• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Got new motherboard (Biostar M7NCD)

E

eLiu

Diamond Member
EDIT: If this is important, my 5V rail is 5.05, 5.21, 5.11 (low, high, average); my 12V is 11.31, 11.81, 11.70 (low, high, average)
EDIT2: I have tried it in different PCI slots w/no avail...well, not quite all of them. Later I will try disconnecting the slot cooler & putting the sound card into the PCI slot it covers...but the bottom 3 (which are acessible) all cause the same symptoms listed below.

Hey all,
If anyone remembers, I made a few posts a while ago about an Epox 8K7A that had a dysfunctional AGP slot. Anyhow, I've since replaced it with a Biostar M7NCD that I just installed.

Right...so, my system config:
Enlight 300W
Biostar M7NCD
AMD Athlon (Tbird) at 1.2ghz
Radeon 9600pro (Sapphire)
Crucial 256mb PC2100
Maxtor 40gb HD
Maxtor 120gb HD
Lite-on 32x12x40 CDRW
LAN/sound are onboard
3 80mm fans, 1 slot cooler

So, the problem: I also have a Creative SoundBlaster Audigy, which makes things unhappy:
-If I have the Audigy in with both HDs out, it boots.
-If I have the Audigy in w/*one* HD out, it boots intermittently. That is, sometimes it'll go, sometimes it won't. Seems like wiggling the Audigy around sometimes solves the problem; clearing CMOS always solves the problem.
-If I have Audigy in w/*both* HDs in, it will not boot. I hit the power, the fan spins a little bit, and nothing else happens. I have to remove the Audigy and clear CMOS in order for it to boot again.

So...does this have the tell-tale signs of any particular error? My guesses:
1) Insufficient power (this would not seem likely...b/c I made a thread earlier where someone stated that their setup was almost identical; differences were: Radeon 8500LE, 512mb RAM, additional DVD-ROM, 10/100 LAN, 56k modem
2) Audigy incompatible? (Again, unlikely b/c aforementioned ATech-er had an audigy running in his system)
3) My hardware hates me.

1) is going to be hard to test, b/c I don't have access to a power supply >300W. Though I'm contacting people and trying to find someone who can lend me one.

Thanks for any help,
-Eric
 
I had stability problems with a Audigy 2 card and my MSI nForce2 board. Solved by trying different PCI slots.

The Enlight 300W should be enough for the system.

Hope this helps
 
Originally posted by: chilled
I had stability problems with a Audigy 2 card and my MSI nForce2 board. Solved by trying different PCI slots.

The Enlight 300W should be enough for the system.

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

I have tried it in different PCI slots w/no avail...well, not quite all of them. Later I will try disconnecting the slot cooler & putting the sound card into the PCI slot it covers...but the bottom 3 (which are acessible) all cause the same symptoms listed below.
 
Hrm, well...I shut the system off and moved it to a different room (so I could install my printer & scanner). Plugged stuff in, hit power--and nothing happened...well, almost nothing. The fans spun for like a second and then stopped.

Cleared CMOS, tried again...same. Unplugged HDs, cleared CMOS, same problem.

Moved back to the original room, cleared CMOS again (HDs unplugged), same problem.

I just pulled out the CMOS battery and I'm going to let it chill for a while...anything else I should be trying??? God*mn computers hate me.

-Eric

Edit: Battery back in after ~2 hours...turned and is ok again...very bizarre.
 
Check your heatsink installation against the photoz here, since one cause of systems shutting right off is that the CPU is not able to effectively transfer heat to the heatsink for various reasons.

Secondly, go into the motherboard's BIOS and disable those functions that the Audigy duplicates (MIDI, Gameport, audio, Firewire as applicable). No need to be giving it an identity crisis here 🙂

Third... yeah yeah, I know... :roll: so-and-so claims that he ran his quad-Xeon system with a 10-disk SCSI RAID10 off of a 10-watt power supply during a brownout, etc etc... but if that were my rig, it would not be scraping by on a 300W PSU, it would be my TruePower430. Try this: underclock to the 100MHz bus speed and disconnect every non-essential drive while leaving Mr. Audigy installed, and see if that helps now that the power load is reduced, as a fact-finding step.
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Check your heatsink installation against the photoz here, since one cause of systems shutting right off is that the CPU is not able to effectively transfer heat to the heatsink for various reasons.

