Is my motherboard on its way out?

[#1]

I have a computer using an ASUS P5S800-VM motherboard
Its clear that it is made to work with SATA hard drives and has IDE connectors for DVD-R or RW and other items
The SATA drive stopped working and wwouldnt fire up in either of the two connections
They register ok in the bios but dont fire up
I put a windows disc in to try and repair but it cant find the HD
I tested the HD in a caddy and found it works fine
I since connected  an IDE HD and it let me install windows and that now works fine
My worry now is could the motherboard be on its way out?
When I fire up it takes about 18 seconds to get the ASUS page on the screen. It then searches for each of 2 SATA connections before chgoosing the IDE even though I set the boot order to CD then IDE HD
I'm also wondering what is the best way to test the motherboard. Is there any free software available?
I'd appreciate any advice

[#2]

Try resetting the BIOS to factory default settings and let it detect all the hardware again and see if that fixes it. If the BIOS has a raid configuration (most SATA based mobos do) try disabling that feature.
How old is the mobo? Could it be the BIOS battery is no longer keeping the settings intact?
Look to see if there is an update BIOS. I know it was working but trying an update BIOS may help. Howver be very careful when updatng the BIOS and follow the update instructions TO THE LETTER or you may end up with a non-functioning and unrecoverable mobo.

[#3]

Quote from: juliasdream

I tested the HD in a caddy and found it works fine

Have you eliminated a faulty cable from the equation?

[#4]

After everything I discovered that the power started up and remained on when I removed the 2 sticks of 1gb DDR memory.
I tried the memory in another computer and it works fine
I tried putting different memory into the problem computer and still have the same response.
Power goes off after 4 seconds each time
Any clues anyone?

[#5]

I have a suspicion that that chipset struggles with both slots used
Try with only one stick and if that boots OK try it in the other slot and again if that boots OK I suggest easing back the memory timings

[#6]

Have you recently upgraded the memory or has it been working fine up until now?
Some motherboards are fussy about the memory used - even down to the chip manufacturer.
If you've recently upgraded, did you run the tool here to get the right memory?
If it's been fine up until now, try oldjim's suggestion or try setting the BIOS back to its default settings.
You could also try setting the CAS latency (CL) to "auto" in the BIOS if that option is available, otherwise check the CL value on the memory you've got and make sure the number set in the BIOS matches or is larger.  Some memory modules will work with a tighter CL value set and others won't so it's worth checking!