Shuttle ak31a v3.1 won't bootup! help!

[cgtran]

What's wrong with my motherboard? I just bought it and when I installed it with my amd athlon xp 1700+; it didn't bootup. Well, once in a while it will, like 5/6 times it just give me a blank screen with no beeping sound, you know the beep that tells you that it booted up properly. Anyways, does anybody here have a clue what might be wrong so I can fix it?
I tried everything, even flashing it with an uptodate bios. Same problem. Help!

 

[newbiepcuser]

Try reseeding everything one by one, cpu, memory first, etc...unplug the powersupply cable and reattach it. Make sur e you reach POST with those individual components.

 

[cgtran]

I tried that too, and it didn't work. It would boot up and then when I shut the computer down to turn it back on, it would go back to the black or blank screen. No beep, just nothing

 

[cgtran]

This is my first amd cpu, I don't want this want to be the last one too. Help me guys

 

[Duvie]

Well that 1/6 th of a time what does it do????

Are you getting any beep codes at all? Have you verified the cpu works??? ie like it was your old chip or something...What is the power supply you are running this with????

There has been a rash of bad shuttle boards or post problems just like this. It may be a bad mobo that needs rma'd...

<This is my first amd cpu, I don't want this want to be the last one too. Help me guys >

Don't go there...it is obvious you are new to the build it yourself game and may lack basic diagnostic procedures to deal with computer issues....

Remember w/o newbies buying amd most of us here would have nothing to do...most of you guys give amd a bad name to many who come in here and see countless post of problems. I would have to say 80 percent are newbies and usually get cleared up with basic steps...


First thing you should ever do in here when presenting a problem is LIST FULL SPECS....

All components...why operating system used...what drivers or updates you have tried....

 

[TheBuss]

I have the exact same problem with my shuttle. The computer will not post until about the 4th time i try to turn it on. It works fine after that, but sometimes it takes 10 restarts to get it to post. I have reseated everything more than once and am holding off on flashing the BIOS

Win XP
AMD 1700
Shuttle ak31a
Visiontek GF 3 TI-200
IBM 60gxp 60 gig HD
Quantom 30 gig HD
S-blaster Audigy
512MB DDR ram

 

[Duvie]

The buss,

Do you have acpi enabled in the bios??? Once when I was running win98fe i had issues of failed noot attempts, quite random and better then 50% and when I disabled acpi in bios and reinstalled it went away. When I upgraded to winme I could install with acpi enabled and no problems to date...

Now I would expect win xp should have all acpi issues hammered out but it may be worth a test....


ARe you ocing any???

Are you tweaking your memory settings??? If so set to safe or normal....

 

[TheBuss]

I just tried that. After disabling it, windows wouldn't boot up. I haven't OC'd or changed any ram settings.

 

[sad]

Have you tried the new bios?
Ver AK31S2EE

The previous version (ec) cured my "blank boot screens".

 

[cgtran]

the specs for my computer are:
amd xp 1700+ retail
western digital hd 60gig 5400rpb
ati rage diamond pci
crucial pc2100 ddr ram
and that's about it.
Thanks for the replies guys, but still didn't help me much.
I think I need to send it back and buy a different motherboard.
If I do, do any of you know which one to get?

 

[cgtran]

oh yeah, I have a 300 watt ps.
Also the 1/6 of time that it does work, everything works fine that is until I shut down the power.

 

[ucdnam]

Good luck man. I tried an 1700 XP with the Shuttle ak31a and it didn't boot for me. I read numerous threads here and ambdb (or something like that) and noticed that a significant number of people had the same problems. Granted, I know that a lot of people have had success with it and I wanted to also, but it didn't work for me. I tried everything from clearing the BIOS, plugging in things in certain orders, and other mystical things

I then tried a Soyo Dragon (no plus) and that sorta worked for me, but had a lot of instability. My solution was the ABIT KG7-RAID and it's working like a charm Thank god.. you can only go without a computer for so long.

 

[Duvie]

What does it do???

Maybe yours is an acpi issue. When you disable it I have found it really won't help unless it is accompanied with a fresh install...

Make sure when diagnosing these problems you are running with only essential equipment installed.

1) cpu/ mobo, and one stick of ram

2) vid card

3) fdd, 1 hdd, and 1 cd-rom

4) limit the fans to one case fan and fan on cpu (obviously)


power supplies and power issues are tough to diagnos. Run it like this way for awhile and monitor it. Then when you start to add a host of other ide devices, pci cards, and usb devices then watch to see if issues arise.

Also get a program like mbm (motherboard monitor) to watch the voltage rails as systems is running. Look for spikes or other fluctuations while running. Your core should be 1.75, i/o should be like 3.3, then you have 5v and 12v. You should be within 5 percent of the default voltage...sometimes I think that is too much. You ned to make sure you are taxing the system to test it. Use 100 percent cpu usage and run as many of the devices as possible...

 

[neutralizer]

I had a friend who refused to ask ppl for his help, but when his computer broke down, he couldn't help it and called my to help him fix his computer. He couldn't stand being away from his comp for one day... lol.

 

[cgtran]

When you returned it, where did the you returned it to? the manufacturer or the reseller? I don't my reseller to charge me the extra 15% for restocking fee.
Finally did any of you tried exchanging it for a new one from the manufacturer? no charge right?

 

[newbiepcuser]

restocking fee usually occurs if the product is working and buyer is return it. Try the epox board that everybody is raving about. Or if you feel like another gamble, try ECS board. I put a system together 1 giga only though, no probs for me. There is mix opinions on that ECS board, but its cheap. I'm sure its not the chip but as others suggested it might be the board.

 

[anime]

try to clear your cmos and boot. You do know how to do that right?
Maybe try a diff power supply. As you know AMD mobo have finicky PS requirement if you read most of amd mobo thread.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

I had the same problems with my Shuttle, tried everything everyone said, no luck at all. I think there *may* be a fix, if you check out amdmb.com's Shuttle forums there's some info there on penciling in your L7 bridges.. could help, it's done the job for some people. Some Shuttle boards seem to have some sort of voltage probs that are fixed by setting the default voltage on the chip to 1.85v. Of course, cases kinda vary, and penciling the bridges usually isn't a permanent fix. I just figured I had a bad board, RMA'd the thing and when I get credited I'm getting an Epox 8KHA+

As for the best mobos you can get...

I think for Via's KT266A solution you could go for the Epox board stated above. Asus and Abit are known for good boards too, and the Soyo board is pretty popular.

If ya wanna go SiS, the ECS K7S5A seems to be the best out there from what I've heard.

Edit: need to learn how to type...

 

[EdipisReks]

a lot of people (including me) had problems with the board not posting, but it is often fixed by reseating the board in the case. take your mobo out of the case, but it on the floor on the anti-static foam it was shipped with, plug in the board and see if it boots. if it boots out of the case, then just be VERY VERY careful that everything is lined up properly when you put it back in the case. that fixed all of my problems with the board, and it worked for a lot of other people.

--jacob

 

[Ben]

I've built 3 systems with rev.3 AK31's and 2 systems with rev.2 AK31's and I finally got screwed with a rev.3 that won't post 1/2 the time.

The thing that sucks is, I had to buy the customer a new board out of my pocket and I can't return the AK31 because it's been over 30 days. Now I regret all the good things I said about Shuttle around these boards lately.

For reference, I swapped this POS out with a MSI Pro2 6380 and it's purring right along.