Secondly, go into the motherboard's BIOS and disable those functions that the Audigy duplicates (MIDI, Gameport, audio, Firewire as applicable). No need to be giving it an identity crisis here 🙂

Third... yeah yeah, I know... :roll: so-and-so claims that he ran his quad-Xeon system with a 10-disk SCSI RAID10 off of a 10-watt power supply during a brownout, etc etc... but if that were my rig, it would not be scraping by on a 300W PSU, it would be my TruePower430. Try this: underclock to the 100MHz bus speed and disconnect every non-essential drive while leaving Mr. Audigy installed, and see if that helps now that the power load is reduced, as a fact-finding step.
Click to expand...

My CPU heatsink is on properly 🙂. The system works besides the Audigy--I've set up windows and taken a disk image. CPU temps are around 45C load, 36ish idle. Though, I have no idea as to what caused my system to just randomly not boot (see post above yours).

And, when I was screwing around w/the Audigy, I did turn off all features that it duplicates.

To your last point...I will get on this after this thunderstorm passes over; will post back with results.

EDIT:
Do my 12V rails seem too low? Here are the #s: 12V is 11.31, 11.81, 11.70 (low, high, average). I'm going to unplug the slot cooler & a fan to try and raise the 12V rail. Before with the Epox 8k7a, my 12V (with the same stuff plugged in) was always at like 12.5, but my 5V was around 4.85...now my 12V is low and my 5V is high. *sigh*
 
I would only trust a digital multimeter on the voltages. I've seen mobos report all sorts of crazy stuff and when you slap a multimeter onto a power-supply plug... whadya know, it's essentially spot-on 😕

It is possible that your Audigy is toast. Or maybe you're right and your hardware DOES hate you! :Q Have you tried the Audigy in another rig (sorry if you already answered that)?
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
I would only trust a digital multimeter on the voltages. I've seen mobos report all sorts of crazy stuff and when you slap a multimeter onto a power-supply plug... whadya know, it's essentially spot-on 😕

It is possible that your Audigy is toast. Or maybe you're right and your hardware DOES hate you! :Q Have you tried the Audigy in another rig (sorry if you already answered that)?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have another box (that I'm posting from now) with a 1.2 Duron, ECS k7s5a, IBM 40gb, 3 case fans, and the same enlight 300W. I tried the Audigy and the Radeon9600pro in the ECS--both worked fine.

And...I don't have a multimeter handy...but I could try borrow/buy one.

Also, my problems are growing ever more bizarre. I couldn't do the 100mhz test you asked for, b/c when I turned the machine back on, it wouldn't boot. I disconnected the HDs and removed the CMOS battery for 10 minutes. Put it back and powered on (HDs still out). Booted up ok. Reconnected HDs...no boot.

Repeated CMOS battery removal, this time w/both HDs disconnected & slot cooler + 1 fan disconnected. Powered on...BIOS reported my 12V line at 10.50V. That seemed strange. I changed it to 100mhz FSB and powered down. Tried to power up again...no boot.

And that brings me to...right now...lol. I'm about to go borrow another 300W power supply from one of my friends (no one has a >=350W...arg). I figure it couldn't hurt to find out if anything is wrong w/mine.

I think I'll also remove all the components and pull the motherboard out. Maybe the motherboard is making contact with the case somehow...but barely contacting so that it caused my boot screw-ups only so often.

-Eric

Note: When I say "won't boot," I mean that when I press the power button, the fans spin for like 1 second, and then everything stops.
 
Yeah, agreed... good move to take the whole system apart and put the motherboard on cardboard. Inspect the ATX receptacle on the mobo, and the ATX plug on the power supply, for any signs of melting, arcing, charring, etc. Look it over carefully in case a loose screw lodged in the mobo's components somewhere.

If it looks good, consider a bare-essentials test of just the mobo, CPU/heatsink/fan, one memory module, video card and keyboard, outside the case on cardboard. This eliminates case-related issues like grounding problems. If it still acts wierd then the next thing I'd try is a different good-quality power supply.

One other note: I've seen where motherboards will refuse to POST if they don't see at least a certain RPM on the CPU fan header. My A7N8X Deluxe has a different quirk: if I plug in a super-low-RPM fan on its 3-pin headers, it'll refuse to POST whatsoever 😕 The offending fan here is an Enermax 80mm thermally-regulated one. Just one of those things. 😕
 
Actually, I just got back from running some errands for my mom...and I visited a friend and stole another 300W power supply from him. So I'm going to try that out first and see what happens...if I still have issues, then I know something is screwy and it's time to take the motherboard out.

Btw, I have an anti-static mat (I put parts on it when I'm building systems so that they don't get shocked)...can I put the motherboard on that for the out-of-case test? Or does it have to be cardboard?

Anyhow, I'm going to try the 300W now and then go to sleep...got 4 hours last night, so I figure I'll rest up and then try the out-of-case (if necessary) after school tomorrow.

