OH GOD WHY (Rig broke, no BIOS)

[Envirobear2000]

Not sure if this is the right forum but here I go...

Recently I've built my new rig. It's all set up, here are the specs;

ASUS P8Z77-V MOBO
Enermax Platimax 650W PSU
Intel i5 3570k CPU
EVGA GTX 670 2GB GPU
Xigmatek Aegir (bunch of numbers) CPU cooler/heatsink
Corsair 400R Case

(Not in usage, currently)
Crucial m4 256gb SSD

Now, my problem is, when I turn it on, I get no BIOS. I'm not expecting and POST beeps since my MOBO/case doesn't have an onboard beepy speaker or whatever you call it. However, my MOBO does have error lights, and what happens is a couple of them flash on for a second on boot (I think the RAM one and the GPU one).

Not everything is plugged in. All I have is my MOBO 24P connector, the CPU 8p connector (2 four pins), the heatsink fan is plugged into the fan thing, and all those annoying tiny things (Power LED, Reset LED, etcetera) are plugged in. No hard drive is connected.

One thing I'm a bit confused about is my Display. I only currently have a VGA cable. Should it work if I have it in the onboard video socket? Or will it only work in the GPUs socket? I've tried both, but I thinking maybe my GPU isn't inserted properly? Is this possible - when I boot, the GPUs fans go on, and the red LED goes off almost immediately.

I've got a really bad feeling this is going to be nearly impossible to troubleshoot, but please try.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

set up without the GPU and just one ram stick.

 

[Envirobear2000]

Do I need to remove the GPU completely or can I just pull out the power wires (you know, the pin connectors)?

 

[SchizTech]

If running with a video card your display should be plugged into that. Is the PCIe power connector to your GPU connected (that's a high end GPU which needs extra power)?

 

[SchizTech]

Don't worry about error lights unless one stays lit. I'd pull out the GPU entirely to do that test (just to be sure)

 

[Envirobear2000]

Okay, I pulled the GPU out and pulled one of the RAM sticks out (I actually forgot that in the specs - I have two 4GB DDR3-1600mhz Corsair Vengeance RAM).

Unfortunately, from what I can tell, this changes absolutely nothing - still not BIOS.

 

[Envirobear2000]

If running with a video card your display should be plugged into that. Is the PCIe power connector to your GPU connected (that's a high end GPU which needs extra power)?

Yes. You mean the pinned wires coming from the PSU to the GPU?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

might be a bad mobo, but try the othe ram chip to be sure

 

[Envirobear2000]

might be a bad mobo, but try the othe ram chip to be sure

Well, balls.

 

[SchizTech]

I'm assuming when you say "no BIOS" you mean you're getting no output to the display at all (you have to press delete on startup to invoke the BIOS configuration utility on an ASUS board). Could you just be more clear on that point?

Otherwise , yeah. I'd suspect a bad board

 

[Envirobear2000]

I'm assuming when you say "no BIOS" you mean you're getting no output to the display at all (you have to press delete on startup to invoke the BIOS configuration utility on an ASUS board). Could you just be more clear on that point?

Otherwise , yeah. I'd suspect a bad board

Yeah... I mean no output.

What should I do? Should I ship it to ASUS? Or is that very unlikely to work out? Do I need to call them first?

 

[SchizTech]

How recently did you purchase the board and from what store/site? If it's covered by the site's returns policy file an RMA with them for replacement. Otherwise call ASUS and ask for replacement.

 

[Envirobear2000]

How recently did you purchase the board and from what store/site? If it's covered by the site's returns policy file an RMA with them for replacement. Otherwise call ASUS and ask for replacement.

I got it from amazon a couple of days back. Also, I've ripped the anti-static bag... will I have to get a new one (is that even possible?), or can I just sellotape up the sides or something?

 

[Envirobear2000]

Is there anything else is could possibly be? Keep in mind it's my first build so don't put anything really stupid past me...

Could it be CPU related? Or PSU related? Or should I just return the damn board (such a pain!)?

 

[cobot]

You mentioned that you have plugged in the 24-pin ATX connector, what about the 8-pin one?

It should also be connected to your mobo, the connector is usually in the top left corner of the board.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

did you line up the little arrow symbol putting in the CPU? if so, no CPU issues (and generally it won't go in if you don't)

you tried your ram chips, and it doesn't work gpu or not. so yeah, i suspect a bad board.

one other possibility is if you didn't install the motherboard standoffs (unless they are built in to your case)

otherwise, RMA the board. should have no problems

 

[Envirobear2000]

You mentioned that you have plugged in the 24-pin ATX connector, what about the 8-pin one?

It should also be connected to your mobo, the connector is usually in the top left corner of the board.

Yeah, got them both.

did you line up the little arrow symbol putting in the CPU? if so, no CPU issues (and generally it won't go in if you don't)

you tried your ram chips, and it doesn't work gpu or not. so yeah, i suspect a bad board.

one other possibility is if you didn't install the motherboard standoffs (unless they are built in to your case)

otherwise, RMA the board. should have no problems

Yeah... I suppose it's nice that's the case with the CPU. The standoffs are pre-installed so it's not that. So yeah, I guess I'll have to RMA the damn thing.

 

[Envirobear2000]

Hmmm... the only ones that seem possible are;

11. Bent pins
12. Thermal paste where it shouldn't be
21. Resetting the BIOS.

Should I reset the BIOS? I can't find and good tutorials on how to and no info in my manual. The other two... well, if it's bent pins, I'll have to send it back anyways.

I'm actually thinking it may be thermal paste everywhere... what would the solution be to this? Would I even be able to RMA it if that were the case? Can I remove it with 90% rubbing alcohol? It seems like a bad idea to rub the mobo or CPU lol.

 

[Envirobear2000]

To what did you apply thermal paster and how much?? well... you can use alcohol to remove the Thermalpaste, use as much as want because alcohol is not conductive so it wont hurt your motherboard.

You can reset the BIOS by removing the little jumper located near the battery of your motherboard, simply take the jumper off and put it back so it touches the middle pin and the pin it wasnt touching before, after 5 seconds remove the jumper and put it back to its original position

If that doesnt work RMA it.

I applied to the Heatsink (since it'a DHT or whatever you call them - with the heat pipes making contact with the CPU) and I think I may have applied too much.

I'll try the BIOS thing.

 

[Envirobear2000]

I don't see anything like the thing in this picture (http://www.spotht.com/2010/02/reset-bios-clear-cmos.html) near my battery. Should I try removing the battery? I'm a bit worried cause I don't really know how. Does it literally just pull out?

 

[SchizTech]

Yes, the battery should just "pop" out.

 

[SchizTech]

It won't hurt the board

 

[Envirobear2000]

Arghh I can't get it out. It's covered by a rubber "base" and there's nowhere to grip the battery itself. There seems to be some kind of tab coming out of the side but pulling it doesn't seem to accomplish much. I've been trying for a good five minutes... is it supposed to hard or am I doing something wrong? There just seems to be nowhere to leverage it from.

 

[Envirobear2000]

Woops I don't think the base is rubber, just black plastic or something.

 

[SchizTech]

Make sure the power is off and the power cord unplugged, and if you have something with a fine tip like a small flat-head screwdriver just gently pry the battery off from the edge (where the tab is). It should pop out of the plastic base.