I just got a new system with the following:
ASUS M2N-SLI motherboard (not the Deluxe as far as I know)
AMD Athlon X2 3.2 GHz 6400 2MB L2
Geforce 8600 GT 256MB
ANTEC Smart Power 450W Supply
2*2GB Crucial Ram
When I first put the computer together, nothing at all would happen when I pushed the power button, no fans, nothing. The light would come on to the motherboard to shows that it was getting power. We tried a different power supply and still nothing happened. I don't know how but we stumbled upon some forums talking about the 'Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC)' jumper. Although it is not advised, we tried booting it up with the jumper not installed, and it worked!!! (we immediately shut the computer off) We then tried booting it up in the 'Clear RTC' mode, and the fans would start up that way. When we put it back to the normal jumper settings, it was dead again. We also tried removing the clock battery for 30 seconds and replacing it, which would sometimes enable it to turn on in the normal previous jumper mode, although doesn't seem like a clear, sure solution. We changed batteries and that didn't seem to fix the problem. After it booted up, we installed windows and were updating it, restarting it, and shutting it down, all of which would not cause it to stop working. However, once we would unplug the power from the supply, it would 'break' again, and the computer would no longer turn on. Up to this point it seems that the best fix is to remove the Clear RTC RAM jumper and immediately replace it (while the power supply is in the on mode but the computer is off), then after that start it up, in which case the computer starts up like normal. Ideally I would like to figure out how to stop this problem and not just do this temporary fix. I know it is not advised to start the computer without this jumper, how 'bad' is this? Also, does it cause damage to remove this jumper and replace it when the computer is off but the MB has the standby light on (meaning it is getting power). Is this a bad motherboard that should be replaced? I would really appreciate any input or suggestions. Thanks in advance!