Quad GT IX38 : no power

[Esugei]

Hello,
Having searched for a similar problem but found none, I have come here for help with my mobo.
To put things quite simply, there seems to be a problem with the power supply connection (ATXPWR1). After having put together my new PC, and having checked all the connections (no apparent problems) there seems to be no power getting to the motherboard. I read in the user manual that there is a LED that lights up when the power supply is connected to the power source. In my case, this LED is flashing on and off, and the power buttons (both on the mother board and on the case) do not work. I have tried changing the PSU, but there is no change, the LED is still flashing on and off. After fiddling around I somehow managed to switch the computer on, but nothing showed up on my screen, and the case speaker went mad. Then I lost power and never got it working again (back to the flashing LED). During the time the computer actually was on, the led display showed all kinds of codes, and stopped on 7F. I was very carefull with the board during the installation, so I'm wondering whether it is faulty, there seems to be a false contact. Any ideas?

[BUFF]

It helps others to help you if they know exactly what you are dealing with.
Please supply a full system specification incl. make & models.

A flashing VSB LED (if that is what it was) is usually a sign of inadequate power.
You need to have the main ATXPWR & the ATX12V1 installed.
The 7F was the board awaiting an input from you (usually hitting F1 will let it proceed further).

[Esugei]

My full specs are available on the profile on the left. Both ATXPWR & the ATX12V1 are installed, my power supply should be more than adequate...
As for this : "The 7F was the board awaiting an input from you (usually hitting F1 will let it proceed further)." unfortunately my screen wasn't displaying anything, not that it's relevant since I cannot actually switch the computer on without fiddling about with the cables, which does not sound like a good idea. After checking the manual again I noticed that it is not the VSB light that is flashing but the power button located on the motherboard, as well as the clear CMOS switch... The VSB light is not on at all.

[zaleth]

I have the same problem with the IX38 QuadGT mobo as Esugei.
Here my specs is:
- IX38 mobo
- Q6600 Intel Quad Core cpu
- OCZ StealthXstream 600w
- Ati Radeon HD3870 graphic card

At this moment i have plugged in only these components.

When i turn on my power supply, the ez-cmos, power and reset buttons and the vsb led light on and off.
I don't understand what's wrong. Please help me (and Esugei)!

[Lvcoyote]

Have you guys tried setting these systems up outside of the case sitting on a work bench?? Shounds like both of you may be shorting out the board on something like a wayward motherboard mounting peg??

[shaithis]

I've just installed a 4870x2 into my ix38.....and was getting 7F constantly.....

I pressed F1 and it bypassed it and went to FF (successful boot code) but no video was displayed still. I found that its a compatibility issue with the IX38 BIOS, something to do with the newer PCI-E specs it seems as I can work around it with a small dipswitch on the graphics card that forces it into PCI-E 1.0, although the system is flakey still

Some have reported that BIOS 10 and 11 fix it (unfortunately I need 12+ for the 45nm support, so cannot 100% confirm this )

It may not be the same issue, but 7F was the same error code, the message in the manual for it makes it sound like its trying to go into text mode as it couldn't initialize a graphical mode. I.e. vga related.

Hopefully, there will be a new BIOS soon, other vendors have had similar issues with the x38 chipset.

[Esugei]

Hello again.
I've managed to sort out my problem, it turns out that the cables for the usb plugs on my case were causing the problem : as soon as I removed them from the motherboard, everything worked fine. Anything connected to fp_usb1 or any other fp_usb port seems to stop the mobo from working in my case. Hope this helps.