# ASUS P5N-D Problem



## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

I just bought a new motherboard, and Windows Vista 64bit. I had a Blood Iron P-35 that stopped working and would not flash, I also had 32 bit Windows XP Pro installed on a different hard-drive.

I had 8GB of RAM that wouldn't be recognized higher than 3.8GB so I decided to get a new motherboard, and Vista 64bit.

I got everything installed hardware wise, and I went to startup, and I noticed a couple of things.

The BIOS loaded EXTREMELY slow! When I finally got into the setup screen, it was like I was on my old 486. I changed the settings and saved and closed, but it wouldn't restart. I turned it off and on and it still wouldn't restart.

I took all but one of my RAM sticks out, updated the BIOS, and cleared the CMOS. I started it again, and the EXACT thing happened. I changed the settings and saved and closed, when it restarted again nothing.

I cleared the CMOS again and left just the default settings. I skipped the setup, and the error said CMOS checksum error, loading default. I let this go, but it completely stopped again with a flashing cursor at the top left of the screen.

I'm stumped. This is a brandnew install, there is nothing on the hardrive, and I can't even get to the loadup of the operating system.

System:
(Brand New) ASUS P5N-D with BIOS 0601
NVIDIA 8800GT PCI-E X 16
GSKILL 6400 DDR2 2GB X 4 (8GB)
(Brand New) Western Digital SATA 320 GB Hard-Drive
(Brand New) Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit (if I could ever get it installed)
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Gaming (PCI)
NZXT 800 Watt Power Supply
iCute Cooler case with 6 12cm fans
Teac DVD/RW
HP DVD/RW


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You might want to try this to eliminate a chassis grounding issue or a problem with a stand off.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/how-to-bench-test-your-system-171424.html

Also what CPU do have?


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Well that was an great link, so I took my computer all apart. I have just the MB, Video Card, and power supply connected. It started up and started into the POST, I got back into the BIOS setup, setup my defaults, and let it run for almost an hour.

As soon as I saved and exited, it did the exact same thing. Wouldn't start again, or if it is it's simply running but nothing is on the monitor.

And far as the CPU, what do you mean? It's a Intel 3.8Ghz.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Which Intel 3.8 P4, PD9xx, is it on the CPU support list for the Bios you have?


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Where would I find this information?

I don't have the CPU box anymore.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The only 3.8 chips I came up with are Pentium 4's and it appears all are supported so if it is a Pentium 4 we can eliminate that as an issue, 



Pentium 4 HT 570J 3800 MHz 1024 KiB 800 MT/s 19× 1.25/1.4 V 115 W LGA 775 November 12, 2004 JM80547PG1121M
Pentium 4 HT 571 3800 MHz 1024 KiB 800 MT/s 19× 1.25/1.4 V 115 W LGA 775 June 12, 2005 JM80547PG1121MM

Pentium 4 HT 670 SL7Z3 (N0) 3800 MHz 2048 KiB 800 MT/s 19× 1.2/1.4 V 115 W LGA 775 May 26, 2005 JM80547PG1122M 
SL8PY (R0) HH80547PG1122MM
Pentium 4 HT 672 SL8Q9 (R0) 3800 MHz 2048 KiB 800 MT/s 19× 1.2/1.4 V 115 W LGA 775 November 14, 2005 HH80547PG1122MH


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Have you tried to let the board run on it's default Bios settings?


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, it's default boot order is Floppy, Hard Drive, CD. Because this is new install, I can't get it to boot from the CD.

When I use the boot from floppy option I just get that flashing cursor that I mentioned before.

Do you think my CPU is the reason my BIOS won't start? or continue if it does start?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Well I would feel a lot better about the cpu if we knew it was on the bois support list you may want to try to flash the Bios with the latest update from the floppy drive to be on the safe side.

But if it is a P4 it should be supported by the board out of the box.

Try setting it up with the HD and floppy disconnected and the cd drive hooked up see if it will boot to the win XP disc?


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

It has the latest BIOS according to the ASUS website. 0601 for the MB, is there a more recent one?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The latest is 0801 > http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N-D


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

One other thing -the Nvidia chip sets are very picky about memory is the ram from your old board ? is it on the QVL for the Asus board?
http://www.asus.com/999/download/products/2033/2033_10.pdf


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Ok, let me try that one real quick.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

The link shows 0601, why is it showing something different for me?

Also, the memory isn't listed, but during startup and in the BIOS it recognizes the correct memory size, voltage and timing. Whether I have 1, 2, or 4 installed.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Well I don't know what I saw before but your right it's 0601.
Check your memory manufactures web site for a configurer see if your memory is listed for the board.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Well I haven't put the OS on yet, but I reloaded the BIOS 0601, and changed as little as possible in the setup, and saved and closed. 

I left it overnight "saving and closing" and I woke up to the "non-sytem disk" error.

I've restarted it 4 or 5 times and it starts very quickly and goes right to the error again, where it used to stop for a long time at the hyper threading line.

I'm going to try to intall the OS while it's still apart and on the bench.

I'll update you on the status.

