New build P7N SLI-FI stuck on Memory Check

I have a new build with the following components:
Case: Aluminus ULTRA
Mobo: MSI P7N SLI-FI
CPU: Intel E8400, 3ghz LGA775, 1333 fsb, Core 2 Duo
PSU: Rosewill Extreme RX950-s-b, 80 Plus
HDD: Seagate Barracuda, 7200 SATAII
Memory: 4 X CM2X1024-6400C4 (DDR2 800 1gb sticks)
Video Card: NVidia GeForce 9500 GT
Everything is plugged in according to the directions with the mobo, I connected the 24 pin power, and the 8 pin power for the CPU. Everything is brand new, I carefully seated the CPU and cooler.
The thing gets as far as the memory check and stalls.. nothing more. At one point the message concerning the DEL or F11 key to go to BIOS or Boot came up but pressing either did nothing.
I remove the mobo from the chassis and place it on a non conductive surface.. no luck. Same result.
I remove all memory sticks but one ... still same result.
This is extremely frustrating.. any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe

Thanks for your reply.
Sorry for the crack about the Intel board...just frustrated.
So the company that I bought the board from (local company) actually loaned me a CPU that worked fine (Pentium 4), so I could flash the BIOS. I was pleasantly surprised. There is some definite value to buying from your local shop, I never shopped there before.. but I am glad I did this time... they are very trusting people.
Now my next problem; I do not have a license for Windows (nor do I have any Windows media laying around). I am a Linux user.
I have OpenSuse 10.3 up and running on this machine now and it is running great. I would however like to use my new processor so I need to flash to 7380 ver. 2.1.
Is there any utility for flashing the BIOS under Linux?
Thanks again,
Joe

Similar Messages

New build; P7N Diamond won't POST

I ran a few searches and couldn't come up with anything conclusive. Yes, I did read the sticky BIOS error codes and it didn't help. I powered on the PC for the first time, and all I get is a constant beep that never stops. Needless to say the PC doesn't POST. Anyone know what the continuous beep error code is exactly?
All connections have been verified and re-plugged to ensure proper contact. I'm questioning the processor, or the power supply. Any assistance or advice is greatly appreciated.
Specifics below:
P7N Diamond MB
PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W EPS12V Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card X 2 in a SLI configuration

Quote from: Jack the Newbie on 24-May-08, 03:20:54
Have you tested each video card seperately in the primary PCIE slot?
Have you tested each memory module seperately in all memory slots?
Did you double-check all power connections (especially 4/8-Pin +12V CPU)?
I have checked each video card in the primary slots as well as both in the other blue x16 slot. No change
I have checked each memory stick in each of the slots. No change
Quote from: Fadamor on 24-May-08, 03:56:48
The P7N Diamond uses an 8-pin +12V CPU power connector near the top-rear of the computer. I had to use an extender to get my 8-pin powersupply plug to reach.
All power connectors are indeed plugged in, the 24 pin as well as the 8pin for the CPU. THe board is laying on my desk at the moment in a bare bones config outside the case. The 8pin connector will reach, allbeit barely. I'd just like to see some output before I worry about making the inside of the case neat and tidy.
Keep the suggestions coming please. I'd rather make this work than start RMA-ing various components.

New Build P7N Platinum wont boot issue

Hi Guys,
First of all can i give you all the spec of the machine i am having the issue with a s its NOT the same one as in my signature.
P7N Platinum (not sure on bios versions as i cant get to it!)
OCZ 8500CZ memory (2x2gb)
E8600 cpu with Arctic 7 cooler
tagen BZ series 900 watt PSU
Problems are as follows:
I have just assembled the system for my wife and when i powered up for the first time i got into the bios no problems. I changed the voltage for the memory as it runs at 2.1 volts and changed the date and also the boot priority settings to DVD drive first, then HDsecond and saved as i wanted to install an OS on reboot.
I rebooted and started to install XP but it froze during the format of the drive section.
When i now try and reboot i am getting nothing at all. The screen stays black but CPU fan spins and goes at normal speed as does the rear case fan. The PSU lights up and the GFX card fan is spinning.
I have tried running just 1 stick of memory but this has not worked or made any difference. All the normal Motherboard lights appear to be on.
Can i also point out that on the first boot ( when i forgot to check what bios version i was running) the E8600 was recognised in the bios with the correct multiplier and speed. This is my first complete build and i was wondering if i have missed anything obvious
I need some help now as i diont know what to do.

