Soyo K7VME Problem

[JNiemi]

I just bought a barebones Soyo kit with a K7VME motherboard. I bought an AMD 2800+ processor and K-Byte PC2700 512MB RAM. When I power up, the fan spins, but I do not get anything out of the on-board video and no beep. I've got the jumper set for Front Side of 166 (and I tried 100, too) and I've reset the BIOS, but I still cannot get anything on the screen.

The only thing I can think of is that I have a bad motherboard.

Any ideas?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: JNiemi
I just bought a barebones Soyo kit with a K7VME motherboard. I bought an AMD 2800+ processor and K-Byte PC2700 512MB RAM. When I power up, the fan spins, but I do not get anything out of the on-board video and no beep. I've got the jumper set for Front Side of 166 (and I tried 100, too) and I've reset the BIOS, but I still cannot get anything on the screen.

The only thing I can think of is that I have a bad motherboard.

Any ideas?

Welcome to the Forums JNiemi I'm going to jump on the most common three things first.

1) Soyo's motherboards typically will not POST if they don't detect an RPM signal on the CPU_FAN header, because they think the fan isn't working. Solution: either put an RPM-sensing fan on the CPU_FAN1 header, or hold down the Insert key before and during power-up, to override this "Fan-Off Control" feature. Then you can get into the BIOS and disable F.O.C.

2) Check that your heatsink is oriented in the correct direction: link to some photos

3) Don't forget to plug in your ATX12V auxiliary power to the fitting at the CPU's 11 o'clock position there.

Good luck, let us know what happens

 

[tcsenter]

I think SOYO's quick setup guide, or the screen print on the board, for the FSB jumper setting is WRONG!

Can't remember which was correct, but I believe the board printing is. At least, one of them was wrong when I set up a K7VME a couple weeks ago. Setting the FSB to 166MHz actually resulted in 100MHz, so I compared the manual with the board printing and they were different.

The CPU fan must be no less than 3500RPM if FOC is enabled.

 

[BigLar]

Wow! I'm in almost the same boat as JNeimi. K7VME, AMD XP2600. 512 MB of memory... When I fire the platform up I get NOTHING. I note from the LCD that it is connected as when I disconnect it the LCD yells at me that its not connected. I'll try mechBgon's suggestions, but I do have one question.

When it didn't work I started taking off the auxiliaries...FDD,HDD, CD, memory sticks, keyboard, mouse...the works. Still no display at fire up. The only things still connected are the CPU fan (SPEEZE 5F287B1L3GL) and case fan (ENLIGHT 200WEN-7472-0A1) which are operating. I note that the K7VME manual demands a 350 W power supply and the supply is only 200W, but with no real load on it, I don't believe this is the cause.

The board manual suggests that there could be a short of the board to the case. I guess so...but it seems unlikely. Nonetheless I'd like to try is to take the board out of the case, hook up the power supply and LCD to it with nothing other that the XP2600 and the CPU cooler installed (no memory sticks either) and the LCD connected. My question is, should this give me an LCD display?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[BigLar]

I hope I'm not muscling in too much on JNiemi's post!

I tried mechBgon suggestion of holding down the Insert key at powerup, but no luck. I checked his excellent guide for first time builders and saw that my thought to take the board out and try it was OK.

With the board on cardboard, I've connected both power cables from the power source. Also connected are power, power reset, HDD light, and power LED. The audio jumpers have been removed, there are no memory sticks, HDD, FDD, or CD. The LCD, keyboard, case and CPU fans are connected and both fans operate at power up. The four second delay to turn off power with the power switch also works.

UNFORTUNATELY, I still do not get a POST when I start up, either holding or not holding down the Ins key during power up.

Bummer.:roll:

 

[mechBgon]

If you have any higher-capacity power supplies, I recommend trying with one of them. A good-quality 300W unit or higher might help. Also, if either of you has a brand-new power supply that you've never used before, check the rear of it to ensure that the voltage slider is set to the correct voltage for your area, 115 volts or 230 volts as the case may be. Don't give up yet!

 

[BigLar]

115 V!

I've built a couple of Shuttles before, an SK41G with an XP2400 and a SB61G2 with a P4 2.8, this build represents a frustrating foray into fine finaggling of finite form factor frame.(!)

I'll try to get my hands on a moosier power source, but I'm wondering if I got what I paid for in a $50 MOBO with a $50 MIR!!!

 

[JNiemi]

Well, first of all, to make a long, painful admittance short, I'm a "stupid-head". I had put in the heat-sink backwards. The case where I have the motherboard does not leave a lot of room, and having put together multiple PCs, I *assumed* I had it the right way.

After fighting the heat sink to the right position, it still is not working. I tried the insert key thing, and that did not work.

