[DGalt]

I’ve been dealing with a broken system for about 3 weeks now, and I’m at a complete loss.

I built this system about a year ago:

Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 AM3 790GX mobo 

XFX Radeon 4890 1Gb gpu 

AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2Ghz CPU 

8 Gb DDR3 Kingston RAM (4 x 2GB sticks)

500GB WD Caviar Black HD

OCZ 600W 600MXSP PSU 

NZXT Guardian 921 case

It was working a month ago. Then I moved to Chicago and after unpacking and trying to boot up the system refused to boot. I had no video and was getting a POST error code of 1 Long beep - 4 short beeps.

After reading and whatnot I figured it was either the motherboard or the graphics card. I RMA’d both. XFX tested the graphics card and said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Foxconn just sent me a new board.

The new mobo arrived first. I rebuilt the machine and tried to boot up without the graphics card. I got a POST error code of 1 Long Beep - 2 short beeps. I figured the issue was that there wasn’t a video card plugged installed (even though the board has an integrated graphics card, which made me a bit concerned).

When the gfx card arrived I installed it, but was still getting the 1 Long - 2 short POST error. I cleared the CMOS, and now I’m back to getting the 1 Long - 4 Short error. I also still have no video (I know the monitor works, I’ve tried it with another system).

I should mention, I’ve tried each stick of RAM individually. It seems unlikely that all 4 sticks of RAM would go bad at the same time, but I suppose it’s possible. Unfortunately I have no way to diagnose it myself.

My only other thought is that the CPU has gone bad, but I have no way to test for that.

Everything is still under warranty, I just can’t figure out what could be the issue so that I can get that part(s) replaced.

If anyone has any ideas I’d appreciate it

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I don't want to alarm you or anything, but this particular Foxconn board you have apparantly has some issues based on some digging I've done. A good many dead boards right out of the box, and people having to RMA to get replacements. In addition, there are problems with the board dying and experiencing problems after just a few weeks to a few months of operation. There are also hardware compatibility problems with this board, especially issues with what memory is supported as well as graphics cards. Apparantly some DDR3-1333 memory modules don't run at DDR3-1333 speed.

Did you ever try overclocking your system? From what I read, this board doesn't take kindly to it.

Here are a list of beep code errors for Foxconn boards from their site:

Beep Code Means…

No beeps Short, no power, bad CPU or motherboard, or the CPU is not installed properly.

One long beep, then two short beeps
Video problem

Continuous hi-lo beeps
CPU overheating

Repeated long beeps
Memory error

All other beeps
Memory related error


Here is a list of supported graphics cards for your board.

Here is a list of supported memory for your board.

I want to say it is still either a onbaord video or memory error based on what you have listed; however, I don't have any experience with Foxconn boards. Before you RMA anything else, have you tried updating your BIOS with the latest version for you board from Foxconn? I would also double check all your connections to make sure nothing is loose. If you still can't get the board to post, I would RMA the board again since it still under warranty based on what I've read about the high rate of DOAs for this particular model.

Hope that info helps, and please, keep us posted and up to date on how things go.

[MedStudent.003Hz]

I don't want to alarm you or anything, but this particular Foxconn board you have apparantly has some issues based on some digging I've done. A good many dead boards right out of the box, and people having to RMA to get replacements. In addition, there are problems with the board dying and experiencing problems after just a few weeks to a few months of operation. There are also hardware compatibility problems with this board, especially issues with what memory is supported as well as graphics cards. Apparantly some DDR3-1333 memory modules don't run at DDR3-1333 speed.

Did you ever try overclocking your system? From what I read, this board doesn't take kindly to it.

Here are a list of beep code errors for Foxconn boards from their site:

Beep Code Means…

No beeps Short, no power, bad CPU or motherboard, or the CPU is not installed properly.

One long beep, then two short beeps
Video problem

Continuous hi-lo beeps
CPU overheating

Repeated long beeps
Memory error

All other beeps
Memory related error


Here is a list of supported graphics cards for your board.

Here is a list of supported memory for your board.

I want to say it is still either a onbaord video or memory error based on what you have listed; however, I don't have any experience with Foxconn boards. Before you RMA anything else, have you tried updating your BIOS with the latest version for you board from Foxconn? I would also double check all your connections to make sure nothing is loose. If you still can't get the board to post, I would RMA the board again since it still under warranty based on what I've read about the high rate of DOAs for this particular model.

Hope that info helps, and please, keep us posted and up to date on how things go.

[DGalt]

I haven't tried OC'ing anything with this system.

The specific model of memory I have is KVR1333D3K2. Kingston's site has no compatibility listed for this model (for any board, not just mine, which seems odd).

Foxconn's compatibility list for this board seems extremely limited. The only 2GB sticks (1333MHz or otherwise) that they have listed as compatible aren't made by any companies I'm familiar with and I can't even find anyone that carries those models of RAM.

If it is a compatibility issue what I don't understand is why all of the sudden it would stop being compatible. The system was working for almost a year just fine, which is why I'm leaning more towards a piece of hardware failing.

One thing I should have added - if I pull out all the memory (including graphics card) and turn the system on, I got a series of long beeps. According to a guide over at Tom's Hardware, this should indicate that the mobo is functioning.

Everything is pointing towards some type of memory error, but beyond that I'm at a loss.

I'm probably going to take the system to a computer repair shop and have them run some tests. I'm at the end of my limits in terms of diagnostic abilities. Maybe they'll at least be able to tell me if my CPU or RAM has gone bad.

Edited by DGalt, 18 July 2010 - 09:00 AM.

[MedStudent.003Hz]

I didn't mean for you to think that if a hardware component is not on Foxconn's compatibility list, it doesn't mean it won't work. Not everything can be tested. I agree that it sounds more like a hardware failure if it was working fine for a year, but it is possible something could have happened during your move. Something got jostled and possibly broken. Even though it seems unlikely and I know you have been very thorough, have you inspected everything to make sure their is nothing damaged on cracked on any of the RAM modules, the cpu, or the leads off the PSU?

Based on the beep codes you listed, I would think it is a memory issue. I don't know how much you will spend taking the computer to a repair shop, but it might be worth it to RMA the board if you can afford to the wait of receiving another board just to make sure; however, if you think you have a good board based on what you've done, then perhaps someone will pop in and have a few other test suggestions before you have to drop some $$$.

[powerrs]

I did register just to contribute. 

The problem is the onboard video controller. 

If you have a PCI video card, take the test and see the bios up. 

hug's