Looks like the latest Memtest86+ might kill BIOS!

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
i really doubt memtest kills the bios i have literally used it 500+ times with out ill effects, not once.

Same here, but I still had two mobos in a row die right after using it.... I don't think it's mere coincidence.... but I could just blame ECS. 😉

 

[Ryan42]

Okay. Just out of curiosity, have you tried changing the BIOS chips with known good versions? also some motherboards have a jumper which you can switch to "recover" which will basically just access the floppy drive and reflash teh BIOS form a BIOS disk with no onscreen analysis, simply beeping when it's done. In order to further rule out other components of the system such as CPU, I would suggest taking the BIOS chip from a working PC and installing it in your dead board. It probably won't do anything but beep or maybe show you the logo on screen of the BIOS that you've swapped it with, but that would help you in some small way.

 

[flexy]

clear cmos ? remove cmos battery ? CHECK cmos battery ? wait a while. Put in battery again.

Double check connectors, mem sticks etc.

Try booting off a bootable CD. (I know THIS sounds weird but thats how i once revived a death PC [no boot, no bios], inserted bootable norton utilities CD and for some bizarre reason the PC came to live again.

>>>
Same here, but I still had two mobos in a row die right after using it.... I don't think it's mere coincidence.... but I could just blame ECS.
>>>
"using" em or messing around with em ? boards rarely die without a reason...ehrm....

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: bluemax

Originally posted by: shoRunner
i really doubt memtest kills the bios i have literally used it 500+ times with out ill effects, not once.

Same here, but I still had two mobos in a row die right after using it.... I don't think it's mere coincidence.... but I could just blame ECS. 😉

I have bought exactly 2 ECS boards. One lasted a week, and the other only posted once.
I bought a different Brand and never looked back!

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: bluemax
The story so far: I was working on an in-house machine which up until now was working perfectly. I shut everything down, powered off the PSU, left it plugged in. Changed PC133 RAM to one stick of DDR for testing purposes (yes, one of those boards with both RAM types.) Memtest86+ found about 5000 errors on the one stick of RAM in about 15 seconds so I decided, "yes, that's a dead stick-o-RAM."

Instead of hitting ESC to reboot, I simply powered down the machine.

Pulled RAM, replaced it with another DDR for continued testing.... black screen. Won't beep. Won't post. No beeping error codes for no RAM or no video.

Yes, I was sure to touch all kinds of metal thingys before touching anything computery - static is bad. 😉

I'm only day 3 on the job, but I've been in hardware for 10+ years! I can't let something like this ruin a good job just because of some lousy luck!

Any ideas?

bm,

i got a board (dfi lp ultra) and the dfi people *explicitly* say you have to WAIT a while after you switch the PC off (main off switch in back)....otherwise components CAN BE DESTROYED !

The caps need some time to unload itself...in my case i can hear a "popping noise" after about 5 secs (after i switched the PC off)...and i am quite sure if i would mess with hardware BEFORE i hear this noise i might risk damage since there is still voltages sitting on the connectors.

Just FIY - and you said you switched sticks - so you DID something and maybe you need to look at the way how/what you're doing....

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: flexy
"using" em or messing around with em ? boards rarely die without a reason...ehrm....

User for 20 years, 10-15 years of technical-level... no, this wasn't user stupidity. 😉