Power problem on Athlon64 3000+ based PC with MSI Neo K8T

[tusitha]

I've just assembled an Athlon 64 3000+ with a MSI Neo K8T mobo and PC3200 GEIL Value RAM.

The trouble is whenever I turn on the PC for the first time (i.e. after connecting the mains to the power supply) it doesn't POST. The LED on the D-bracket shows 4 red lights (the manual describes it as a CPU SNAFU). HOWEVER, when I turn off the power (without disconnecting the mains) and turn it back on, it POSTs and everything looks to be alright. The problem occurs only if the PC is swtiched on after being off and disconnected from the mains. I'm suspecting the PSU might be at fault? Its a L & C 400W PSU, one of the budget ones that happened to be the only one avaialble when I went to get the parts. Any thoughts on what might be the real problem?

I also noticed that the temp readings on the mobo seem to be incorrect. The CPU temp reads 36-38C on idle where as the motherboard temp shows as 40-43 (I doubt the CPU would be cooler than the ambient temp. Room temp is around 35C (its summer here). Is the retail AMD heatsink so efficient in reducing the chip temp below ambient? Or is this a BIOS issue?

Thanks in advance to any replies.

 

[InlineFive]

1. The MSI K8T Neo seems to be the most error-prone of the K8 motherboards.
2. Have you tried updating the motherboard BIOS?

-Por

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo
1. The MSI K8T Neo seems to be the most error-prone of the K8 motherboards.
2. Have you tried updating the motherboard BIOS?

-Por

The K8T Neo is not the most error-prone board available, but it does have issues, like every other Athlon64 motherboard. Your problem may be associated with the memory, sometimes these boards have issues with certain tpyes of memory, and since yours is PC4200, you may want to try popping another stick in there and try it out. If the memory checks out, try another PSU, because that could be it also. I have found that the readings from the CoreCell software to be very wrong, they are using the socket temps instead of the on-die temp probe, so install MBM5 and you should be fine. Also, in the BIOS for the first boot, I got some crazy temps too, once I got my settings changed, saved the CMOS and went back to it they had normalized. Try going to BIOS 1.2 if you have the chance, it seems to be a lot more stable.

 

[tusitha]

no I haven't. I downloaded the latest BIOS updates but it doesn't mention anything about having a fix for this problem. I generally don't update the BIOS unless it fixes some stablity issue or adds a new feature. do you think the BIOS miight be the problem?

Furthermore, what other problems is this board suspect of having? I chose this one over the ASUS K8V as it is a better performer.

 

[tusitha]

sorry, did not see your post

unfortunately I don't have another stick to try with at the moment. The PC runs 100% stable with default clocks and ram at the default 2.5-3-3-6. The issue seems to be no POST on first power up. I'll go ahead with that BIoS update and see if it fixes things..

Thanks to you all and I'll keep you posted.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: tusitha
no I haven't. I downloaded the latest BIOS updates but it doesn't mention anything about having a fix for this problem. I generally don't update the BIOS unless it fixes some stablity issue or adds a new feature. do you think the BIOS miight be the problem?

Furthermore, what other problems is this board suspect of having? I chose this one over the ASUS K8V as it is a better performer.

Try some of the things I mentioned above and hopefully one of them will fix your problem. I love my MSI K8T Neo-FISR2, it's a great overclocker, very stable, and very fast! But with everything else, sometimes you run into issues, it happens, but don't let it get you down!

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: tusitha
sorry, did not see your post

unfortunately I don't have another stick to try with at the moment. The PC runs 100% stable with default clocks and ram at the default 2.5-3-3-6. The issue seems to be no POST on first power up. I'll go ahead with that BIoS update and see if it fixes things..

Thanks to you all and I'll keep you posted.

Also, try running Memtest to avoid worrying about the memory, that way you can maybe single out the PSU or BIOS.

 

[tusitha]

Originally posted by: jdogg707

Originally posted by: tusitha
no I haven't. I downloaded the latest BIOS updates but it doesn't mention anything about having a fix for this problem. I generally don't update the BIOS unless it fixes some stablity issue or adds a new feature. do you think the BIOS miight be the problem?

Furthermore, what other problems is this board suspect of having? I chose this one over the ASUS K8V as it is a better performer.

Try some of the things I mentioned above and hopefully one of them will fix your problem. I love my MSI K8T Neo-FISR2, it's a great overclocker, very stable, and very fast! But with everything else, sometimes you run into issues, it happens, but don't let it get you down!

thanks for the encouragement. Just noticed I typed 4200... I meant PC3200 DDR400 RAM. so no one reckons it might be the power supply at fault? I'll do the BIoS update now anyway to see if it works....

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: tusitha

Originally posted by: jdogg707

Originally posted by: tusitha
no I haven't. I downloaded the latest BIOS updates but it doesn't mention anything about having a fix for this problem. I generally don't update the BIOS unless it fixes some stablity issue or adds a new feature. do you think the BIOS miight be the problem?

Furthermore, what other problems is this board suspect of having? I chose this one over the ASUS K8V as it is a better performer.

Try some of the things I mentioned above and hopefully one of them will fix your problem. I love my MSI K8T Neo-FISR2, it's a great overclocker, very stable, and very fast! But with everything else, sometimes you run into issues, it happens, but don't let it get you down!

thanks for the encouragement. Just noticed I typed 4200... I meant PC3200 DDR400 RAM. so no one reckons it might be the power supply at fault? I'll do the BIoS update now anyway to see if it works....

Ok, since you have 3200, it should be fine. Ya, I could see it being the PSU, if the BIOS doesn't help, try another PSU if you have oen around or can borrow one for a few minutes.

 

[tusitha]

ok, just update my BIOS and noticed my CPU temp went up to 65C! After a reboot it shows a more believealbe 38C. But the problem still remains. I guess it must be the PSU. I'll try to get my hands on another one if I can.

thanks for the help and I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

 

[nowayout99]

Don't worry about that CPU temp issue. I've had that happen before as well after a BIOS update, etc. I think that's another bug.

 

[WebDude]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo
1. The MSI K8T Neo seems to be the most error-prone of the K8 motherboards.
2. Have you tried updating the motherboard BIOS?

-Por

My experience is limited, but I have to agree with the sentiment here. (I've built a lot of systems, but I'm new to the Athlon64.) My first Neo FIS2R had me frustrated for 3 days. I would get random, sporadic lockups, refusals to boot, refusals to run with any stability with Mushkin Level2 PC3500 DDR, refusals to boot a raid array off the Promise controller. I tried everything I could think of, but the problems never really went away. But I wasn't convinced it was the board that was defective, because I could get it up and running for 3 or 4 hours at a time without any problems. [Updated the bios too, but that didn't help.] Finally out of frustration I sent it back and got a replacement from NewEgg. The new board runs the Mushkin at 2-2-2-2 without a hitch, right from the start. No problems whatsoever. It's a very stable setup. My GUESS is you have a defective board. But you're in the best position to judge that. Try everything you can think of, but don't rule out the mb being defective.