I’ve been experiencing a problem for a while now that seemed to occur when I moved my room around and put my pc in a different place. If I leave my PC switched on at the PSU and/or plugged in to a multi-tap that is switched on for more than 20 minutes, when I power it back up everything seems to spin up normally but my monitors won’t initialise. To get it to work I have to switch it off by dirty stop, pop the kettle lead out and leave it for at least two minutes. When I switch it back on I’m presented with a Jmicron screen stating: ”Overclock failed. 1. Try again 2. Revert to default values” I’ve not overclocked, I’ve not even tried it. I don’t have a bios speaker so I couldn’t tell you if it boots normally or if there is a code. The only way to get around this is by switching the extension off so no power reaches the PSU while it's off. What I’ve tried: I thought this might have something to do with the different wall socket I was using but I’ve switched it back to the old one and it still does it. So then I thought it might be the extension, so I tried all the ones in the house and still had a problem. I shelled out for a new Belkin 8 way but still no joy. I’d considered that it might be my gfx card playing funny beggars but when the Jmicron screen popped up I thought it had to be duff voltage being supplied to the mobo as I don’t have any other issues (no BSODS, random shutdowns, buggy programs/games potentially cause by "other" hardware issues or instability). So this has me thinking it’s the PSU but the only ways to check it are replace it or borrow one. I don’t know any one with a spare or even one they’d be willing to lend me to test as most people I know have their own one and only that one. Firstly: What’s your opinion? Busted PSU or possibly something different? Secondly: If busted PSU is the consensus: I need a new 650watt PSU but If I get a new one I want a modular one and it don’t want to break £100 if I can help it.
not the psu.. here's the manual for your board http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5K-C/e3155_p5kc.pdf make sure your memory is seated in the correct slots.. then reset the cmos (page 2-26) if that doesn't work- you can go in the bios and straiten it out.. set the 'ai overclocking' to standard instead of auto
"Overclock Failed" is simply a default message on Asus mobos to indicate that it didn't boot properly & has reverted to 'safe values' - as the message has to say something then, since things 'should' work with the mobo automatically selecting voltages, frequencies, etc, for what ever reason they have decided that it must be down to the user entering inappropriate values. Having said that, even if you're not over-clocking, it is always better to stick in at least the actual voltages/frequencies manually as this ensures that everything is running at its proper default settings. Yeah, so what's happening is - you turn on & the boot fails -> you reboot, get the message & the bios sticks in some 'safe' values so that you can use the machine -> you do so & then shut down -> & you're back to the start... As to your actual problem, the 1st 3 things i'd try are - 1. checking that nothing's become loose internally in moving the machine (ie power connectors/fans/etc) that could be creating an intermittent fault. 2. making sure you've got the latest firmware (1203 i think). 3. looking up the actual frequencies/voltages/CL Timings for, most importantly, the ram (though setting the values for your cpu as well wouldn't hurt) & sticking them in to the appropriate bits of the bios (remember though that ram voltages tend to be maximums for o/cing so, for example, if the value is ~2V or higher you may be better off trying a value nearer 1.85-1.95V & then working up). Beyond that then it's starting to look as though something's failed/failing, but it's always best to start with the free potential solutions... Well, off the top of my head, the next most likely thing is probably the PSU as you suggested... 'if' you do need a PSU then the Corsair HX 650 would both be a sensible quality buy imho & around the £100 inc postage (i've got the 1000W version & it's survived all sorts of abuse).
Firstly thank you both for your replies. This problem has been annoying the hell out of me. Originally I did check all the connectors in my PC but I’ll check them again when my fans arrive (hopefully today) and I’ll reset my CMOS while I’m at it. As for the BIOS settings I will have to be a spaz-mo and ask some newbie questions: I’ll be looking up the safe/default values for my ram and CPU but I need to know which settings to change. I’ve had a look around my bios and, although I can’t find all the values for my ram, I think I’ve found the options to unlock the manual input of the values. So which values do I need for my RAM? I’ve seen the DRAM frequency and DRAM timings control needs to be set to manual for me to change the values but I’m not sure which other vales I need to change for the ram. Same goes for the CPU. Edit: I've had a peek around my bios and I've seen these values: AI overclocking = Auto Cas latency - 6 Ras to Cas delay - 5 Ras precharge - 5 Ras activate to precharge - 9 Dram frequency - Auto I went in to power and these are the settings: Vcore - 1.272 3.3v voltage - 3.248v 5v voltage - 5.016v 12v voltage - 11.928v ^^^ But I'm assuming these value's are just the rails coming off my PSU? Thanks for all the help guys; I’m just in the process of looking for the default frequencies. One thing I did stumble across was a suggestion that the same problem on the P5K premium was a dead CMOS battery, thoughts?
