GA-M57SLI-S4: Fans Running But Not Booting

[evilhomer]

Just after some help for a budget PC build for the kids..

The Build...

Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (Rev 2.0) Bios FHO (Beta)
AMD X2 6000+ CPU
4GB (4x1) OCZ Platinum DDR2 800
MSI Nvidia 8800GT 512MB
HEC 550W PSU

The Problem...

PC starts up, as in cpu and case fans but I get no display output and no beeps to let me know what sort of fault it may be. I fear it may be the motherboard.

What I've Done So Far...

Bread-boarded the motherboard and had just the cpu (with hsf), 1 stick of memory and the graphics card installed.....still no joy.

I have tried each stick of memory in turn, also removed all memory and graphics to at least get a beep (before you ask I did check the speaker and it works on another pc )....nothing.

I have tried the graphics card in my main pc ( as it was a 2 second job to do) and I got an output from that.

I have checked the display on my pc and that works ok and I have reset the bios and removed the battery as well.

I have tried the motherboard with a known working 650w psu and it still will not boot.

Is there anything I've missed, any help with diagnosing the problem would be appreciated. I thought it may have been my new bios as the motherboard worked with an x2 550be cpu that is now running on a new gigabyte motherboard. Would that cause the older x2 6000+ cpu to not work?

Thanks in advance

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

It might well be that the motherboard is shot but it would first be worth trying an extended CMOS clear as  so please follow these directions exactly:

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.

[evilhomer]

Have left battery out of motherboard for over an hour, have even unplugged the psu from the motherboard. All I get is a nice cold breaze from the case and cpu fans.

It's looking like I have a dud motherboard. If thats the case I doubt very much that I could get an RMA on a 4 year old motherboard?

Will leave the battery out overnight and try tomorrow......

[Dark Mantis]

Yes worth a try as would changing the motherboard battery (CR2032).

[evilhomer]

Would there be any way of re-flashing the bios in this state (not being able to see a bios screen) just in case the bios had corrupted in some way? Not giving up yet short of re-soldering a new bios chip. 

[Dark Mantis]

Not really. Even though we know the various stages that it goes through it would be just too much gueswork involved without any screen display.

Please check your PMs as I have left you a message.

[dyeager]

Most likely the "new" CPU.  I would check to see that you did not bend any pins on it and make certain that it is seated in the socket (placed correctly with no bent pins, its should just "fall in" with no real pressure required).  I would then check that all power supply cables are seated properly into the motherboard and 8800gt.  Make certain that any sata cables are also fully seated (this can be tough with this board and a 8800gt placed in the middle pcie slot). 

Then next item I would try is putting your "new" CPU into the other motherboard to see if it works.  You could also try moving your video card, although removing your battery should have set it back to the default slot.

Still not working?  Examine your capacitors as I have seen this exact problem on these boards with your situation.  Any leaking or bulging (top or bottom) should be replaced.  You can order them inexpensively on your favorite large auction site (note all information written on the sides).  You will need an adjustable 100watt soldering iron (60 may work, 25 does not) and a vacuum bulb to remove the solder (or a long pin and more patience).

These boards work extremely well with a Phenom II 945 95 watt CPU. 
 

[evilhomer]

SOLVED!
After a couple of drinks last night, and a bit of logical thinking, I decided to take the Phenom II X2 550 BE out of my pc and put it back on my old GA-M57SLI-S4 motherboard as that was the only thing that had changed from the X2 6000+ cpu I had been trying to get to work.

BINGO....It started up and I got into the bios with no troubles. So after a couple more drinks I thought well maybe it didn't work because at the time the Phenom was installed, I had put a beta bios on from gigabyte tech support (FHO) to cure the slow boot problem with my ATI HD5770 graphics card and the inability to overclock the 550 black edition cpu. I then put the bios FD (which was the first bios to support the x2 6000+) onto a usb stick and flashed it to the motherboard. I then shut down the mobo and swapped out the phenom for the older cpu.

Switched it back on and.........................1 short beep and a press of the "Del" key and I'm into the bios again. Problem sorted!  

On a cautionary note, don't drink and fix pcs  

[absic]

Pleased to see you have sorted this issue out and I apologise for not picking up on this thread earlier as I could have probably saved you a lot of headaches.

When Gigabyte modified the BIOS so it would support some of the newer Graphics Cards, they had to drop support for some of the CPU's that were previously supported.

Sorry again for not noticing your post.