New P4 sytem won't boot - help please

[igor01]

Hi guys, I've just upgraded my system:

Abit BE7-RAID
2x256 MB OCZ PC3500 EL
P4 2.4B with stock HSF
GF3 (waiting for Radeon 9700 Pro)
3 Maxtor 7200 Harddrives (40-60-80 GB)
Plextor 24x8x4 Burner
Generic Floppy
Enermax 465W Power Supply (EG465E-VE)
XaserII 5000 Case

I've put everything together and tried to boot - all the fans start ok, I get the POST beep and the start up screen first displays the video card and then I get the screen that identifies the CPU as a P4 1800 (100x18) and the usual prompt to press Delete to enter BIOS setup, there's nothing blinking on the screen so it's impossible to determine whether the system is frozen or just waiting for something. I press Delete but it will not enter BIOS setup, and won't proceed to boot the OS if I don't press anything. It just sits there until I restart then the process repeats itself.

I then disconnected all non-essential components leaving only the mobo, CPU, RAM, videocard and the keyboard. I disconnected all the fans in the case thinking that maybe the PSU is not supplying enough power to all the components - exactly the same result. I even tried taking the mobo out of the case and booting it up with just the essential components sitting on a carboard box thinking that maybe there's a problem with grounding or shorting somewhere in the case - still the same thing happens.

I am quite perplexed as to what the heck is wrong with this setup. The mobo, RAM and CPU are brand new, GF3 worked flawlessly in my AMD setup, so did the drives, and the power supply. The PSU is P4 compliant and should be able to supply enough power.

One thing that maybe an indication of what's wrong - near the main power socket on the mobo, there's two tiny LED's. When the system is powered off (while still plugged in to the power outlet) only the green LED is lit, as soon as I press the Power button on the case, the red LED lights up and stays lit until the systm is shutdown again. I could not find any mention of these LED's in the Abit manual.

So, if anybody has any suggestions, please throw them at me, I need to get the system going ASAP and I am pretty much out of ideas here. Any help is welcome and appreciated.

Igor

 

[gururu]

hey igor01,

the LEDs are ok. green only when off, green and red when on. thats what new Abit boards do.

If you are locking up on the boot, it is probably a cpu thing. Bootup screen means video card is ok. Any boot means memory probably ok. its detecting a 1800, but you have a 2400. so you have to fix that. but how, if you can't get into BIOS...
try resetting the BIOS on the motherboard witht he correct jumper. Also check the bottom of the cpu to make sure all the pins are ok (not bent or damaged). I imagine you used thermal paste too. It could be a heat transfer issue (if the chip gets too hot, it will lock up).

if the cpu looks good, the retail fan is properly installed, good. ALso make sure you plugged in the 12V P4 connector from the power supply.
If the BIOS reset doesn't work, then could be a defective cpu or mobo. can you test your cpu on a friends system?
If you can get into the BIOS, and reconfigure the cpu, im sure you'll be ok. does that motherboard support a 2.4B?
make sure, but I think it does.

good luck!

 

[igor01]

Thanks a lot for your reply gururu

Originally posted by: gururu
hey igor01,

the LEDs are ok. green only when off, green and red when on. thats what new Abit boards do.

If you are locking up on the boot, it is probably a cpu thing. Bootup screen means video card is ok. Any boot means memory probably ok. its detecting a 1800, but you have a 2400. so you have to fix that. but how, if you can't get into BIOS...
try resetting the BIOS on the motherboard witht he correct jumper. Also check the bottom of the cpu to make sure all the pins are ok (not bent or damaged). I imagine you used thermal paste too. It could be a heat transfer issue (if the chip gets too hot, it will lock up).

The CPU looks OK, I double-checked twice, and the HSF appears properly installed (redid it twice just to make sure). I've also applied Arctic Silver for better heat transfer, so it is unlikely that the CPU gets too hot and locks up. After the system stays on (in it's comatose state) for a while, the HS is not even warm to the touch so heat lockup is probably not the suspect here.

if the cpu looks good, the retail fan is properly installed, good. ALso make sure you plugged in the 12V P4 connector from the power supply.

Both the main and the 12v power connectors appear firmly plugged in, so I can probably rule this out too.

If the BIOS reset doesn't work, then could be a defective cpu or mobo. can you test your cpu on a friends system?
If you can get into the BIOS, and reconfigure the cpu, im sure you'll be ok. does that motherboard support a 2.4B?
make sure, but I think it does.

Unfortunately I do not have access to another P4 system. My board should have full support for 2.4B since it's based on the i845PE chipset. I am wondering if there's some jumper setting that is forcing the 100 Mhz FSB mode, although the Abit manual does not make any mention of it.

good luck!

thanks, it looks like i need it

 

[Broadkipa]

I had to flash the bios of my abit board to get Northwood support, have you checked to make sure you dont need a bios upgrade too.

 

[dude]

Originally posted by: Broadkipa
I had to flash the bios of my abit board to get Northwood support, have you checked to make sure you dont need a bios upgrade too.

This is a 845PE board. It has support for every chip out today, or rather, the bios does, too.

You did try clearing the bios right? The battery jumper?
This is odd though, I would suspect cpu or motherboard.

 

[igor01]

Yep, the board is i845PE, should support every Northwood under the sun... I've tried clearing CMOS through the jumper, didn't really try taking the battery out since the jumper effectively cuts the battery line and has pretty much the same effect.

I suspect either the CPU or the mobo are no good...

 

[Ruckas]

Got warranty? Swap the 2 components. I would start with the CPU first. It's easy to troubleshoot when you only have 2 suspects.

Ruckas-

 

[igor01]

Thanks for all the help everyone. The problem was caused by OCZ PC3500 EL memory, for some reason both sticks of this brand refuse to work with my Abit BE7-RAID.

Tried another stick of OCZ PC3500 non-EL and it worked fine. Emaild OCZ tech support, waiting for an answer.