AMD system fails to boot after overclocking attempt; clear CMOS didn't work

[isandu]

Hi,

This is the system in question:

- MSI 790XT-G45 AM2+ (790X + SB710)
- Athlon II X3 435 (2.9 GHz)
- 2GB DDR2 800MHz CL4
- 400W PSU
- Gainward GTS 250 Green

I had no prior experience with overclocking AMD systems before.

I tried to overclock the CPU from 2.9 GHz to 3.16 GHz without upping the voltage, just to test it (I've read somewhere that Athlon 435 can do 3.3GHz on stock voltage). I set the FSB to 301.MHz (up from 200), the CPU multiplier to 10.5 (down from 14.5), and memory multiplier to 1.33. The memory was set to 2.1V before that. All the other settings were AUTO.

The system didn't boot anymore. I tried resetting CMOS with the system shut down. I didn't do anything so I thought that I have to power up the system for clear CMOS to work, so I did. After that I read in the manual that I shouldn't turn the system on with the clear cmos pin because it will damage the MB.

What do you think is damaged? The CPU? The MB? The PSU? Can anyone give me some advice? (except don't try overclocking anymore unless you know what you're doing - I learned that the hard way)

Update: After many start attempts, now the screen turns on, and the MB Splash Image is displayed, but it gets stuck there and there is a continuous beep in the speaker. (I didn't have a speaker before, long story..., I added one from another computer).

Update 2: the screen doesn't turn on anymore and there is no more beeps, it just happened once.

 

[jthunderloc]

disconnect the power supply, press the on button to clear the last bits of juice in the system then pull the silver battery out and leave it for a bit (I've heard anywhere from 15 seconds to 1 hour) and go make lunch or something to give it some down time. This should clear the CMOS and let it boot back up. I wouldnt worry much about the booting with the clear cmos jumper in the wrong spot

-Wes

 

[isandu]

Thanks for the quick reply, you gave me a glimmer of hope. I tried that, I'm waiting a little like you said to put the battery back in. I hope it works.

 

[isandu]

Left it out for 40 minutes, still didn't work. Thanks for your help though. I'll try leaving it out until tomorrow, there's nothing else I can do at the moment; it's late here and I'm going to sleep.

 

[konakona]

hmm...
try taking the lithium ion battery out?
I have had a board that would 'remember' wrong voltages even after cmos reset.
Doubt that will work for you, but doesn't hurt to try.

Does the mobo have any diagnostics LEDs of some sort?

 

[SunnyD]

Make sure that the clear cmos jumper is in the right place.

Remove all but one stick of memory and the video card in terms of accessories. Try booting up. If that fails, set the clear cmos jumper to clear it, remove the battery, remove the power cord and let it sit over night. Next morning, make sure you reset the clear cmos jumper to the proper place, connect power but do NOT replace the battery, and see if it boots.

If all this fails, you've managed to toast something. To be honest, most boards won't even power on with the cmos jumper set to clear. But I guess anything is possible.

 

[richierich1212]

Yes make sure you clear your CMOS using the jumper.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I wouldnt worry much about the booting with the clear cmos jumper in the wrong spot

I would. Depending on the board, that can fry the mobo.

 

[konakona]

whoa, thats scary! never knew that, thanks for heads up.

 

[Rich3077]

I have never fried a CPU, but I have fried motherboards.

 

[isandu]

hmm...
Does the mobo have any diagnostics LEDs of some sort?

No, it has four leds indicating cpu phase switches. They're all on, and all the fans are spinning, but nothing else happens. No more beep, nothing.

Make sure that the clear cmos jumper is in the right place.

Remove all but one stick of memory and the video card in terms of accessories. Try booting up. If that fails, set the clear cmos jumper to clear it, remove the battery, remove the power cord and let it sit over night. Next morning, make sure you reset the clear cmos jumper to the proper place, connect power but do NOT replace the battery, and see if it boots.

If all this fails, you've managed to toast something. To be honest, most boards won't even power on with the cmos jumper set to clear. But I guess anything is possible.

I did all of the above, it didn't work. I give up. It seems I really did fry something. At least I hope it's just the MB.

Just so I know in the future - to clear CMOS the system must be powered down completely, with the PSU turned to off (I tried this at first, but maybe I didn't leave the jumper long enough)? Or do you have to turn PSU switch on, but not boot the system? If this is the case, then this is where I screwed up, I powered the system on with the jumper set to clear CMOS after the first try didn't work.

And is 301 MHz FSB dangerous for an AMD processor / chipset? (with lowered multipliers for CPU and memory)

 

[DrMrLordX]

301 HTT (AMD systems do not have FSB) is not dangerous in and of itself. You won't kill a board running up your HTT speed.

Booting with the CMOS jumper set to the clear position . . . well, now you know.

Also, all the manuals tell you that you need to have the PSU off or unplugged before you clear CMOS, but I have done it with the PSU on and plugged in (system off) without negative incident. Not that I would recommend that, mind you, but I have done it.

But basically, make sure the system's power is off before you clear CMOS. Preferably, you should switch the PSU off or unplug it.

But yes, do not power up a system with the CMOS jumper set to clear. That is bad juju.

Some boards, like the MSI 790FX-GD70, feature a Clear CMOS button on the board (no foolin) so you don't have to mess with jumpers. Nice feature.

Also, if you are patient enough, most AM2/AM2+/AM3 boards will attempt some sort of recovery during a failed boot that will basically make them boot at 200 HTT (under the assumption that instability is probably related to CPU/RAM speeds being too high, and that HTT was increased to cause this problem). You don't need to clear CMOS every time you fail an overclock attempt so badly that it won't even boot. Or, at least, you shouldn't need to.

 

[BD231]

OP I'd do your best to tinker with the thing as much as possible; reset that cmos over and over until something change's. If you can't get any life out of it, send for a replacement immediately and don't waste your time. I had an Athlon XP setup that picked up some weird boot habits after I turned the computer on with its cmos jumper in the clear position.

The symptoms were black screen at start up when attempting to manipulate CPU or memory related perimeters (*sometimes*). I was able to save the overclock but the board to me was never what I considered reliable from that point on. Changing anything in the bios could mean I had to start from scratch because I sometimes wouldn't get a post. It was an MSI NF7-F.

In your case OP you didn't read up enough on how to overclock the AM2/3 platform. 300mhz FSB on your NorthBridge is ridiculous. For instance, most MSI boards won't do a mhz past 250, while many gigabyte boards have been known to push 260/270. I've seen people with some VERY sloppy mem timings post high north bridge speeds, but that's clearly counter productive.

Simply put, you'd of never got that thing to post at 300mhz fsb; ever. Next time take baby steps, 10mhz at a time or less. The last resort is taking your cpu out, and booting up the computer with everything else installed (this is how I got my NF7-F to post default values for my CPU). You should get some loud beeps, shut it off, put the cpu back in and start it back up. If that doesn't reset the bios you'll need an RMA.

 

[thilanliyan]

Do you have the speaker connected to give you any beep codes? Upping the HTT (I think it was that) failed on my Gigabyte 790GX-DS4H and corrupted the BIOS (giving me a certain beep code) and the dual BIOS didn't fix anything...I had to RMA the motherboard back to Gigabyte.