I think I am loosing my mind... POSTING PROBLEMS on both ASUS & SOLTEK NF2 boards

[Huntress]

This is going to be a long one, but here goes...

I have recently bought a number of used items from the FS/FT forum which I planned to setup this weekend.

Here's the parts I bought:

XP2100+ Tbred B w/steppings that have done 2500mhz on air
Swiftech Swiftech MCX-462u and Mechatronics Fan
Geforce 4 TI4200 Leadtek WinFast A250 LE TD AGP
Soltek 75FRN-L
1 x 512mb PC3200 TwinMOS RAM
20GB Maxtor hdd

Here's what I already had:

ASUS A7N8X Deluxe
XP2700+
Thermaltake Volcano 11 Xaser HSF
Radeon 8500 AGP
2 x 256 Corsair XMS PC3500
80gb 8mb cache Maxtor on IDE1 as master by jumper
48X Samsung CD-ROM on IDE2 as master by jumper
ZIP 100 in IDE2 as slave by jumper
Enermax FS-710B case w/Enermax 330w
Antec True330 (spare for new build using the bought parts above)

Plan:

Because I want to test the OC ability of the XP2100+ I decided that I would use the Swiftech cooler. Because the cooler requires board mounting and the new Soltek NF2 board doesn't have, it was obvious to me that I would need to do some switching around of things. So I decided that I would put the 2100+ and Swiftech on the ASUS board. I would then use the XP2700+, the Volcano 11 in the new Soltek setup.

Things down and Problems:

This should have been a simple switch-a-roo for the ASUS board. I pulled the board and attached the mounting hardware for the Swiftie, greased up with AS3 and attached the HS and fan. NOTE: the xp2100+ turned out to have one bent pin as installation wasn't just a lay the chip in.... inspected the chip, found the bent pin, straightened it out, and then it installed without problem.

I then reinstalled the board (note I always install the cpu and hsf before installing in case)

When I plugged in and turned on the PSU (the Enermax at this point) the green light came on on the mobo.

When I turned on the machine, all fans spun up (hsf too) but no post. No beeps, and also no voice msging from the bios (speakers plugged in)

No biggie at this point, I'll just reset the CMOS.... NO GO

Okay... I'll pull all unneeded devices.... pulled the IDE and power cables for CD-ROM and ZIP.... NO GO

I decide at this point that maybe I do not know what I am doing (this was bound to happen 😛) and pull out the ASUS manual.... both of them (we have two ASUS A7N8X Deluxe boards, and while they are both the same version, the manuals that came with these boards are not the same, close, but not). Remember, I was going from a 333fsb chip to a 266fsb chip... so I start thinking maybe the FSB jumper maybe a problem. I check, no problems there, the jumper for this is either 333/266 or 200 only. It is still set at default, which is 333/266.... I clear the CMOS again just to be sure I did it correctly. NO GO

Okay.... maybe my Radeon went bad through this... so I switch it for the new GF4 card... NO GO

I switch the memory (Corsair) around, one stick, two sticks, different slot arrangements... NO GO

I start to think maybe that bent pin on the CPU is the problem (was thinking this all along, but had no basis in fact or experience), so I decide to go back to the XP2700+ again... I put that back in.... NO GO

By this time I had been working on this for 18 hours and I am exhausted. I figure I must have damaged the mobo at this point. And decide that I really need to get past this, as I owe heat, and in case of the video card I owe money to a new trader who shipped first. So, I pull the board and package back up in it's box, as first thing in the AM (today) I am going to just go build the Soltek machine. And a go to bed and pass out from exhaustion.

Today at about 11am I start to build the Soltek... I still want to use the XP2100+ and set that up on the board with the Volcano 11.

I use the GF4, my Corsair (2 sticks versus one for dual channel) and my original 80gb hdd (already has XP installed, and I wanted to try and use that)... I also hook up the 20gb as a slave, as I need to confirm it is operational too.

Place it into the case, hook it all up, NOTHING... not even fans spinning! :Q

Unlike the ASUS board, there is no visual confirmation that the board is even getting power. I am thinking at this point, oh great, this board is dead... but after yesterday with the ASUS issues I am wondering if it is something else.