Thanks so far for your help.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Well everything is back in the case, I installed the OS while it was on the bench, no problems. It would start and stop no problems, so I put it back in the case and now it's "picky".

It sometimes starts fast, sometimes it starts after several HOURS, or sometimes not at all. I'm back to that same flashing cursor.

I emails ASUS tech support, they haven't responded.

I'm so confused on what is going on, this is my first 64bit App, so I thought that it was the problem, so I've been trying to find all these drivers that are 64 bit, but still nothing.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

If it ran ok on the bench and now it does not you need to check the stand off are in the correct places and that the board is not grounding somewhere on the case.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

How would I check grounding when it's all tucked into the case? Should I try mounting the board on the fiber washers between the board and the standoffs?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No most likely there is a stand off some place it is not supposed to be or does the case have raised bumps that the motherboard attaches to instead of brass stand offs?
Also check the rear panel cover fits correctly.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

There are raised bumps on the case except for 3 holes, that I had to install standoffs. It's a full size ATX board, not a mini. 

Everything seems to be attached correctly.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You have to watch the raised bumps I have seen problems where the diameter of the bumps is too large for the clear area of the motherboard, I think your going to have to check the bottom of the board around where it mounts to the bumps to see if there is enough clearance.

What brand and model case did you get?


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

iCute NCTOP Blaste


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Now if I could only read Korean? we might get somewhere Do you know the web address?


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Yeah, but they don't have much in the way of tech support.

The main address is:

http://icute.com.tw/english/

The actual case is on this page:

http://icute.com.tw/english/S901.html

And the actual model is:

S901-4GA-BB (it's toward the middle of the page on the left)


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I think your going to have to pull the board back out and look at the back of it to see if there is a printed circuit hitting the top of those raised bumps they use instead of stand offs, your right they don't have a lot of support on there but in the picture the mounting bumps look pretty big. I'm thinking some kind of small plastic washers may do the trick.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

I don't know, the bumps are pretty large. But if I use washers is it going to effect the grounding points that are on the board? Is it possible to not be grounded enough?

The center mounting hole does look quite small and maybe it's getting pinched, but there aren't any exposed points other than the ones that are supposed to be.

I attached a couple of pics to show you since the site isn't as helpful.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Try this put some lipstick on the bumps on the tray make sure to get the sides of the cone
gently set the board straight as you can in position then press gently around the mounting points, pick up the board and look for lipstick on a solder joint. Of course wipe it off completely when done, But if the board ran on the bench and not in the case it has to be a grounding issue. And you can't have too good of a ground where it supposed to be grounded.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Ok, I've been trying everything.

I tried the lipstick, nothing was out of place but I put the washers under the motherboard anyway (wow, was that a pain). On the bench it would work over and over no matter what.

I put the board together in the case, and left it on my kitchen table. Again, it would work over and over.

I moved it to my office and it would turn on over and over, BUT...

If I shut down from Windows, and turned it right back on it would start, BUT...

If i leave it over night it won't. I have to clear the CMOS to get it to restart, which takes several tries, and eventually will get started after more than an hour of off and on, going through the flashing cursor, the CMOS checksum errors, Windows didn't start properly message, and other messages that we've talked about in earlier posts. I tried putting a brand new battery into the mother board, thinking it wasn't saving the CMOS long term, but that didn't help either.

Also, this will only happen if the A/C is left on in the room over night. If it's sitting at room temperature, it won't start at all, in fact if the computer is running after it's started and the A/C is on it works fast, no problems, BUT...

If i turn off the A/C while the computer is on, within 3-5 minutes it becomes EXTREMELY sluggish, in fact just to "show hidden icons" down by the clock it takes 2-3 minutes for it to finish scrolling open.

I checked the tempuratures while this is happening, and the MB is running at 32 degrees C and the CPU is running between 38 to 42 degrees C.

This doesn't make sense those tempuratures aren't really hot, so I'm confused. The A/C is plugged into the same wall socket so maybe the A/C is pulling more amperage into the socket to allow the computer to work, I really don't know. I'm desperate now.

Also I video taped the POST because some of the messages went through so fast I couldn't read them and there was a message that said, "Warning: Have Option ROM can not be invoke (Vendor ID: 10DEh, Deivce ID: 036Eh)"

This message appears after the intitial BIOS post, then my SATA array BIOS POST, and then comes back to the normal POST sequence. Before the Windows screen appears this message appears.

It's not spelled wrong, that's EXACTLY what it said. It still starts up with this message, so I don't know if it's the problem, or another problem.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Are you using Raid? I have seen that on the 680 nvidia boards with Raid enabled.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

I do have a Raid card, but not on the motherboard. I have a PCI SATA card, that I use for some storage drives, but they aren't bootable.

My bootdrive with Windows on it is standard hard drive non-raid.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Try it without the Raid card to see if that is the source of the problem.


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## pucker21 (Aug 31, 2008)

Took, it out same thing. The only difference was the POST sequence was very slow when I finally got it going. It sat on each device for several minutes, before moving to the next, which usually happens extremely quickly.


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