Quote from: DaLoona on 03-May-09, 21:26:43
Edit :
Did you try to clear CMOS with pc unplugged?
Be sure to turn off/pull the plug of PSU & hit the case power switch to drain PSU/MB capacitors before you clear CMOS. That should restore factory BIOS settings so you can at least boot to BIOS again and see what revision you have. You can also lookat the sticker on the BIOS chip, last 3 digits indicate version ie 100 would be v1.0,
110 = v1.1. For your CPU you should have v1.2 going by CPU support list.
I'm pretty sure the chip is located here on your MB:

MSI648 Max-L - Stuck at Memory Check

Hi,
I tried to add a new stick of memory and the PC would not boot. According to the D-Bracket lights, the board is in the processing of checking memory (left red/ right Green). I tried the original memory and the new memory in another PC and it had no problems recognizing them.
I also removed all of the PCI and AGP cards, turned on the PC and heard 8 short beeps. I cant remember what these beeps mean but I believe it means something other than memory.
Not sure what else to check.
Assistance is most appreciated.

I found out that the 8 beeps means a problem with the video memory, so that matches to what you are saying about needing a video card.
I do not know any more about the original memory. The second stick of memory I put in was Ultra DDR 512MB PC2700 333 Mhz.
Since the problem occurred I have only had tried bring the machine up with one stick of memory to avoid any compatibility issues.
Could it be the memory slot itself

P7N SLI USB limited to 1.0?

have a new MSI p7N SLI motherboard and a newly installed Windows XP operating system patched to Service Pack 3. However, whenever I plug a USB 2.0 device into a USB port (front or back) I receive "This device can perform faster if you connect it to a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port".
Surely the P7N SLI supports USB 2.0. How can I obtain USB 2.0?
Motherboard: MSI P7N SLI Platinum
Memory: 4GB DDR2
OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3

Did you install the chipset drivers?
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=driver&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1459

P7N Sli Platinium and E8400 issue

Hello,
I just built a new config :
P7N SLI Platinium
E8400 (SLB9J)
DDR 2 1Go*2 Kensington
Nvidia 9600 GT
HDD SATA Seagate
And here is what i get :
A7380NMS V1.1 022508
Intel Core 2 CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz, Speed 333x9=2997 MHz
DRAM Frequency For DDR2 800 (Dual-Channel)
Initializing USB Controllers ... Done.
2048 MB OK
Press DEL key to enter Setup Menu, F11 to enter boot menu
And that's all !!
Can't go further, i tried every slot of ram, they all works, i removed everything, no solution...
I read here and there that it might be a Bios Firmware problem, but is that correct, because i've got no other 775 CPU to boot...
Thanks for your help!

Quote
And last thing, i guess it will work also if i flash with the 1.3 version ? Is there any intrest ?
Yes go for 1.3 it should works.
Quote
Or maybe it's possible to flash from a usb key directly from the bios ?
No, but you can do your USB key bootable and proceed with BIOS update.
Prepare the USB key in another mainboard.
How to flash BIOS from a bootable USB flash drive:
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/images/BIOS_FD.pdf

P7N SLI Platinum Unstable with over 2GB ram and/or dual channel memory on.

