# [SOLVED] Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter



## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

Comp Specs
Motherboard: MSI P6N SLI Platinum 650i
Graphics processor: Evga 8800GTS 320mb
RAM: Corsair DDR2 XMS2 1gig/ 2 stick/ tried to install 2 more sticks
CPU: Tried to install a Core 2 Quad Q6600, 2.4 GHz 
PS: MSI Turbo Stream 460W

I also had a sound card hooked up but I don't think it matters what that was. Back to my problem I just recently bought a Core 2 Quad processor and I installed that and 2 more sticks of RAM(The RAM was exactly the same as my other 2). Once I installed all this the BIOS would not come up. Nothing happens on the monitor when I turn on the computer. The fans spin, the LED lights on the motherboard turn on, the fan on the GP turns on. Everything seems to turn on all except that nothing comes up on the screen when I turn the motherboard on. I have reset the CMOS and I am stuck in what I should do. Im guessing I need to RMA my motherboard. Another weird thing that happens is if I try and hook an ATA ribbon to my CD drive it will not turn on. But if I pull it out it turns on just fine. I have built a comp system before and it went perfectly fine, this time sadly it has gone horribly wrong. I appreciate any input on my problem. The only thing I have plugged in for my tower is the power button. 
P.S. I also must mention that my computer did work the day before I got my Core 2 Quad so I have no idea what happened. It could also just be my inexperience at building comp systems. may have done something I shouldn't have.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

A 460 power supply won't pull an 8800 GTS with the other components on there. Also, the power supply you have is not known to be strong anyhow, so you have two problems there. What you must understand is that an underpowered power supply (which you have) can also damage the motherboard, memory, video card, and other components. I would get a minimum of a 650 watt power supply of a good brand name. I would suggest an Antec Trio 650.


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

I had a feeling that it could have been my power supply. So I may have destroyed my whole system because of my limited tech knowledge, lol well I guess I have to learn somehow. Also if I get a reliable PS could it fix my problem if I have not damaged my motherboard. Hopefully I dont have to get another mobo. 
I appreciate the answer and I have been wondering about my PS's power output. If there are any other things anyone can see I would appreciate the answers.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

You may not have destroyed anything yet, if fact from your symptoms, I doubt it although one never knows. You won't know until you get a good power supply in there. I would only replace the power supply and try it before you go spending a bunch of money. Some times, they just die or stop putting out enough voltage to run something. I suspect that this one just can't pull the load, so the likelyhood of burning something else since it won't boot is lessened. Tell you what, go to a best buy or a staples and get a good Antec Trio 650 and try it, and if that doesn't fix it, take it back for a small restocking fee. That is the best way to tell.


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

I just bought a 700W OCz power supply from Newegg it should be here by monday or tuesday. The reviews looked good, and I also have a friend that Im gonna talk to soon to check all of my hardware to see if it works with his extra stuff. I appreciate the quick responses and I hope that nothing more goes wrong. So there should be not problem with installing 4 sticks of RAM either or should I be wary of that? Also will I have any problems with getting my hard drive to boot up Vista since I'm changing my CPU from a Duo to a Quad? If so will I have to reinstall everything?
P.S. I hope that the Power supply is acceptable.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

That actually is a great power supply (blue color lights?) for what you want and have. You should not have to reinstall everything, because it is the hard drive that stores the motherboard chipset drivers and not the CPU. YOu do know that this issue may not be the total solution to the problem you are having, but it is absolutely necessary to get a good power supply in there before we know what issues you have. That way, you won't burn something up (if you have not already) in that rig. I am thinking you will be O.K., but don't know for sure.

Let us know how it goes.


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Well I got my power supply, but now I am unsure if it is my PS or my mobo that isn't working. I was wondering if a 700w PS needs a certain amount of time to load up or something. I really hope that this can be pinpointed by what i have said. I'm worried that I have a dead power supply, but hopefully it just needs a grace period of loading or something.


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I did test my other PS on the Motherboard and the Motherboards lights and fans turn on and the CD drive will turn on sometimes and other times not. Nothing will come up on the screen still obviously with my old PSU. The 700w PSU that i just bought seems to be DOA but Ill let it be hooked up to the power outlet and try it in the morning and see what happens. I don't know if I should get a replacement from Newegg and wait or should I just go buy an Antec 650w PSU from Staples, so that i know perfectly well that I can just return it the next day.
P.S. I also must mention that with my old power supply I hooked up my cd drive to it, and I hooked it up to the Mobo and the cd drive fried, this occurrence disturbs me, and I have no idea what this could possibly mean.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

The OCZ is a great power supply, so that should work if you have it hooked up properly. 

Are you sure:

>ATX connector hooked up

>CPU fan hooked up

>Off/On switch hooked up

>Switch on back of power supply set to 115 if in USA.

>Off/On switch on back of power supply turned on

>+12 molex hooked up to motherboard

>Power line hooked to video card if PCI-e card



Go through and make sure you have everything hooked up correctly and if it does not come to life, then you must have a DOA supply. We do get a DOA from time to time and that is unfortunate.


