A8N-SLI Premium beep codes, won't cold boot

[timread]

In the last 2 weeks my system has become more & more tricky to boot from cold. It issues one long beep, then 2 short ones in a repeated pattern, and will not boot. After repeatedly hitting the reset switch (up to 15 times) it eventually boots. When it's not booting, the HDD case light is permanently lit.

Looking at the AWARD BIOS codes, this points the finger at a video adapter failure. However, I can see the BFG 8800GTS OC2 fan spin up to full speed when the system begins to boot (so it's not a vid card fan failure). All of the other system fans are spinning up as normal. PSU voltages are stable.

What can I do to narrow down whether there's a problem with my BFG? When my system does boot, I have no problems with graphics, playing HL2 etc. I've also removed and reseated the BFG card, reseated RAM, and tried booting with less devices connected so there's less power drawn (e.g. no DVDRW + CDRW powered).

[MrNovi]

Just because the vid card fan spins up doesn't mean that the vid card is okay. I've seen lots of vid cards that no longer send a signal to the monitor but the fan still spins (just like the cpu hs fan will still spin even though the cpu is bad).

The first thing I would do is check to make sure that you have all of the psu connectors plugged into the mobo and vid card. I know that board has a 4 pin molex near the PCI-E slot that a lot of people miss that could easily cause this problem. The Seasonic PSU that you list should be enough to handle your system, but you might want to double check the rail voltages to verify that it isn't undervolting.

Next, blow out any dust that may be around the PCI-E slot, remove the vid card, carefully wipe the contacts on it with a soft cloth and some denatured or isopropyl alcohol (do NOT use Rubbing Alcohol or any Alcohol that has any Glycerin or Petroleum by-products as that will insulate the contacts), and re-seat the vid card.

Finally, try with another vid card. It's possible that the one that you have is going out, but I tend to think it's either a power or dirty contact issue.

Don

[CMB]

If memory serves me correct, the an and mn series sometimes get the one long and 2 short with a memory issue.
Try running each stick singly also to rule it out.

[Atomic Rooster]

I'm thinking it may be a memory issue too. From what I remember, that's how mine beeped when it refused to boot with some OCZ memory.

A good program to use to test the memory is Memtest86+. They have versions for either a bootable floppy or CD.

[timread]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I tried removing the BFG, cleaning the contacts and PCI-E slot, and reseating it. I also swapped the RAM modules around. Neither of those have helped. It was even worse this morning, couldn't get it to boot at all before I left for work. The Seasonic PSU has 2 6-pin PCI-E video card connectors - the problem happens on either of the 2 connectors.

I also have a 6800GTO somewhere - I'll try swapping out the BFG card for that to see if I still get the POST problem.

I did wonder whether it might be RAM related, as well - although I've very rarely had problems with Crucial RAM (1 faulty module out of hundreds, as we also use them at work!). I'll try running MEMTEST+ on it tonight.

[timread]

OK, some progress - I forgot I'd turned on the Voice POST error reporting. Connected the realtek audio, and it turns out that it's reporting memory test failed when it doesn't post (which is most of the time now).

I've tried with 1x of each of the Crucial modules, and it reports the same error on both 1GB modules. I don't have any other DDR modules to try.

I finally got it to post with both Crucial modules, and have got through 1 pass of memtest86+ - with no errors. I also tried 4x PC3200 256MB TwinMOS modules, and the system booted fine first time. So it does seem to be a RAM issue, despite the Crucial modules passing memtest when the system did boot.

I'm now wondering whether Crucial will accept an RMA if it managed to pass memtest. Although that was the 1/20 times that the system did boot!

Grrr, I hate it when a system has major boot issues and then passes all tests you can throw at it when it <does> boot!

[CMB]

What are the voltage specs on those crucial sticks ? Possibly they require more than the standard and need to be set manually, and although they work most of the time they are just on the edge.

[timread]

I checked that last night - 2.8v apparently: http://images.crucial.com/pdf/datash...84-pinDIMM.pdf. I tried giving them 2.85v and it still wouldn't post.

I put the 4x 256MB TwinMOS PC3200 back in, and it boots with no problems. I guess I'll have to try RMA'ing the Crucial RAM. Just seems odd that both 1GB sticks have the same problem, and that memtest+ detected no errors when it did manage to post.