Hello need some help or to report something to MSI regarding blue screens, freezes when booting Vista 64 (SP1 + all fixes installed) with more then 2GB ram. Single channel mode works (either 1 stick of 2 GB or 3 sticks of 2GB) and is rock stable. Booting with 2 x 2 or 4 x 2 yields instability and blue screens.
I read over Microsoft's hotfix KB929777 however it appears this patch was applied during SP1. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777 - when I attempted to apply this hotfix I got the message this update does not apply to your system.
Memory tested in other gaming system using 4 sticks of G.Skill 1066 DDR2 ram and still have the same issues. Other forums like Evga.com, Tom's hardware and 411overkill.com tend to suggest some problem with this new bios version 2.0, written by Nvidia. Some others mention possibly an Nvidia nforce driver issue.
Therefore, under duress during testing - with 1 stick or 3 sticks of ram, all tests perfect and passes all stability tests, good marks in Sandra, plays any game. With 2 or 4 sticks of ram, very unstable won't stay up but for seconds.
Any ideas? (Tested 7 ways until Sunday!)
My other rig, rocks solid and stable with Vista 64.... It's the Evga new mainboard 780i with triple SLI (132-CK-NF78-A1), 8gb of Gskill 1066ddr2, MSI 8800GT (x2 sli mode) Q6600 @ 3.2 ghz - Raid 0 on dual WD caviar 640 gb/sata 3.0gb/sec. Seasonic 700w p/s. 8gb of memory and not a hiccup. Ram 2.0 volts, cpu @ 1.36v. Will handle the memory from both systems with out fault.
Considering I can swap memory back and forth and confirm it's not the sticks, swap graphics boards (own 3 of them!) and rule out that....
Fyi. Any help is appreciated!

Dump question, but have you pickup the correct update e.g. for 64bit? ==> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=91672C7C-614B-404C-850C-377541E93C18&displaylang=en
"This comes inside SP1 for vista 64, as noted with my other system during the build. "
Better double check it.
Install all four memory sticks and do a memory check with >>Memtest86<< 1st, ensure that no error(s) will comes during testing.
Also how about that?:
Quote from: BOSSKILLER on 07-April-08, 23:55:36
Remove your OC then see how its goes.
"When the system boots in single channel mode (only 2 or 6gb of ram meaning 1 or 3 sticks installed into the 4 slots) its' rock stable. When it boots into dual channel mode (2 x 2 sticks or 2 x 4 sticks) extemely unstable. "
That means, timings are too tight, or they need a bit more vcore help, or some of the memory stick has failure.
"MSI P7N SLI Platinum - MS-7380 - Bios 2.0 on Vista Ultimate 64-bit - all updated."
That BIOS is not for your board, you should use 1.xx

New P7N SLI Platinum Boot Issue with PS/2 Keyboard [Solved but RAID problem now]

This issue taken me back !!!! Never thought I might face issue with a PS/2 Keyboard.
Here it is.. I just assembled my new system...
P7N SLI Platinum Motherboard
E8400 CPU
EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600 GT Video Card
Creative Soundblaster Audio Card
So, before I boot, I connected good old PS/2 Keyboard. The POST Screen comes up that says Press DEL to enter BIOS Setup... but then, it reboots.. indefinitely... I have no idea why it does that. However, if I boot the PC with no PS/2 Keyboard connected, POST screen comes up and that's it.. (no reboot). So, you see, I cannot proceed further in anyway.... I cannot go beyond POST without a keyboard, but then with the keyboard it reboots indefinitely... kinda catch 22 situation
Any suggestion / ideas that anyone can offer here???

Hello Folks... it took long time to "solve the issue that had to begin with"....
I purchased a cheapo Celeron processor to get into the BIOS and update it... but it didn't even work... I couldn't boot at all. So, I called MSI and they asked me to RMA it. They replaced my MOBO with the latest BIOS - which was good news
So, now, I'm able to boot - good news...
Now, this is an upgrade for me.... from my previous MOBO. My boot drive was RAIDed (RAID 0). So, now, I will have to RAID my drives again and run Win XP repair. I was able to RAID my drives and all good... now, I went into Windows installation and did F6 to install NVIDIA Raid.... but, here is my problem, when the prompt asks me to input the floppy drive, and when I did it.... it re-prompts me to put the floppy drive again... I see that the floppy drive is read... but, for some reason it doesn't detect the files in there properly.... I downloaded nVidia C72+MCP55 SATA RAID / AHCI Driver (For floppy driver) for windows xp 32-bit and copied the sataraid folder contents into the floppy. Now, here I am stuck again....
Anybody experienced this problem?

