A7V8X-X usually won't post

  • Thread starter Thread starter RPM
  • Start date Start date
R

RPM

Hi,

I just purchased an Asus A7V8VX-X to replace an old motherboard I
suspected had died. I also purchased an AMD Athlon 2500+ cpu today.
For my old PC, I recently bought 1 module of 512MB Mushkin PC2100 RAM.
I have a feeling this limits the speed of the mobo and chip, but I
had dropped enough cash today and hoped it would still work. The guy
at the store said it would.

I've been trying to get to boot up today. Most of the time the box
turns on, and just sits there, no beeps or anything. The HDD LED
stays on for about 20 seconds and then goes off. If I reset, the same
thing happens.

Except - twice I have been able to get into the CMOS and look at the
settings. This seems to happen when I wait several minutes before
powering up again. However, once I leave the CMOS screen and the mobo
resets then it hangs as described above.

This is more or less what was happenning to me before I bought this
mobo and CPU. Since this problem started (on my old mobo), I have
gotten a new power supply, new RAM, and now a new mobo and CPU.
Perhaps it's not the mobo, but I need a starting point. Any ideas?

Thanks for your time
RPM
 
Hi,

I just purchased an Asus A7V8VX-X to replace an old motherboard I
suspected had died. I also purchased an AMD Athlon 2500+ cpu today.
For my old PC, I recently bought 1 module of 512MB Mushkin PC2100 RAM.
I have a feeling this limits the speed of the mobo and chip, but I
had dropped enough cash today and hoped it would still work. The guy
at the store said it would.

I've been trying to get to boot up today. Most of the time the box
turns on, and just sits there, no beeps or anything. The HDD LED
stays on for about 20 seconds and then goes off. If I reset, the same
thing happens.

Except - twice I have been able to get into the CMOS and look at the
settings. This seems to happen when I wait several minutes before
powering up again. However, once I leave the CMOS screen and the mobo
resets then it hangs as described above.

This is more or less what was happenning to me before I bought this
mobo and CPU. Since this problem started (on my old mobo), I have
gotten a new power supply, new RAM, and now a new mobo and CPU.
Perhaps it's not the mobo, but I need a starting point. Any ideas?

Thanks for your time
RPM
Click to expand...

Do you have an extra brass standoffs underneath the motherboard ?
You should only use a brass standoff where there is a plated hole
in the motherboard that will line up with the standoff. The plated
hole is grounded and is intended to contact a grounded standoff.
If you use a standoff where there is no mating hole in the motherboard,
the standoff can short or partially short a copper track on the bottom
of the board.

One test for shorting like this, is to assemble the motherboard on a
piece of cardboard, so you can check to see whether the symptoms change
without the motherboard touching the chassis. If the BIOS responds better
this way, then take a careful look at how the motherboard is seated in
the case.

Also, if you can get back into the BIOS one more time, take a look at
the power monitor, to make sure that the voltages listed in there are
within 5% of nominal. An abnormally low voltage could be evidence of
a short somewhere.

HTH,
Paul
 
=|[ RPM's ]|= said:
Hi,

I just purchased an Asus A7V8VX-X to replace an old motherboard I
suspected had died. I also purchased an AMD Athlon 2500+ cpu today.
For my old PC, I recently bought 1 module of 512MB Mushkin PC2100 RAM.
I have a feeling this limits the speed of the mobo and chip, but I
had dropped enough cash today and hoped it would still work. The guy
at the store said it would.

I've been trying to get to boot up today. Most of the time the box
turns on, and just sits there, no beeps or anything. The HDD LED
stays on for about 20 seconds and then goes off. If I reset, the same
thing happens.

Except - twice I have been able to get into the CMOS and look at the
settings. This seems to happen when I wait several minutes before
powering up again. However, once I leave the CMOS screen and the mobo
resets then it hangs as described above.

This is more or less what was happenning to me before I bought this
mobo and CPU. Since this problem started (on my old mobo), I have
gotten a new power supply, new RAM, and now a new mobo and CPU.
Perhaps it's not the mobo, but I need a starting point. Any ideas?

Thanks for your time
RPM
Click to expand...

This sounds familiar to me as im always messing with this board.
I guess your problem might be more complex but ill describe anyway:
Try turning off the power completely at the psu or plug -for a second or
two, then turn back on..(the system should still be quiet) Then press the
'on' button for a second or two (which should be connected to the right
header on the mobo (theres one for 'on' and one for reset). The system
should then start up and display the bios.
It does this when the bios settings are unsuitable. If you get into the
bios again set memory speed to 100 or 133 for the pc2100. Theres plenty
other settings to test which it can help to be 'methodolical' about and
having the manual handy sure can help.

After dodgy crashes from bad fan wiring or messy heatsink, bodges whatever,
I find it a great relief to see the bios screen - its a good indication the
machine isnt dead :D
 
Paul,
Thanks for your advice. I think my last motherboard had more
screwholes than this one, so it's possible I have too many connectors
underneath, or that one is touching the mobo in a bad spot. I was
careless about forgot to deal with those brackets yesterday.

Oddly enough, I had some better luck last night. I got past the
BIOS and started formatting and installing XP on a new HDD. In the
format/partioning stage of the process, the system hung on two
different occasions. When I reset, it would not post. Then I took
out the video card, and I got some beep codes which I took to mean the
mobo couldn't find the card (1 long, 3 short beeps).

I had another video card laying around, and I installed it. I
haven't had a problem with the system since.

