Can't Get Machine To Post

[chubawubabuba]

hello guys, lets get down to business shall we?

Rig:
AMD 64 4000+
2GB Corsair Value XLS Matched Pairs (4x512)
sATA II 120GB HDD
Abit Fatal1ty (with uguru panel) motherboard (will get more info - means digging out the box)
XFX GeForce 7900GT 256MB

Problem:
Basically on these fatal1ty boards you get a front panel to do all kinds of fancy things, like display fan speeds etc, so i set it up....worked fine for 6 months, not one issue...but then this happened:

My brother got a hold of the pc, turned it on and noticed the CMOS Nuke Button, which is a safety switch so you cant press it - and he PRESSED IT!

after slapping him and calling him a turd, i thought, ok, no biggie - just reset. So i reset the pc, it didnt post, a mate told me to take the motherboard battery out, turn it on and see if it posts then - no joy.

I thought id have a browse on the net, one site said to take the battery out, leave it off for about 5 hours then try turning it back on...still no joy.

I then decided to dismantle and rebuild the pc leaving the panel out, so i did that, sorted out the jumpers and still it didnt work...so i put the panel back in and left it for the night.

Today is a new day, and im hoping you guys can help (like you have done so well in the pas) - if you guys are as stumped as me im going to take it to a specialist tomorow, but id rather save the £30 and a weeks wait.

cheers in advance

 

[chubawubabuba]

i found my order history on novatech (where i got the mobo) - they call it a "ABI-A8NSLF Abit AN8 SLI Fatal1ty nForce4 SLI skt 939 PCI-E DDR400" if it helps, cheers

 

[Slikkster]

The Guru Panel stays in the "Clear CMOS" position until you press it --Again.

Read this blurb:

"Turn off your PC and unplug the power cord. Flip up the safety cover over the ABIT µGuru Panel?s CMOS memory-clearing button. With a pen or similar object, press the CMOS memory-clearing button in, and then release it. This toggles the CCMOS1 header position on the motherboard from ?Normal? to ?Clear.? Now press the CMOS memory clearing button in and release it again. This toggles the CCMOS1 header position from ?Clear? to ?Normal.? Plug the power cord back in, turn on the PC and enter the BIOS. All of the settings have been cleared and reset to factory defaults. Put your custom settings back in, and you?re all set. Sure beats yanking the cover off your case, digging through wires, cables, and possibly removing an expansion card or two, just to reach a poorly located jumper on the motherboard."

Sounds to me (unless I'm missing something) that the switch is still signaling to the motherboard that it is in the "Clear CMOS" position vs. Normal.

The same website, however, explictly warns users NOT to press this button while the pc is ON, and chides Abit for leaving out that warning for new users.

http://www.barrys-rigs-n-reviews.com/reviews/2006/hardware/uguru/uguru.htm

If the CMOS is damaged, it's possible you will need a new eeprom bios chip.

If it is a bad bios chip/eeprom, it doesn't look like an expensive part. I checked here, and looks to be about $14 shipped, which is cheap! You'd need an extraction tool, as well.

http://www.abit-usa.com/abitparts/bios_chip.php

The list shows the Fatal1ty AN8 but also a different SLI AN8, so you'd have to doublecheck to see which chip you really need, if that's what it comes to.

 

[chubawubabuba]

slikkster i took the front panel off, found an old jumper and slapped it over the cmos header on the motherboard, all working fine and the uguru panel is now binned 🙂

cheers for the reply though - my case looks better without i think! 😛

 

[Slikkster]

the Uguru was probably hosed the moment your brother hit that switch while it was powered on, so don't worry about anything you did, yourself. Glad you're back up.