Question One beep, no boot: Asus motherboard. Tried many things - need your ideas and finally a decision.

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kabelhaft

Aug 1, 2020
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I'm having trouble with my desktop computer. It had been running smoothly since 2013. I used it for music production, some video stuff and (very) occasional gaming. For some months I haven't been able to boot it. I'm neither talented nor knowledgable in hardware stuff. I have had several runs of trying to fix it, but always got stuck and frustrated. After having read many many forum posts (e.g. this one but also the pinned posts), I decided to start a new post, because I didn't find a solution to my problem yet. I'm hoping for some help. Please don't roast me if I forgot something obvious. Also, ask ahead if any information might still be useful!

This is what I can observe:
  • After pressing the power button, there's a 1 second silence, then the power unit and all the fans start moving and the lights go on.
  • Half a second later, there's a single beep, around 400ms I'd guess, and everything goes black.
  • It takes a few seconds (around 4) of silence, before the previous steps repeat - until I turn off the power manually.
This is what happened before:
  • I have replaced the video card, some time around November 2019. I was running a Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 before.
  • The problem first occured maybe 1 month or six weeks afterwards for the first time. I was able to restart after trying a second time. This happened maybe 5 times, no observable pattern on when it did. Then it became constant.
This is what I checked already:
  • Every component is sitting tight. I reassembled them two times.
  • I did change back to the old graphic card. No change.
  • The RAM is either fine - or they went down all at the same time. I know that they were all working before problems started. I tried booting in various combinations, but no luck.
  • The power unit is fine. There's no sign of any pin having a flawed voltage, all according to the manufacturers specs. Checked it multiple times.
  • I did reset the BIOS with the button on the mobo at some point. It could have resetted the wireless keyboard drivers that I was using. I however bought a USB-wired one (no PS/2 connectors on mobo) and no changes.
  • The Asus guide tells me one beep signifies successfull boot. Not in my case.
These are the specs:

MBX2011 ASUS P9X79 PRO
Intel Core i7-3770K i7-3970X (probably) with a Scythe cooler on top
SAPPHIRE NITRO+ RADEON RX 570 4GB
Kingston HyperX 4x4GB DDR3-2133
HyperX® 3K SSD SH100S3/480GB
Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB
Antec High Current Pro HCP-850 850W
Antec P280 (Case)
Monitor connected via DVI
Windows 10 Pro

I figured the motherboard may be fried. But as it's an old one with DDR3 slots, I know no simple means about how to test that. Or something else, I can't think of. As stated, I'm a hardware noob - this is the first and only computer I built from components (and I had good tutorial back then).

Then there's a whole new question: If it is fried, would it be even worth to buy a new one? I read DDR3 mobos are not really being manufactured anymore. Time to upgrade? What components to reuse? If I'm on a budget, how to go about it?

So first, I want to try everything worthwhile to fix that thing. What would be the next move? I dearly appreciate all ideas and helps I can get, guys!
 
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FoxVoxDK said:
Well, then you are the supreme master of random pin alignment.
Socket 1155 and 2011 are NOT compatible.
Click to expand...
Maybe I am 😀 No, I trust your judgement. I may have been billed wrongly at the time. But besides looking at the bill, how could I find out what processor is built in without access to the BIOS? (There's a big cooler on top of it and I remember that I used some kind of special glue to put them together, so I don't wnat to break anything.)

I can assure you there hasn't been a problem for years, so at least the pins are compatible (of probably another processor model.)

Is there annything you would recommend me doing regardless of the model of the processor?
 
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Open up your pc and look at motherboard.
Does it look like this? P9X79 PRO - written on it?

aMmVuvK6yJ1jJe9I_500.jpg
 
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Yes 100% positive on the mobo, quite definitely wrong on the processor. My mistake.

I may have bought a wrong processor at the time and sent it back, but kept the bill from the first one. Only scenario I can think of. However: 100% sure and the compatability of P9X79 PRO and the unknown processor.

Also 100% sure on the other components, as I can see them.
 
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SkyBill40 said:
Just curious, but how old is your CMOS battery?
Click to expand...

Something around seven years. I came with the motherboard. Hmm you think it's worth a try to replace it?

I found out something new. The beep did NOT come from the motherboard, but from the Seagate hard drive. Which I get is a bad signal. However, the Windows system is installed on the SDD. I unplugged the hard drive and nothing changes, just the beep is gone. Booting from a Ubuntu stick is not successfull either. With or without SSD plugged in.
 
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kabelhaft said:
Something around seven years. I came with the motherboard. Hmm you think it's worth a try to replace it?

I found out something new. The beep did NOT come from the motherboard, but from the Seagate hard drive. Which I get is a bad signal. However, the Windows system is installed on the SDD. I unplugged the hard drive and nothing changes, just the beep is gone. Booting from a Ubuntu stick is not successfull either. With or without SSD plugged in.
Click to expand...

It's probably the absolute cheapest thing to replace. While it may not resolve the problem... it very well could be just that simple. It can't hurt to replace it.

Weird that your HD would be beeping. is this an internal or external drive? From the sound of it, it's external.
 
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Nope, it's internal. And after some internet research I guess the beeping is mechanical. Bad news. I'll most likely have to replace it.

I can't really figure out how the hard drive malfunction (beeping) and the computer not booting coincided, even if the hard drive is not the system drive. I have these hypotheses in mind:

1) The hard drive cannot be the reason why the computer does not boot any more. Even though it malfunctioning coincided with not being able to boot any more.
(<-- The drive is not relevant for booting.)
(<-- It doesn't change a thing right now if the drive is not connected.)

2) Some root malfunction that caused the hard drive to fry also caused the part to malfunction that prevents the computer from starting.

--> I need to find either the root cause
  • What causes a hard drive to mechanically malfunction (that is able to cause other malfunctions more or less simultaneously)?
  • What else did it damage?
  • Will it do damage to parts I replace, e.g. if I replace the motherboard and the root cause is somewhere else, will the new motherboard just fry as well?

--> or the broken part
  • Something on the motherboard? Because most other things are disconnected...
  • What's the cheapest way to replace it?

Any ideas on that dearly appreciated.
 
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SkyBill40 said:
It's probably the absolute cheapest thing to replace. While it may not resolve the problem... it very well could be just that simple. It can't hurt to replace it.
Click to expand...

I just bought an Intel DX79TO - I got it used with guarantee for only 50 Euros - and it would do. I checked sockets etc. I'll get it around wednesday.

In the meantime, if you think of anything that I should do/try before changing motherboards, your comment is very welcome.
 
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SkyBill40 said:
It's probably the absolute cheapest thing to replace. While it may not resolve the problem... it very well could be just that simple. It can't hurt to replace it.
Click to expand...

I just bought an Intel DX79TO - I got it used with guarantee for only 50 Euros - and it would do. I checked sockets etc. I'll get it around wednesday.

In the meantime, if you think of anything that I should do/try before changing motherboards, your comment is very welcome.
 
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This story has a happy ending. The Intel DX79TO motherboard arrived today, does its job well and everything works as it did before. Including the once beeping 1.5 TB HDD. No data loss, no big money spend, just missing out on USB 3.0 on the front panel.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
 
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