UPDATE: How to tell if mobo is shorting out on I/O panel?

[BZeto]

Ok, where can I get a CMOS battery? Radio Shack? Is there a certain size or should I just ask for a motherboard cmos battery?

Also, will I loose all my cmos setting when I replace the bettery?


My PC clock keeps time well, wouldn't it be way off if the CMOS battery were messed up?

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: BZeto
Ok, where can I get a CMOS battery? Radio Shack? Is there a certain size or should I just ask for a motherboard cmos battery?

Also, will I loose all my cmos setting when I replace the bettery?


My PC clock keeps time well, wouldn't it be way off if the CMOS battery were messed up?

Time might not be affected immediatly. As for the battery, you should be able to read the one that is on the MB to see what size it is. Usually they are a "CR2032", coin type battery, but you will want to confirm that. Yes, you will lose your settings. Might want to go through and write them down. Radio shack, Rite Aid or generally any decent store that carries batteries will have it.

 

[BZeto]

Thank you, I'll keep you posted.

 

[BZeto]

Recap:
We've basically narrowed it down to 3 logical problems:
Power supply.
CMOS Battery
Motherboard shorting out on case,ect.

Well, you can scratch out the mobo shorting on anything. I booted up like THIS.

Same problem, had to do a hard reset. before I would get any POSTing action.

So tomorrow I will go to radioshack and pick up a new CMOS battery(CR2032). I'll check that, if that doesn't work, I guess I'll return the power supply to Antec.

If non of these work I'm completely stumped....

 

[Buz2b]

Although I know it was a PIA, good job on booting outside of the case. CMOS battery is the easiest, if not next logical step. At this point my bet would be faulty PSU but the battery needs to be eliminated first, as you correctly stated.
A couple of nagging questions though. Did you use/hook up the power switch when you did this or did you use the pin "shorting" method? Also, (it's difficult to be sure from your pic) did you have all your fans, etc hooked up for this test? As a prelude to RMA of the PSU, you might want to unplug all but the absolutely necessary items and booting. Pull out all PCI cards (sound, etc), unplug all fans except for the one on the HSF, unplug CD drives and any "extra" HDD's except for the one containing the OS. If it boots fine with all these unplugged and only the barest of essentials, you can be sure it's the PSU. This is NOT a definative, all encompassing test but it could provide an indication.
The only other "wild card" idea would be to reflash the BIOS; either with the same version or (if available) an updated one. That's kind of a reach but not a totally crazy idea.
Good luck and I hope you get it figured out.

 

[BZeto]

I shorted the pins to turn it on. The only switch I hooked up was the reset switch b/c I knew that is the only one I would probably need. And I indeed, did have to use it.
I had everything hooked up (fans, HDD, CD drives, even my neon light). The only thing I didn't get hooked up was the case fan I have on my side panel (since I obviously didn't use the side panel).

If I try the new CMOS chip with no success, I'll try booting with the only the necessary things. If it still doesn't boot like that it could still be the power supply? Is that what you were saying?

My first step trying to fix it was flashing the BIOS, no luck.


Thanks.

 

[Buz2b]

Yes, it could still be the PSU. Sorry if I was a bit confusing. What I was trying to point out was that this was a test that could help in finding the solution. It will give you an insight and head start. If the system powers on normally (no problems) with just the bare essentials then you will know for sure that it is the PSU. If it still exhibits the same problems when booting this way then it could still be the PSU, although the odds diminish a bit. If you want to give this test a good chance, make sure you unplug everything you don't need to boot: One HDD, CPU w/HSF, One stick of RAM, video card, keyboard and mouse. Probably have to hook up the floppy also. No other fans, optical drives, pci cards, HDD's; nothing at all but the bare essentials. Good idea to clear the CMOS before booting also. Do this again when you put stuff back.
As I said, if it boots normally this way, you will know the problem.

 

[BZeto]

Just removing the battery will automatically clear the CMOS right? I dont have to change any jumpers?

When I boot with the bare essentials I dont need any CD drives?

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: BZeto
Just removing the battery will automatically clear the CMOS right? I dont have to change any jumpers?

When I boot with the bare essentials I dont need any CD drives?

Yes, correct and No.

