Hi All,
Long time reader, first time writer. I built a machine to the following specs yesterday and can't seem to get it to fire-up.
Intel Xeon E5645 (single for now)
EVGA Classified SR-2
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 24GB (6 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 F3-10666CL9T2-24GBRL
Quadro 4000
SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128D/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III
ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit
Rosewill BLACKHAWK-ULTRA Case
CORSAIR (CMPSU-950TX) 950W ATX12V v2.3
When I first plugged it in and depressed the power button, two LEDs blinked but since then nothing. I have the processor and all memory in the CPU-0 position per the manual. I have the GPU in the first PCI slot. I also have a DVD-R+/- via IDE connection. I have the 24 pin connector to the mobo, the 8 pin to the CPU-0, I tried it with the additional 6 pin as well. PLEASE HELP!!

If after the two led blink the motherboard powers off, then you have a short circuit, take your motherboard out of the case, place it over a non-conductive clean surface and try to power it on connecting only the essential parts.

I connected my 9 year old 500W PSU and it fired up. Thanks all for your help.
Edit
I just noticed this PSU only has one 8-pin connector. Any suggestions for a PSU? How about the Thermaltake W0133 1.2kW. Is it quiet?

OCZ generally has a bad rep, how has it worked out for you? Also, I'm not sure I need that much power. Take the build above and add the other processor and another 24GB RAM with some overclocking. I just need something with two 8-pin connectors for the CPUs.

I recommend a Corsair PSU.

What do you think of these? I'm trying to shop local so I don't have to wait. The XFX XXX 750W is a possibility but is quite a distance away. I'm thinking of these two as well.
Seasonic USA X-Series SS760KMACTPFCF3
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M 750

I think I am confused. you originally had a corsair 950 psu. and it only showed the leds but no post codes? then you switched it to some random 500 watt psu and it fired up? what do you mean by fired up? because my confusion with your problem comes in when you said you then changed to a corsair 750 psu and it also fired up but got stuck on the 2a code.
 
then you ask about bios. well you shouldnt need any other than the original bios to post with your e5645. I don't believe you will be able to flash it with out it posting unless you pull the chip and use an eprom programmer on it. 2a means that initial devices are not working. I would make sure you have 3 6pin, 2 8pin and 1 floppy power connectors connected and providing propper voltage. technically only the 2 8pin need to connected but it doesnt hurt to try it with all 6 power connections. secondly if you verify that you have propper voltages applied and still stuck on 2a then pull the chip and all ram/pcie cards and reseat with only 1 ram stick in the same bank as the cpu. try this in both the sockets. if it still doesnt get past 2a then check the sockets for bent pins, verify that the cpu works in another computer and rma the board.
 
also...how did you get windows installed on it if you never got past 2a??

spant

What I mean was the cpu and fans began to operate. I was receiving a 2A code but couldn't tell if bios was posting until I got an adapter for my monitors. The 500W PSU is from my old pc and was just used to see if it would work. I now have a 750W Corsair. I have only one CPU, do I need both 8-pin connectors? Do I need both 6-pin connectors for the GPU, one for the GPU and one for the mobo? The mobo says only if more than one GPU connected. I have windows but obviously have not been able to install yet. Sorry for the confusion.

that might be the problem for you. you don't tecnically need the 6 pins plugged in but I have read where they have helped. now the 6 pin powering the pcie slots 4-7 needs to be in for sure if you have your gpu in slots 4-7. if you put it in slot one then you probably don't need it.
 
there are adapters that can be bought to get the additional 8 pin from molex power.
 
is that an es chip btw? I have seen a lot of people complaining of problems with es e5645 and such es chips lately.

I will say it once again. verify all 6 power plugs have 12 volts supplied to the motherboard. you definantly need minimum of 2 8 pin power connectors. get an aditional vga card and try to boot with it instead.  the quatro may be tricky to boot. try it in slot 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
check for bent pins on the motherboard socket. try with only 1 ram stick in the red slot in the socket with your chip.try the other socket and see if it boots. if you know that the cpu chip is good (itboots in another machine) and you know the ram is good, and you have verified with a power meter that 12v is on the motherboard at the 24 pin and 2x 8 pin and at the floppy 4 pin and at the pcie 6 pin, and you have reseated and tried a verified good vga card in other slots, then your mb is bad and you need to rma

ok, well this is progress then. try the quadro in all the slots, specifically the x16 slots 3,5,7 have you verify that quadro works in another computer? card may be bad.

spant

I will try that. In post #17 you mention a floppy connection. What do you mean by that?

the floppy is aditional power for usb:

My replacement card arrived today. I had difficulty getting it to post but finally got it to. It even made it to the Windows login screen before my screen went blank. No signal. I tried replicating the results but still get no signal this time from the very beginning, no POST. I moved the card to another PCI-E Slot and it POSTed and made it to the login screen then no signal. When I pressed the shutdown button the screen went active to indicate the shut down. Could this be a resolution setting?