Help with Asus A8N5X Post Codes
 

Hi,

I've just built a PC with the following specs:

Asus 8N5X mobo
AMD64 3700+
2 sticks 1GB PC3200 Ram
XMDIA GeForce 6500 PCI-e video card
2 SATA 250GB HD
1 16X DVD-ROM
1 16X DVD+-RW
Ultra 500W PS

I put it together, powered it up, installed Ubuntu 64bit, then shutdown.

When I restarted it, I got 1 long beep followed by two short beeps (continuous - no video). If I shut the power switch off on the power supply tne back on, then reboot sometimes I power up with no problem until I shut down again and the problem returns. Also, I re-seated the video card and that also allowed me to reboot until I shutdown again. Once I'm up, any soft boot will reboot fine. Only the cold boots produce this problem.

My guess is the Power supply, but I'd like to hear the experts' opinions. Maybe it's the BIOS? I believe this board has Phoenix/Award BIOS. I saw somewhere that this board had some issues with some PCI-e cards. But since it boots at times, I thought maybe that's not the problem (I didn't install a floppy). If it is the PS, would getting an Antec True Power 500 do the trick or would I have to go higher than 500?

Thanks.

I Googled and found http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm#05 so I think it's your video card. I'd have a look on the ASUS website to see whether there's a fix / BIOS update.

I have the same mobo. This page contains some good info on Asus boards including this Award BIOS guide which seconds rjwilmsi's comment about the video card. Are you sure that it's reseated properly, and that the monitor cable is securely connected? As a general comment, beeps typically indicate that something's either not connected, or not connected properly. Good luck with it

I've checked and re-checked, seated and reseated the card. Maybe there's a problem with the card, or the PCI-E slot on the board?

I haven't tried using another card, or even a PCI card. But I've seen posts where someone with the same mobo experiences the same problem, tried a pci card, tried resetting the cmos, and nothing seems to resolve the problem.

J.W., are you using PCI-E? Did you make any specific changes to the BIOS? Did you update your BIOS?

This is my first PCI-E card and PCI-E experience. Is there something specific about these cards that I should be aware of? (BTW, it is plugged into the PCI-E slot, not PCI - just to be clear).

Thanks for all of your helpful posts and suggestions.

Also, I'm using a DVI input cable.

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. No.

My rig is a lot like yours, same mobo, slightly slower CPU (AMD Athlon 64 3200+), 1G of PC3200 RAM, GeForce 6800 GS PCI Express 16x, 350W PSU. I didn't do anything to BIOS, and just plugged in the video card like any other. Did you connect a power cable to the video card? What happens if you don't use the DVI cable? On my machine, setting things up really wasn't anything out of the ordinary, so unfortunately I don't have any special tricks or secrets to pass along.

If absolutely nothing works, then maybe somehow the card or the mobo itself was damaged during installation... hard to say. Did you encounter any difficulty during the assembly? Were you using a static wristband?

Thanks for the reply, J.W.

There is no power connection for this video card. My next test was to try without using the DVI cable. I'll let you know what happens.

I didn't use a static wristband, but I was very careful to discharge.

Initially all was well, I installed Ubuntu Linux. But once I shutdown and powered down, the problem arose. Any warm boot is fine. Cold boots pose a problem.

Again, sometimes if I reseat components, PS, RAM, video card, or if I power off the PSU (switch in back), it'll boot fine. Another interesting thing that I noticed is that the USB optical mouse that I have will remain powered (light is on) when I power down the system. I don't know if this may be somehow related.

Got some news to report. Good news for me, I guess, hope it helps someone else, and I hope it continues to be good for me.

Well, on Saturday evening I did the following:

1. I unplugged ever component except the processor, but I unplugged the processor fan.
2. I disconnected my DVD drives, hard drives, all PCI cards, PCI-e card, memory, etc.
3. I unplugged every cable, wire from the mobo.
4. I unscrewed the mobo and took it out of the case.
5. Then I proceeded to re-assemble the computer, putting everything back together in one shot not in stages (normally I would just test the processor, memory, and video card to make sure everything is OK - but this time I said, what the heck).


I started up the computer and of course, everything booted fine. I worked for a few hours, as usual, no problem. After working, I powered down and expected the usual. When I powered up, it booted fine. OK, lucky, I guess, I did it a few more times and all was well. Still not being a believer, I let it sit all night, powered it up in the morning and to my surprise - booted with no problem. Worked for a while, powered down returned after about 9 hours, powered back up - no problem! Shut down once again, returned after another 2 hours booted up, no problem!

Now, most would probably think that I did something wrong the first time, but I did the same as originally. I still haven't uncrossed my fingers when booting, though. I don't fully believe that the problem is resolved, but I can't reproduce it anymore. If it happens again, I'll repost. But for now, I am not having the problem anymore.

I hope this will in some way helps someone. Hopefully, your issue will be resolved also.

It's good news that your problems seems to be fixed. I suppose one component was just not quite properly seated which caused your intermittent problems.

As for the USB mouse staying lit up, this is a feature of ASUS boards as they stay powered when the computer is off - it allows you to play a CD using your PC even when it's turned off (amongst other things), which is the Instant Music feature I think.

Thanks for your help and support through this issue. Hopefully I won't see this problem again. If I do, I'll be sure to post it.

Thanks for the info on the optical mouse. So long as there is no negatives associated with it, I guess I can live with it. The instant music feature is disabled.

Well, after 2 1/2 days of success, the problem resurfaced. Monday evening, I attempted to boot and once again, 1 long followed by 2 short. Completely removing power from the board, then booting again solved the problem.

I think it's safe to say that this isn't a problem with components not being seated properly, but has something to do with power on the board.

I'm hoping that there is an answer somewhere.

You have eliminated the obvious causes, and what remains is the possibility that you have a defective card or mobo. I'd suggest returning them for a replacement. Good luck with it

Just thought I'd post this in case anyone with similar issues have been following. This comes from another user who has the same board and same issue that contacted Asus support...

...'he tells me this issue is not due to the board but due to the system memory being DDR and the video card memory being DDR3, and having conflicting timing issues during boot up...well, I guess...but he basically said that there is really "no fix" for it, but he said that possibly setting the memory timings manually in the bios could help, or even trying different ram'...

I don't know how to change the memory timings, or even if it will help, but I will look into it. I'll also start another thread on this board just to see what components others are using.

Do You Have an Asus A8N5X Board?
 

There seems to be an issue with this board resulting in 1 long beep followed by 2 short beeps when booting. A response from Asus tech. support reports the following:

...'he tells me this issue is not due to the board but due to the system memory being DDR and the video card memory being DDR3, and having conflicting timing issues during boot up...well, I guess...but he basically said that there is really "no fix" for it, but he said that possibly setting the memory timings manually in the bios could help, or even trying different ram'...

If you have this board, can you please tell what type of memory and video card you are using? Also, can you state whether or not you are having this problem or another problem?

Thanks, it will help many users...

That error code is graphics related. I think the tech misunderstood what they were reading. There are several possible problems. Corsair XMS PC3200 ram is famous for not working in 64 bit boards. You board requires unbuffered ram, whereas most 64 bit boards use ECC ram. I have heard of the GPU fan haqnging up on the mobo and preventing proper seating of the video board in the AGP slot. Cheap PSU's do not deliver enough power for modern systems. The video board is especially vulnerable. Switching to a quality PSU can solve this problem. Mushkin is the best ram. If it doesn't work they will take it back. I have never seen mushkin ram not work in any machine, although I have seen every other ram fail to work in certain machines.