Need help, 5 beeps on boot! First time build

The Dodger

Hi all,

I'm having a bit of trouble with my first attempt at building a pc. When I turn it on the L.E.D's, cpu/case fans and the optical drive all work fine. Even the fans on the graphics card are working.

However I'm not getting any visuals from my monitor, and I also get 5 relatively quick beeps on start up.

Following this guide http://www.biosflash.com/e/bios-beeps.htm I think I have narrowed it down to be a video card problem.

Also when opening the MOBO packaging I noticed two small pieces of plastic fall out. I later found out that these belonged to the clasp for keeping my video card in place. I was wondering would this be the main problem? If the clasp is missing will it affect the video card? even when it is screwed into the case for support?


My build post is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=86136003 .

But for the lazy:
MOBO = ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0
graphics card = Sapphire HD 7870

Any help at all is greatly appreciated!

Gehad_JoyRider

Maybe you should check the ram is in properly as well as the gpu and that the cpu is in as it sounds like a kinda of a safe mode. So open her up and recheck everything

The Dodger

Thanks for the quick reply!

I took everything out and started with just the motherboard, psu, cpu, and cpu fan (No ram). This gave me 3 slow beeps which repeated after 10 second intervals.

When I inserted the ram I was back to the 5 beeps again. I also tried all the Ram slots with just a single stick of ram (I'm using 2x4gb sticks) and still it's the same 5 beeps.

As I say I was following this guide to narrow it down http://www.biosflash.com/e/bios-beeps.htm

Gehad_JoyRider

The Dodger wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply!

I took everything out and started with just the motherboard, psu, cpu, and cpu fan (No ram). This gave me 3 slow beeps which repeated after 10 second intervals.

When I inserted the ram I was back to the 5 beeps again. I also tried all the Ram slots with just a single stick of ram (I'm using 2x4gb sticks) and still it's the same 5 beeps.

As I say I was following this guide to narrow it down http://www.biosflash.com/e/bios-beeps.htm

Have you read the manual?

The Dodger

Gehad_JoyRider wrote: »

Have you read the manual?

I've read the MOBO manual but nothing in there describes what exactly the beeps mean.

Here's an online version of the manual. Maybe I missed something?


http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970%20Pro3%20R2.0/?cat=Manual

Gehad_JoyRider

The Dodger wrote: »

I've read the MOBO manual but nothing in there describes what exactly the beeps mean.

Here's an online version of the manual. Maybe I missed something?
ftp://europe.asrock.com/manual/970%20Pro3%20R2.0.pdf

I'm not a computer techy just googles five beats I cant tell you what to do research it it could be something to do with the power??

I've no idea the first thing i thought of was resit every thing properly

game4it70

From the Asrock website,

Without VGA card -- 5 long beeps -- Beeps at”d6”, then shows "0d".

Going by that it does sound like a dodgy GPU.

I presume the two connections from power supply to the graphics card are secure?
Have you oe a friend another pc you could use to test the GPU?

The Dodger

game4it70 wrote: »

I presume the two connections from power supply to the graphics card are secure?

Yeah the connection is secure (The GPU's fans are spinning).

So it's probably just an issue with the card? I could try my brother's card, but unfortunately, not till next weekend

game4it70

The Dodger wrote: »

Yeah the connection is secure (The GPU's fans are spinning).

So it's probably just an issue with the card? I could try my brother's card, but unfortunately, not till next weekend

Ah thats a pain.
You could try boot without the gpu to see if you get the same beeps.That should confirm if its the card or not.

When you installed the card did it click into place (little tab on the socket) as it can take a bit of force some times?

Somebody here had a similar problem and it turned out to be a faulty cable on the psu.If you got any of these with the card you could try them on the off chance.
http://www.google.ie/imgres?client=firefox-a&hs=ur3&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=800&bih=349&tbm=isch&tbnid=BNtII3UB_HzEhM:&imgrefurl=http://www.istorya.net/forums/computers-and-accessories/624524-4-pin-molex-6-pin-power-adapter.html&docid=N7YJEqOZYKP8nM&imgurl=http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/balds101/Molex-6Pin.jpg&w=600&h=300&ei=8aIsUqeXFon17Ab674CQCw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:8,s:0,i:104&iact=rc&page=2&tbnh=159&tbnw=318&start=3&ndsp=7&tx=130&ty=72

The Dodger

game4it70 wrote: »

When you installed the card did it click into place (little tab on the socket) as it can take a bit of force some times?

Is that the tab that locks it in place? If so, I'm nearly sure that it has come off the MOBO. There were two pieces of plastic which were in the MOBO box, which appeared to have broken off of it? Also there doesn't seem to be a tab there to lock the GPU in place (Which got me thinking that this was where the plastic fell from?).

Anyway if that's the problem I can always test with my brother's GPU just to be sure. If i'm getting the same issue though, I'll prob have to get a replacement MOBO

game4it70

If you look at the pci-e slot under where you have the card you will see what the tab looks like.

How important it is to have one is debatable.I'd say its more important for larger heavier cards and serves no purpose bar holding the card in place.
Check the socket and make sure the contact aren't damaged.

The Dodger

Thanks a bunch game4it70 you were right!

It was one of the cables that was the issue, everything's working fine now! The cable itself looked grand but when I switched it out with another, the whole thing worked fine!

I'm feeling pretty silly at the moment

Thanks again for the help!

game4it70

Your welcome.

Have fun!