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HELP! My machine just croaked! Please help me bring it back to life...

C

Caveman

Platinum Member
I built my first system ever and had it running solidly (specs are in my signature). Then I had a stupid attack and got greedy for more.

Here's a summary of the stupidity:

Got machine up and running stable for several weeks. So... I decide to try my had at OCing -- and nudge up the FSB to 140. Success at 140, but anything above that, and Win XP would give me an error message at boot, requiring me to shut down and reset the FSB back to 140 for Win XP to boot through to the desktop.

Then I read about the Epox boards having a clock divider that kicks in at FSB 160, and allows all the PCI slots to feel comfortable at their default MHz. This was something I "confirmed" on the forums here at Anandtech and elsewhere on the net... Guess I'll learn not to believe all I read.

So... This morning I get into the bios and pump it up to 160 and...

SYSTEM WON'T BOOT!

Just a blank video screen. Boot seems somewhat normal (checks the CD Roms and then the Floppy but no beep), then nothing but an idle machine. I can't use the power button to turn it off, but it will "reset" and check the floppys again. My disk boot order is: DVD Rom, CD Burner, Floppy, HD... The digital readout on the 8kha+ MoBo stops during the bootup at "26".

My system has ample cooling and runs cool at 133 FSB -- 35C idle 42C max load. My memory is Corsair 2400, so I can't believe that its having problems...

This is one of those can't get there from here paradoxes. It seems like if I could just get into the bios again, I could make the system run, but since I can't get in, I'm locked out. FRUSTRATING!!!

I thought about switching the jumper on the MoBo for a FSB 100 setting, thereby "cancelling" some of the effect of my bios OC but this is just a shot in the dark... I'm just grasping at straws here... Any ideas?



 
Just clear the CMOS. On most MB there is either a jumper or a button that lets you clear the CMOS. If you can't find the jumper, just unplug the PS, then pop the little watch battery (most likely a CR2032) out and let it sit for atleast 30 seconds, then pop the battery back in, plug the PS in and power up. It should be reset back to the default value (most likely 100fsb).
 
Hey guys thanks for the HELP! I learned so much about computers during this first build but there are still huge gaps in my knowledge... As for the jumper setting... I assume that once it "clears", then I set the jumper back to "normal" before my next reboot, lest it keep clearing at each boot???
 
I don't understand very well how you can build a system without knowing how to clear your cmos! Caveman, you should have read your docs.... ok it's not a linux forum, but understand me!
;-) Seiously, once you booted, your system bios won't need to be cleared.
 
When you clear the CMOS you will set the bios back to defaults. You will have to go back in there to maybe increase the fsb to 133 and detect the HD's, things like that.
 
I read a TON before I built this machine and had heard the phrase "clear the bios" but never had to mess with it since all worked fine the fist time. Not sure what your last sentence means???

Are you trying to say that once (if) I get the syatem to boot again then I should change the jumper back to "normal" instead of "clear"? This makes sense.
 
In fact the clear CMOS jumper must stay a few seconds in the "clear" position. You must reset it to "keep data" or "normal" before to try to boot your system.
 
WAIT A MINUTE... Are you saying that I do this with the computer on? I assumed I just do everything with the machne off to avoid zapping anything...
 
OFF COURSE YOU MUST DO THAT WITH YOUR SYSTEM OFF! In fact you shouldn't touch anything on your system with the power cord plugged!
 
GOT IT! So, apparently, if I understand this correctly, the CMOS can reset itself with just the power of the battery???

I never would have guessed.
 
Hi!

Let me add some more confusion to the CMOS clearing posts 🙂

Step by step:
0. Consult the MB's manual before you make any atempt 🙂
1. Turn off the system.
2. Unplug the PS cord.
3. Put the CMOS jumper in "clear cmos" state OR you can pop out the small CR2... battery.
4. Wait 1 minute - drink a cofee or something.
5. Put the batery back and the jumper in original position.
6. plug the PS cord back.
7. Turn on the system.
8. If it is booting ok ( see the Bios output on the monitor. ) then turn off the sytem / put the case cover back on / turn on the system...

It should boot just fine.
But enter the bios and set everything back as you had it before (memory timings/ cpu-pci clocks/hdd detection / power management / ...).

Cheers,
 
You're toying with my mind... I'm not "trying" to be funny... I'm just trying to understand... So... does the CMOS reset itself using the battery power?

I'm a newbie... Sorry if this is an ignorant question...
 
Sorry, I didn't understood what you were meaning. The lack of battery power done by pulling the jumper on clear makes the bios reset.
 
Hi!

The CMOS contains data that the BIOS which is in the EEPROM chip uses to set up all the devices and other timing options (CPU speed... ).
So if you do not give battery power to the CMOS then it's content will be lost.
When you reboot after clearing it, the BIOS sees that the content of CMOS is gone and suply the DEFAULTS VALUES to it.
With the DEFAULT VALUES every system can boot fine.

But the CMOS must be powered by the battery so it can keep it's values even if you power off the system.

Cheers,

 
interesting stuff... So, in actuality... setting the jumper to "clear" really just prevents battery power from keeping the data stored in the bios "alive". It is essentially the same thing as pulling the battery -- just another way to do the same thing...

I think I get it now... : )
 
Now that you have the CMOS sorted out and your system is functioning again, you should probably know that the divider doesn't kick in until 166mhz(assuming that there is one) and not at 160mhz. Hehe, that thought will echo in your mind until you try it! 🙂
 
Holding down the insert while you turn the computer on will reset it to the default CPU settings. Just remeber that you have to hold it down untill the computer beeps. Then start hiting he delete key to get into the CMOS.

Clearing the CMOS with the jumper also works, but the insert key technique is much faster. If you do use the jumper, the make sure you pull the power cable from the back of the computer first. ATX power supplies give power to the MB as long as the power cord is pluged in.
 
It's good to be back counting 1's and 0's...

Sandorski: I heard the magic number on the bus speed to activate the divider was 160, not 166. This from a guy who used a voltmeter to verify... At 159 MHz, he got 39 MHz on PCI slots and at 160 it dropped to 32 MHz... Type in "divider" in the search and read the top three threads for links to the "experiment". But I suspected what you are saying and it makes me want to try although I've also heard this is something that only works with certain bios versions... What's your source, and experience with this?

XFreebie: Luckily I had an old K6-II 450 with net access... I'm back on the "big rig" now at 139 MHz FSB

GRIFFIN1: Yes, this motherboard supports this "Insert" feature although I couldn't get it to work right -- would get to the screen to "press delete" but then no go from there... I can see the advantage of this method though...

 
Sources? Experiences? None, so I certainly could be wrong. I'm just assuming that it would mesh with the next standard fsb, which coincidently will be 166mhz.
 
I'm sorry. I was going to let this slide because I didn't want to show my ignorance, but I didn't know you could measure MHz with a voltmeter. In fact, I don't believe you can. If I am mistaken will somebody please so inform me? I'm always ready to learn new things.
 
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