P7N SLI Plat. and memory settings

Hey guy! Again, great forums! Thanks for all the help. Noob question coming up.
I have a couple of questions about the P7N SLI Platinum and memory settings. Oh, before I begin, let me say that I bought this stuff as part of deal, and ended up with the 1066 ram.
I have a few options under my belt, and I don't know which would be the best. I'm also looking for some kind of software to test RAM speeds; test between MHZ and timings performance? Does Sandra do that? Anyone know of any other programs?
Some recommend that I run 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio (looks like the most favored), but some say some boards can do better if everything is running as fast as it can, and not to worry about the ratio.
So which is it with the P7N, which is a 750i chipset?
Here's the rest of the situation:
I have a set of 2x2GB DDR2 1066 5-5-5-15; 2T @2.1v.
I have a Q6600 2.4GHz @ 3.0Ghz (1333x9) OC-ed.
I have run this memory at 1066 on this board with no hitches (overclocking the board essentially, but it handles it like a champ)
I can also run it at 800; but I have not tried tighter timings on this.
I can run it at 667 and lower timings to 4-4-4-14; 1T with no problems (so far). This gives me a 1:1 ratio as well.
This is what I am running right now.
What should I do with this board and this CPU? Should I keep 1:1 and tighten timings? I don't know if I can go below 4-4-4-14; I haven't tried yet.
Or should I run at 1066 with the stock timings?
I have been reading, but I keep hearing conflicting information (though I will admit, it's hard to find info that is very recent; articles varied from '06-'08) Some say 1:1 is best, others say that it's not necessary these days, with modern boards?
The different performance preferences also seem to vary from chipset to chipset? Is that correct?
Thank You very much for helping a lost noob!

Remus this is no bulldash, i had two 1GB DDR2 1066 cl5 1.8 volt and i sold it on ebay a week ago for £21.00 . i used it on my p6 which would take only ddr2 800 (it ran at 800mhz 1.8 volt but these were not suitable at all in terms of stability) and also on my asus which would take ddr21066 but only after overclocking fsb but keeping the default voltage at 1.8volt. those who say ddr2 1066 1.8 volt does not exist should review their comments. i believe crucial does ddr2 1066 1.8 volt and also ddr2 1066 2.1 volt
here is the proof of ebay
http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff177/kourosh22/?action=view&current=ScreenShot077.jpg
http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff177/kourosh22/?action=view&current=ScreenShot076.jpg
a memory has an oscillator and we refer to them as 800mhz or 1066mhz. because memory sticks have 240 terminals or pins for transfer of data in order to be able to increase the rate of transfer not only the oscillator speed has to be increased other parameters has to change.
DDR2 1066 1.8 volt is a memory which it's oscillator oscillate at 1066mhz when 1.8 volt is applied to, it's terminals with cas latency 5 or Cl5.
DDR2 1066 2.1 or 2.2 volt is a memory which it's oscillator oscillate at 1066mhz when 2.1 or 2,2 voltage is applied to it's terminals otherwise it will oscillate at 800mhz. these kind of DDR2 1066 are referred to as DRR2 800 overclocked.

MOVED: P7N SLI Platinum Mobo Memory overclock

This topic has been moved to Overclockers & Modding Corner.
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=121549.0