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Yah I'm sure, I actually took it to a friends house where he had a 600w PSU and the computer (worked), meaning it just turned on. So I went to Best buy and bought a 650w PSU and it works, so the OCZ is DOA. I'm gonna return it tomorrow... Sadly I still have the same problem I had before, nothing comes up on my monitor when I turn on the Comp. I have reset the CMOS, and all of that. So now that I have an efficient power supply, It now should only be directed towards the mobo and Graphics card right? Or could it be a hard drive problem?
P.S. My CD drive still randomly will turn on, when I turn on my comp, sometimes it will not sometimes it will. So does this pinpoint the mobo as the culprit. Could it be the 4 sticks or RAM that I have in the mobo? Sorry for all the questions, it just seems that there can be so many possibilities for this problem that I am having. I appreciate all the help from ya tumble, just thought you should know that 8 )
2nd P.S. Umm could it possibly be the fact that I switched from a duo to a quad, but would that apply to my mobo BIOS not even coming up?


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Also even if I switch back to my duo nothing still comes up on the screen.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Pull out all memory except one stick and be sure you check your manual to make sure that you get it in the proper slot for that board. Then, reseat the video card and try it again and see if you get results.

If that is not it, then see if your buddy can loan you his video card to see if that is the issue.


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

greetings
question-
this motherboard - Two PCI Express X16 slots (supports PCI Express BUs *specification v1.0a compliant*)


> After an hour of frustration I call evga support who tells me that their cards require PCI Express version 1.1 or higher. Turns out this Mobo is version 1.0.


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Ya speedster its 1.1, but sadly I got a big problem. My motherboard and my graphics card are messed up, neither of them will work on my friends computer. We tried the mobo with his graphics card and My graphics card on his, and neither of them displayed anything. The only thing that I have not checked and cannot is my CPU. My friends comp has a massive after market cooler on his CPU, so we couldnt check it. I think I'll jsut send both the mobo and the GPU back to the manufacturers and see what happens when they come back whether my CPU is messed up as well.Luckily I have a laptop to get through, and type these messages. I thank both of you for the help.


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## Fallingstar1971 (Feb 7, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

I read about your problems, and thought that maybe there would be one last hope for you. Try these steps before compleatly giving up 

1. Kill all power and unplug machine
2. Remove BIOS battery
3. Count to twenty
4. Replace battery 
5. Plug in machine and test. you will have to re-enter BIOS info. DO NOT OVERCLOCK AT THIS POINT.

If machine STILL doesnt work

1. Kill all power, unplug machine
2. push power button while unplugged to discharge board
3. Remove ALL hardware, unplug EVERYTHING except front panel (and while you at it, make sure it is connected properly)
4. Blow any dust out of any sockects
5. Connect Video Card, Hard Drive, and ONE stick of RAM. 
6. In your MB manual, find the plug on the MB for CPUFAN1, make sure some kind of FAN is plugged in there. Machines today WILL NOT POST if this plug is not used. (Some cases have differant plugs for CPU fans for digital readouts. MB plug has priority)
7. Make sure Powersupply is connected to devices properly. Check you manual and make sure there is power connected to the motherboard and the 2 devices I told you to hook up in step 5.

Plug in computer and turn on. The goal is to get it to post. we will worry about everything else later. Once it posts we still have work to do.

If these steps do not work, then chances are you will have to downgrade to your origanal PC config ( OLd procc, old RAM, ect) so you can look for a BIOS upgrade. The key is this:

******************************************************************
I also had a sound card hooked up but I don't think it matters what that was. Back to my problem I just recently bought a Core 2 Quad processor and I installed that and 2 more sticks of RAM(The RAM was exactly the same as my other 2). Once I installed all this the BIOS would not come up.
******************************************************************

Computer worked before, Computer doesnt work now. Either not enough power or BIOS problem. The Video card worked before, so regardless of what EVGA says, is not your video card, and highly unlikely its a PCIE thing since it DID work before.

So, my two cents says unsupported proccessor and/or bad proccessor configuration in BIOS (due to needing an upgrade or a mistake in CPU purchase)or insufficent power.

Best of luck, if I think of anything else, Ill let ya know

FallingSta®


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## Fallingstar1971 (Feb 7, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Ooooooooooooooo...... I just thought of one other thing as well.......

Your FIRST CPU (the one your replacing) It wasnt overclocked was it?

Because if it was, and if you just dropped in a new proccessor without changing your settings back to stock FIRST, then you could have fried your CPU or FSB or both.

Sorry dude

FallingSta®


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## Haligen (Jan 26, 2008)

*Re: Motherboard will not boot to BIOS or anything for that matter*

Ya I had to replace my graphics card, and no I had not overclocked my cpu. Thanks for the thought though. The motherboard was replaced as well. Didn't have to pay anything either I believe. So this thread is solved. thanks for the help sorry I never replied back to what happened until now. It's been a long time : (.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Thanks for getting back to us and happy you have it solved. Enjoy the rest of the week.


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