EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

[rossoevo]

Hi
As a last hope of a fix before this motherboard goes for RMA.
Problem m/b will not post properly & as a result cannot access the bios screen.
New UD3P/8500/2X1gb crucial ballistixs pc6400,together with known good gigabyte 8800GT & Tagan 30amp U22 psu.ps2 keyboard.

Barebones set up & have tried another two sets of ram.Patriot & OCZ,evga 8800gts & corsair tx650 psu.nothing else connected to the m/b even cpu fan is molex connected to psu.

Have tried numerous cmos resets with battery removed & psu disconnected all six sticks of ram have been tried in all four ram slots with the same results.

Upon powering on one beep heard and Logo screen will appear for a second quickly followed by the post screen for a nano second(have managed to see f4 bios) and then the boot menu screen.Tab & delete key have no effect.I am at a loss so if anyone has any input of something I may have missed or a magic fix could you please let me know.

[man00]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

sounds like its time for RMA..I don't mind spending a little bit of time on new board setup but I will not spent all my time to fix what should be ready to go out of the box....Good Luck

[rossoevo]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

Think you are probably right but dont like being beaten,this is "last chance saloon time"
Thanks anyhow.

[kick]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

no idea really.
Theres one other cant get to bios screen post on a ud3 thread here somewhere .
Aside from that .

Take it apart..ugh have a look at all the little indentations on the cpu contacts,little bright spots.
Make sure u can see some on all the contacts.
If your worried you could put insulating tape in the bottom of the cpu to cover all the contacts.
Then lock it in.Center the locking plate on the cpu so the gap on each side of the cpu itself is the same.
Then pull down the lever to lock it in.
Release cpu and check underside to see if all the pins have indented the tape and if they are pretty much bang on the centre.
I havent tried this myself on the whole underside! but i have blanked off one or 2 contacts with tape,for overclocking experiments.and was suprised to see the pins only just barely hitting the edge of the contacts.
Maybe just blank off 6 contacts with tape to get an idea if cpu is centered properly.
Intel only guarantee 775 cpus for 20 insertions/reinsertions..kinda scary.
There is a fair bit of "play" when your cpu drops in,even when the 2 side locking tags are engaged.
Give it a little flick towards the side where you think the pins might be just contacting the edge of the contacts..
Position the locking plate as close to evenly on the cpu as you can.
There is play there too.
Pull down lever,while holding the plate centered to achieve even pressure.
Both my 775 cpus on different boards have screw on heatsinks with mbrd backplates.
If yours are like that ..(and I dont like the intel twist n push type ).
Tighten the screms in a diagonal pattern .
Ie tighten all 4 until u just get some resistance maybe give the heatsink a little twist just to make sure its positioned and spread the paste a bit.
Then tighten them a couple of turns in the order 1/3, 2/4,Take screw 1 as the top left one as you look at it and number them clockwise from that.
keep going in the 1/3 2/4 rotation . dont overtighten.
I wouldnt go so far as to use a torque gauge screwdriver,:) but dont go as far as "Hmm i hope i can unscrew these when I need to".

^ Might seem a bit frivolous but ,I really havent had many component failures and Ive been putting pcs together since my $3000 386 sx the dx was like $200 more with oooh! 4mb ram!.
I say putting pcs together ,cos "building pcs" is a bit over the top :)
I guess Im just saying make sure all the bits are absolutely seated properly.Maybe graphics card got very slightly twisted in its previous installation.Just lock it in with the pci clip without tightening the retaining screw at first.that kind of thing?

Then again it could be just rma.
Hey have you seen posts/reviews with the cpu/memory combo u have working fine with the board?.

Thats all i can think of for a start.
The other cant post thread might have more info.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

Upon powering on one beep heard and Logo screen will appear for a second quickly followed by the post screen for a nano second(have managed to see f4 bios) and then the boot menu

This is the normal boot order. One beep means proper boot has been completed.

So what are you saying, you cannot enter the BIOS or what? You have to hit delete when you see the Gigabyte Splash screen (Full Screen Image)

If you cannot get into the BIOS have you tried another PS/2 keyboard? Have you tried the system out of the case, off the tray, with NO Hard drives or CD Drives connected and ONLY your CPU, one stick of ram and your GFX Card? Do that and see if you can get into the BIOS

[rossoevo]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post (Resolved)

Thanks for the reply's guys.
The board is up & running now but I wish I knew how.
As I mentioned earlier it was a barebones setup on my coffee table (always do this before installing in a case)Board on the box.cpu/cooler.vga card & 1 stick of ram,only other thing connected was a micro speaker.
After three days I had given up hope of getting into bios (delete key) and I posted on here and was about to rma,left it for 24hrs sitting on the box unconnected to psu (for some reason placed the foam transit packing between the board & box and covered it the whole thing with the anti-static bag) I tried it one last time and it went straight into bios first time.
As to how or why I can only guess,Sticky delete key?dirty psu connector?or maybe the magic properties of foam!!!!
Anyhow all fitted into case & all is well.
Oh and one happy nephew who I was building it for.
Thanks again for the support.

[SpeedEuphoria]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

Glad you got it working

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3P Post or not to Post

Yes, Very nice to hear about this Magic Foam!!!

Glad you didn't have to go thru the RMA hassle. Post back anytime if you have any questions or issues.