i did half think about the battery, but i've got a sneaking suspicion that that would cause the bios to revert to its safe settings (ie it wouldn't retain any info) - you could test this by altering the boot drive order; ie temporarily removing the CD/DVD-ROM, saving the setting as you exit the bios & seeing if, having left the machine off for the 20 mins it takes for the fault to occur, the setting is retained. Then, you're almost completely correct that the power section of the bios is simply what the mobo is detecting as the PSU rails - the only one that isn't is the Vcore, however don't assume that that's the default for your CPU as you have "AI overclocking = Auto" which 'might' have altered it. As to the rest, to add the ability to alter the voltages, etc, you need to change the "AI overclocking" setting to "Manual" (or "Standard" if you wish to try thehippoz solution - also, with "Standard" the mobo 'should' detect the proper VCore for your CPU which you can then stick in with the "Manual" setting, providing you don't o/c). This ("Manual") then alters the bios menu to give a multitude of other options which should all be explained in the mobo manual (that thehippoz linked to). Otherwise, before doing any of this, make sure that the bios is the 1203 version - downloadable either from the ASUS website or using "Asus Update" in Windows. (okay, some people don't recommend flashing bioses within Windows, but i've never had any issue doing so with Asus boards).
Thanks man +1Rep. I'm having to arse around sorting city links blundering mess tomorrow but when I've collected what they evidently find impossible to deliver, I'll fit my new gear and get to business! I'll let you know how it goes!
Here goes: So I fit my fans*, reset my CMOS and start back up. The PC boots to the “OC failed” screen and I proceed to set relevant settings only to see the highest TRFC was 42 and I needed 60. So I restart and boot through with “Safe Values” so I can flash my bios and unlock the extra options I need. I found the bios and the method I needed to use and flashed it which went perfect despite being nerve racking. I boot back up and it throws me straight back in to the “OC failed” screen so I go through to set the right settings, check them, check them again then save and restart. Black screen > Restart > Black screen > Restart > Black screen By this point I’m quite pissed off so I grab a bite to eat and calm down. I come back to the PC and it just wont boot properly so I crack it open, check the connections which doesn’t help then pop out a stick of RAM and Bingo: PC boots without “OC failed” screen. At this stage I’m thinking it’s the stick of ram I removed from the second slot and attempt to test this. But when I try to shutdown it shuts down as normal, powers off and then around five seconds later powers itself back up and reboots. I looked in to this, check the settings within windows for the various options which can do this if set then check my bios and see the option which could potentially cause issue are disabled. No matter what I try the PC simply will not shutdown, so I shut it down and one second after it powers off I switch it off at the rocker on the PSU. So now I want to be sure it’s the other stick of ram causing the issue and not the channel I have it in. So I pop the first one out and pop the second one back in which immediately proves to be a bad Idea as it begins to power on for a few seconds and then powers off and becomes stuck in this loop. So to stop it doing this and potentially blowing something I wait till it powers off again and hit the rocker switch. When I try to reboot it with just the first stick of ram the fans begin to spin for a moment, the power LED on the front flashes once and then the fans stop and the PC does nothing else. So: Dead mobo and potentially a dead stick of ram. Really appreciate all the help guys, it just seems like the P5KC was a bad choice of board. As I’m aiming to go i7 next year I’ll be buying a cheapish mobo to keep my PC running for now….any recommendations?? * I had to bend the fan clips on my case to get the Scythe GT's to fit.
gigabyte sells a cheap p45 board.. found an open box asus like yours going for 60 dollars on newegg couple days back
