[Mekran]

So I decided that I would learn how to build a PC. After following the guide on NewEgg, and reading the guide on the website here, I've got all the parts together, but the system won't boot to BIOS when the video card is connected to a PCI slot. If I disconnect the video card from the PCI slot, the system will boot to BIOS just fine. Because this is my first time building a PC, I'm not sure if I have done something wrong, or if I have a defective part and should return it for a new one.

The motherboard I use is 'ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard'.
The graphics card I use is 'GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card'

For those of you who know what the Dr. Debug device on ASRock motherboards, it reads A3 and A6.

[iammykyl]

Hi Mekran,

More information is required, then a member will respond.

Please list all your hardware, include make and model.
What OS have you installed?

[Mekran]

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Series EA-750 Green 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active ...
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
DVDRW Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Have not installed an OS onto it yet.

EDIT: Case is Antec Three Hundred Gaming Case External 3 X 5.25; Internal 6 X 3.5 2*Usb2.0, pretty sure that won't matter though ._.

[iammykyl]

Thanks for the info.

Hardware is compatible. PSU has sufficient AMPS on the 12V rails.

Have to start off simple.

Always unplug from the wall socket and take anti static measures when working on the PC. (TASM)

Check you have the following cable securely attached.

The 24 pin ATX power connector and the 8 pin 12V power connector (from the PSU to the Mobo).
The 2x3 pin (6 pin PCI-E plug from the PSU to the end of the GPU.
The CPU fan wire, (bared or broken) attached to the CPU fan header on the Mobo.


Unplug the monitor. Power up the computer and see if you can enter the BIOS.


If OK. Turn off, unplug, TASM, reconnect the monitor, restart the computer.

If OK, enter BIOS, set time, date, (region, language, if present) Save and exit BIOS, you are ready to go.

If the above is a failure, the most likely cause is a short under the Mobo, so,

Unplug, TASM, disconnect the monitor, remove the GPU, remove all other connections EXCEPT the CPU fan plug.unscrew the Mobo and carefully remove it and place on a piece of cardboard larger than the board.
Your Mobo has six screw holes.Look inside the case on the Mobo mount plate and locate the standoffs, ther must be six, (NO EXTRA ONES) and match the screw holes in the Mobo. Unscrew any extra ones or relcocate if necessary.
Also look for any dropped screws or pieces of wire.

[Mekran]

Double checked all my power supply connections, double checked the monitor's connections to standoffs in the case, still can't get to BIOS when the video card is connected.

[iammykyl]

Without a GPU installed, does the computer keep running? What codes are displayed on Dr. Debug?
Asrock recommends installing the graphics card in PCI-E x 16 slot #2, (black) if this fails, What is the code on Dr. Debug?
Try the card in PCI-E slot #4, (black). Any code displayed.

Other suggestions.

Can you try your GPU in another computer? If it works, looks like a Mobo fault.
Can you try a different GPU in your computer? If this works, looks like a GPU fault.

[Mekran]

The bottom PCI slot worked just fine! I wish I had been able to think of that myself.

Thanks a lot for the help!

[iammykyl]

Glad that bit is sorted.
If slot #2 (black) does NOT work and slot #4 (black) DOES work, then you have a fault on the Mobo and you should RMA as soon as possible.

You did not answer this question. Asrock recommends installing the graphics card in PCI-E x 16 slot #2, (black) if this fails, What is the code on Dr. Debug?
The coade may give relivent information.


When you have the new board,
You will need fresh TIM. Please read this tutorial, thanks to Digerati. http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/292223-thermal-interface-material/
Remember to unplug from the wall socket when working on the computer and take anti static measures.
Build using the How to Build guide so you do not miss any steps. Double check all the connection, leave the case open for the first start so you can check all the fans are going and see Dr. Debug.

Please update the topic with results so everyone can learn.

[iammykyl]

Any updates yet?

[Dr.Dodge]

Made an account to help share in this discussion.

I also have the same exact motherboard, ASRock z68 extreme3 Gen3, and have had just about the exact same issue.

I just put together my first ever computer, and had the exact same problem as listed in this thread. Blank screen, A3 debug code, and when i pushed delete i would switch to A6 debug code, but still a blank screen on my monitor.

After reading this thread i tried removing my GPU and booting up, and sure enough i got into the BIOS.

I'm going to have to sort out the rest of this tomorrow, because its late and since im a noobie it took me about 6 hours to go through all of this I'll go through everything listed so far in the thread and hopefully find a solution. Everything else seems to be running smoothly...

[iammykyl]

Gday Dr.Dodge ,

We will be more than happy to give you assistance but would prefer you to start your own topic.
Reasons.

This thread is no longer new, some members will have stopped watching, so the response may bee limited.
you problem may be similar but the solutioncould be completely different.
Trying to sort out 2 problems on the same tropic may will confutation resulting in the wrong fix being applied.

Please start a new topic,'
List your full specs.
Describe your problem.
Tell us what you have tried to fix it.

[Mekran]

I completely forgot about this topic I made. Notifications to responses were showing up in my spam mail folder for some reason.

The end result was the video card was defective. I returned it for another one and it worked fine. When I plugged it into the other PCI slot on the motherboard, it stopped working entirely, and I was running off of the motherboard's onboard GPU without realizing it. It took a week or so before I actually got around to playing a more graphic intensive game and realized that I should probably have a frame rate higher than 5. Newegg was good with returns thankfully.

[iammykyl]

Thanks for the Update. Great that you have your problem solved

Enjoy.