Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: will_m on September 19, 2010, 06:53:34 pm
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Hi there, I've been running this set-up now for almost over a year without any problems but now when I go to start the computer all of the lights come on, the fans whir, HDD's start up but no POST screen or error beeps from the mobo. The EX58-UD5 is showing what looks like 8.8. or possibly B.B. on the LED readout. I presume this is an error code but the manual does not list either code. The odd thing is that sometime when I power the board on it all works perfectly and there doesn't seem to be a pattern to when it does work and when it doesn't.
So far I have tried:
Removing all ram sticks and just trying the one stick, as well as different sticks of ram
Removing the video card (which works fine in a different system)
Reseating all the power connectors to the motherboard
After these steps I removed everything attached to the board except for the two power leads and the video card, the system then booted a few times successfully. I started adding back in my components, booting the machine twice before adding each thing. Once everything was back in the system worked again for about 5-6 boot attempts, I though all was o.k but then on the next attempt it failed again and another 5 times too. Then when I came back to it this morning it wouldn't boot on the first attempt but it would on the second. I just can't find a reason or even a pattern to why it won't boot. Any help would be gratefully appreciated, I've contacted tech support but so far they have not got back to me.
SPECS are as follows
Gigabyte EX58-UD5 (rev 1.0)
Intel i7 920 D0
Be Quiet Dark Power Pro PSU
12GB OCZ RAM
ATI HD 4670 Video Card
Win 7 64-bit Pro
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Hi and welcome to the forum.
The most likely thing is the power supply has dropped in output over time(a usual occurance) and is now struggling to provide enough pwer for your machine . That is why when stripped back it works fine. You say what make it is but not what model. If you wouild like to post the model I will confirm my suspicions.
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It is the dark power pro 650w. However like I say, the system has booted several times with all devices etc attached.
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You didn't say whether it was new or not but it seems to be a decent PSU. The only downside to it as far as I am concerned is that the 12 v rail is split in four and I always prefer a single rail. If possible try to get a different PSU just for testing purposes.
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Hi, it was bought from new around 8 months ago and I think carries a five year warranty. I will try a different PSU though just to rule it out, thanks.
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Make sure it is powerfull enough and if possible as I said with a single 12v rail. Even if I am wrong at least it will rule it out.
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I'm afraid I can only get my hands on a fairly budget OCZ 400w PSU:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_400w_modxstream_pro_power_supply
It doesn't seem to have an 8-pin power connector for my mobo though, just a 4-pin.
I have set up an RMA for the board but as it sometimes boots fine I suspect that when I send it back it will work fine and they will just send it back. I would have thought a PSU issue would have been more consistent than the problems I am having?
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I can understand your dilemma. It could well be a power problem but of course it doesn't rule out a duff(technical term) motherboard. As you say chances are even if there is a propblem with the motherboard it won't show when they test it and it will just be returned NFF. It might be worth PMing runn3R the Gigabyte moderator of the forum and asking him to make sure it gets a thorough testing.
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Thanks for the advice, unfortunately the RMA is with the retailer here in the U.K. I've just had about 10 successful boot attempts here with everything attached but then it failed again after leaving it for about 20 mins. Someone did suggest to me before that it may be a dry joint on the board which would only allow the system to boot when it was warm but a cold start may stop it from booting. Any thoughts on this?
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Well it is of course a possibility, but I think it is unlikely. Probably more likely to be a capacitor drying out or something similar.
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Ah I see o.k. I think I will try and get it returned then. Your help is much appreciated, I have given you some 'karma', will let you know how it all pans out.
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Thanks, and don't forget to PM runn3R.
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Here is a list of debug codes
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/39229-gigabyte-award-x58-bios-led-debug-codes.html
88 is dead CPU, but can also be dead/incompatible PSU or dead motherboard. So it may be your PSU is failing, or the CPU, or board...?
I know, doesn't help much, but I thought I'd link for you and the other helpers here that way they have a reference of the debug codes.
I don't think it would be "BB" because if it was it would be "bb" and you would be able to tell that is what was showing.
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Thanks Lsdmeasap I haven't noticed them before. Very useful.
