Motherboard rebel without a cause...

[maharito]

Alrighty...

Well, I posted about this before, but now I have some more information.

My parents' comp currently has a motherboard that's been damaged by heat, causing it to hang indefinitely when it resets (or if the board's simply too hot).

So, I've been meaning to help them get a new mobo. I got two new ones: a KT-600A, and when that didn't work, an SV266AD.

Their existing hardware is: an AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (266Mhz Bus), 2 sticks of DDR RAM totaling 768MB, a healthy new power supply (400 or 450W, I forget), a Radeon 8000 series, a Creative modem, two hard drives (both WD), and floppy. Oh, and a motherboard that's minorly damaged and I'm trying to replace.

I also have some spare parts I've been using to try and get the mobo working: another Athlon XP 2400+ 266Mhz Bus, a PCI Blaster Banshee, some Riva TNT vidcard, my personal GeForce FX 5200, an older 350W power supply, and a different CPU fan (currently using a Thermaltake Silent Boost).

No configuration I have has been able to get either of the new motherboards running under ANY condition. No matter what video card I use, whether the peripherals are connected or not, which Athlon I have in there, both motherboards produce exactly the same thing:

1 long beep followed by 2 short beeps, a pause, then a low beep and medium beep.
(The last time I posted, the last two beeps were instead continuous high beeping...there is no explanation for why it changed, and I haven't been able to produce it since.)

I recognize the 1 long - 2 short being a video issue or sometimes a RAM issue. When I remove the RAM and try to start up, I get a standard continuous beeping indicating the RAM isn't working (as it should).

The only things I need attached to the motherboard to properly produce the error are a CPU, power supply, and RAM (as well as the case connectors in order to turn it on). If it's not the RAM and it's not the power supply, then could it be the CPU? Why do the CPUs run fine on the old motherboard with no errors or hangs in Windows XP, but won't even let me start up here? (The motherboards have few and simple jumpers, and I've tried safest configurations as well as clearing CMOS, to no avail.)

(Note: The SV266AD has since been, eh, terraformed by a screwdriver slip, so it's crap now. But the KT600-A is packed and ready to return to manufacturer tomorrow...I just want to make sure I've exhausted all my options before returning a board I'm not even sure is faulty.)

(Another note: I have an old Duron that's currently in the computer I'm typing to you with now, and I could try that out. I'll post any results of that later.)

(Final note: The motherboards are designed for AGP 8x but support 4x; the GeForce FX is 8x and running in a board that supports 4x right now; the Radeon is 4x; the Riva TNT is a joke; the PCI Blaster Banshee is the nicer 16MB model.)

Please help if you can! RSVP ASAP!

 

[Demonicon]

Try 1 RAM stick at a time and see if that makes a difference. Try different RAM slots as well.

 

[Fern]

Just an idea but.. You are using the HS+F on the cpu, and you are plugging the HS fan into the right mobo header?

Another, clean out (compressed air etc) the AGP slot and make sure the vid card is seated all the way in the slot.

 

[maharito]

Oh hey guys. Back again.

Well, I tried the (new) KT600-A motherboard with my hot 'new' vidcard, the old Duron, the same DDR RAM (because that's all I have), my hot 'new' 450W power supply, and the heatsink and fan. (Yes, I plugged it in the correct slot--it's nutmeg color compared to white on the new ones, and labeled CPUFAN.) I also hooked it up to a different monitor because I heard the 1long-2short can also be due to a monitor incompatibility *shrug*. All these other items function just fine on their own...but in this motherboard? Still the same thing!

OH! But as I was playing around trying to get the beep code to at least change a little, I discovered why one time I got continuous high beep one time and two different tones another time (by the way, it's actually low beep - REALLY low beep, but the last time I did it I was using a case with a small speaker and it must've vibrated to a higher octave). I get continuous high beep after the 1long-2short only if the floppy drive is NOT plugged in. If I do plug it in, I get the low-LOW.

This second beepcode tells me, from what I know, the status of the computer, according to RAM, when it recognizes it cannot go to video. It could either be irrelevant to the problem or an indicator that the motherboard cannot operate under its current power conditions (doubtful). Now that I've tried different CPUs, video cards, power supplies, cases, monitors, heatsinks, and RAM positions...I figure it can only be that 1. the mobo is faulty, in the same way as the other one was (miracle); 2. the power supply or the whole house current is too unsteady for both the modern motherboards I just got (how could that be??); 3. all three of those CPUs are somehow incompatible with the new generation of motherboards (which is a crock, since the mobos have jumper support for processors down to 100Mhz Bus); or 4. our DDR RAM (PC266, pretty cheap stuff) is incompatible. I've actually had incompatibility issues with RAM in the past, and since it's cheap and relatively old, I figure this could be it. It's just a shame, considering it's the most expensive possible outcome.

I wish there were fewer memory manufacturers. The prices are all about the same, so competition doesn't matter so much... But compatibility is a much more important issue. If anyone has any relevant experiences they'd like to share, I hope they can help me before I drop the news on my poor, poor parents.

What do you think folks??

 

[maharito]

and yes, I know about the AGP slot issues. It's gotta be in there just right. Luckily, my GeForce FX is a perfect fit. Makes no difference, though--vidcard or no vidcard, it makes the same racket.

 

[mechBgon]

ECS motherboards may ship with the Clear CMOS jumper JP1 in the Clear position, rather than the Run position. Do a reality check on that with reference to the board's manual, you want the cap covering pins 1 & 2.

The insistent high beeping could be the CPU-overheat alarm. You got thermal grease between the CPU and heatsink, and have the heatsink on this way, right?

 

[maharito]

I've been doing this kind of stuff for a long time. I can even tell whether or not I did a good job applying the heatsink just by running the computer and looking at temperature monitor programs. The continuous high beeping is AFTER the first beep code, and as I've read, it has a different purpose, probably an indicator of POST status rather than an indication of error. It would help in debugging the situation. And I know that it is not related to CPU because that second beepcode changes when I plug in a power connector to the floppy drive.

As for the Clear CMOS item, I already read up on that before I even tested the mobo once. It started in Run position. Besides, when I do clear it, the computer does not even start as long as the jumper remains in 2-3 position. It's a pretty nice safeguard. (Mind you folks, you don't need to turn power on when clearing CMOS--just make sure it's got a power source and when you change the jumper, the juice will do the work itself.)

I've had some pretty awful presets in packages that arrived before--how about the time I got a power supply that was preset to 230V?? If someone less experienced had installed that thing, I wouldn't have wanted to be in the same room! XDDDD