Shadowsports,

I have tried the CMOS reset again and the single stick of ram. No success as of yet.
When you say typical cause might be a component failure- do you mean something like a capacitor, IC, or diode on the motherboard? So, I might need to face up to the MB being faulty now and replace it? Is there a suitable product that would take the same cpu? Im guessing its all moved on..quick google didnt offer much.
Im going to do a complete stripdown, clean and reconnect as a last chance thing. Are there any other tests/ things I could try?

Worst case scenario I will build up a new pc I’ll probably go with a new power supply so I guess I’ll buy this first and test it out just in case.

Any advice or thoughts very appreciated,

Richard

Greetings,
Component failure, basically yes.  The chips on MB's can fail.  It's not common but on a 9-10 yr old board, possible.  Your slowly running out of things to check. 

Try invoking boot from the back up BIOS.

Power on (wait for 4 sec) press and hold power button until system powers off. 
Wait 4 secs
Power on system (wait 4 secs) now turn switch on supply off
Wait 4 sec
Turn power supply on and press power button

This should invoke the back up BIOS.

If you decide on a replacement.  I'd buy something modern (whatever your budget is).  Buying replacement hardware for a 9+ year old system is not a wise investment since computers are already a depreciating asset.  I'm sure you can find an x79 based board on eBay if this turns out to be the way you go.

I hope it turns out to be something simple.  Bench testing often reveals things we all miss.   

[dmdilks]

I want to install windows 10 on a new 500gb SSD and improve the set up in a few ways only now I have hit a problem.

It sounds like it all started when you did this Right? If you have any thing on the mother board that has failed. It wouldn't boot to the Bios screen.

It sounds like it does like something that is connected to the MB. Dell's are really known for this on memory. Yes I know you are not running a Dell. As your MB boots the first thing it checks for a CPU, then memory and then GPU before you even get to the Logo screen.

Get first single short beep  after 9 seconds

If you are getting this single beep. It is tell you everything that the CPU, Memory, & GPU are OK.

What I would do is disconnect everything and just have the CPU, Memory & Video card. Then see if you can get into the bios. If you can then get into the bios then reconnect one thing at a time to see which is screwing with MB.   

I have had some drives stop at the logo screen because there is something wrong with the drive and the MB doesn't like it.