A7V8X-X and harddrives - nothing works :(

[Devast8or]

Hi all,

Just bought an A7V8X-X, but I'm not impressed. It doesn't want to use any of
my drives. I have 3 harddrives, two of them with Windows installed already
(one 98SE and one W2KPro). The last one doesn't even have systemfiles on it.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to boot up on the W2K disk (and even with the
empty disk attached too). But today I can't do anything. No matter wgat
combination of drives I try it doesn't work. Booting up with the 98SE disk
just leaves it hanging. Booting up on the W2K disk I got a messag saying my
Win installation was corrupt the first time. After booting it again it just
says "Disk error - replace and press any key" or somethig to that effect.

You would think I could just boot up on a floppy, but no. I just get an I/O
error most of the time, but I've also seen another error. The floppy drive
worked fine in Windows yesterday. And I've also tried booting on a CD-ROM
but that didn't work either.

There's no consistency in when it will actually detect a dive in the BIOS
and when it won't. And if it does detect the drive in the BIOS, Ican't even
be sure it remembers it when it gets to the POST screen.


Anyone know what's up with this board? It seems to me like the controller is
FUBAR, but maybe I've some option in the BIOS. Any help would be much
appreciated - I'm running out of patience with this board

Other hardware in my machine includes:
XP2000+ (Palomino) (yes, properly cooled)
Creative GF4 Ti4600 (brand new, bought it along with the mobo)
512MB Samsung Supreme PC2700 RAM
2 Seagate Baracuda IV HDDs, one 60GB and one 80GB
1 Seagate 7200.7 HDD, 160GB
DVD-ROM
CD-RW
330W Enermax PSU

Oh, and I think the BIOS version on the mobo is 1003.

TIA for any help you can give me.

Devast8or

 

[Devast8or, work]

Try to be systematic in your bringup sequence.

1) Strip down machine to minimal hardware.

Already did that. I've booted up with only GFX card, floppy and one
harddrive installed (tried this with all three HDDs). I also tried with one
HDD and on CD drive (to boot up from the CD and install windows) but to no
avail.

Come to think of it, I haven't tried without the floppy drive connected.
I'll try that when I get home.

2) Get memtest86 from memtest86.com and test the memory. Adjust memory
parameters for error free operation. For this you need CPU, memory,
video, and floppy.

But I have to be able to boot up to do this, right?

3) Take empty hard drive and do a clean install. Check for problems
before connecting any more hardware. Check voltages and temps
again, to see how much worse they are. (You can always put the
_real_ system disk on the system later, when you know the HW is
sound. Look up "repair install" or the like in Google. )

See above. The problem is even getting so far as to be able to install an
OS.

4) With HD in place, try running some version of 3DMark, like 3DMark2001
which is DX8 based for your Ti4600. Leave a copy of Asus probe or
MBM5 running in the background - these programs have a "log to file"
option and you can record temps/voltages as the 3DMark program runs.
Check the log later, to see how much temps peak, and voltages dip.
5) Run one or more copies of Prime95, check for crashes, errors, temps
and voltages. This tests the CPU and ensures the machine is ready
for anything.

When the time comes I'll do that.

6) Add more drives to the system, and repeat steps 4/5. By now, you
will know whether the power supply is really big enough or not.
7) Install rest of software on system and enjoy.

I'm looking forward to that day

After doing a reasonable amount of testing and troubleshooting, don't
be afraid to return the board for another.

I'm already considering this. I may even order a different board today. I
can have it tomorrow and have all weekend to get it working then.

Even though a motherboard
is tested before it leaves the factory, the first two or three days of
constant operation will uncover any "infant mortality". This is the
tendency for chips or solder joints to fail at the beginning of their
lives. (More expensive electronic assemblies are "burned in" - my
former employer used to put product in a temp chamber, and ramp the
temperature up and down, while the product was powered, for 48 hours.
This weeds out early failures, but is too expensive a process to be
used for motherboards. Asus lets the customers do that.)

Also, do you have brass standoffs only where there are holes in the
motherboard? A spare brass standoff underneath the motherboard can
lead to intermittent operation or shorting.

I didn't even have enough standoffs, so I'm sure there none of these in
places they shouldn't be.

HTH,
Paul

Devast8or