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Very Strange Problem [Unsolved]
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Noctis
Junior Member
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19. June 2005 @ 10:54 |
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I was afraid I was going to have to replace the motherboard. I've never installed a CPU on a mobo before, so I'm going to grab an Asus mainboard from TigerDirect or NewEgg and take it up to a local shop. Probably get them to go ahead and rewire it with rounded cables as well.
Plus side to all this?
New, better PSU
New, much better video card
New, better motherboard
New liquid cooling system
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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19. June 2005 @ 11:05 |
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Quote:
take it up to a local shop
Take your old rig (the one that's locking up).
Why would you not do that, though you are willing to spend money to (LoL) have your CPU installed?!
Quote:
from TigerDirect or NewEgg
How bizarre - would you actually mail-order new parts and then take them to a local shop (I mean, would you not simply purchase the parts at the local shop?)
No wonder you have unstable/nonfunctional equipment requiring troubleshooting...
I wish I could get my hands on your BIOS setup (you didn't really follow my advice, did you?)
Lemme guess: you're American aren't you...
Good luck to you,
L8R
ABit AB9 Pro
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Noctis
Junior Member
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19. June 2005 @ 13:42 |
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Quote:
Take your old rig (the one that's locking up).
Why would you not do that, though you are willing to spend money to (LoL) have your CPU installed?!
I thought I said I plan on taking it to a shop? o_O
Quote:
How bizarre - would you actually mail-order new parts and then take them to a local shop (I mean, would you not simply purchase the parts at the local shop?)
No wonder you have unstable/nonfunctional equipment requiring troubleshooting...
I don't know how it is around you, but I live in South Carolina (US). The shops here have crap parts and charge too much for them. If you want quality without paying nearly twice the price, the only option is to purchase the parts online.
Quote:
I wish I could get my hands on your BIOS setup (you didn't really follow my advice, did you?)
I wish you could see my BIOS as well. It lacks a lot of seemingly standard options. I did go to wimsbios and follow all their instructions, though. As far as the Com1/Com2 advice.. my mobo doesn't even have an option to allow me to disable them.
Quote:
Lemme guess: you're American aren't you...
Good luck to you,
L8R
Despite your inference that being American is some sort of insult, I am quite American. I moved here from Northampton with my family when I was 4.
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Starbuck1
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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20. June 2005 @ 09:31 |
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Noctis -- keep us posted. A PSU tester costs 15 bucks. How much will your local shop charge you to have it tested? I guess you didn't take any of my advice either, eh?
50% kidding you....
South Carolina is a great state! I went to College in Charleston; my Wife and I just had a 4 day vacation there over Memorial Day.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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Noctis
Junior Member
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20. June 2005 @ 12:21 |
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I tried three different places last week to have the PSU tested. All three that I called charged some form of "diagnostic service charge" - as one shop put it - which ranged from $50 - $70 USD. For that much, I can (and did) get a backup PSU to test.
I think I'll order a PSU tester as well, just to have it for the future. I don't know why I didn't get one in the first place.. must have overlooked the post somehow.
Anyway, tonight I'm going to check out my board for capacitor problems. I'll keep you all updated. And to all who've helped, thank you much!
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Repoman89
Junior Member
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21. June 2005 @ 06:20 |
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Posted by Repoman89
Quote:
Well, once you solve it, you'll say at least I got an excuse to buy some new stuff.
Posted by Noctis
Quote:
Plus side to all this?
New, better PSU
New, much better video card
New, better motherboard
New liquid cooling system
told you ;)
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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21. June 2005 @ 06:28 |
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Quote:
Despite your inference that being American is some sort of insult
Not at all...!
But mail-ordering new stuff, instead of sorting out your old rig, would seem to be a uniquely American solution (I just guessed).
Anyone with a Multimeter can easily check a powersupply.
My PS-tester ($14.99) simply makes the test more convenient - it includes an on/off switch with LED, and identifies the 3 voltages + the common.
Perhaps I should setup shop in S.C. (the weather is nice, right?)
Yeesh - I see why you avoid the technician, if you can help it ;^(
Good luck - keep us posted.
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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SypherTek
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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21. June 2005 @ 06:58 |
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probably a stupid question. but have you tried putting the side panels back on your case (bcuz believe it or not they are there for a reason, leaving them off is not good for your machine as its more vulnerable to static death). loading the optimal defaults in your bios and a completely fresh install of windows?
