Boot problems..pls help

[Mark Miller]

Hi all. A few days ago my pc stopped working, it simply wouldnt boot properly. Everything would start up (at least it sounds that way, so i guess the psu isnt broken), but the monitor just remained in standby, and the network was not working, so i assumed that the computer had not booted properly. I decided to give a new motherboard ago after much trouble shooting, so replaced my Epox 8rda+ motherboard for an Abit NF7S motherboard. Ive just installed this new motherboard, and when i switch the pc on, it powers up then right back off again, giving the 2 tone beep (siren), which is meant to be an overclocking related problem, voltages issues or something. Thing is i never overclocked the pc when i was using my previous board, and definatly not since getting this new board, i cant even get to POST.
The only thing i can think of that could be significant is that before my problems started, before changing motherboards, my computer rebooted by itself on 2 occasions, with a message at post screen saying "cpu settings have changed, or overclock failed, please enter bios and re-enter correct values". This was a mystery to me as like i said i dont do overclocking. Since then the pc with the old motherboard worked on and off, then not at all, with the monitor remaining in standby, no beeps or anything, so i decided to give this abit board a try, but it doesnt seem to have helped. Ive tried various diferent configs, just installing graphics card and memory, using diferent dimms, reseting cmos, on both motherboards.
Am i correct in assuming the problem probably lies with my cpu, and a replacment is needed? Would very much appreciate any help anyone could offer.

Thanks :)

Abit NF7-S motherboard
AMD Athlon xp 2100
1024mb pc 2700
Hercules Radeon 9800 pro
40gb WD harddisk + 60gb Seagate harddisk
Creative Audigy 2
400w psu

[dangerous_dom]

Was there any beeps with from the old board? Can you enter the BIOS on your new board? Does the monitor stay in standby with the new board? Might not be the case, but it is posible that after installing the new mobo you now have a new differnet fault. Can't rule out a bad CPU, but a faulty CPU is usually 1 long beep. However the board may be interpreting a faulty CPU as an incorrect BIOS setting and therefore indicating a faulty BIOS setting error. From the info you have provided i would say that you might be on the right tracks in thinking it's the CPU.

Beep Codes for ABIT AWARD BIOS Motherboards

1. No beep at all - this means your motherboard is dead, either due to a defective or underpowered power supply, poorly seated CPU or RAM, or a dead-on-arrival board
2. One beep - board is working fine
3. One long beep then machine shuts down - faulty, improperly installed or missing CPU
4. 1 short(Beep) System booting is normally
5. 2 short(Beep) CMOS setting error
6. 1 long - 1 short(Beep) DRAM ERROR
7. 1 long - 2 short(Beep) Display card or monitor connected error
8. 1 long - 3 short(Beep) Keyboard Error
9. 1 long - 9 short(Beep) ROM Error
10. Long(Beep) continuous DRAM isn't inserted correctly
11. Short(Beep) continuous POWER supply has a problem
12. A two-tone siren, generally caused by overheating or out of specification voltages

[Mark Miller]

Hi mate. Thanks for the reply, i appreciate it. There were no beeps with the old board, appart from the occasional unexpected restart which would then give a siren beep, similar to the one im experiencing with this new Abit board. Again in this event the monitor always remained in standby. Restarting always solved it on the old board, and this only happend maybe 4 times in just over 1 year. With this new board, when i switch the pc on the fans start spinning, then everything shuts back down again after about 5secs, then the siren beep starts (12. A two-tone siren, generally caused by overheating or out of specification voltages). The monitor never leaves standby. Im not having much luck understanding the description of this beep code, as there shouldnt be a problem with over heating, since the system is only powered for a few secs before shutting itself back down (all fans work properly after testing in my 2nd pc), and as i understand it i need to actualy enter the bios to change voltages, which i cant get to, so ive never done that.

Thanks again.

Mark

[dangerous_dom]

Are you sure its not heat related? A CPU can reach burn-out temp in seconds if without proper heat transfer. I have seen a P3 smoking within 3 seconds of powering up because a guy forgot to put the HS/FAN on - it was a PC call out guy who came to fix my mothers PC a few years ago :mad: (but thats another story) .Maybe the FAN/HS are not seated properly. Have you tried removing the FAN/HS and re-aplying the heat compound (get some good stuff like arctic silver). Maybe the contact with the CPU is not good and replacing the motherboard made it worse? In fact, the CPU could well be toast but it would be worth checking before forking out for another one. Also, did you ever check what the temps were at on the old board?


Good luck and keep us posted.

