Fresh Gigabyte EP43-DS3L Problems

[Deomahn]

So today i went out and bought a few new parts since my old Mobo died, an Asus p5b deluxe, which was a great mobo after all the pain and stress of getting it going.

Now I got some new specs:
Model Name : GA-EP43-DS3L(rev. 1.0)
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 1.0
BIOS Ver : F10
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VGA Brand : ati Model : Sapphire X1950 Pro
CPU Brand : Intel Model : Core 2 Quad Q9300 Speed : 2.5 GHz
Operation System : Windows XP Professional
Memory Brand : Corsair XMS2 Type : DDR2
Memory Size : 2x2gb Speed : PC2-6400
Power Supply : 500 Watt Thermaltake
Hard Drive : SATA
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Now for the troubles =(. I set it all up this morning and cold boot expecting to fire up windows in it, screens blank. Hrmm somethings not right i try again, nope nothing. Screen says no signal, i wonder musta missed something so i went back checked all the cords everything seemed fine. Hit the internet looked around see if my problem was common and it i followed alot of tips but nothing seemed to work. Reseated CPU/GPU tinkered around with the ram slot placing. Nothing no post, no boot, no screen. I also dont have any speakers for POST so thats outta the question anyway.

Im quite new to setting up computers but this is my 2nd go, and my first time went flawlessly so im really quite stumped as to what is the reason of this being.

Hopefully you guys can help cause honestly im out of ideas.

[trajik78]

pretty much the same problem. All the parts were working before, but I'm just switching out the MB. It powers on but no screen...

tried re-seating everything and running ram in single channel in every slot.

E6420
EP43-DS3L
2x2GB F2-8500CL6D-4GBNQ
HD3850
400W PSU

[Reggie]

Sapphire X1950 Pro
The minimum requirement for the X1950 is 450watt 30amp. Depends on which Thermaltake 500 watt model you have. I see a $35 one on Newegg, Purepower 500 NP, with 14 & 15 amp +12v rails. When combined, probably much less than the 30 amp minimum requirement.

HD3850
450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended. That's more than the 400 watts in trajik78's post.

[profJim]

Have you connected the ATX_12V connector to your mobo?
This is either a 4-pin (2x2) or 8-pin (4x2) connector that (usually) connects to the upper right corner of your mobo. Make sure that this connector is properly plugged in, as it can only be plugged in 1 way. Check your mobo user manual for more info and to clarify the correct way to hook up this power cable from the psu to the mobo.

If this cable isn't connected, your system can't boot.

[trajik78]

Sapphire X1950 Pro
The minimum requirement for the X1950 is 450watt 30amp. Depends on which Thermaltake 500 watt model you have. I see a $35 one on Newegg, Purepower 500 NP, with 14 & 15 amp +12v rails. When combined, probably much less than the 30 amp minimum requirement.

HD3850
450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended. That's more than the 400 watts in trajik78's post.

The PSU has been perfectly stable with my current config. All I did was switch out the MB. I actually put back my old MB (Intel Q35) in and It's roaring just fine again.

I can't imagine the P43 MB sucking down that much more juice since it doesn't even have an onboard GPU.

I had done a wattage PSU calculator and it said I was only using about 280W.

I'm thinking it may be incompatible RAM, as my CPU (E6420) has been supported since it's 1st BIOS.

Also, I hooked up a speaker to the MB and I wasn't getting any post codes.

Have you connected the ATX_12V connector to your mobo?
This is either a 4-pin (2x2) or 8-pin (4x2) connector that (usually) connects to the upper right corner of your mobo. Make sure that this connector is properly plugged in, as it can only be plugged in 1 way. Check your mobo user manual for more info and to clarify the correct way to hook up this power cable from the psu to the mobo.

If this cable isn't connected, your system can't boot.

both the 4-pin cpu power and the MB power cable were perfectly snugged in. I tried reseating the ram, only using one stick, and in every slot. reseating the CPU about 3 times too. cleaned off the leads on the HD3850...

[profJim]

both the 4-pin cpu power and the MB power cable were perfectly snugged in. I tried reseating the ram, only using one stick, and in every slot. reseating the CPU about 3 times too. cleaned off the leads on the HD3850...

Does the psu to mobo main power cable use a 24-pin (or 20+4-pin) connector. I've seen cases where the 4-pin part of the connector was not plugged in.

Have you tried a minimalist boot attempt; cpu, 1 memory module, vga card, and non-usb keyboard with no other hardware connected to your mobo?

If this doesn't work, try booting without any memory installed; this should generate an error beap code through the mobo speaker. The bios beep codes are usually listed in the beginning of the troubleshooting chapter at the end of the mobo's user manual.

It's possible that there could be a short circuit to the computer case. I ALWAYS test a new mobo outside the computer case for full functionality before I physically mount the mobo into the computer case.

Good luck.

[trajik78]

its the 24pin kind of connector, not the +4.

ill try it out of the case. thanks for the help. ill post later tonight when I try it out. I hope it was shorting out on the case...but it was powering up and staying on. dont know if a short would just prevent a POST.

[profJim]

ll try it out of the case. thanks for the help. ill post later tonight when I try it out. I hope it was shorting out on the case...but it was powering up and staying on. dont know if a short would just prevent a POST.

If there is a short circuit in the mobo's power delivery circuitry, the psu would/should shut off.

If there's a short in any other mobo circuit, it could muck things up and the mobo could fail to operate properly.

Last month, there was a problem with with a new mobo where a corner of the mobo was damaged in transport. His mobo let him enter the bios but then he had major video problems. Obviously the mobo's physical damage casued his problems. This example shows how damaged circuitry can partially or fully disable a mobo.

[trajik78]

well...no cigar. same power on but no POST. All 4 lights on the MB (that are supposed to represent CPU work level according to the manual) stay lit up. Even with the ram out there was no POST beeps so I can only assume there is something wrong with the MB.

I wasn't able to install the minimum parts onto the MB without putting it in the case since I dont have a proper station to do it on. I just made sure there were not case posts jutting into the back of the MB. There was only one screw that had contacts on it that didnt have a case post to screw into and i just grounded it to the case using a screw and a PCI slot cover.

Packaging for the MB could be better all around, from internal Gigabyte packaging to Beach Audio the reseller I bought it from...and it did go from Cali to NYC. The shipping box had no peanuts in it only some brown paper to hold it from bouncing around too much.

old MB is back in and working fine.

[str1979]

Model Name : GA-EP43-DS3L(rev. 1.0)
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 1.0
BIOS Ver : F10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Gigabyte site the lates firmware is the F9c!!
Where did you found The F10 version?