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NEED HELP: Epox EP-8KDA3+ NForce3 250GB won't boot!

I

Insomniak

Banned
Ok, this has been one nightmare night. Here's the story.

Myself and my housemate just assembled his new PC...it was his first time, but I am an experienced DIYer so we had no problems. The installation went fine. System components were as follows:

Epox EP-8KDA3+ Motherboard, NForce3 250GB
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 754, .13nm (stock heatsink/fan)
1GB Mushkin Basic Green (512x2) PC3200 DDR SDRAM
Leadtek GeForce 6600GT 8X AGP
Western Digital 80GB 7200 RPM IDE HDD
Antec 350W Power Supply, 12v@21A
Two of his old optical drives, one CD-ROM, one CD-RW
2x120mm Case Fans

So we get all this assembled, and go in to start loading software/configuring. This is where the nightmare begins.

On boot, the system checks out the 6600GT, it comes through fine, then I get 1 beep, and it posts processor speed, and memory check, both of which are on spec and fine. Then there is a 15 - 20 second hang. Then it detects IDE devices, which it comes up with the correct IDE devices, and their jumper settings. THen there is another 15 - 20 second hang. Then the POST pops up "Verifying DMI Pool data......" and hangs for about 15 - 20 seconds again. Then it attempts to boot from CD-RW (my second boot device) I assume because it can't boot from the hard disk. It hangs here for 15-20 seconds. Then it attempts CD-ROM, third boot device, and hangs for another 15 - 20 seconds. Then it pops up a disk boot fail message, and asks me to insert system disk. It will sit here indefinitely from here on out.

OK, a few things -

1) If you boot through either optical drive using the WinXP install disk, Windows will install, reboot, configure, and be good. The installation is successful, but the system will not boot to it.

2) As soon as the POST hits the "Verifying DMI Pool data...." part mentioned above, the debug LED on the motherboard gives an FF code, which according to the manual can be 1 of 4 things:

- Incorrectly seated BIOS chip - checked it, it's seated fine.
- Improperly seated add in card. Checked and reseated both, they're fine.
- Incorrect/problem with BIOS. I attempted a BIOS flash (AFTER ALL THESE PROBLEMS HAD BEEN OCCURING), but it would not complete...the system just hung for 15 - 20 seconds then proceeded with it's normal crippled, semi-boot. BIOS version is 10/22/2004, so it really shouldn't need it. I attempted to Flash to the
- Motherboard is dead. Possibility?

Anyway, I have been trying to solve this for about 8 hours now today, and I'm about to go out of my mind. The only option I can think of that I have not tried yet is that perhaps the 80GB WD drive has some kind of defect, so I'm going to swap it for a known good 45GB WD drive and see if things go ok. If so, we've found my culprit, If not, I have two primary suspects:

1) Corrupt BIOS
2) DOA Motherboard



Is anyone familiar with this kind of situation on this board, or any other? If so, can you recommend any fixes or courses of action? Any and all help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
From what you've described, it does sound a little like a hard disk problem - stalling after the memory check is usually the motherboard having difficulties with the hard disk, although this is a bit of a long shot, I must admit.

Have you a different drive you can try? What happens if you disconnect the hard disk - does the pausing go away?

[Edit] Just saw the bit about the 45Gb WD drive 😱 Give that a try first!
 
Tried the 45GB WD drive. No dice.

It's weird, because Windows XP installs successfully, and it boots to windows (at least initially after install) using the WinXP install disk. I think the drive is OK, it really to me seems to be the motherboard. Got a few options from another thread to try...we'll see if they help...
 

I have an Epox Nforce2 board, and I had issues after building a new pc with it. Turns out they were related to my case USB wiring. My case (Antec) has an extra ground wire for USB that should not be connected. Only 8 USB wires (if yours are individual) need to be connected.

I would pull the USB connectors off temporarily, even if they are for the supplied PCI backplate USB. Do the same for the Firewire connector wiring. Pull the harness off each, and then try booting/installing.

It's a small matter of hooking them back up again if that doesn't prove to be the problem.

Additionally, try installing without any USB devices installed.

 
I've had a similar problem with an 8rda3i board. I couldn't figure it out, so I RMA'd it. Epox was pretty good with the rma process although they were a little slow (they don't seem to want to send you a motherboard back unless you message them about it).

It turns out I also had problems with the replacement 🙂 The next MB I received wan't all bad though, it was just picky as to which PSU I used with it. It would give random boot errors with a high quality enermax PSU, but would boot fine with a cheap no-name psu. I've been using this setup for a few weeks now with no problems - the enermax still works fine in another system.

Hope you figure it out or have a quick and painless rma experience.
 
Tried clearing the CMOS, reseated BIOS chip, swapped out for good RAM, swapped out for good IDE cables, hooked up a 460W Enermax PSU, nothing worked. All other components were confirmed known functional in another system. Only device possibly faulty is motherboard.

We registered the mobo and started the RMA process. Looks like it was just a DOA 🙁 I appreciate everyone's help and suggestions. Wish me luck!
 
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