CPU Speed, BCLK and Memory Speed: Boot failure.

From Arc post #8

As far as I can remember, I applied 4 standoffs, but I will take a further check.

I know of no motherboard with just 4 standoffs.

Count all the mounting holes on the motherboard and make sure they match in numbers to the standoffs and verify the position of the standoffs to match the mounting holes in the motherboard. All of the standoffs must be their without any extras under the motherboard. If you don't have all the necessary standoffs the motherboard might get warped when installed in the case.

I know that Steve has mentioned this before but it cost nothing to check again.

If it matters I do agree that building the basic system outside the case can be very helpful.

It would also be a good time to remove the cpu and verify that their are no bent pins. It will probable take a magnifying glass to do so.

Arc do you use the cpu cooler that came with the cpu? If not what cpu cooler do you use?

***Always use your motherboard manual to verify ram and other things are installed properly.

Jack, I think an MITX board has 4 standoffs.

I always build mine on a bench before I put it in a case. It sure makes things easier and lets you know if you have problems before you go to all that trouble. It's much easier to work on too.

I have never used a MITX motherboard so I assuming that is the reason I have never seen a 4 standoff mount. It's not a great picture but I think I count 7. According to Post #1 and Arc's specs this is the motherboard.
I'm I looking at the wrong motherboard.

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1150 - GA-B85M-D3H (rev. 1.0/1.1)

Here's another one. The back side shows it better. The 4 holes in the middle are CPU cooler holes, but his may be different.

Very confusing.
I guess we will just have to depend on Arc's eyes.

I found no help looking through the motherboard manual. I will do some more looking.

Tomorrow I will do a complete dismantle and re-seat it again. I will make it sure that I have applied all the standoffs and screws in all the pin-holes. I will try to get similar hardware parts to swap with the existing, one by one. But as the issue is not there when the hardware is hot, it may take a time to reach at the conclusion.

Jack, I am using the stock CPU cooler right now, as the system heat is not very high. I dont game so it does not g beyond control usually.

One more thing I have noticed which may add a little .... a few power on-off process also makes the system bootable without re-seating the RAM. But when the machine starts up, when it is cold, it does not boot at all.

My concern with what cpu cooler was not because of a temp problem but rather a mounting problem.
Some motherboard will flex when a cpu cooler is tighten to much and cause all kinds of problems.

Could you let us know exactly how many mounting holes your motherboard has.
As you can see the pictures that Steve and I have post does cause some confusion.

I must say that the Gigabyte motherboard manual leaves a lot to be desired.

Arc, I would consider bench testing it. It's much easier to see and much easier to get to if you need to work on it. I always bench test a new build before I put it into the case. I'm pretty sure Jack does too. It doesn't have to be pretty, just work. Put the board on a cardboard box (non conductive) and just plug in what you need.

Go through it very carefully and make sure all the wiring is right and completely seated. Make sure there are no frayed wires or bare wires that could be causing a short. If you have to swap out a part, it's very easy to get to. If you have an obvious problem, it's much easier to see. Do you have a case speaker wire connected internally? If not try to get one. Sometimes if something is wrong the board will have beep codes that can give you a hint of what it is. They are very cheap. In the US they are $5 or less. This is what they will look like


If you think it is ram, run memtest86+ on it and see if you get any errors.

Please don't misunderstand me.
I totally agree with bench testing.
If everything works properly on the bench it isolates problems if their are any to the installation into the case and the case hardware (switches, harnesses, ect.)