Studio Comp: AMD Athlon XP 3200+ OC ~ 2.35GHz runs at 40 celcius idle and 48 under stress (aerocool GT1000 really works!), Asrock K7VT4A , 1024MB Dual Channel DDR 400, MSI Nvidia FX5200 128MB OC ~ 600MHz mem 350MHz core,80GB SATA + 200GB SATA + 120GB IDE, 7.1 Channel Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX sound and midi interface. 19" Sony SDM-HS95 TFT monitor - sweeet
Comp2: AMD Sempron 2400+ OC ~ 2.0GHz (Stable), Asrock K7S41GX, 512MB DDR 333, Onboard Graphics, 40GB Maxtor IDE
set of monitors on the way soon :P
Google is your friend...
WorkComp: LAPTOP, intel celeron D 2.4GHz, 256MB DDR, 20GB hd. NO SCREEN IT WAS SAWN OFF :S (bag of crap) This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. June 2005 @ 07:10
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Induna
Junior Member
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22. June 2005 @ 04:38 |
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Yeah, leaving the panels off must be noisy too. and make your fans redundant. You need to keep the panels on for the air to flow through continuously in the right direction. i.e. away from the CPU and mobo and sucked out the back of PC.
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Noctis
Junior Member
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23. June 2005 @ 05:33 |
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Okay, I've got some more information that may help define the problem...
First off, I checked out all the capacitors. None of them appear to be bulging or damaged at all.
Second, it dawned on me that I hadn't taken one important step in troubleshooting. I hadn't tried manually flashing the BIOS immediately after a crash and then seeing if the PC would post properly. I did this last night and it seemingly worked the first time, but not the second or third times.
Third, I'm starting to lean toward it possibly being a conflict with audio drivers or my soundcard somehow. I've got the computer to the point now where I can keep it running for days at a time as long as I don't try to play a game. Because of this, I had assumed it was an AGP issue. Last night I just happened to open WinAmp and the PC locked up in almost the exact same amount of time as when I play World of Warcraft, for instance. About 10 minutes.
I removed the sound card last night after the computer crashed and flashed the BIOS. After loading the defaults and booting up Windows, I got a new hardware message. I found out that the driver for the onboard audio had never been installed. I took care of that. However, the PC still locked up. That was about 3am and I just gave up and decided I'll uninstall the Creative drivers when I get home (I'm at work right now).
Fourth, when you reboot your computer, you get a single beep shortly after powering up. I've had this beep on every computer I've ever had. What does it mean? The reason I ask is I noticed last night that when I reboot and the display does not come up, I don't get that first beep either. However, Windows does load because I get the "Windows did not shut down properly" message.
When I get home today, I'm going to take some pictures of my BIOS screens so I can show you guys what I'm seeing in the BIOS and maybe you can point out where I am missing something.
Thanks for all your help.
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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23. June 2005 @ 07:18 |
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Quote:
After loading the defaults and booting up Windows...
Ack! The 'defaults' are a basic starting point (very basic) and you should not operate your PC with BIOS defaults, as I explained.
Quit flashing (before something truly tragic happens) and concentrate on your hardware config.
Move PCI cards around from slot to slot - PCI slots share resources with onboard components!
ie. Slot1 shares with AGP; Slot whatever (3?) shares with onboard LAN; Slot2 shares with onboard USB... etc.
ALL PCs I work on require some tweaking in hardware and BIOS - I can spend a great deal of time getting them just-so.
An example would be a Pentium3/866MHz I fixed (it needed new Windows) but it was not rigged up properly. Buddy has been using it since 2001 or whenever, but the BIOS and hardware were fooked.
Windows was the least of his problems...
It is very stable now, resources do not conflict, and it just seems to both startup and run faster :^)
You need a floppy disk and some DOS programs - get your rig 100% solid before you even introduce Windows to the situation.
Quote:
I'm going to take some pictures of my BIOS screens so I can show you guys
Excellent ;^)
Hope this helps,
Regards
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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Noctis
Junior Member
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23. June 2005 @ 11:09 |
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Hey, just to respond to one part of your reply...
Last night I removed everything from all the PCI slots. The only thing left on that side of the motherboard that isn't connected to it is the graphics card. It still locked up, but I also haven't uninstalled/reinstalled the Creative drivers yet. Going to try that in oh.. about an hour and a half.
I'd like to avoid formatting the HD if at all possible at this point. I'm not fully opposed to reinstalling Windows, but I'd like to view that as a last resort type thing.
I will say that, given the inherent crappiness of my motherboard, I am seriously debating just upgrading it. DDR2 RAM seems to be selling pretty cheap right now.
