M3A79-T Deluxe+PII 940 Constantly rebooting!?!?!?!

[Mechromancer]

I just put together my Phenom II 940 build and it is constantly rebooting upon startup. It doesn't even get to the BIOS screen. I'm not finding any useful information on this subject.

Have any of you experienced this and found a solution?

Parts list is here: http://67.90.82.13/forums/showthread.php?t=214180

I have everything installed except the SSDs, ARC-1210, Blu-ray player, and ATI 650 TV Tuner because they havent arrived yet.

[MadDias]

I just put together my Phenom II 940 build and it is constantly rebooting upon startup. It doesn't even get to the BIOS screen. I'm not finding any useful information on this subject.

Have any of you experienced this and found a solution?

Parts list is here: http://67.90.82.13/forums/showthread.php?t=214180

I have everything installed except the SSDs, ARC-1210, Blu-ray player, and ATI 650 TV Tuner because they havent arrived yet.

did u try starting up with a minimum config?
cpu, one stick of ram, gpu?
i think u might have to set 2t in bios to get 2gb sticks to run on the old stock bios.

[Mechromancer]

I tried one stick in both YELLOW memory slots. The manual says the yellows are more stable.

The computer is rebooting before it even gets to the BIOS screen. Have you had this problem before?

[MadDias]

I tried one stick in both YELLOW memory slots. The manual says the yellows are more stable.

The computer is rebooting before it even gets to the BIOS screen. Have you had this problem before?

no.. i had no problems. when i first fired up my m3a79-t i was using a 9950 though.
how far does the post screen go? do u see the white asus boot screen? try hitting del all the time while u see that screen.
u got another am2 cpu to flash the newest bios?

[Titan7171]

what psu you using its not listed on the list....sounds like maybe that could be it with the stuff you got listed looks like you need 800+ watts. also do you have the 12v 8 pinn power connectors connected? and also the power connectors for the graphics cards which is also not on the list

ok edit I see 512mb 4870

[MadDias]

what psu you using its not listed on the list....sounds like maybe that could be it with the stuff you got listed looks like you need 800+ watts. also do you have the 12v 8 pinn power connectors connected? and also the power connectors for the graphics cards which is also not on the list

for a minimum config even a 400w psu would be good enough. i think the board would beep like mad if he forgot to connect power connectors to either the board or the gfx card.
the fact that it simply reboots without going into bios when he is hitting del is making it very strange.
well.. let´s try the beeps.. does it beep when u boot up without ram or gfx card? or does it do the same rebooting routine?

[Oldguy932]

It shouldn't be giving you problems, mine booted up fine the first time. If you got memory like a couple of stick I got that had no spd's programmed it would give you problems. I have everything sata, a dvd-rw, 500gb, and 250gb. Maybe try reseating your cpu cooler and see if that helps.

[charged3800z24]

I don't want to sound obvious, but have you tried to clear Bios? When I got my replacement M3A79-t, it would not post. I had to clear bios. It has been fine since.

[Mechromancer]

I have a Seasonic M12 700w PSU. It pushed my old, amp and watt hungry, DFI nF4 SLI mobo even under heavy overclocks. When I had a 2900XT and my Opty 185 both overclocked the full system drew 600watts from the wall. It could definitely be my PSU, but from the way it is behaving I think it has something to do with the BIOS. This is what is does when I remove a RAM stick:

With both sticks it reboots once per SECOND. With one stick is reboots every HALF SECOND (really fast!). With no sticks it gives me the "no ram" post beeps as it should. If it gives posts beeps, does that mean the BIOS isn't gone? It almost seems like it could me a memory timing issue but I don't have any spare DDR2 to test with. Also, do Phenom IIs work with this motherboard with the release BIOS or do I have to somehow upgrade (getting another AM2 CPU just to update and configure the damn BIOS)? Or is this all a sign of BIOS corruption?

Btw, I already cleared the CMOS...no luck. I only cleared it for 30 seconds. Charged, did you have to do an extra long BIOS reset? Also what was your reset procedure, if it differs from the manual?