Did I damage the processor and/or the motherboard by putting in the heat sink the wrong way? I guess I can pay someone @25 bucks locally to check out the processor.

This barebones kit seemed like such a good deal, too...

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[JNiemi]

Hmmm... after a more careful examination of the motherboard, I think I see a little damage on the board near the processor. I did not think I had touched the motherboard with the screwdriver, but there is definately a scratch. I've never had this happen before. How damaging to a motherboard is this? it crosses a pathway. It does not touch any chips, etc...

I guess I'll just need to pick up a new motherboard and see if everything works. I'm sorta in a hurry, so I'll pick up the pieces later and see if I can get them fixed. If I can, maybe I'll need to build another PC.

 

[tcsenter]

When in doubt - RESET/CLEAR CMOS.

Check that the CMOS jumper is in the normal position and not the reset/clear position. If it is correct, try resetting CMOS by moving the jumper to the reset/clear position for a few seconds, then move it back to normal position. Unplug the ATX connector before clearing the CMOS, SOYO recommends.

 

[JNiemi]

I'll try removing the ATX connector and reset again...

 

[mechBgon]

If the heatsink was backwards and the processor was powered on for a while (like, 10 seconds), there's a likelihood that the processor got severely overheated and is permanently damaged. If you have another SocketA motherboard that you could test it in, that's worth a shot.

Otherwise, my recommendation is to pick up another processor, maybe start with a 1.8GHz Duron if this has damaged your budget really badly. If your power supply is skimpy, or has a high wattage rating but poor quality, then you might benefit in the long run by investing in a decent-quality unit like an Enermax, Fortron or Antec 350W+ model. Granted, there are probably a lot of "cheap" PSUs out there that never give people a problem, but looking back on my troubleshooting journeys here, cheapies do seem to statistically increase your chances of being .

 

[JNiemi]

I can have the processor checked locally for $25, but I did order another motherboard yesterday for another PC I am building, so I will just wait until that arrives to test the chip.

I think the longest I had the computer powered up for was 8-10 seconds. Can this short time really damage the chip?

 

[JNiemi]

I tried it, no luck. I have also received an email from SOYO tech support. They asked that I try everything again. The only thing different was that they wanted me to move the memory to the other slot.

Maybe they'll send me a new one.

 

[BigLar]

I've been mulling over the power requirements and have become confused as to what Soyo is expecting. I checked the egg and a couple of other sites for microATX power sources and it seems that they max out somewhere arount 250W. If that's correct, does it make sense to manufacture a microATX mobo that requires a 350 W power source? Or are there higher power mATX sources available?

 

[pasi]

I just got my Soyo K7VME as well, installed AMD Athlon XP 2200+, Kingston 256MB and booted just fine. I installed Red Hat Linux, got it running and rebooted OK. Then I decided to install the audio DC adapter into the case and close it. Turning on the computer produced no video (monitor in sleep mode), and both power and harddrive (red?) lights were stuck. No beeps. I did everything pretty much people here have done, and CMOS reset (with ATX cable unplugged) got it working, but not for long. I could check out the BIOS settings for a minute or so, but then the keyboard stops working, and any reboots result in that non-working mode.

Is it of any interest that AMIBIOS SETUP - HARDWARE MONITOR screen displays +5V with 5.134V and +3.3V as 3.440V?

 

[BigLar]

Welcome to the land on the othr side of the looking glass..

 

[pasi]

Apparently the CPU temperature is way too high. After keeping the computer off for awhile, I was able to start using it again for longer periods of time. This morning the CPU temperature was 30C after powering. In few minutes, it went up to 55C, then slowly climbed to 66C (idling in BIOS screen)! Since the cooling options for this cheapo case (barebones kit case) are almost none, a 5.25 bay fan and PCI slot fan would probably work the best? Is the lower front round grill meant or suitable for a case fan as well? I'm a computer user since C64, but first-time PC owner haha.

 

[Zuppa]

I've got a setup similar to yours, but my CPU is a 2000+. I haven't seen temps quite as high as yours, but I know that the retail heatsink on mine is not the ideal cooler ( with it's thermal transfer pad ) and can account for 5 - 10C higher temps than other solutions. I think the highest temp I've seen has been about 61C, and since then I have worked on improving the case cooling a bit. I have a fairly small case, too, and don't have many cooling upgrade options. I put a fan in the standard bottom front minitower case location, and also have another mounted inside the unused 5.25 bay, pointed at the side of the CPU cooler, and helped a bit by some crude homemade ductwork. This combo seems to be good enough, and the highest temps I've seen recently have been about 55C on a fairly warm day, with normal temps in the 40s.

