Some helped needed...Fault proc? MB? Who knows..

[HellHawk]

Ok, I'm having a minor issue and was hoping someone could provide some insight. First, the system specs..

Antec SX830 Case W/ 300 Watt PSU
MSI KT7266 Pro MB
AMD Athlon XP 1700+ & Duron 800 (For Testing)
GeForce 3 TI 500
1 Gig of PC2100 Memory (256 Crucial, 256 Corsair, 512 Centon)
SB Live
3Com NIC
Adaptec 2940W SCSI Card
60 Gig Maxtor HD
Plextor 40x SCSI CD-ROM
Panasonic 4x CD-R (Very old...)

Here's the deal....about a month or two ago I started experiencing weird lockups, random with no pattern. At this time I was running an XP 1600+. Finally it hit its peak when it locked up and refused to turn back on. I tested various things, and I thought it might have been the PSU. I replaced the PSU with another 300 Watt Antec, and to no avail.

At this point, the first thing I did was order a new processor. Decided to upgrade to a 1700+. Got the 1700+, installed it, but the computer still did not work. I figured, ok, it must be a bad MB. RMA'd the MB, got a new one, but still did not work. Ok, I was out of ideas. So for kicks I tried my Duron 800. System boots and runs fine. Ok....I order another 1700+, and the system does not work. Ok this is annoying...I RMA the MB again....no avail.

Here I am with a 2nd RMA'd MB, a 2nd replacement processor, a 1700+ XP and still it does not work. I put in the 800 Duron and it runs fine. I'm at the end of my rope here.

I was thinking maybe the PSU was not putting out enogh for teh 1700 XP but enough for the Duron...However, I had a 1600+ running fine and I can't believe the 1600+ and 1700+ draw different or that much different power. I've tried clearing the CMOS as well.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[ianbergman]

With your specs, 300W should be plenty of power. I don't think that's the issue.

First, what exactly happens when you try to power on with the faster processors? Do you get any kind of beeps, or just a blank screen, or nothing at all? Does it boot partway and then freeze? If the MB beeps, it's trying to tell you something about one of the components. Check your manual. If you get nothing (i.e. computer won't even power on), then the problem is probably the MB or the PSU. If it boots partway (even just to where it's checking memory; not to Windows yet), then see below.

My first guess based on what you've said would be that the processor is overheating. That would explain why an old processor works fine while new ones do not. If you can get into the BIOS, you should also make sure that the MB knows what kind of processor you're putting in there, and that you've got the latest firmware installed. If you think this might be the issue, try finding a big desk fan, opening your case, and pointing the fan straight in there to blow cool air on the computer while it's booting. See if anything changes.

 

[ianbergman]

one more thought... try pulling all but one stick of RAM and see if that makes a difference. I have the same mobo (w/266a chipset), and it doesn't do too well with all three RAM slots filled.

 

[HellHawk]

Thanks for responding..

When I try to power on with the fastest processor, nothing happens to be blunt. If I look at the diagnostic LED's...I see R R R R, then R G R R, then all red and it just sits there. I get no beeps either, no video signal, nothing. I've not been through 2-3 MB's so I'm becoming highly skeptical that it's the MB but I'm inclined to agee that if no beeps, then what could it be...

If I pop in a Duron 800 though, it works ifne. This boggles me....Maybe MSI is playing games with me, sending me half baked boards...At this point I'm ready to entertain that one as a possibility...

Edit: I've tried all possible RAM combos..including 1, 2 and 3 sticks in various banks.

Edit2: One other piece of information of note. If I boot with the Duron...it only recognizes the first DIMM slot....not the other two. Again though, this happened with TWO MB's in a row which is just too odd.

 

[ianbergman]

OK... I really doubt it's the mobo. It's gotta be something w/the processors if the 800MHz works - if not overheating, then maybe damage or a bad configuration.

Try this, just to humor me (or let me know if you've tried it). Take the CMOS battery off the motherboard, and see if the computer will boot. With my mobo, I get similar symptoms to what you're talking about if I screw up the FSB or clock multiplier settings too badly. This will reset everything.

Also, I'm sure you've checked this, but since I'm too lazy to dig up a manual for these things, have you checked that the RGRR combination on the diagnostic LEDs doesn't mean anything in particular?

 

[HellHawk]

Also of note...I'm using the same HSF on both the 1700+ and the 800. 800 runs perfectly cool. I'm almost tempted to put it back in...just to check my sanity.

As for your suggestion, I've done. I just popped the battery out and tried to boot. No go. So it's safe to say the CMOS has been full reset at this time.

As for the LED info, I believe it meant "Early chipset initialization". ALthough that does not tell me much.


Addendum: As I typed this post I tried your solution. It did not work. So I shut the machine off...and put it back on just for kciks. I mean what did I have to lose. Low and behold...I'm at the BIOS screen with incorrect BIOS config msg. I'm seeing what I can do from here. Will let you know...

 

[HellHawk]

After setting and saving the BIOS settings, the machien locks on:

R G G R

Which apparently, according to the manual is the "BIOS Sign-on" phase.

Going to try clearing the BIOS and seeing where that leads me.

Edit: Back at square one. Same symptoms as before. Very odd.