No POST and quirky beep messages

[MaHaBone]

Hi everybody,
I've been reading some of the posts here about people having trouble getting to POST, and I thought I would share my experience and see if anyone care share some insight-

I moved recently, and when I set up my PC in the new location, it was having great difficult booting. It would hang on the mobo graphic screen and freeze. The one time it did make it to the windows boot it spontaneously restarted. And then.. it just wouldn't start at all.

The fans and drives all spun, everything lit up, but no beeps and no video. I disconnected everything except the power supply, the mobo, the RAM, the processor (and fan & heatsink) and the video card. Still nothing.

Here's the quirky part- when I pull the RAM, I do get a beep code. One long and two short- video error, if I understand correctly. I ONLY get this code when there is no RAM installed.

What I have tried-
1. Reseated all the RAM, and even bought some new sticks.
2. Tested the powers supply using the manufacturer's recommended technique- remove the 20 pin connector from the mobo and place one end of a paper clip in the green terminal and the other in any black terminal. If it starts, PS is okay.
3. reseated the video card. Unfortunately I can't find my old card (just moved, alot of stuff still packed and MIA)
4. Cleaned out the heat sink. It's firmly attached.
5. Flashed the BIOS, not just with the jumper, but I also pulled the battery and the power overnight.
6. reconfigured the power cables, on the off chance that the cable to the VC was bad.

What I suspect-
1. Bad video card. But again, it worked fine before I moved, but it may have been damaged by...
2. Bad electrics in my new computer room. I do have the power running into a surge protector and through a battery backup, but the power outlet is old and I had to add a grounded adaptor. And I did ground the adaptor. Also, I have tried to power it from a newer part of the house with proper grounded outlets. No dice.
3. Bad mobo, again perhaps caused by #2.

And before I forget, here are the specs
Mobo - Asus P4S800D-X
Video Card - Chaintech GeForce 7300GT
Power Supply - Thermaltake TR2-430W
RAM - I've swapped in and out two different sets, one old, one new, so I'm confident enough in the RAM to call it moot.

Please note, nothing was added or removed. The PC was not dropped or ever handled by anyone but myself in the move. I even buckled into the front seat with me

Any insight, thoughts, or wild guesses anyone oculd offer would be greatly appreciatted!

MaHa

 

[MaHaBone]

Hey CC,
Thanks for the quick response!

I've tried reconnecting all of the cables. I have not tried reseating the heat sink, because... lets just say the reviews on newegg about Arcticcool Freezer being hard to install are not overstated in the least. I've not tried reaseat the whole mobo either. I screwed it in there myself with the proper risers, and it is firmly in place (ie, no shifting.)

Interesting side note- I just tried booting it with no video card and no ram, just power and the CPU, and I still got the One-long-two-short Video Error code. Maybe it's not the video card but the mobo's agp port? :-/

 

[Tedster]

The NO POST and Bios beep guides are clearly in the guides forum. Read them.

 

[MaHaBone]

Yep, read them and implemented as many of the relevant tips as I could find. Ditto on the beep codes (oddly enough, neither my ASUS manual or their site have any definitions of their beep codes.)

What I was hoping to find was some clarity in the diagnosis, since right now I have several expensive parts that COULD be the problem, but no way to narrow it down without some generous soul letting me take apart their computer to swap parts.

 

[MaHaBone]

Excellent! Thank you so much, CC! I'm at work right now, but I will definately try this out as soon as i get home! Whatever my results are, I will post them for the benefit of public record.

Thanks again,
MaHabone

 

[MaHaBone]

Okay, I'll go through, play by play-

1.) I unplugged EVERYTHING from the moboi, except the CPU and heatsink. I plugged in the 20 pin connector, and jumper-started the power supply with a screwdriver as per your instructions. Mobo light is on. CPU and PS fans are spinning. No beeps whatsoever. Flipped the power switch, disconnected the power plug (from the outlet to the PS) and flushed the capacitor. (I do NOT like getting zapped >:-[)
2.) I plugged in a stick of the "old" ram (as opposed to the set of 2 sticks I just bought. Plugged in the power, jumped it witha screwdriver. No beeps.
3.) Plugged in the 4-pin power to the board, my video card, and plugged it into the power supply. Screwdriver jumperstart and... HOLY $#!+!!! A POST screen! It couldn't find windows, and it shouldn't, since all the HDs are unplugged, but YAY! No beeps at all, but it just occurred to me- with so many things unplugged from the mobo, wouldn't that include the speakers to create the beeps?

3.1.) Adding all 4 RAM sticks, placing the old RAM sticks in the blue slots and the new pair in the black slots. Starts... it starts again!

3.2.) Adding back on all the minor little connectors, like the power switch, HD light, etc... I power on by the swicth since that is now plugged in- YAY! POST! And ONE SWEET SOUNDING BEEP!

3.3.)Okay, plugging in the keyboard and mouse... Boots, POSTs, and I enjoy the luxury of reseting the date and time in BIOS. Save changes and restart-

One Long and Two short beeps! No POST!

I power down, unplug, flush capacitor, replug, restart. One beep. POSTs. And my time/date changes took too. Weird.

3.4) Power on- One long and Two short again. Power down, unplug, flsuh, ect. and everything starts fine. As I am fine tuning my BIOS settings, this is a regular pattern. I get a failed POST and the one long two short EVERY OTHER time I start up.

And it doesn't matter HOW I restart either. CTRL-ALT-DEL or complete shutdown and power flush. Every OTHER time its 1 long 2 short.

Windows is starting... I feel all tingly!

Wow, I'm looking at my newly resurrected desktop. Feels good. All the same, that one-long two-short thing is weird...

Sorry for the saga-length post. figured I'd be through.

 

[MaHaBone]

Hey CC,
I am officially posting from the once-dead computer. I still have the issue of getting the failed POST/One Long, Two short error exactly every OTHER time I boot, which is quite strange, but its a quirk I can deal with. So far, so good (knock on wood!)

Thanks so much for your help! You saved me a huge amount of time and money! :-D

 

[Tedster]

Asus is notorious for being extremely picky regarding brands and types of RAM. The guide clearly says that. Change your ram for an acceptable brand. Beep codes are indicative of a hardware failure.
Start simple and work your way up.

Hook up only the motherboard, the graphics card, and ram.

Ensure your STANDOFFS are properly emplaced. Use plastic standoffs. If you use metal, ensure they are properly insulated and/or grounded. (RTFM)