These CPUs are some of the hottest out there, and depending on how you use the computer, you probably need to work fairly hard to keep the temp no higher than the 50-55C degree range, although the "self-destruct" temp is somewhere uptoward 80-90C. I understand that you'll start seeing poor performance a good bit sooner than 80C.


Z

 

[wpollack]

I am having a lot of problems with this board. Depending on what I am doing the will just randomly restart.

Specs:
AMD 2400XP
512 DDR 333MHZ Kingston

I bought a new case for it because the temp was getting around 75C. So now that I have the temp down its still restarting for some reason. I get 1 beep post bios and according to the online help it means that there is a problem with the memory, but I tried 2 different Rams so I don't see how this can be a problem. Has anyone else ran into this problem?

Also I can't get it to clock to a 2.0 like it should, I changed the jumpers, but it will not even load back into windows. A screen pops up with differnet characters all over the place and all differnt colors. I tirede chaning the jumpers and changing the bios settings, but that didn't help either. Does anyone else know what to do?

I am at a loss and the tech support is only open until 5 so thats not helping when I work until 5 everyday.

I also thought it might be to old of a verion of the bios, but I can't find an upgrade so I have no clue where to go from here.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: wpollack
I am having a lot of problems with this board. Depending on what I am doing the will just randomly restart.

Specs:
AMD 2400XP
512 DDR 333MHZ Kingston

I bought a new case for it because the temp was getting around 75C. So now that I have the temp down its still restarting for some reason. I get 1 beep post bios and according to the online help it means that there is a problem with the memory, but I tried 2 different Rams so I don't see how this can be a problem. Has anyone else ran into this problem?

Also I can't get it to clock to a 2.0 like it should, I changed the jumpers, but it will not even load back into windows. A screen pops up with differnet characters all over the place and all differnt colors. I tirede chaning the jumpers and changing the bios settings, but that didn't help either. Does anyone else know what to do?

I am at a loss and the tech support is only open until 5 so thats not helping when I work until 5 everyday.

I also thought it might be to old of a verion of the bios, but I can't find an upgrade so I have no clue where to go from here.

You got a high-quality power supply towing the boat there, wpollack? Quality is important, adequate-to-overkill wattage comes next after that (according to mechBgon anyway ). If you can find the settings, lock the memory to run at DDR266 (133MHz base speed) and bump its voltage to 2.6 volts for good measure. Along with everything else, confirm that you got your heatsink on in the correct direction.

 

[wpollack]

How would I find the settings to lock the memory? I have searched the Bios with no luck, and I have never seen that option anywhere. I looked last night and I guess I only have a 200W power supply, but I didn't think that would matter all that much.

I will look into the power supply more, but I still don't understand the restarting. Just last night I was trying to clean the drive with the cleansweep wizard and it restarted, but I has word, excel, norton and a couple other programs running and nothing happened. So the restarts are random.

But if someone can explain to me how to lock the Memory differently I would really appreciate it!!

Thanks

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: wpollack
How would I find the settings to lock the memory? I have searched the Bios with no luck, and I have never seen that option anywhere. I looked last night and I guess I only have a 200W power supply, but I didn't think that would matter all that much.

I will look into the power supply more, but I still don't understand the restarting. Just last night I was trying to clean the drive with the cleansweep wizard and it restarted, but I has word, excel, norton and a couple other programs running and nothing happened. So the restarts are random.

But if someone can explain to me how to lock the Memory differently I would really appreciate it!!

Thanks

The memory speed is often set using a ratio, on VIA-based boards. If you see a CPU-to-memory ratio thing in there, set that to 1:1. And a 200W power supply... I might use one of those for a 1GHz CeleronII or something, but it'll be a cold day you-know-where before I try powering an AthlonXP with one. I suggest you replace it (with a good-quality one, Antec SL350 is a good pick).

 

[wpollack]

Well, I think I am going to have to try and find that setting. I am assuming its in the Bios?? Also I will go out and get a better Power Supply tonight to see if that will fix my problems, but I still don't know. Let me know about the location of that ratio through. I have AMI Bios.

Thanks

 

[pasi]

I have the same restart issues with my K7VME as well. I used to run Red Hat Linux, and there were no problems. After I installed Windows XP Pro, random restarts started happening. However somewhere between the OS switch, I discovered one of the mobo screws loose between the case and the mobo. Quite crappy mounting, also the rest of the screws weren't tight enough.

Also figured out that SOYO doesn't have a newer BIOS update available, the one on the website is already in this mobo.

I can run my system very cool by keeping the PSU sitting on the bottom of the case and the side door removed. There's no way to have a standard size PSU mounted, because it'll block the HSF completely.

Pasi