The whole thing is odd. I mean, when I was formatting the drive
it's not like I was doing anything complex with the video card
(graphics, windows, etc). And the fact that I couldn't get the mobo
to post again unless I powered down for 10 minutes and tried again
doesn't make sense, unless the video card is a red herring in all of
this. Do you have any ideas?

thanks again for you help
RPM
 
Paul,
Thanks for your advice. I think my last motherboard had more
screwholes than this one, so it's possible I have too many connectors
underneath, or that one is touching the mobo in a bad spot. I was
careless about forgot to deal with those brackets yesterday.

Oddly enough, I had some better luck last night. I got past the
BIOS and started formatting and installing XP on a new HDD. In the
format/partioning stage of the process, the system hung on two
different occasions. When I reset, it would not post. Then I took
out the video card, and I got some beep codes which I took to mean the
mobo couldn't find the card (1 long, 3 short beeps).

I had another video card laying around, and I installed it. I
haven't had a problem with the system since.

The whole thing is odd. I mean, when I was formatting the drive
it's not like I was doing anything complex with the video card
(graphics, windows, etc). And the fact that I couldn't get the mobo
to post again unless I powered down for 10 minutes and tried again
doesn't make sense, unless the video card is a red herring in all of
this. Do you have any ideas?

thanks again for you help
RPM
Click to expand...

I cannot suggest too much in terms of a video card problem. It
could be the video card, it could be the AGP interface on the
motheboard Northbridge chip.

In terms of the post issue, there were problems in the past
with some kind of leakage current and it involved the monitor
signal cable. Some people discovered that disconnecting the
monitor cable would allow them to get the machine to post.
But that just identifies the source of the problem, and is
not a solution. (And that is with a different model of
motherboard.)

I had problems once with a motherboard with an ALI chipset, and
I played with AGP settings and drivers for about three weeks,
trying to get it stable. There was obviously an AGP problem,
and the video card was OK, so in that case it looked like
the motherboard wasn't working right.

When you take the motherboard out and remove the excess standoffs,
spend some time aligning the motherboard, to the slot holes on the
back of the case. Use the video card, and one other PCI card plugged
into the last PCI slot, to establish a good alignment between
the PCI cards and the slot hole. Your video card should not bind
when it is being inserted, neither should it be bowed or under
stress. You may have to reposition the motherboard slightly
several times, until everything fits smoothly.

Also, you _must_ use the standoffs that came with the case, as
the standoff length is customized for each case design. If you
borrow standoffs which are a different height, from another
case, the motherboard will not be the right height with respect
to the rest of the case mechanicals. The result will be that
AGP and PCI cards will not be seating properly in their slots,
and due to the mechanical Z-axis tolerances, the contacts
on the card may not be lining up well with the "springs" in the
AGP/PCI sockets.

HTH,
Paul
 
Creeping Stone said:
=|[ RPM's ]|= wrote:
It does this when the bios settings are unsuitable. If you get into the
bios again set memory speed to 100 or 133 for the pc2100. Theres plenty
other settings to test which it can help to be 'methodolical' about and
having the manual handy sure can help.
Click to expand...

I also had this problem in the past and I also found that setting the memory
speed was the answer.
 
I am experiencing a similar problem. I had my system working fine for
about 3 months and all of a sudden it started giving me the message
that memory test failed at boot up. I retuned the memory (Crucial
512MB single stick? to Newegg and ordered 2 256mb Mushkin PC3200
sticks. Put them in last night and the same thing happened. I am
running Athalon 2500+. What are suggested conservative bios setting
to start with? Is there an FAQ that lists some suggested settings as
a starting point?

Thanks in advance.

Creeping Stone said:
=|[ RPM's ]|= wrote:
It does this when the bios settings are unsuitable. If you get into the
bios again set memory speed to 100 or 133 for the pc2100. Theres plenty
other settings to test which it can help to be 'methodolical' about and
having the manual handy sure can help.
Click to expand...

I also had this problem in the past and I also found that setting the memory
speed was the answer.
Click to expand...
 
=|[ Mojo's ]|= said:
I am experiencing a similar problem. I had my system working fine for
about 3 months and all of a sudden it started giving me the message
that memory test failed at boot up. I retuned the memory (Crucial
512MB single stick? to Newegg and ordered 2 256mb Mushkin PC3200
sticks. Put them in last night and the same thing happened. I am
running Athalon 2500+. What are suggested conservative bios setting
to start with? Is there an FAQ that lists some suggested settings as
a starting point?
Click to expand...

I cant think of a handy link for that, Need to google your board number,
read the manual and the help tips displayed in the bios usually.

Some A7v8x-x critial settings:

1T command rate: Disable safest (2-8% performance hit)
S2K Driving strength: Definitely leave 'Auto' (unless armed and handy with
an oscilloscope apperently ;)

All Cas an Tras etc. timing values set to longest (will only slow things a
tiny bit)

Apart from that, the mem can usualy benefit from turning down the
frequency.

- Even more, whats seemed to fix mine, reseating the dimms, swapping over
slots etc. I did that last night and have no more beeps! and I flipped the
bios settings back to their optimum values this morning :))
 
Mojo said:
I am experiencing a similar problem. I had my system working fine for
about 3 months and all of a sudden it started giving me the message
that memory test failed at boot up. I retuned the memory (Crucial
512MB single stick? to Newegg and ordered 2 256mb Mushkin PC3200
sticks. Put them in last night and the same thing happened. I am
running Athalon 2500+. What are suggested conservative bios setting
to start with? Is there an FAQ that lists some suggested settings as
a starting point?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Try setting the memory speed in line with your processor. For instance, I'm
using a 2400+ and changed the memory speed from AUTO to 266. I think on
yours the correct setting would be 333.

HTH,
Brad Kunkel
Integrated Business, Inc.
 
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