Okay... so did my PSU bite the dust? Okay so I try the Antec PSU which I know works, in fact this is a ROCK SOLID PSU, as I just pulled it Friday night from my fiance's old case (upgraded his case Friday) so I could use his case in the planned Soltek build, however since the ASUS was pulled I continued to use the Enermax case. Well, switching the PSU proved no better... still NO GO.

I switch the memory around again in this board, and even try the TwinMOS stick... NO GO

I switch the video to the Radeon... NO GO

I give up... I am starting to look forward to Monday and going back to work... that glooming deadline is not this stressful. 😉

I am past ideas at this point and am very frustrated and need advice here.

What am I doing wrong here?

Thanks!

Diana

PS... I am off to go slap this video card into another machine so I can pay the poor guy who sent me it.... be back soon to see what you all have to say. 🙂

 

[SgtZulu]

I stopped reading after the FS/FT part

 

[Huntress]

Thanks for nothing

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: SgtZulu
I stopped reading after the FS/FT part

thank you for your assistance 🙂

What am I doing wrong here?

I'd say ...nothing you are doing is wrong..but I wouldn't be putting those setups in a case until I'd tested out of one to eliminate a grounding issue from the equation..but...what do I know...hopefully mechBgon or LordEvermore will roll thru this post..a lot of variables in those mixes..I have a lil 6.4GB Seagate with Win98SE on it for testing stuff only..🙂 Good Luck ! 🙂

 

[Huntress]

Oh I did forget to mention that (I did a bunch of things... thought I had it all listed)... I did pull the ASUS out of the case and tried it... that didn't work either 🙁

I will try the Soltek out of the case in a little bit 🙂

One specific question... has anyone had issues with nothing powering up on a bum cpu?

 

[mechBgon]

 ^
😀 <-- thinking cap


One thing about the boards is that they don't share the same I/O panel design. Looking at their rear panels, it looks like they'd still be ok, but do check for any of those springy metal finger things getting into your USB ports or network port(s). If they do, they can short the board and it'll act dead to the world.

If the case has front USB ports, also disconnect them from the motherboard for now... my 8RDA+ refused to power up once, and it turned out to be an unusual pinout on the front-USB header.

If that's not getting you anywhere, start from scratch. Pull the motherboard(s) out of the case(s) and lay them on cardboard. Show them what happened to the last motherboard that dared to cross you 😀 Take out the RAM, the CPU itself, the video card and the keyboard. Bare motherboard... check. Now plug in the power supply to the board, and use a screwdriver tip or other metal object (cattleprod, PCI-slot cover, whatever) to make momentary electrical contact between the motherboard's Power-Button pins. The power supply's fans should start and stay running here. If not, the board is probably due for RMA.

If the PSU runs with a bare motherboard, now try adding the bare essentials with the board still outside the case (keyboard, video, RAM, CPU). Fortunately you have multiples of each item to test with. Good luck!

 

[ScrapSilicon]

cattleprod for use in a controlled environment and with the consent preferably of the fianc.....errrr..."prodee" 😛good tension stress reliever for the wielder of said cattleprod as well 😉😀😛powered or non-powered :Qa bum cpu would def not do anything for your testing of your parts..🙁

 

[mechBgon]

Also, could you go through the first post and clarify where you say NO GO, whether that means the system spins fans, or whether it means that it just lays there and does absolutely nothing at all?

 

[Huntress]

Actually the fans ALWAYS spun on the ASUS board... and nothing spun on the Soltek 🙁

One thing I am going to go do is take this up to my dining room, where I have a monitor sitting (I am such a geek). One thing I forgot to mention is that I had this hook up to my LCD through a KVM... I should take the KVM out of the mix.

BTW... the GeForce 4 worked in another machine (off to go pay that poor guy now... whew!) 😀

And thanks for the power up testing tips mechBgon... will do that. And Scrap... LOL on the "fianc..." comment... he fell asleep on the couch watching Nascar... just thinking about that relieved a little stress 😛

 

[ScrapSilicon]

you are welcome..🙂

just thinking about that relieved a little stress 😛

just don't do what my cousin in MS did to hers when he ran over 2 of her pet mallards with his truck coming in the yard...

