Strange problem!!!

[tornadog]

Yesterday I came across a guide to tweak the RAM through the BIOS, I went into the bios(which is an AWARD bios), and reduce all the settings like CAS latency from 2.5 to 2, RAS precharge, etc...and then rebooted and all I was getting was the power LED blinking rapidly no post. I opened the case to reset the CMOS but this mobo( Gigabyte G7-VAXP) doesnt have a jumper so removed the battery and tried. The machine now started but gave a long beep while post, which I read is the code for memory problems, I hadnt touched the RAM so I found it strange, anyway I pulled out the RAM and tried it one by one, then found that there was no beep when 1 of the RAM modules is removed( I have 2 x 256 MB pc 3200 ram modules). SO I thought it was the RAM that got fried or something. SO I took it to the nearest CompUSA and got them to check it out. The guy checked the power supply and said its ok and said the bios is probably dead!!!And he suggested I buy a new mobo. I got a spare mobo(SOYO Dragon Ultra) and tried it out, and it worked like a charm, so it was indeed the mobo. But I want to know if the old mobo cannot be recovered because I didnt do anything except change a few settings in the BIOS. Will appreciate ur replies and suggestions.

 

[3sixes]

tornadog,
see if you can get some pc2100 memory and try and boot with that.

Also you might try the following:
I assume the mb is out of the case now and has been for more than a few hrs?
pull cmos battery for at least 30 min.
Bench test mb with some pc2100 if you can and see if it will post.
If you can get into bios, do you have dual bios on that board?

 

[tornadog]

yeah it has dual bios...and its been out for more than a day now

 

[DerwenArtos12]

you shouldn't loos ethe bios on a dual bios mobo. that is the entire idea behind having the dual. goto the gigabyte site and see what they say about how to recover from the backup bios.

 

[3sixes]

So im curious why you dont go into the flash bios menu and boot from the backup bios?
And if that works ok, and everything is back up and running, then reflash the main bios from the backup?

 

[KF]

Yes, it is pretty normal that resetting the CMOS does not quite happen on the first try.

Unless this is an nForce2 mobo, (and I guess it isn't) there is no way the BIOS should be damaged. The only time that could happen with any other chipset is while you are flashing the BIOS.

Naturally setting the timings too severe might make it impossible for the memory to work right. So then people open the case to reset the CMOS, and they sometimes dislodge something without noticing it, like for instance the AGP card, the CPU heatsink, or even the ATX power connector. These do not have to fall off completely to work improperly. It is easy to have the AGP slightly askew without looking bad. I've had it happen to me. That AGP slot is very complex and temperamental. Besides what people have already mentioned, I would take out the AGP card and reseat it.

 

[tornadog]

I tried everything u guys suggested, but still no go, I replaced the mobo, but same result, so mobo checks out, fans turn on, hd led lights up, but power led doesnt, power button works but reset button doesnt, all the fans, case fans, agp card fans, ram fan, video cooler fans, cpu fan, kt400 chipset fan turn on, and thats it, no beep, no post, no signal on the monitor, just monitor turns grey after powering on!!!