Abit IP35-E board with bios update 14, does not POST on first try?

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scifctn

Junior Member
Dec 17, 2007
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I havent flashed the BIOS....I'd really like to avoid that because I just dont want to waste time reinstalling everything.

I manually adjusted the RAM voltage and timings...5-5-5-12 1.9v, as suggested by corsair. What does memory divider do?
 

SerpentRoyal

Banned
May 20, 2007
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BIOS flashing does not affect the data in windows. You're only updating info on the chip mounted on the MB.

At default settings, the memory is already runnning at rated speed. Bumping up the FSB will overclock the RAMs, which may result in system instability. 1:1 memory divider will force the RAM speed to run at the same speed as the FSB. This should provide additional head-room for higher FSB.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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Is this a common problem with the IP35-E? I'm on the fence, deciding between an IP35-E, or a GA-P35-DS3L, for my friend. I don't want to deal with no-POST scenarios.
 

scifctn

Junior Member
Dec 17, 2007
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^your the man! The 1:1 setting did the trick....running now with all 4gb of ram installed and FSB @ 333mhz

*good karma for you SR*
 

SerpentRoyal

Banned
May 20, 2007
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Glad it worked for you. Users from AMD platform often view these P35 boards as quirky or unstable. If you stick with quality JEDEC 1.8V DDR2 667 or 800 RAMs and run them at 1:1 memory divider, then you should achieve stable POST and excellent overclock with 12 BIOS.

There are two major defects with IP35-E:

1. Bad solder joints at SATA ports. You can easily check for this problem with the supplied SATA cables.

2. Bad surface mount transistor that will not permit boot if the board's temperature is under 60F. Again, you can put an ice-pack over the affected area and attempt to POST. Read more in Abit IP35-E review post.
 

scifctn

Junior Member
Dec 17, 2007
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not to hijack the thread...but I cant get the eSATA to work...is that a Jmicron driver issue?
 

Regalk

Golden Member
Feb 7, 2000
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Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Is this a common problem with the IP35-E? I'm on the fence, deciding between an IP35-E, or a GA-P35-DS3L, for my friend. I don't want to deal with no-POST scenarios.

VL you are fairly experienced so why such a simple question between relatively cheap boards? I have both (cheap so why sit on the fence) and prefer the GA-DS3L for stability Also bios has a lot more features - I am not fussed about having to press CTRL+F1 - been doing this for years on GA boards. Something about the IP35-E that does not look like a board you will keep for too long - can't put my finger on it. I will probably dump mine by Summer next year.
Both boards are working fine - While I do have some issues nothing to scream about (both boards exhibit same symptons and common to each board is the P35 chipset & J Micron if you will - I only use quality Power Supplies, RAM etc
 

scifctn

Junior Member
Dec 17, 2007
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Im running a sata to esata cable...It turns out its a widespread issue with the seagate drive.
 

sisq0kidd

Lifer
Apr 27, 2004
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Originally posted by: Zap

I have something kind of similar with my own IP35-E. It sometimes hangs on POST. However, I do see activity on my monitor, basically where it stops on POST. I'm interested in following this thread to see if there is a resolution... might fix my issue as well.

I need the answer to this also!
 

SerpentRoyal

Banned
May 20, 2007
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If a deep CMOS clear (PSU and battery out) and reflash with WB switch doesn't fix the problem, then I have no more suggestion.
 

GundamF91

Golden Member
May 14, 2001
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Okay, I deep cleaned, and reflashed back to bios 12. Now it's double booting, BUT, there's reliability in that it'll always come up working after this double booting. So I'm happy (as far as start up) with the board now. Still bothered by double booting but I don't really gain anything from 13 or 14 bios because I always turn my backup power off, so that cuts AC current to the PSU over night. So it's double booting either way. I just wish P35 didn't have double booting to begin with. Perhaps when Abit releases bios 15, it'll be more stable than 14's occasional non-start.
 

GundamF91

Golden Member
May 14, 2001
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Originally posted by: scifctn
Im running a sata to esata cable...It turns out its a widespread issue with the seagate drive.

I am in fact running eSata. It's a Maxtor 320GB, which is really a rebadged Seagate 7200.10 under Maxtor's name. I can tell because it's the Fry's BF special and many people have confirmed it's a Seagate. has the Seagate particular seek noises, while "true" Maxtor didnt' have that type of sound.

I haven't had any issue with it however. Even with no POST, I can see HDD LED light going when I power on.
 

GundamF91

Golden Member
May 14, 2001
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Okay, just did a couple of clean restarts. I think even with double boot, the system should restart without double booting right? I dont' remember what it was like before. It booted fine by doing restart in Windows, no double booting. It's working great now, oc'd to 3.0Ghz no problem. Will try to find the lowest vCore for running 3.3 once I get to Xmas. The board is fast, that's for sure, and stable, just the booting thing.

I think the BIOS12 is still the most stable and fastest. I think once I cut off AC power, it'll double boot, but at least now I don't have the occasional "non starts" where the thing just powers up and nothing else shows up. I sure hope they figure out a way to fix this boot, maybe a BIOS 15 over the Xmas or something. if not, I think at least now I can live with double boot on every cold start.

 

SerpentRoyal

Banned
May 20, 2007
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12 will always double post after shutdown. Doesn't matter if you maintain standby power. P35 chipset should boot reliably if you allow it to double post.

P35 will not double post if you RESTART the PC. I have not seen any P35 BIOS that is 100% effective with the double post. Given enough time, I could always get the BIOS to scramble, requiring a deep CMOS clear and reflash.

Another thing to remember with many P35 boards is that a bad overclock can scramble the BIOS to the point that you may encounter hang-up during POST. The solution is to clear and reflash BIOS. It's also a good idea to make an image file of the OS cause a bad overclock can damage the OS.

Shutdown.exe in WXP Pro SP1 doesn't work with my IP35-E board. I'll work on this in 2008.