Installation and Hardware Problems
My packages arrived this afternoon. I was really excited about my system together, and with my wife out of the house at her book club, it was a great time to really geek out and order pizza.
I spent some time with Sadie and Tucker, and once they were sufficiently tired of me and fighting over a bone, I went to work.
(I’ll post photos later)
With very little actual hardware, installation was a snap. I got the motherboard in; with all the connections for things like the VFD panel, volume control knob, extra USB and firewire ports, and the drives hooked up. With a final once-over to make sure all my connections were solid, it was time for the moment of truth: I powered it on.
…And nothing happened. No POST, no beeps, no video. After about 10-15 seconds, the computer would shut off on its own. I noticed that if I disconnected the 4-pin 12v power connector, while it still wouldn’t POST, it wouldn’t shut off either. I tried different RAM slots, and removing it altogether. I also disconnected all my connections (DVD, HDD, USB and audio connections, etc) to make sure I didn’t have something connected wrong, but I still had no luck.
At this point, the two likely culprits are the power supply and the motherboard. Tomorrow, I’ll take a working power supply from another computer, and plug it into this new machine. If it comes up, I’ll just buy a new power supply for the case, since that’ll likely be cheaper than the shipping to RMA the whole case. If that doesn’t work, I’m guessing I’ll need to RMA the motherboard back to Newegg.
Update 1:
I took my server down for a few minutes, and used its power supply to test. No love. This leaves me to believe that the problem is a DOA motherboard.
Update 2
After I tried another known-working power supply, and Googling the symptoms (and a quick check of the Asus forums for confirmation), I’ve determined the problem was indeed a DOA motherboard. I’ve sent it back to Newegg, and according to UPS, it’s finally in California and should arrive at Newegg tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll be another two weeks before I get a replacement, so this won’t be updated for awhile.
Update 3
NewEgg has had my RMA’ed motherboard for over a week now. I finally called, and I’m glad I did — they had let it sit, without opening it ever since it arrived. The woman I spoke to today said they would ship out a replacement overnight, and hopefully see it next Monday (today is Thursday). However, I get an email tonight that they’ve (finally) received my RMA package, and to allow 2-3 days for inspection, and that they’ll ship the repaired motherboard shortly after. WTF! So, Newegg is getting another call from me in the morning to clear this up. >:(