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Anytime!
I knew you would like a list of those, so posted them just for you ;D
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Hey guys, just to update this (apologies for the wait, I was moving house). I RMA'd the board but it came back as no fault found, however when it did come back it was no longer displaying the 88 error code. I've run it o.k now for about a week but the 88 code has just happened again and now it wont POST at all after about 15 attempts, even after disconnecting everything. It first gave the error code when I accidentally pushed the power button and it went into shutdown, then it wouldn't POST when I tried turning it back on. This is driving me crazy now as I feel that whatever I return will just come back as o.k seeing as the problem is intermittent. Is there anyone else out there that has had this problem and found a solution?
I've made a video of the problem that hopefully shows what is happening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgqrhL7PYQ
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Well as Lsdmeasap has already stated 88 is dead CPU, but can also be dead/incompatible PSU or dead motherboard. So let's assume your motherboard is ok as it has been tested so that leaves PSU or CPU. The easiest way would be to swap one of them out but it has to be for a decent unit. I would advise the PSU personally because I have always had my doubts about the one you are running. If you do decide to change it make sure you get one of at least 700W plus and with a 12V single rail of good quality.
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Unfortunately I don't have access to another PSU or the funds to buy one at the moment. The PSU I have now is the earlier revision of this one:
http://www.be-quiet.net/be-quiet.net/index.php?StoryID=17&ProductID=201&websiteLang=en
I was under the impression that this was a decent enough PSU for my system? Does the fact that the problem is intermittent make it more a PSU problem? I'm trying to figure out why it POSTS fine for most of the time.
Would this PSU tester be a good way of letting me know if its a PSU issue?
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/xclio-psu-and-port-tester-with-led-a-must-for-all-resellers-and-technical-people
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Unfortunately I don't have access to another PSU or the funds to buy one at the moment. The PSU I have now is the earlier revision of this one:
http://www.be-quiet.net/be-quiet.net/index.php?StoryID=17&ProductID=201&websiteLang=en
How long have you had the PSU?
Would this PSU tester be a good way of letting me know if its a PSU issue?
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/xclio-psu-and-port-tester-with-led-a-must-for-all-resellers-and-technical-people
No I don't really think it would help as it will only tell you if the PSU is giving the right output at the particular time you test it. So unless it's totally dead (and there are easy cheaper tests for that) then it's not going to help.
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I've had it for about 14 months.
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Not too long then it won't have degraded that much over that period. It's probably still around 600W or so output.
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Does that rule out the PSU then?
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No it doesn't rule out the PSU but just makes it less likely as the culprit. If it had been older I would have thought it much more likely to be that.
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Ok, not sure if this is important but when it does produce the error code the restart button doesn't work at all I have to hold down the power button to turn it off and then on again. Also it just booted fine then failed again straight after. I then reseated I updated the BIOS (F11), then it failed again twice so I've left it off. I also tried reseating the cpu and checking for bent pins, they look ok to me but I'm not sure what I'm looking for, they definitely don't look like these:
http://www.overclock.net/attachments/intel-motherboards/120070d1250525395-bent-pins-pins1.jpg
It did POST after reseating the cpu but only once, then it failed again.
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I would say that the chances are then that it is a CPU problem. I can't be 100% sure in this instance but it would seem to be likely. You will have to RMA it.
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Here's some pics of the cpu pins and the cpu:
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/6397/0311100096.jpg
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9743/0311100101.jpg
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Right that was much more useful. It's a shame that you used flash on the socket one as it is ver bright in places and dark in others so I couldn't check the pins properly. Can you take another using macro but with good lighting and without the flash please. I found the CPU picture of most use though and there are at least 7 lands with no marks on so that would support the theory that the socket pins are bent or not high enough.
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http://img829.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=0311100100.jpg
There's some better pictures in there, it's so overcast today I just cant get enough light though. I've looked over the pins as much as I can and they look pretty uniform to me but I'll try and get a magnifying glass and give them a more thorough look.
I'm not sure what you mean about the lands? Are they the dots on the bottom and are they meant to all have a mark from the pins in them? I can see in the picture that a few of the dots on the right have only very faint marks.