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SypherTek
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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23. June 2005 @ 15:42 |
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sounds to me like you might aswell save wot you can off your pc n jus get a new 1
Studio Comp: AMD Athlon XP 3200+ OC ~ 2.35GHz runs at 40 celcius idle and 48 under stress (aerocool GT1000 really works!), Asrock K7VT4A , 1024MB Dual Channel DDR 400, MSI Nvidia FX5200 128MB OC ~ 600MHz mem 350MHz core,80GB SATA + 200GB SATA + 120GB IDE, 7.1 Channel Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX sound and midi interface. 19" Sony SDM-HS95 TFT monitor - sweeet
Comp2: AMD Sempron 2400+ OC ~ 2.0GHz (Stable), Asrock K7S41GX, 512MB DDR 333, Onboard Graphics, 40GB Maxtor IDE
set of monitors on the way soon :P
Google is your friend...
WorkComp: LAPTOP, intel celeron D 2.4GHz, 256MB DDR, 20GB hd. NO SCREEN IT WAS SAWN OFF :S (bag of crap) |
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Noctis
Junior Member
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23. June 2005 @ 20:27 |
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Okay guys, sorry for the large-ish pictures, but I wasn't finding the thumbnailing code for this forum... anyway...
Main BIOS Screen:
Standard CMOS:
Advanced BIOS:
Advanced Chipset:
(Sub of Chipset) DRAM Timing Control:
(Sub of Chipset) AGP Timing Control:
Power Management:
PNP/PCI Configs:
Integrated Periphs:
Frequency/Voltage Control:
This last one I noticed when my computer locked up during the below process. Look at the bottom and all the things which share an IRQ number. Is this possibly the problem?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24. June 2005 @ 12:26
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Noctis
Junior Member
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24. June 2005 @ 12:25 |
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Bump so OGS can see the BIOS.
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 07:22 |
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Quote:
sounds to me like you might aswell save wot you can off your pc n jus get a new 1
This is a dumb statement!
Well, not really (it's not dumb to seek the easy way out)
but you must solve these little setup problems - most PCs have them when built ;^(
I will review the situation and comment this afternoon.
We'll get it running...
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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ddp
Moderator
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27. June 2005 @ 07:28 |
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what is the bus speed of your videocard as you have 66.6mhz in your Frequency/Voltage Control picture
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 07:38 |
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The AGP specification is 66MHz (that's pretty standard).
Some quick issues...
1) Latest BIOS is 7043v20.zip 2005/4/11 EDIT: bad info - see later post
2) Your mobo has onboard audio - and you have an Audigy.
Something maybe not set right...?
3) Latest VIA 4in1 installed?
I have your motherboard manual + your BIOS photos.
I'll have to comment later (duty calls).
Regards
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 27. June 2005 @ 09:18
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ddp
Moderator
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27. June 2005 @ 07:46 |
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you have onboard sound enabled in your Integrated Periphs picture but you have a Creative Audigy Z2 soundcard so why both or is that your onboard soundcard??
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 08:49 |
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Quote:
you have onboard sound enabled in your Integrated Periphs picture but you have a Creative Audigy Z2 soundcard
Yes! Exactly... LoL :^)
You don't need new equipment if gross misconfiguration errors are preventing things from functioning.
Hey ddp: I downloaded the mobo manual for PT880 Neo (thanks for the link) but it gives MS-7043 as the MSI number.
Didn't Noctis say something different?
He said MS-7008 for his mobo...?
Help!
Noctis?
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 08:53 |
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ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 09:15 |
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This is good!
The newest BIOS is 7008v19.zip 2004/11/26
This BIOS update claims to free IRQ5.
I notice your onboard audio is claiming this IRQ - so disable the onboard AC97 audio in BIOS.
If you have this v1.9 BIOS installed, IRQ5 should therefore be released :^)
I dunno what wants it (I don't think the Audigy wants it) but free IRQs are good. Some USB (or something sharing IRQ11) will jump off and take it.
I have never seen so many things sharing IRQ11, while IRQ10 is blank, before.
Note that the video should have an IRQ all to itself (either 10 or 11, whichever) but you just don't see them sharing like that...
I would like to see the Ethernet (NIC) bail over to IRQ5.
I would also like to get something claiming IRQ10.
These resources can be re-allocated by the ACPI OS, however this hardware setup is not irrelevant because it will identify fundamental setup & config problems that are important!
Back soon...
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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The_OGS
Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 09:28 |
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Also, disable 'Serial Port Connector - COM A' in BIOS.
This is usually called COM1 and is a legacy throwback to old AT-style serial mouse (or external modem :^)
You don't need it - this will free up IRQ4.
More soon; L8R...
ABit AB9 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 2.4GHz
2GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC R2
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB
Enermax Liberty 620W
320GB/16MB WD, 150GB/16MB Raptor
Plextor PX-755SA DVD (SATA)
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Senior Member
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27. June 2005 @ 14:01 |
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you know im glad i dont have this kind of trouble with my pc :)
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 27. June 2005 @ 14:01
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ddp
Moderator
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27. June 2005 @ 14:11 |
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you never know!!!
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