Removing the battery clears the CMOS, you don't need to change any jumpers that I can think of and you don't need a CD drive; probably just the floppy.
As a note, there should be either a jumper or two small pins to short to clear the CMOS if you need to do so that way.

 

[BZeto]

Ok. I have heard that if you dont leave the CMOS battery out for long enough your settings will stay saved. I dont know if there is any truth to that or not though.

Clearing the CMOS is basically "loading optimized defaults" in the BIOS right? Sets everything back to default?


I'll pick up the battery tomorrow and test it out if I have time.

 

[Buz2b]

Clearing the CMOS is basically "loading optimized defaults" in the BIOS right? Sets everything back to default?

Yes and no. You're better off either pulling the battery out or using either the jumper or shorting the pins; whichever is applicable in your situation. This way the MB has to go through detection of the components. Just setting the BIOS does not do that I don't think.

EDIT:
Just took a look at your manual and it seems you have a jumper for the CMOS Clear function. Use that. Put the jumper in the Clear position and leave it for a couple of minutes. Also a good idea to have the main ATX power cable (from the PSU) unplugged from the MB when you do this.

 

[BZeto]

But if its the CMOS battery that is in question, shouldn't I just swap the battery's and see if it works? I mean, clearing the CMOS is just a side effect, not essential right?

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: BZeto
But if its the CMOS battery that is in question, shouldn't I just swap the battery's and see if it works? I mean, clearing the CMOS is just a side effect, not essential right?

All I can say is that at this point, you should take nothing for granted. I have told/been telling you what I would either do or have done. Yes, removing the battery will, in probably almost each and every case, reset the CMOS. If the ATX power connector to the MB is still plugged in though, it might well not do this. The only way to safely assure that you are doing all possible to isolate the problem, you need to use the Clear CMOS jumper. I mean, I really don't know why we are even discussing this at this point. It will take almost no time at all for you to switch the jumper, wait a minute or so and then switch it back. In fact, this would just be yet another way of making sure the jumper is in the right position. Let's not get sidetracked on this. Do all the unplugging we discussed earlier and pull/replace the battery. Then (making sure the ATX power plug is disconnected from the MB) set the CMOS jumper to Clear. Wait a minute or so and then put the jumper back in the normal position. Try the system boot to see what happens. If it boots normally (no problems), you have isolated the problem. If it doesn't, you will have eliminated almost all things you humanly can and have an excellent start on the RMA process; whether that turns out to be the PSU or the MB.
Good luck.

 

[BZeto]

Alright, I'm taking it one step at a time.

I put the new battery in (unplugged ATX power connector first) then I reset the CMOS. I didn't strip down to the bare essentials yet. Tried booting and and I get the same thing

One thing I noticed after it booted, it says "CMOS Checksum error - Defaults loaded" At the BIOS startup screen, that should be normal after replacing the battery right?


Well, now its time to boot with just the primary HDD, floppy, vid card, and RAM.

 

[BZeto]

ALRIGHT!

After unplugging all the power cables to everything but the motherboard, hard drive, and floppy drive. Plus unplugging my sound card and CDROM IDE cables from the motherboard, I tried booting and it boots up the first time!

So it has to be the power supply right?

So assuming its the PSU thats odd how when I dont remove complete power from the system it will start up fine. Does it just hold a little extra juice from the last powerup or something?


Now I guess I have to try and return this to Antec? I've had it for a year now, hopefully they will be understanding.

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: BZeto
ALRIGHT!

After unplugging all the power cables to everything but the motherboard, hard drive, and floppy drive. Plus unplugging my sound card and CDROM IDE cables from the motherboard, I tried booting and it boots up the first time!

So it has to be the power supply right?

So assuming its the PSU thats odd how when I dont remove complete power from the system it will start up fine. Does it just hold a little extra juice from the last powerup or something?


Now I guess I have to try and return this to Antec? I've had it for a year now, hopefully they will be understanding.

