bad motherboard! need help thinking...

[Xazzu]

epox 8rda+, corsair 512 pc3200, radeon 9500 pro, athlon xp 2100 tbred

alright, got all my stuff today, put it together, plugged it in, turned it on...and...it doesn't do anything! it turns on, so power's getting to it, but all it does is sit there with "FF" on its little display on the motherboard, and that's it. no display, no beeps, just power goes to the fans and hds and cd roms, but nothing else...

I don't suppose anyone's had this problem? or a potential fix? if there's any questions you have, just ask. thanks guys

 

[RustyNale]

Several suggestions, some of which you may have tried...

Make sure that the mobo has only the correct number of stand-off's and that they're in the right place

Try resetting the bios via the mobo jumpers.

Try the ram in a diff slot

Double check that you're using the correct psu for your board and cpu...

 

[Xazzu]

done

done

done

hec 350w, mobo book says 250 minimal with nothing on the board, 300 to be safe, I have the 350 to be even more safe...

 

[Hankysmoo]

make sure jumpers r in right configuration (133/133)
reseat heatsink, make sure cpu is locked into place correctly
reseat video card

....
maybe bad motherboard if all else fails

test components in another pc if possible to isolate problem

 

[mechBgon]

First check to make sure your heatsink is on in the correct direction, not 180° backwards. Very good illustrations here: Figures 7, 13 and 14 of this PDF guide. Notice what they're pointing out in Fig. 14... the lower section of the heatsink must not get hung up on the solid-plastic section of the CPU socket. A pox on whomever designed SocketA that way... :disgust:

What heatsink/fan unit did you get? Do you have any fans plugged into the motherboard's 3-pin fan headers? If so, try powering them directly from the power supply instead. If you have a new Western Digital hard drive that is by itself on a cable, make sure its jumper is set for Single Drive. If none of that helps, and Rusty's tips don't either, let us know

 

[Xazzu]

only jumper on it other than the cmos battery is the fsb 100/133 or 133/166, and it's set correctly.

that'll be hell, but I might hafta end up doing that...

done

no one I know has a system that can handle some of the components...

 

[Xazzu]

mech:

I don't have a pdf viwer on here, stupid work laptop...but I'll check it

sk-7 hs, ys tech adjustable 80mm fan. yes, the hec power supply plugs into the ps fan header next to the cpu fan header, both are in properly.

I both drives are maxtor, my main one is now the new one, 80 gig 8mb cache uata133 7200 rpm, set as master, secondary drive is a 20 gig maxtor, forgot the rest of the specs, set as slave.

 

[Xazzu]

see, I don't think it's the hds because it's not even POSTING...unless the hds would do that...?? never ran into that before

 

[LED]

Ahh Xazzu Just 1 thought but did you bother to plug in the additional power lead into the 9500 Pro ?

 

[Xazzu]

I'd rather get it posting first, but yea I plugged in all the power I could find for it (just the hard drive looking power connector)

 

[Xazzu]

I'm being a post whore right now, bear with me

alright, pulled it all out, heat sink is on properly, but the fan is actually pulling air away from the cpu rather than pushing...I'll turn it around unless that's what it's supposed to do!

anything else? maybe the hard drives?

 

[mechBgon]

On my SK-7, I had it get hung up on the solid part of the CPU socket, so it couldn't land flat on my CPU core. Try this:

• Unclip the heatsink
• Hook the lower end of the clip on the socket lug
• Slide the heatsink as far down away from the solid-plastic end of the CPU socket as the clip will allow
• Engage the other end of the clip

 

[LED]

Damn Man the FF code means all sytems go so I would revert to either/and/or trying 1 different CPU and/or Vid Card even if that means going off line...see you later perhaps with results

 

[Xazzu]

mech, if I do that, then there's no way I can get the hs to clip on, I need to be able to push it down on the other side...I'll see what I can do, hang on

 

[Xazzu]

I'm using a lap top, so I don't need to go offline to fool with the other computer

alright, reseated the heatsink as far back as I could get it, everyting's unplugged except power and cpu, still nothing

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Xazzu
mech, if I do that, then there's no way I can get the hs to clip on, I need to be able to push it down on the other side...I'll see what I can do, hang on

The end with the screwdriver receptacle must be at the top. Heck, take out your PSU if you have to Hang in there!

PS I was able to engage my SK-7 with my bare hands, much to my surprise. Their screwdriver receptacle is treacherous, so I'd recommend trying the bare-hands approach if you aren't having an easy time with the screwdriver. Thankfully, if you do slip, there's nothing to damage on an 8RDA+ up at the top.

 

[Xazzu]

tried to test my old video card in the motherboard, but it doesn't fit, guess the 8x agp is a different slot? the monitor worked recently, so I know that's fine, can't be anything but the processor that I can see since everything's unplugged...no other suggestions?

 

[LED]

AGP Slots the same...you have another CPU available?...also reset CMOS and try another plug/cord to the Vid card

 

[mechBgon]

And the Radeon's auxiliary power connector is plugged in (edit: what LED said), and you reamed it into the slot really firmly (2 rows of contacts in there)? It's not getting hung up on the white retention latch at the end of the AGP slot, is it?

 

[Markfw]

Your old video card should work fine in this motherboard. AGP 1x/2x/4x/8x all use the same slot. Your old video card could be a PCI card. if so, put it in the PCI slot next to the AGP slot. Unplug ALL other cards, and floppy and hard drives and CDROMs.. Even unplug all the little wires that hook up to the motherboard except the power-on one. THEN boot. Reply with the results. Expected results are a post condition and error messages on the screen, but the same screen should think that you have an XP2100 and memory.

 

[Xazzu]

agp slots aren't the same, I'm having an argument with a friend of mine about that, the old voodoo 3 3k will not fit in the new board's agp slot unless I turn the card around the opposite way.

power connectors all plugged in, and it's "reamed" in good, made sure the white thingie fliped up when I put it in

I have my old thunderbird 850 that I could try in there, but I'm not sure if the board can use it?

 

[LED]

LOL they are the same so the Vood must be 1 PCI card ...any ways slip it in the PCI slot and try

 

[Xazzu]

nope, sure it's an agp, it was in my old agp slot in my old asus board. it won't fit into any pci slots any way, so it's not a pci

voodoo picture
mobo picture

notice the connections are reversed...

 

[mechBgon]

There are at least seven varieties of AGP slots, maybe more. Check page 12 of this for the gory details of six of them. With the 8RDA+, 3.3V cards must not be used.

 

[Xazzu]

you fixed the link okay, so that technical stuff is all good and all...but are you trying to say the rad pro is a 3.3 board? I'm trying to find specs on it, nothing doing