Quote from: kourosh on 19-November-08, 15:23:58
that is even better for an air cool, by the way did you increase the memory freq manually or it was increased as you increased fsb?? ??? cheers
Once again a slight manual tweak on the FSB and Memory settings and I can now getting it stable running at 3.66Ghz (Air Cooled)
Temps 37c idle to 46c running UT3 (running for about an hour)
I'm running the Memory Voltage at 2.10v, everything is stable no problems, no crashes or BSOD,
The OCZ SLI Edition Memoryboards seems to handling it well..
Memory is clocked at 966Mhz, this seems to be the highest I can take it, any higher and Quake3 Demo locks and it says driver fault..
This seems to be the most stable overclocking setting I can reach so far..
Maybe a increase on the CPU or FSB,NB voltages might gain me a few more higher freq settings..
BIOS Settings
And from 764fps on Q3 Demo Test at 1280x1024 running at 3.54Ghz
To 796.9 fps at the same Screen Res running at 3.66Ghz
Regards
NC....
Windows Vista 64 Ultimate
Motherboard - MSI P7N SLI Platinum
CPU - Core2Duo E8500 + Cooler - Arctic Pro 7
Graphics - 2 X MSI 8800GT (SLI)
Memory - 2 x 4Gb DDR 2 PC6400 OCZ SLI Edition
Antec Nine Hundred Case [4 Fans]
LG x22 DVD Writer (Lightscribe) SATA
2 x Samsung Spinpoint SATA Hard Drives 100Gb/250GB
PSU - Cosair 650w TX
Fav Game - Call of Duty 4 (yeah bring it on and kick my ass if you see me on there)

MSI P7N SLI - PC Wont Boot - Video error code but changing graphics card no help

((Apologies, I think this should be in the forum for Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad boards))
Hi. Brief description of the issue.
Last Saturday there was fan noise. I ignored that, left the machine on, went out. By Sunday morning the machine had turned itself off. I opened it up, identified the problem as the graphics card fan, failed to fix but put the PC back on figuring I'd have to see about a new card soonish.
Later on it had turned itself off again. Got to bios with a system32 config error. I figured that was why it'd been shutting off and went through the long process of manual recovery from that. Turned the computer on, all good, played games.
Until I thought to check the GFX temp... 133 degrees Celcius. Turned it off right away, ordered replacement card - which has now arrived.
But the machine won't boot at all. I get one long tone then two short. This is the same with both the old and the new cards. Blue light comes on, all the fans come on, then the beeps.
But the 'long' isn't long like if it was a RAM issue. I'm googling AMI bios post codes and seeing 1 long + 2 short is a video error, but also that '3 beeps' is a memory problem.
I've swapped my RAM sticks around and tried each stick individually and get the same beep code.
I've reset the CMOS by holding in the button on the back for 5 seconds, with the power cable unplugged and after discharging the capacitors.
The only other suggestions I've found is that it could be a failure of the PSU to power the card. But it should be giving ample power.
Now I am stuck for ideas.
MSI P7N SLI, MS-7380
Intel Q6600
Antec Neopower Blue Modular PSU
Zotac 8800GT [OR Asus GTX 260 212]
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2*1) DDR2 800
Western Digital HDD
LiteOn DVD Rom
Windows XP

With a 94000GT (no power connector from PSU) the machine is now running.
But there's still a problem somewhere (and that's a pretty poor graphics card I don't want to be stuck with) so I'm still keen to find out what to do, or what's wrong.
My 650W Antec with 2 12 volt rails should have no issues powering the other cards.

Help with ram slots on MSI P7N SLI PLATINUM

rig config:
MSI P7N SLI PLATINUM (MS-7380)
bios version: 1.3v
Q6600 quard core 2.66GHz
Zotac modded 9800GTX+ amped version
2x2 Gb DDR2 800MHz Kingston
500 watt (absolute) power supply (taken form an old HP workstation)
windows 7 X64
Everything's on stock setting
Its been almost 1 & 1/2 years since i bought this rig, and from first month itself i have been having problem with the ram. The problem is not with the sticks, its with the ram slots. There are different things that happen. Sometimes when i boot my system:
1) either, it wont start, i.e. no boot screen.
2) It will load upto windows startup screen, crash and restart in an infinite loop.
3) It will load windows, then crash after sometime.
4) If i run any memory diagnostic, it will give errors.
At these times, i take out my 2 ram sticks, tinker with them, place them in different combination of ram slots, try push them in, in a certain way, keep trying until it yields and it boots up again ( generally a process of 1/2 an hr to an hr). After this my system will work fine ( no errors on any memory diagnostic) and boot properly for a week or 2, maybe even a month, but then again the same problem happens. I know for sure that there is no problem with my dimms (have checked them in other system and they work fine), its something to do with ram slots, or memory bus-controller structure.
Recently the problem happened again, though my tinkering didn't help. My system only boots up if i place any of the ram sticks in the 3rd slot (the 1st orange one). It wont work for any other slot and neither will it work if i place both of the sticks together. I have tried resetting my bios as well cmos settings, but it has not helped. My mb is still in warranty, but if i give it for repair, it will be gone for a good month or so, which doesn't go well with me. If someone has any suggestions, or a way out, it will be highly appreciated. Please help!