..he is still leery of her when she talks about needing batteries for anything 9v..😉😛:Q

 

[WarCon]

I can't remember after reading your post whether or not you said you tried a different hsf. Maybe its not seating right or the fan sensor is bad. Also check that chip really carefully and make sure there isn't a pin broke all the way off.

 

[Huntress]

Originally posted by: WarCon
I can't remember after reading your post whether or not you said you tried a different hsf. Maybe its not seating right or the fan sensor is bad. Also check that chip really carefully and make sure there isn't a pin broke all the way off.

When I had removed the ASUS from the case to test for case shorting, I did try to use the original HSF (the Volcano 11) and processor. But I must admit it is all fuzzy now... so when I am done testing the Soltek, I will go back and make sure.

As for the XP2100+ I did not recall seeing any broken pins... just the one bent one. I will check that out again too.

Thanks for the input 😀

 

[SinfulWeeper]

I would do like mechBgon suggested. But in addition to that I would make sure that all jumpers/dip switches are brought back to default settings, take out the battery and while it is out, clear the CMOS. Then test it outside the case after putting the battery back in.
Some boards are also very picky about having a RPM sensing fan connected to the motherboard on the CPU fan header. Soyo drive me to distraction on that one

.
Also was the memory also seatted all the way in? If possible try testing the memory (or everything else for that matter) in a different computer.

If none of this helps. Go find a BFH and use it, that is sometimes the best answer before you pull all your hair out.

 

[Huntress]

Originally posted by: WarCon
I can't remember after reading your post whether or not you said you tried a different hsf. Maybe its not seating right or the fan sensor is bad. Also check that chip really carefully and make sure there isn't a pin broke all the way off.

Nope that chip is perfect pin wise... in fact I highly doubt there is anything wrong with the chip... I can't even tell now WHICH pin was bent now, it slips right in to the socket now 😀

Originally posted by: mechBgon
^
😀 <-- thinking cap


One thing about the boards is that they don't share the same I/O panel design. Looking at their rear panels, it looks like they'd still be ok, but do check for any of those springy metal finger things getting into your USB ports or network port(s). If they do, they can short the board and it'll act dead to the world.

If the case has front USB ports, also disconnect them from the motherboard for now... my 8RDA+ refused to power up once, and it turned out to be an unusual pinout on the front-USB header.

If that's not getting you anywhere, start from scratch. Pull the motherboard(s) out of the case(s) and lay them on cardboard. Show them what happened to the last motherboard that dared to cross you 😀 Take out the RAM, the CPU itself, the video card and the keyboard. Bare motherboard... check. Now plug in the power supply to the board, and use a screwdriver tip or other metal object (cattleprod, PCI-slot cover, whatever) to make momentary electrical contact between the motherboard's Power-Button pins. The power supply's fans should start and stay running here. If not, the board is probably due for RMA.

If the PSU runs with a bare motherboard, now try adding the bare essentials with the board still outside the case (keyboard, video, RAM, CPU). Fortunately you have multiples of each item to test with. Good luck!

mechBgon 🙂

Answers one by one on your post above.

I had used each boards I/O shield, and had checked the current board (Soltek) for contact issues... no issues there.

So I started from scratch... plain board, on cardboard only power connections plugged in, I tried a screwdriver to close the power switch pins, as well as hooking up just the power switch to a case (not the enermax case, but the other case) and tried this with both of the power supplies power up during the test... so this means the board is dead :frown: So now I have the unfortunate task of returning this board to it's seller, and I am sad about that... I really did want to play with this one 🙁

Now I have to use this procedure to test the ASUS board... however I am really thinking I must have damaged it while installing that swiftech though 🙁

 

[Huntress]

Originally posted by: SinfulWeeper
I would do like mechBgon suggested. But in addition to that I would make sure that all jumpers/dip switches are brought back to default settings, take out the battery and while it is out, clear the CMOS. Then test it outside the case after putting the battery back in.
Some boards are also very picky about having a RPM sensing fan connected to the motherboard on the CPU fan header. Soyo drive me to distraction on that one

.
Also was the memory also seatted all the way in? If possible try testing the memory (or everything else for that matter) in a different computer.

