ASUS Maximus Formula SE won't boot

[Karl_in_Chicago]

New build and it's not coming up. Fans aren't spinning, only sign of life is all 3 of the mobo lit switches - CMOS reset on I/O panel and CMOS reset and Power switches along the 'south' edge are flashing in unison.

Asus Maximus Formula SE
2 x 1GB Crucial Ballistix 8500 (in the blue slots)
2 x 320GB Seagate SATA
Sapphire HD2900Pro 1GB
Lite-On 20X SATA DVD writer
PC Power & Cooling 750W Silencer, Crossfire edition (red)

Going to start pulling/moving memory and pulling the few components in there, wondering if there's anything that specific flashing light sequence means or any glaring gotcha's I should look for.

[DEVIL K-ce]

Run with only one stick of mem, or run with low end mem and set vdimm to 2.2V. Then press F10, save, exit. Turn power off, put Ballistix in slots and power up.


Martin

[Karl_in_Chicago]

It's not getting that far, I wish it was a BIOS tweak ftw.

So far I've pulled the RAM and swapped it around and have now pulled every peripheral - vidcard, Maximus-supplied sound card, DVD drive, both HD's and all the external fans. Nada. Just the 3 lit switches on the mobo blinking in unison.

[ChaosMinionX]

use the LCD poster to see what the code is... if its DET DRAM its ram, if CHECKCPU its CPU etc etc

[JPxM0Dz]

Likely fix is what was posted above

However I have seen and heard of one instance already where someone forgetting to plug in here

[Aldy402]

check the lcd poster first
if it doesn't display anything, manually clear the cmos jumper and then remove the cmos battery. Place it back after about 20 seconds and hope it works.. also try to unplug and replug all power connectors

[ChaosMinionX]

check the lcd poster first
if it doesn't display anything, manually clear the cmos jumper and then remove the cmos battery. Place it back after about 20 seconds and hope it works.. also try to unplug and replug all power connectors

Make sure your clearCMOS switch is set to enabled as well, so you can use the rear panel button.

[KTE]

Look for any beeps, sirens, and the LCD post. Also make sure you have the HSF connected properly.

If all appears fine there, then remove RAM altogether and boot it. Does it give off any sirens and LCD error?

If not, build it open top on a desk (outside of case) with minimal components. You just need a processor/fan installed and boot it. It should give off sirens and a LCD post if its a working board. If not, then its a a bust board.

[Karl_in_Chicago]

Guys it was never getting as far as displaying anything EXCEPT the 3 flashing lights I described. After removing every peripheral and swapping a single stick of RAM all around I finally figured it must be a ground on the mobo to the case. Sure enough that was it.

Still have to futz with the RAM to get it to take the second stick but that's for tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated.

[Leeghoofd]

So it boots now ?, mine will arrive tomorrow, hope I have a more flawless drive then you mate...

[Karl_in_Chicago]

So it boots now ?, mine will arrive tomorrow, hope I have a more flawless drive then you mate...

Yes, booting, running XP Pro, albeit with only 1 stick of RAM but that's for after breakfast and before the Bears game.

While I wait for the backlog of Mountain Mods cases, Thermochill Rads, and whatnot for my WC build I grabbed a new case for an interim build. The CoolerMaster 690 seemed like a decent enough case for the $$ - and it does have some fairly neat features - but I found the fit for the mobo quite tight. Further - and it's been a few years since I've built a system - nobody puts standoffs on the mobo trays anymore? Anywhoo, I followed the Sherlock Holmes logic of once you've eliminated all the possibilities that whatever is left - however improbable - is the culprit. With nothing but the CPU and CPU fan plugged in it just had to be a short.

All's well, just upgraded to BIOS level 505 and fixing to go to bed.

Good luck on your build.

[KTE]

Whenever you do a build, first thing is to do a quick build open bench with one stick of RAM. If it fails to work then remove ALL peripherals incl. HDD/RAM and check for LEDs, LCD post and sirens. Once that's OK, slowly start adding components. That'll show you what and where is going wrong and saves much hassle and wrong guesses.

Test the board and be sure to give us some feedback please. It's on my list of "maybe" for now.