GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 Power cycling issues.

[Cognative]

So I recently decided to update my system to get ready for this falls awesome releases. My original setup worked perfect -
1 x NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
1 x GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
1 x EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
1 x ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ700 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8400
1 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
1 x ZALMAN CNPS8700 2 Ball CPU Cooler
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
1 x ASUS VW224U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor
1 x LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30
1 x Windows XP OEM


Upgraded to -

1 x Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500
1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL
1 x GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
1 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4EG HD155UI 1.5TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Booted up the first time, got to windows login screen, but was having mouse issues, so had to reboot. Then it started power cycling. Ive takin it apart and rebuilt from the ground up twice now, checking this or that in between. Nothing seems to be fixing the problem. Sometimes it will stay on for 10 seconds before restarting, sometimes less than one. ive yet to get any sort of video, and it doesnt seem to be posting at all. Any ideas?

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.

The first thing I would suggest doing is to clear the CMOS thoroughly. Please follow these instructions:

Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.

Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least one hour before replacing it.
 
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
 
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Optimised BIOS Defaults.

Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self like disabling the floppy drive, disabling the full screen logo and making the HDD the primary boot device and then press F10 to save and exit.

[Cognative]

Ive tried clearing the CMOS several times, but I'll give it another shot. a friend of mine thinks a chunk of solder on the back of the PCI  8x slot may be making contact with the case. Could this cause the power cycling? And if so, would filing the solder down be advisable?

[Dark Mantis]

Whilst any short to earth via the chassis could cause a problem like this it is extremely unlikely that is the cause.  I think your friend is grasping at straws. If you try and make any changes to the motherboard you will nullify the warranty. Also a very dangerous procedure what you are talking about as there would be a lot of small metal filings floating around that could short out anything on the board if missed.

If you are really convinced that this is the cause why not try building the system outside of the case so that it cannot cause a short.

Make sure that you observe anti-static precautions.

Lay some cardboard or use the motherboard box that is non-conductive on the worktop and remove the motherboard/CPU/heatsink/fan/buzzer/one stick of memory and PSU from the case and put it on the cardboard. Add the keyboard and now I know you haven't got any graphics but try and boot. The system should try and then fail emitting a series of beeps. Please post what sounds it makes.  If everything works ok the n proceed to add the GPU and test again.