Quote from: nellinil on 10-July-10, 10:27:51
yes the psu has a single +12v rail with 21A rating, but somehow i don't feel the problem is because of it. When my system successfully boots, it works properly. I can play or work on high performance softwares for any number of hours without fail, which ought not to happen if the psu is bad.
Hmm, you are ignoring the possibility that your PSU is "flaky" (that's a technical term)!!!! You've never had any gizmo where "sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work"?
If you don't want to buy a new PSU then at least beg-borrow-steal another one and see if your symptoms change.

Having a hard time OC'ing my Q6600 on the P7N SLI platinum!!

Well, first of all, I am new here, so hello to you all guys!
I just purchased the p7n yesterday. I had a P6N SLi-V2 before and wasn't able to get over the 3.0 GHz (stable)! I thought the P7N will a much better overclocker but find myself having a really hard time get it over 3.0 GHz again!?
Tried different versions of the bios (1.0,1.1,P04 and now 2.0) with no succes! Maybe anyone can help me out here and maybe share some bios setup? Will really appreciate it
My rig:
Q6600 C2Q G0-stepping
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU cooler
P7N SLI Platinum
1 x 2 GB TakeMS PC6400 DDR2 RAM
2 x MSI NX8800GT OC 512MB
1 x 200 GB + 1 x 250 GB HD
Cooler Master Extreme Power 650w

Quote from: troopertroop on 20-April-08, 22:22:09
Man, this turns out to be like a disaster :S:S I tried everything and now it won't even be stable @ 3.0 GHz with vcore 1.35, vram 2.2, fsb vtt 1.45, nb 1.4 and SB 1.5 (random reboots like crazy!). I have the intention to get some better OC's going from a p6n sli v2 to this board and it's even doing WORSE??????? The only weakpoint I can think about is my single stick 2GB TakeMS pc6400, but I never go over the stock speed of 800 MHz, so can that still be a bottleneck even at stock speed or even lower?
Any help will be welcome...
I found out the hard way.........if you are not running memory from the QVL list with this mobo, you will have problems with it. I was running mine with team xtreem 3-3-3-8 microns and all I had was errors and corruption when I overclocked. I had to reformat and switch back to the performance bios and now running corsair dominators 3-4-3-9 and this is the first set that can run at 1200 mhz at 5-5-5-18 2T 2.2 v with the fsb at 1600. I 'm using an E8400. I have read that using non approved memory and this board will not overclock properly. The only non approved memory that works in my system is geil ultra 8000's and these are the originals running D9GCT's. For stability you should try OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin, Buffalo, Kingston. I have also had problems with crucial ballistix as I've found most of there modules are in someway defective and or not compatible with MSI and have rma multiple sets. I have a previous post going from P6N FI to P7N and have listed all the memory that I have tried on this board. OCZ and corsair work the best and geil can be used but will not oc past 1142 mhz with stability. I think after a few bios updates this board will be able to use more different types of memory without stability issues.