[Mark Miller]

hehe, noted. I did try taking off the heat sink and fan on ther old motherboard after the problems started. Gave them a clean, added some new thermal compound but it had no effect, the pc still refused to boot properly in the same way as i mentioned before. I didnt get any temperature readings however, as when i needed to it was too late, i couldnt reach the bios. Thats when i decided to try a new motherboard. Though i cant reach the bios on this board either. I have the case sides off when trying to start up, and i cant feel no heat at all around the HSF, but i guess thats hardly conclusive hehe. I havn't tried taking the cpu off again and re-seating it on the new board, but i will give anything a go at this point.
Ill try it and get back to you mate. Thanks again for the advice too, its people like yourself that make the internet such an invaluble tool for everyone :)

[dangerous_dom]

If it is definatly a "12. A two-tone siren, generally caused by overheating or out of specification voltages" I would have thought that the board would have at least loaded the safest default voltage etc settings and allowed you to boot to the BIOS. Thats why I don't think its a voltage setting issuse, but I may be wrong.

I take it you have visisted Abit's web site?

Useful links...

Knowlege base http://www.abit-usa.com/faq/

Forums - http://forum.abit-usa.com/

[dangerous_dom]

Mark, do you know is that is a version 1 or version 2 NF7-S?

Have you tried booting with the 'insert' key held down (reset CMOS)?

[dangerous_dom]

I just found this excellent site dedicated to the NF7-S http://www.lvcoyote.com/


1. "Turning on the power only gets spinning fans, nothing from the video, and system wont post." This issue is more than likely caused by an inadequate power supply unit. If you have a generic power supply that came with your fancy new $50.00 case, I can almost assure you the power supply is not up to the job. I have read countless accounts of this problem and almost always when the person is asked about the power supply they are using, they usually respond, "I don't know, its whatever came with this case". It does not really matter if its a high wattage power supply either, as the wattage means nothing when it comes to quality. What your after are stable voltages, the better power supplies such as the ones described in the "Recommended Hardware" section of this site, have what are called isolated voltage rails. This means that there is separate circuitry built in to the power supply that produce each voltage rail, each independent of the other. Most lower end and generic power supplies do not have this feature, all the voltage rails come from a common source via simple voltage dividing circuits.

Other possible causes of this problem are:
A) Bad signal from CPU fan to motherboard fan connector.
B) Dead video card.
C) Incorrectly installed floppy drive cable.
D) Motherboard grounding out on the case (But you don't have in the case yet, right??)



2. "When I start the system I hear loud two tone sirens". More than likely this problem is due to one of two things, either a improperly installed heatsink and fan allowing the processor to overheat, or the motherboard not getting a RPM reading from the CPU fan. Check to make sure the heatsink is installed correctly with step on the heatsink matching the step on the CPU socket. Its easy to install a heatsink backwards and I've seen it happen many times. Double check that you used thermal compound between the CPU core and the heatsink, and that it is applied correctly.

Make sure your cpu fan is connected to a power source and that it is spinning. There is a cpu power header on the motherboard that will read the RPM of this fan when connected. You can also disable the motherboard from reading this fan in the BIOS. Under the "PC Health Status" section of bios, disable "Shut Down When CPUFAN Fail". You may have to do this if you have your fan is connected directly to a power supply lead. Disabling it in BIOS will keep the alarm from sounding in some cases. If it does not cure your problem then you may just plug a case fan into the cpu power header so BIOS has something to read.

[Mark Miller]

Hi Mate. Firstly, big big thanks to you. As soon as i got up this morning, before work i tried your sudgestion of taking off the HSF and re-seating it. I wasnt too optimistic as it seemed to be seated very nicely already. Im sure you can imagine my joy, after doing this, when the system didn't immediatly power down again, and the monitor powerd up, letting me get into the bios and then start the pc as normal. It works a charm now. Not sure if the old motherboard was broken, as i did try re-seating the cpu HSF which had no effect. Doubt i would have tried it again on the new board had it not been for your sudgestion, so once again thanks very much for your time and assistance :)

btw, i do have a crappy psu hehe. It came with my pc case and is something ive been meaning to upgrade for some time now. After reading what you posted, and seeing the diference between cheap and high quality power supplies, im going to get one asap, since i didnt need to replace my cpu hehe.

Thanks again mate:)

[dangerous_dom]

I'm glad I could help :D BTW, Should it ever happen again maybe it could have been a dodgy fan - "Bad signal from CPU fan to motherboard fan connector" - as even though it is spinning, the board might being 'told' it isnt.

Anyway, hopefuly its sorted for good now. Enjoy.

http://members.lycos.co.uk/domsstuff/hannibal.bmp

[Mark Miller]

Hehe, noted, ill bare that in mind, should the problem re-occur, hopefully it wont though. Thanks again for everything :D

Take care

Mark