[Titan7171]

for a minimum config even a 400w psu would be good enough. i think the board would beep like mad if he forgot to connect power connectors to either the board or the gfx card.
the fact that it simply reboots without going into bios when he is hitting del is making it very strange.
well.. let´s try the beeps.. does it beep when u boot up without ram or gfx card? or does it do the same rebooting routine?

Just reminds me of the old A64 days when a cheap PSU would put you into a constant boot loop.

wonder if he tried resetting the cmos then??........ok he did nm

[MadDias]

I don't want to sound obvious, but have you tried to clear Bios? When I got my replacement M3A79-t, it would not post. I had to clear bios. It has been fine since.

that was my first thought too...
but that he is says it´s "rebooting" tells me that he can post.
i´d like to know at which point it´s rebooting. during post, after post??
when it posts he should get into bios, if he doesn´t wait to long with that "del hitting".

edit: ok, reboot every second. that´s not nice... doesn´t give u any time to hit any keys ;)
i´m sorry. i don´t know what else u could try other than flashing a new bios.

[Mechromancer]

that was my first thought too...
but that he is says it´s "rebooting" tells me that he can post.
i´d like to know at which point it´s rebooting. during post, after post??
when it posts he should get into bios, if he doesn´t wait to long with that "del hitting".

Actually it is restarting before it even posts. The GPU doesn't even have time to initialize. Ah hell I will have to drive 15 miles to give my friend's brand new PCP&C 750w PSU that I recommended to him a try. I'll use his RAM while I'm at it. Oh well...no computer this week :( .

[Daveburt714]

Mech, sounds to me like it may be a short on the underside of the mobo.(standoff in the wrong place :shrug:)

You might want to try it outside the case.

[HondaGuy]

What BIOS are you running? you need at least 504 to see the Phenom II 940, might have to install another CPU just to flash bios to 602.......

[Titan7171]

Actually it is restarting before it even posts. The GPU doesn't even have time to initialize. Ah hell I will have to drive 15 miles to give my friend's brand new PCP&C 750w PSU that I recommended to him a try. I'll use his RAM while I'm at it. Oh well...no computer this week :( .

is the cpu fan speeding up then slowing down over and over? because my MSI thats here now I have to rma for a bad bios flash thats exactly what it does the screen stays black and the cpu fan keeps speeding up then slowing down like its trying to start every second or so.

[charged3800z24]

Btw, I already cleared the CMOS...no luck. I only cleared it for 30 seconds. Charged, did you have to do an extra long BIOS reset? Also what was your reset procedure, if it differs from the manual?

Ya, I pulled battery and PSU for a few minutes. I don't know why that what it took. Though, my board actually had 0602 pre loaded. Like others have said, I wonder what bios is on the board, if you have another CPU that would be helpfull. But the PSU issue, I sold my K9A2 Plat board to SyntheticKiller, and he had a real nice 1000w PSU. He could not get the board to post no matter what he did. The PSU worked on other systems just fine. He went out bought another (diff kind can't remember) PSU and it posted just fine.

[LowRun]

Mech, sounds to me like it may be a short on the underside of the mobo.(standoff in the wrong place :shrug:)

You might want to try it outside the case.

I was going to suggest that too.

Edit: No bent pins?

[Halk]

Sounds like a DOA motherboard. But still you should try it out of the case. But before that try a single stick of RAM, in case one is dodgy or the motherboard struggles to run 2 at default volts. The power supply is more than enough.

[Mechromancer]

:dammit: The mobo seems to have damage TWO power supplies. Now neither one works and they're both making the same hissing noises (dead PSU for sure). WTF! I tried both PSUs in an old P4 system and one is completely dead and the Seasonic 700w is intermittently working. Now I have to buy two PSUs and a motherboard.....

I've had a lot of crap happen to me in the 20 years I've been building rigs, but I've never dealt with an electrical issue quite like this. I've had a few bad PSUs in my day and motherboards blow caps, but never this. I hope the board hasn't damaged the CPU and memory as well. Theres nothing I hate more than RMAing stuff. Now I'm out a lot more money.

R.I.P.: Seasonic M12 700watt 01/14/2009

Maybe this is a sign I should have gone with the EVGA X58, Core i7 920, and OCZ 6GB kit.....Nah...