If none of this helps. Go find a BFH and use it, that is sometimes the best answer before you pull all your hair out.

I had checked for default <edit> JUMPER</edit> settings on the Soltek, and had cleared the CMOS... since it failed mechBgon's power test though, I am pretty sure the board is dead now 🙁

 

[SinfulWeeper]

What model swifty do you have anyway? I hope you did not bend any of the capacitors over to make room for it. That from time to time is deadly.

 

[Huntress]

Ahhh the 462u... no there was PLENTY of room on the ASUS for that... the Soltek however doesn't come with mounting holes, so I used the Volcano 11... the Soltek also is quiet roomy too. So that wasn't an issue. But thanks... this stuff sure bites... I was trying to improve one machine, and add another... now I have neither WAAAAAAAA 😛

 

[Huntress]

Originally posted by: SinfulWeeper
If none of this helps. Go find a BFH and use it, that is sometimes the best answer before you pull all your hair out.

I missed this one my friend... LOL.... BFH = ???? or is that what I think it is :Q

 

[NesuD]

don't know what to suggest on the asus but here is something to try with the Soltek. I don't beleive that you mentioned trying this but if you did i apologize for missing it. You said that you have cleared the cmos right? make sure the clear jumper is back in the correct configuration to maintain settings then before you hit the power button Hold down the insert key. while holding the insert key power it on. keep holding the insert key until you get a post. should only take a few moments to post. This is the recomended method for getting a failsafe post and will boot the system using a 100mhz fsb setting allowing you to get into the bios to adjust anything that may be off. A little warning incase you aren't aware but this board doesn't not like mass bios changes so what i do is only change 1 or 2 settings at a time then save and reboot and repeat as needed. When changing the multiplier make that change by itself and save and restart making no other changes until you have rebooted. Hope this will help you out with the soltek at least.

 

[Huntress]

Hey NesuD

Funny you should ask that, I just checked that... just to make sure I wasn't starting it IN the cleared position.

I can't get it to power up, much less get into the BIOS 🙁

Also, should I get past this power issue, thanks for the BIOS advice, that is helpful without a doubt.

I was so wanting to play with this board, I have heard good things about it 🙂

 

[NesuD]

LOL!! I did try and start my frn2-rl in the clear position for about fiteen minutes i was sweating bullets until i noticed i hadn't put it back in the right position. Try posting your problem in the amdmb asus and soltek forums or the nforcershq asus and soltek forums. there are several members there that may be able to help you more than here. also this might seem obvious but recheck the front panel connectors on your board if you haven't already. the solteks aren't the most straight forward connector pinouts i have seen and i did get my power button connector off by a pin when i first connected mine. If anything else comes to mind i will post it.

 

[Huntress]

Yeah actually I noticed that the header info in the manual is completely upside down compared to every other manufactor's boards I've used... this is my second Soltek though and I do not remember that being the case with that board. Although that was a KT333 board.

I will post tomorrow in the other forums. I am going to focus on the Soltek board though, as I just purchased this one and need to resolve issues quickly.

Thank you so much!

BTW... nice buck 😉

 

[NesuD]

BTW... nice buck

Thanks! I'm pretty proud of that one. Held a county record for a buck taken with a primitive weapon back in 92 haven't looked to see if anyone has topped it yet I imagine someone has though.

 

[Huntress]

LOL first one I've seen sportin an AMD cap... anyway... nice... and living in MI, I wouldn't doubt if it has been taken... HUGE Outdoorsman State 😀

PM me on weapon... primitive can be a few things... bow, blackpowder, spear, rock, etc 😛

Anyway... this is sooo off topic 😀

 

[winr]

Bump and good luck!!
Hope you get everything resolved!!


🙂