Mobo powered up but nothing else is.

[KaizerSosa81]

UPDATE: Huge thanks to everyone who contributed in the thread here for helping me out, you guys are great here.

[Sniper77shot]

Do you have a spare AMD cpu or another pc so you can test if its all broken?

[LITOralis.nMd]

DO NOT RMA YET!

You bought a sabertooth, I told you on the other thread, your mobo might not have a BIOS that allows the Mobo to boot with a FX cpu installed.

IF at all possible, beg or borrow a AM3 CPU like a phenom II or what ever you can find and try to install that first...

I'll post links to more info in a minute.

[LITOralis.nMd]

ASUS places a BIOS version sticker on the box, you'll need at least BIOS version 0813 to post.
Go look now.

Otherwise, the solutions are:
1. Donor CPU - Sempron 140 or Sempron 145 ; cheapest supported CPU with lowest BIOS version.
2. Send MOBO to ASUS and they'll update the BIOS for free ; 2+ weeks
3. Borrow a supported CPU
4. Computer Shop.

List of supported CPUs for your mobo:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards- ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX

[LITOralis.nMd]

Going forward, you should read this thread:
[Official] ASUS sabertooth 990FX Owners Club

It is possible you got a Dead on Arrival DOA mobo,

check for the BIOS sticker first though, it's the most common problem when sabertooth+FX cpu problems occur.

[KaizerSosa81]

Do you have a spare AMD cpu or another pc so you can test if its all broken?

No, believe me I would have done so already. Read below.

DO NOT RMA YET!

You bought a sabertooth, I told you on the other thread, your mobo might not have a BIOS that allows the Mobo to boot with a FX cpu installed.

IF at all possible, beg or borrow a AM3 CPU like a phenom II or what ever you can find and try to install that first...

I'll post links to more info in a minute.

I can't afford a cheap cpu either right now so I can post and then update my BIOS if that's the problem.

EDIT:

LITOralis.nMd;1733390']Going forward, you should read this thread:
[Official] ASUS sabertooth 990FX Owners Club

It is possible you got a Dead on Arrival DOA mobo,

check for the BIOS sticker first though, it's the most common problem when sabertooth+FX cpu problems occur.

Where is the BIOS number at on the bottom sticker? I don't see anything resembling a bios version.

[LITOralis.nMd]

Not sure where the sticker is located, I haven't unboxed a ASUS mobo in 4 years, so ...

the sempron 145 is only $35 at microcenter in Yonkers or Westbury LI, you could probably call your local PC shop and ask if they have any sempron 140 or sempron 145 (or something) laying around you could borrow/rent for a few hours.

If you're in the city find a refurbished and offlease PC reseller, they usually bin parts from dead machines, they should have some CPUs on hand.

Just make sure you have enough thermal compound on hand.

[KaizerSosa81]

Not sure where the sticker is located, I haven't unboxed a ASUS mobo in 4 years, so ...

the sempron 145 is only $35 at microcenter in Yonkers or Westbury LI, you could probably call your local PC shop and ask if they have any sempron 140 or sempron 145 (or something) laying around you could borrow/rent for a few hours.

If you're in the city find a refurbished and offlease PC reseller, they usually bin parts from dead machines, they should have some CPUs on hand.

Just make sure you have enough thermal compound on hand.

Yeah, before I made this thread actually was looking via Google/Google maps on where I would potentially have some local PC shops but my search has been pretty sparse. Also, everything is closed at the moment in case I wanted to call up and confirm before I head down to any place I find.

Still contemplating what I'm actually going to do now but thanks for being helpful as always.


UPDATE: Just got off the phone with ASUS and they are sending me an updated BIOS chip. So hopefully that was the case, I'll be getting it sometime next week most likely. If that doesn't help then I'll just RMA replace the mobo (and the cpu to be on the safe side). Still planning on exchanging for a more reliable PSU as well.

[rushn]

alright glad you figured it out

I was gona recommend getting cheap amd single core but looks like its all figured out

[Mad-Mike]

If you think your psu is weak, try this...

Ye its corsair but it works on all psu's

[MaSSive]

Mike no disrespect but thats old news. With that test you are verifying only that your PSU is powering on and supplying in this example +12V ( I assume fan is 12v )

There are other circuits on PSU +3.3V, -12V, PG, +5VSB, +12V, -5V, +5V etc...not to go into details you get the point.

Only way to verify your PSU is in 100% working condition is to get PSU tester.

[Mad-Mike]

Indeed a PSU tester is better to have but is a waste of money or pointless if your only going to test it the once or twice.
I know testing it with 1x fan isnt going to be accurate results but atleast you know its getting some power out.


There is also some good video's on youtube to test a motherboard without buying any tools.

[LITOralis.nMd]

I agree with Mad-Mike on this.
Kaiser, while you're waiting for your BIOS chip to arrive in the mail, you should follow this video and test your PSU.

Quick question, how old is your PSU? The capacitors in PSUs degrade over time, and the effective sustained output measuered in Watts drops from 5% to (theoretically) 20% a year. It's usually like 6% to 10% a year on most retail PSUs. Even if your PSU is 3 years old, it should still have enough Watts output to do the job.

[KaizerSosa81]

I agree with Mad-Mike on this.
Kaiser, while you're waiting for your BIOS chip to arrive in the mail, you should follow this video and test your PSU.

Quick question, how old is your PSU? The capacitors in PSUs degrade over time, and the effective sustained output measuered in Watts drops from 5% to (theoretically) 20% a year. It's usually like 6% to 10% a year on most retail PSUs. Even if your PSU is 3 years old, it should still have enough Watts output to do the job.

The PSU and everything included in this build is completely brand new, just had everything for a couple of days. I'll try it out tonight as I am busy at the moment and as long as it doesn't void any warranty.

The majority of my troubleshooting will be solved once I get this chip from ASUS and I'll be able to isolate my issues more easily.

Like always, thanks for all the responses here people. Really appreciate the fact that I can always turn to you guys here on the forums.

[KaizerSosa81]

Just tried the paper clip trick and it seems to be working fine. Time will tell if it works to its fullest capabilities but its great to see it power on, leaving me one less issue. Thanks Mad-Mike.

So far it looks like its the out dated BIOS chip, just want to get it soon so I can finally test this bad boy out already. Playing on my laptop in the mean time isn't completely satisfying.

[Mad-Mike]

No problem, good to see ur psu is fine

[KaizerSosa81]

Yes, but unfortunately the new BIOS chip didn't do anything because the motherboard is DOA. Going to RMA it as soon as possible, the build has been nothing but frustration for me since the start.

[MaSSive]

^^ thats why I never order PC parts online...if I order in webshop I go there and pick it up. Sure in US that might be an issue.

Mike youre right about the tester, in this case. I was thinking more in long term conditions. I need it all the time.

[Mad-Mike]

Thats bad to hear about ur mobo being DOA Kaizer ,
hopefully the next one will work. (fingers crossed)

Massive can you recommend some good PC testing equipment? like the psu tester etc...?

[MaSSive]

Massive can you recommend some good PC testing equipment? like the psu tester etc...?

I was lasy to make image like this but basically this is what you will need for field work.



I got few more gadgets like 2,5" HDD to 3,5" HDD adapters, various other plugin cards for testing, bunch of tweezers, screwdrivers, spare bag of jumpers and mounting brackets, a bit different smartphone, Win7 copies, various Linux live CDs, Linux server install disks...etc