Thanks again,
-Eric
 
power supply or bad mobo..more inclined towards the psu tho..yes..place on cardboard(I usually use the mobo's shipping box)..goodluck 🙂
 
Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon
power supply or bad mobo..more inclined towards the psu tho..yes..place on cardboard(I usually use the mobo's shipping box)..goodluck 🙂
Click to expand...

You mean the mobo's retail box? Or the fedex box? Sorry if I sound stupid--just have to make sure I don't screw anything else up.

But in other news, I tried my friend's 300W (I'll call it PSU2, mine will be PSU1), and things seem to be working...with his, my 12V is around 11.50V, as read by motherboard monitor (it actually made it into windows...i was surprised). I then immediately re-tried PSU1 to see if it was a fluke...PSU1 did not boot.

-Eric

Edit: PSU2 booted with everything...even the Audigy. 12V was at 11.80, and 5V was at 5.13V (again in MBM--no multimeter). Windows recognized the Audigy, though I didn't install the drivers b/c the case is laying on its side...figured I wouldn't move it while the power is on. Then I had Far Cry loop for a while before shutting it down or the night.

Does this mean PSU1 is toast? B/c last night, PSU1 would boot w/everything except the Audigy...and the voltage #s were ok (a little lower than the ones given above from PSU2). *However* I am concerned that maybe PSU1 was doing ok and it somehow got fried by my motherboard or some part of my PC (a short maybe?)--I don't want PSU2 to die as well...mainly b/c it's not mine.

What do you guys think of this new development? Should I still take everything out and test PSU1 with the mobo on cardboard?

Thanks,
-Eric
 
Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon
either box..both are cardboard even if they are slightly waxy/shiny..
PSU1 to see if it was a fluke...PSU1 did not boot
Click to expand...
...seems you've narrowed it down then..😉
Click to expand...

Haha...yup, but if you would, please read my edit...I made it before I saw your post, oops...lol. Anyhow, PSU2 booted with everything installed (audigy included). Voltage #s in MBM seemed good. My only fear right now is that maybe my components or mobo killed PSU1, and I don't want the same thing to happen to PSU2--should I still perform the "cardboard test" with PSU1?

-Eric

Note: going to sleep now...I'll check back after school tomorrow. Thanks for all the help so far everyone!!

EDIT: My mistake for not mentioning this earlier, but PSU1 went through the death of my Geforce2 Pro when its fan seized causing it to overheat and die (I got strange lines moving across the screen--thought it was a driver issue...then left it alone to eat dinner, came back, messed around some more, and then the screen got really screwed up and the computer locked...wouldn't boot after that).

Anyway, when that GF2 Pro died, it damaged my previous motherboard (Epox 8K7A), hence why I bought this Biostar. The 8K7A's AGP slot got messed up--was overvolting (no BIOS settings to change this), and as a result anything that went into the slot promptly overheated.

Is it possible that PSU1 was damaged during the GF2's death? If so, I'm thinking my problem is solved with PSU2, and I (hopefully) don't need to deconstruct my computer.

-Eric
 
Is it possible that PSU1 was damaged during the GF2's death? If so, I'm thinking my problem is solved with PSU2, and I (hopefully) don't need to deconstruct my computer.
Click to expand...
More likely th psu got the other components gradually..most likely with new psu you'll be fine. 🙂
 
Keep in mind that if you're the original owner of the PP303XP, I believe it has the same 3-year warranty that Antec's present stuff carries. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon
More likely th psu got the other components gradually..most likely with new psu you'll be fine. 🙂
Click to expand...

So I ought to be ok w/o having to do the cardboard test? This is good...b/c I have an essay to write.

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Keep in mind that if you're the original owner of the PP303XP, I believe it has the same 3-year warranty that Antec's present stuff carries. 🙂
Click to expand...

Uh...huh? Is the PP303XP my PSU..? The model number on the side says:
EN-8604946
HPC-300-101 Rev C0

And, if this PSU has a 3 year warranty, how do I redeem it?

I purchased the PSU/case combo almost 3 years ago...I've got about 2 months left on that. The combo was essentially this one, except that the PSU is mounted horizantally instead of vertically. Though, the PSU in that picture has the same model # as mine.

I checked on Enlight's website, and I can't find any RMA information. Of course, there's a high chance that they might kick me back to newegg...which I'm not sure if this policy will apply:
? The manufacturer will not service end-users or does not have an RMA procedure.
? The Manufacturer is overseas or does not have contact information.

Anyhow...what do you think? Would it even be worth it to replace this thing? B/c I can get a new one for <40 bucks (as I discussed here.

Thanks again,
-Eric
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top