Eureka! You seem to have nailed down the culprit. It seems that your PSU doesn't have the juice/output anymore to do a cold start. That is not an uncommon problem. There is more "stress" on the PSU at startup. As far as holding a little extra juice, I'm not sure exactly now it works but as long as the PSU is plugged in, I believe it does hold a charge on the capacitor. Pretty much greek to me but let Antec worry about it. Make sure you tell them all the steps you've taken to narrow this down; othewise they will want you to go through the whole thing again. BTW, have you checked as to what their warranty is? The reason I ask is that you mentioned having it for a year. Hopefully their warranty is long enough for you to get a replacement.
BTW, good work and patience on your part. That is not an easy process to go through and it was pretty time consuming. Just to help you save a bit of time,
here's a link to their Support page to enter in your problem.

EDIT:
Just checked; you're gold. The warranty is 3 years.

 

[BZeto]

I'm requesting the RMA now. Via email, I hope they respond fast.

Feels good to know what it is though

 

[BZeto]

I got an email from antec today, very brief, it just game me the RMA # and return address, thats all.

Hopefully I'll get one of the new versions back with the SATA power connectors and the black molexes.

 

[Buz2b]

Glad to hear you're good to go. A couple of recommendations; spend the extra (49 cents?) for Delivery Confirmation when you send in the PSU to Antec and keep that record. That gives you more "ammunition" should you need it if things drag on too long. Also pack a piece of paper around the PSU that has your name, address, phone and RMA # on it, inside the box. Also include a short letter asking that they replace; rather than refurbish, if possible because you no longer trust this unit. Then, the other thing I would do is place/make a small "scratch" or X somewhere on the PS unit itself. Something that you can recognize or find easily but not something that is huge and noticeable. Why? Well, if they say that they replaced the unit, you can look for this mark (when you get the replacement) and see if they just put it through a cursory checkup and said all was well. Won't help if they say that they "refurbished it to factory specs" but it's just another CYA thing I like to do. Might seemsa bit paranoid but I like to think of it as being cautious. I've done this and even taken a picture of the mark; just in case. Only once did I have to "use" this info and that was on a CDROM drive I sent back to Creative. After blaming it on a misscommunication, they corrected the situation. I have no reason to believe that Antec would not be trustworthy though. I am going throught an RMA with them right now though. Their website says that the "EasyUSB" is USB2 ready. Not true. They still have some older units on the market that are USB 1.1 only. No where on the website is this menioned and I got lucky enough to get one of these older units after checking the website. Needless to say, it did not work at USB2 speed. They have agreed to replace it and I sent it back to them last week. Time will tell (along with the little "marks" on the RMA unit).

 

[BZeto]

Damn!

I already sent it out earlier today, before I could read this.
I just sent the package with the PSU and the original invoice (reciept).
I was in such a hurry I even forgot to put the power cord in the box. I did write the RMA# on nearly all sides of the box and on the invoice. And the Invoice has my address and everything on it.

Hopefully they replace it with a new one, its a shame I sent it before I read that because that was some good advice.
Well, I can just hope for the best.

 

[Buz2b]

Well, like I said, it was more of a CYA thing than absolutely necessary. Hopefully you'll be ok. I know how it is though; you just got to get that thing in the mail as fast as possible on RMA's. Faster there means faster back to you. Good luck and send me a PM to update in a few weeks when you get it back. By then this thread will be buried away in archives I'm sure.

 

[BZeto]

Wow, you really think it'll be a few weeks?

This outa be a nice wait....

Anyway, yeah, I'll let you know how the new one turns out.

 

[mechBgon]

I had to RMA an Antec DataChute PCI once. They sent me back a brand-new one in a retail package, shrink-wrap and all. I don't think they're going to mess around with you

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I had to RMA an Antec DataChute PCI once. They sent me back a brand-new one in a retail package, shrink-wrap and all. I don't think they're going to mess around with you

Can you give him any idea of how long it took? Seems most companies are in the 2-4 week turnaround time fram. Sounds like they did things right by you. Hopefully he and I will get the same.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Buz2b

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I had to RMA an Antec DataChute PCI once. They sent me back a brand-new one in a retail package, shrink-wrap and all. I don't think they're going to mess around with you

Can you give him any idea of how long it took? Seems most companies are in the 2-4 week turnaround time fram. Sounds like they did things right by you. Hopefully he and I will get the same.

It was almost two years ago, so I'm afraid I don't recall exactly. I think it was in the 2-week range or so, something fairly normal.