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I'm not sure what you mean about the lands? Are they the dots on the bottom and are they meant to all have a mark from the pins in them? I can see in the picture that a few of the dots on the right have only very faint marks.
Yes the lands are the little copper pads on the bottom of the CPU. Ideally each one should have a mark in the centre.
I have looked at your photos but they are mainly taken from an angle which means that whilst some of the socket is in focus there are other parts that are not. The best thing is to have a desktop light giving good lighting without actually reflecting off the socket and try and take some photos directly above the socket. There are several pins that are suspect but without a good picture it is impossible to be sure.
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Ah o.k thanks, what about the CPU socket? Any of the new pics showing anything not right?
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Please see my edited post above. ;)
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I've managed to get hold of another PSU for tonight so that will hopefully rule out that and let me focus on the CPU if its not indeed been the PSU all along.
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Your CPU socket looks ok to me, I don't see any bent pins, and Gigabyte would have found and fixed them if there was previously when you RMA'd.
Let us know how you get a long testing with another PSU, sounds like it's either your other one is going bad or it's not fully compatible, or your CPU is faulty.
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O.k so I managed to borrow a PSU. Once it was installed the system booted 50 times without issue so I immediately thought I had found the cause of the problem. I then put my old PSU back in and annoyingly it just kept posting fine over and over again, after about 35 successful boots I decided to put all the cabling back in place and the sides back on etc, it immediately failed to post 5 times in a row and counting.
I can't help but think that its a cabling or connection issue, is there anything like this that would stop the board posting? That said I still might just have been lucky with it posting the 35 times and that it could still be the PSU as it was still not posting even when the board and PSU etc were all taken from the case. Unless there is a problem with a connector etc on the PSU?
I actually thought of taking this to PC world yesterday that's how desperate I am. The thought crossed my mind and then I shuddered.
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I actually thought of taking this to PC world yesterday that's how desperate I am. The thought crossed my mind and then I shuddered.
Horrible vision!!! Please no more of that sort of talk. Besides if you can't sort it what chance have they got ::)
It could well be a broken wire inside one of the cable bundles. If it is only the inner core that is broken you wouldn't even see it with the insulation around it. I feel that it is just too much of a coincidence otherwise. I take it you have checked all the pins in the connector blocks to make sure they are all fully home and firm?
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I've triple checked all the PSU connectors and pins etc and all of the fan connectors etc and all seem to be fine but like you say I can't really check the actually wire cores in any of the cable bundles. After I did put everything back together and it didn't POST about 5 times it then POSTED successfully a few times after that without any moving of cables etc and then failed to POST straight after. I'm guessing if there is a break or something in the PSU cables that its done for anyway?
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Yes that would be about the size of it I'm afraid. As I said I think it is too much of a coincidence to be anything else. It could just be a dry joint in the PSU itself where the cabling is joined to the circuit board but that would be extremely difficult and time consuming not to mention DANGEROUS for anyone unqualified to try and find.
I think you will just have to replace the PSU and be done with it. As I have said before don't buy anything that isn't quality and powerful enough. You need a single rail 12V with ample power.
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Ya sounds like a bad cable somewhere, or a short?
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Cheers guys have ordered a new PSU which should arrive tomorrow so I guess we'll know for sure then. Hopefully if it is a fault then I can get a refund on the old one.
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Great to hear, hopefully this is the issue so you don't have to keep looking!
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Just wanted to report that it's been about 2 weeks with the new PSU and all is now running smoothly. Oddly enough I posted a video of the problem on youtube and a few people have had exactly the same problem with the same PSU...
I'm now seeking a refund from overclockers but they have said they wont have it back and that I need to return it to Be Quiet, which sounds like it could be a pain.
Thanks for all the help guys.
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If you purchased it recently and it is faulty or "not fit for purpose" then your contract is with the retailer never mind what they try and tell you it is your rights under the Consumer Act.
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It's been about 14 months so they have washed their hands of it, not really sure what I can do :-\
Anyone dealt with be quiet returns before?