[iandh]

Man, that board has been giving PII owners trouble, but this takes the cake. :yepp:

[informal]

Damn,it looks like DOA board...
Man,you are out of luck :shakes:

[Particle]

If the motherboard is killing power supplies, I would suspect either a bad board or a standoff shorting a rail to ground. I'd generally think the second is more likely to be the cause of killing PSUs. Time to chuck that board and begin whine+complain operations to ASUS tech support that it has killed two power supplies so far. If they can replicate the problem, they may reimburse you (as they should) for the supplies.

[charged3800z24]

If the motherboard is killing power supplies, I would suspect either a bad board or a standoff shorting a rail to ground. I'd generally think the second is more likely to be the cause of killing PSUs. Time to chuck that board and begin whine+complain operations to ASUS tech support that it has killed two power supplies so far. If they can replicate the problem, they may reimburse you (as they should) for the supplies.

An older power supply might die, but the newer ones should go into protection mode. That must be something crazy to kill one.

[Raiderman]

Newegg purchase? RMA

[Mechromancer]

The OCZ Reaper kit has ONE bad stick. I also got a M3A78-T 790GX motherboard and PCPower&Cooling 750watt PSU from Microcenter to test with. Got the system up and running (kinda), but need to swap the 790FX board back in tomorrow to see if it will work with the one good stick. I'm glad to know my CPU works, but I hate to have to RMA the memory and wait for a new pair. Oh well, I need to count my blessings and move on.

Thank you all for your help!

[nanohead]

Mech... you transferred that bad karma up to new jersey...

as soon as I read this thread yesterday, MY M3A79-T completely DIED :rofl:

uh oh, maybe that board is like the Zune.... on January 15, they all die :shocked:


Blah.. now its time to RMA, after 4 months (to the day weirdly enough) of awesome yeoman service

[Mechromancer]

Mech... you transferred that bad karma up to new jersey...

as soon as I read this thread yesterday, MY M3A79-T completely DIED :rofl:

uh oh, maybe that board is like the Zune.... on January 15, they all die :shocked:


Blah.. now its time to RMA, after 4 months (to the day weirdly enough) of awesome yeoman service

Turns out it wasnt the board. It was a bad stick of memory AND the PSU. I'm going to RMA the OCZ Reapers and I bought a PCP&C 750watt PSU. I have the M3A79-T installed and it is working great! My WD 750 Caviar Blacks are doing 200mb/s read and writing almost as fast. I have no more grievances with this board.

[Daveburt714]

Turns out it wasnt the board. It was a bad stick of memory AND the PSU. I'm going to RMA the OCZ Reapers and I bought a PCP&C 750watt PSU. I have the M3A79-T installed and it is working great! My WD 750 Caviar Blacks are doing 200mb/s read and writing almost as fast. I have no more grievances with this board.

Good Luck Bro, I hope it all continues to work out for ya! :up:

I really don't have anything bad to say about PCP&C PSU's, but every since I bought my 1st Corsair... I'll never go back... :rofl:

I'm really glad you figured out your problems man.... Keep us posted, I know your not a noob, it will be interesting to see what you can do with the new parts... :up:

[Mechromancer]

Good Luck Bro, I hope it all continues to work out for ya! :up:

I really don't have anything bad to say about PCP&C PSU's, but every since I bought my 1st Corsair... I'll never go back... :rofl:

I'm really glad you figured out your problems man.... Keep us posted, I know your not a noob, it will be interesting to see what you can do with the new parts... :up:

Check this out: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=214180

[Dumo]

Started to see a few of dead mobos/rams or system went bonkers.....in AMD section.
To cover all base, I always start with a good if not the best psu I can get before upgrading to new hardware. When system keeps rebooting, the first suspect is psu.

I knew this since my Antec 500W went kaboom and took my brand new FX55

When a psu dying most of the time it also took other components too.

[nanohead]

Turns out it wasnt the board. It was a bad stick of memory AND the PSU. I'm going to RMA the OCZ Reapers and I bought a PCP&C 750watt PSU. I have the M3A79-T installed and it is working great! My WD 750 Caviar Blacks are doing 200mb/s read and writing almost as fast. I have no more grievances with this board.

Maybe you can send that good karma up here now.... my board is still roached! :ROTF: