Yikes...Mobos dying on me...

[DaFinn]

Arrrrghh, one of those days!

2 mobos just died at work today. These are QDI Winnex3 mobos w. Intel810 chipset.

The led that indicates they are getting power is lit, but otherwise they are totally dead. When I press the power button, nothing happens. I tried everything, also to clear CMOS just in case, still nothing untill... I accidentally left the "Clear CMOS" jumper in place and hit the power button... and it worked? If I remove the jumper, then nothing happens.

When the jumper is in place, the system will start at "default" bios settings, and works normally. But I dont get to change the settings nor Flash the bios.

So, whats happening??? Is the bios chip dead or dying? A virus perhaps? Any ideas...

 

[Elledan]

These two mobos have the same problem? Are there any similarities in set up (location, outlet etc.) or use which could have caused this? Perhaps it's a flaw in the design of the motherboard, or you just won the jackpot with two bad mobos out of a ten-thousand good ones

 

[DaFinn]

Elledan,

Both mobos have been happily running w. P3-450 processor/128Mb SDRam/3COM ethernet card, similar Micro ATX case and PSU, for 2 years now. (Yes, quarantee is over...). Both mobos have exact same problem! I Have total of 4 more in this office with similar setup. Makes me worry...

Unfortunately the bios chip is not socketed, so cannot change that.

 

[Elledan]

<< Unfortunately the bios chip is not socketed >>

Hmm... so hot-flashing isn't an option either. Would it be a problem to run the systems with default BIOS settings? In that case you can put a jumper on the 'clear cmos' pins with both PCs.

Hopefully some people here will know of a better way of 'fixing' this problem.

 

[DaFinn]

Umm,

The manual says that AC MUST be disconnected before shorting the pins... Dunno what will happen if I run them with the jumper in place...

 

[Elledan]

<< Umm,

The manual says that AC MUST be disconnected before shorting the pins... Dunno what will happen if I run them with the jumper in place... >>

Yeah, it won't be good to the system. I didn't say I recommend doing so

I find it rather strange that although the BIOS appears to be functioning, yet it'll not do what it's supposed to do when the power is turned on.