A7N8X issues... Need help.

[Zand]

I'm making my very first computers, and I'm having loads of issues with my A7N8X (not deluxe) board.

Firstly, the manual is absolute crap... I can't figure out the jumpers at all... Anyone got a diagram? Because like... I can't figure out how to get the speaker to work. I take out the ram and boot it up and I don't get any beeps at all.

Aside from that, I can't get the computer to signal anything to the monitor.

Mobo: Asus A7N8X
CPU: Athlon XP 2700+
RAM: Kingston HyperX PC300 DDR Ram
Vid Card: Radeon 9700 Pro (Sapphire)

Lets leave the vid card away from this since I got other test cards... The main problem is my bios isn't beeping at me right...

Help!

 

[mechBgon]

What problems are you having? Describe what's going on. Also, you got a respectable power supply for that? What brand/model?

 

[Zand]

It's A 350W one that came with my Antec Performance II case...

It's not booting and the bios wont beep.

 

[mechBgon]

Start by making very sure that the stepped end of the heatsink base is oriented to face the top of the case. That step is present to provide clearance over the solid-plastic end of the CPU socket, which is the top end on an A7N8X. If it's reversed, carefully remove the heatsink, reapply thermal grease to the CPU, and put the heatsink on the right way around.

Page 33 of the manual shows the pinout of the header that contains the speaker hookup. The speaker pins are in the top row at the far right, so try plugging your case's speaker into that.

Congrats on picking a decent case & power supply, that removes one of the variables from the equation here

 

[Zand]

...I just realized I bought the wrong type of ram.

PC3000 apparently doesn't work with my mobo.

Damnit.

 

[mechBgon]

PC3000 should run in your motherboard just fine unless it's faulty or something. It would be best to run it at PC2700 speeds (166MHz or DDR333) so it is running synchronously with your CPU's front-side bus speed.

How's the speaker thing coming along, is it giving any beep codes to hit at what's the matter? Have you tried unplugging the system from the wall and resetting the motherboard's CMOS? Procedure for that is on page 21 of the manual. Page 21 also shows the CPU front-side-bus jumper, which should be set to the 266/333 setting for your CPU of course.

 

[mechBgon]

If clearing the CMOS doesn't help, the next thing to try is

• take the motherboard out of the case
• lay the motherboard on cardboard
• threaten it a bit
• plug the video card in again (really press firmly, so it's down into both rows of contacts in the AGP slot) and plug the monitor into it
• visually double-check that the RAM is fully seated all the way across in the slots
• plug in your keyboard to the PS/2 port closest to the surface of the motherboard
• hook the power supply up
• trip the mobo's Power On pins using a screwdriver tip and see if you get video

Do a reality check on the positioning of the brass standoffs that you screw the mobo down onto, to ensure that there aren't any strays which might be grounding out the board on the underneath. Don't give up, motherboards are tough

EDIT: one more thing, do you have the secondary power plugged into the Radeon 9700 Pro? That's important.

 

[Zand]

Oh, I do (on the radeon)

What manual are you reading? Is it a PDF somewhere?

 

[Zand]

Oh, I do (on the radeon)

What manual are you reading? Is it a PDF somewhere?