X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

[AmazingRando]

Help!

my brand-new X38-DQ6 has a Q6600 CPU with 2x2Gb PC2-8000 G.Skill DDR2 RAM, a Radeon 1900XT and an Enermax Liberty 650w PSU. I have checked and rechecked all connectors for power and can find nothing wrong, but the machine will not POST. When the power is turned on it starts up and fans turn on for about 5 seconds, then everything powers off and will repeat this behavior - power on, power off.. over and over until you shut off the power to it. There is no video either - is there something wrong with the motherboard, memory or CPU?

I have already tried pulling the CMOS battery to reset it, and changing the RAM to a single stick and different banks - the board behaves the same no matter what. I have found mention of problems with a recent BIOS (version F4?) on another webboard, but I don't even know what version would be installed on this board from the factory since it has not POSTed once yet.

[AmazingRando]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

I have also tried using the CLR_CMOS jumper, this does not change the behavior at all. The machine will not POST, does not initialize the video and powers off after a few seconds again.

[wayout44]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

Get/borrow some standard voltage (1.8v) DDR2-667 (PC5300) or DDR2-800(PC6400), 1 stick will do, and once you get it booted (if you get it booted) jump into the BIOS and up the memory voltage to suit your PC8000 memory, save and reboot and then shut it down and swap to your PC8000 and boot again.

(rant)Quite frankly over the last few years Gigabyte IMHO have been trying to hard to be one of the 1st to market with new chipset based mainboards but their electricial stability has taken a big hit over this same time frame (as a PC builder/repairer I stopped using their mainboards over this same period and am still replacing far too many due to electricial bugs, see other threads in this forum).

Also (sorry nothing personal to support staff) but it seems that most can't understand proper, simple English (just take a look a a few of the support replies here) as all replies seem as if they have been done through some poor translating software which doesn't really seem to work.

Sorry but overall I'll stick with ASUS mainboards atm.(/rant)

[AmazingRando]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

Wayout -

thanks for the advice. I also have usually purchased ASUS or Epox boards in the past and this is the first (and last) time I think I will purchase a Gigabyte board.
Unfortunately, there seems to be only 1 ASUS model with 8x SATA and DDR2 support.. which no retailer I deal with seems to carry. :(

Anyways, I have now tried a stock PC2-5300 module, but to no avail - the board behaves exactly the same even with nothing else besides memory and video plugged in.
I will be RMAing this board and CPU, hopefully to exchange for an ASUS.

[drbig]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

Sounds like the same problem I had with a GA-N680SLI-DQ6 rev 2 On thi N680SLI if you put something other than a quad core it would post.

[kali]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

try this,

install the standard pc-533/667/800 that you know works at 1.8V (one dimm will do)into the first slot (closest to the CPU)
Shut down the PC

Unplug the power cord and turn off the powersupply (if it has an on/off switch)

With the case open...use a paperclip (or any other tool) and short the CLR-CMOS pins...hold it there for a few seconds

Plug in the power cord back into the wall

Restart the pc...it should boot up with the splash screen

I have to do this every time i update the bios

I do have a thread on this issue in this fourm

Once you have the chance, grab the F5h bios, it is rock solid, and now i can overclock my Q6600 (333 x 9 and with EIST enable the speeds range from 3 to 2 Ghz)

Hope this helps

[phatty2x4]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

Hey rando, I got my x38-dq6 from newegg and everything was working fine, until the next day when I turned on my PC and it started doing exactly what you're saying(neverending off/on).
I tried taking out the battery, resetting cmos, everything. No go. It's being RMA'd right now. Hopefully I have better luck with the second one.

[kali]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

phatty2x4

by chance did you overclock or running stock

Kevin

[GIGABYTE - Janus Yeh]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

Daer AmazingRando
IF you only use one ram. Will the system POST?

[phatty2x4]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

It was oc'd to 400*8 and whenever it didn't like a setting(not enough volts, etc) it'd do the same thing, only on the first poweroff/powerup it'd post and reset to defaults in the bios. Leave it for a night and it's bunk. Tried 1 ram stick in different slots and all the battery/cmos reset, no dice.
Oh well it's on the way back to newegg for a new(hopefully working) one.

[Dilbert]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

Hello guys,

I am also just shifting from my Asus A8N-SLi board to this X38-DQ6 hoping for a better performance. I got the same problem after setup with the fans just turn and off, tun and off...

I had been searching for answer in these few days for the answer in the web. Finally I decided to take this back to the manu, so I call and they said they can fix for me. Last night when I try to pull out the board, I find a tiny piece of the capacitor plastic seat was fallen off from the board. Strange? After searching for a while and find that it was from underneath of a larger capacitor which stands off the mobo and with only one leg is in contact?? I think it might cause the problem. What a QC they got? I post a photo here for you guy to look at it. The capacitor is just next to the PCI-e slot. I will return the board to them today.

[Dilbert]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

I've got the board exchanged yesterday.
And have the guys there to start up the board, which seems OK.
However after setting up last night, same thing happens again...cannot start up.
Then I try to pull the Dominator out with only one stick in the DDR2 slot 1.
The computer can start to boot. So I try another piece of ram which also can start in the slot 1. But if I tried to put two sticks in, it would not start...wonder why?
Nevertheless, I went on trying to install the Vista with just one stick.
But it came back with a message that cannot detect my hard disk which I can find in the bios...???
So..give up and will contact gigabyte again today.

[GIGABYTE - Janus Yeh]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

What Is Your Hd Setup In Bios?

[phatty2x4]

Re: X38-DQ6 does not POST, power on.. power off..

I got a new one from Newegg today. At first it was doing the same thing, but I switched the ram to the Yellow slots and it seemed ok at first, but after it posts, it hangs with a cursor blinking in the top left and won't let me get into the bios. I'm not very happy at all right now.