New build with MSI 970A-G45 won't load OS or live CD

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G45 AM3+ AMD 970
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 455 Rana 3.3 Ghz Socket AM3
RAM: G.Skill Sniper Series 2x4GB DDR3 1866, Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
Video Card (original): ASUS ENGTX550 TI DC/DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Video Card (operational): XFX 7600 GT
System HD: Runcore 64GB Sata II SSD
Optical Drive: LITE-ON SATA DVD-RW drive
I just finished building a new upgrade build into an existing case with an existing PSU and hard drives/optical drive. Originally the system wouldn't power on at all, which I traced to the new video card (something to do with grounding or an inadequate power supply maybe?), but in any case I got past that for the moment with my old video card. The system will power on and get to the BIOS screen. I can enter the BIOS and everything looks fine: all my drives are detected, the RAM is present, the CPU looks correct. However, when I go to actually load an operating system, it never loads. After the BIOS screen I just get a blank screen with a white blinking cursor in the upper-left corner, and this never goes away (I've tried leaving it for 10 minutes or more).
Originally I was trying to boot from the mentioned SSD which has both Ubuntu 11.04 and Windows 7 64-bit partitions installed with GRUB2 to load them. This didn't load, so I tried an Ubuntu 11.04 live CD in my DVD-ROM drive. That didn't work, so I tried the same CD in an external USB CD-ROM drive in case it was a problem with the SATA controller/connectors. Still the same behavior. So I tried a memtest86+ CD in both drives. Still the same behavior. For each of the tests after the first I explicitly opened the boot menu with F11 at the BIOS screen and selected the device I wanted to try.
At this point I've already tried exchanging the memory I had originally bought with the memory I listed above, since the old memory I realized after I bought it was labelled as "Intel i5/i7 compatible" and the new memory is on the MSI support list for this motherboard model. Any thoughts on where to go next? My next thought was to RMA the motherboard but I feel like I'm flying blind here. I've never see a new build get stuck at this point in the boot process.

OK posting from Ubuntu on my now-working build!!
So, after two weeks of messing around with the CPU, RAM, video card, etc., I finally have the thought that the one thing I haven't tried yet is the old SATA expansion PCI card that I put in early on at the bottom of the motherboard underneath the video card (out of direct sight, out of mind apparently), for when I try to connect all 7 of my SATA devices. I tried pulling that out - presto, it boots. Retried a couple of times for proof, keeps booting correctly. It can even load memtest86+ off a CD. Put the PCI card back in - still boots. Reconnected the sata drive - no boot. Remembered that this particular PCI card has two SATA ports and one is for RAID of some kind, tried the other port - now it boots. The drive connected to the card is also detected by the OS.
In conclusion, it was something entirely different from what I was working on, as it usually is.
I'm going to get to work connecting everything back up, getting the new video card working, etc. I suspect I'll be back at least to read when I try to get my memory working at 1866 (different forum I know). Thanks to those who responded for the pointers.

New Build Problem - The Return

I have a new build and on boot I reach the stage
"Press F1 to Continue or Del to enter Setup"
but cant get further.............is my keyboard (ordinary PS/2 keyboard - tested working) not being recognised
for some reason?
D-Bracket diagnostic always stops at
"Initializing Floppy Drive Controller
This will initialize Floppy Drive & Controller"
but I don't have a Floppy Drive installed!!!
Many thanks for any help in advance.
MSI K8N Diamond nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Ex Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Newcastle 130nm(Socket 939)
Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2 XPERT TwinX (2x512) 1GB Dual Channel Kit
Enermax EG485AX-VHB(W)SFMA 480W ATX Retail (PSU)
Maxtor DiamondMAX 10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache
MSI GeForce 6800 Ultra PCI-Express 256MB
Sony DRU-720A 16x Dual DVD-R Double Layer

Quote
If it stucks on that one , doesn't that mean that it's the next one in the process that fails ?
Funny u should mention that, I was thinking about that a while back, particularly when setting up stickies. Saw nothing to support my logic & so went back to simlpler things like the meaning of life.
My Thoughts ended up as:-
1) but on the basis the system, on failing the stage, will be in various degrees of instability, it can't reliably be expected to feed back. Therefore 2)
2) Logically the system presets LED state for the next stage on completion of the previous stage. If the next stage fails the Led bracket is correct about the failing stage.

New build P7N SLI-FI stuck on Memory Check

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