Biostar NF325-A7 and mobile AMD 3400

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Brian

I am trying to put together from parts a biostar MB and a mobile AMD 3400.
I cant get any beeps or post trying it with the ram I have now (Brand new!)
which is DDR 400 pc3200 1 gig. I had tried a DDR PC266 and no luck with
that.
What is keeping this from posting? Also when I take the ram out then I
get beeps from the speaker. I did at one time get a flashing line at the top
of the screen but that is the only time I got any video.
When the ram is seated nothing. Please help this rookie builder.

Thanks,


Brian
 
Brian said:
I am trying to put together from parts a biostar MB and a mobile AMD 3400.
I cant get any beeps or post trying it with the ram I have now (Brand new!)
which is DDR 400 pc3200 1 gig. I had tried a DDR PC266 and no luck with
that.
What is keeping this from posting? Also when I take the ram out then I
get beeps from the speaker. I did at one time get a flashing line at the top
of the screen but that is the only time I got any video.
When the ram is seated nothing. Please help this rookie builder.

Thanks,


Brian
Click to expand...

Buy another processor, before they are all gone. This one is $25 and includes
a heatsink and fan. Even if it turns out you don't need the processor, you
can use the fan as a replacement when your current fan wears out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104249

Also, read the reviews for your motherboard here. There are more than 400
entries, containing the experiences of builders like yourself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813138247

In the 400+ reviews, I don't see the word "mobile" mentioned, and I
am still suspicious of that. Which is why I am recommending the $25
processor above, for testing purposes and if necessary, flash
upgrading the BIOS before reinserting the Mobile processor.

Paul
 
Paul said:
Brian wrote:

Paul,
Click to expand...

Thaks for the reply. I thank you for the link to new egg. I see there were a
lot of other people like me! There is a computer show near me today so I
might run up there to see what socket 754 CPUs they have. Also should I pick
up a PCI video card?

Thanks,

Brian


Buy another processor, before they are all gone. This one is $25 and
includes
Click to expand...
a heatsink and fan. Even if it turns out you don't need the processor, you
Click to expand...
can use the fan as a replacement when your current fan wears out.



Also, read the reviews for your motherboard here. There are more than 400
Click to expand...
entries, containing the experiences of builders like yourself.



In the 400+ reviews, I don't see the word "mobile" mentioned, and I
Click to expand...
am still suspicious of that. Which is why I am recommending the $25
Click to expand...
 
Brian said:
Thaks for the reply. I thank you for the link to new egg. I see there were a
lot of other people like me! There is a computer show near me today so I
might run up there to see what socket 754 CPUs they have. Also should I pick
up a PCI video card?

Thanks,

Brian
Click to expand...

BIOS POST codes are "progress" codes and not "error" codes. They tell you
what routine the BIOS is just entering. I don't know what version BIOS
you've got (the manual doesn't say), but we'll assume it is Version 6 or later.

http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/awardbios.htm

29h Program CPU internal MTRR (P6 & PII) for 0-640K memory address;
Initialize the APIC for Pentium class CPU; Program early chipset
according to CMOS setup; Measure CPU speed;
Invoke video BIOS

Now, that set of activities is too broad to be placed under one progress
code. That should have been broken down some more. The "Invoke video BIOS"
should have used its own code.

I guess either theory is credible. It could be a processor recognition
problem (gets stuck when doing the first part of 0x29), or it could be
a video problem (gets stuck after invoking video BIOS). The video BIOS
is an actual chip on the video card, and it contains some program code.
The BIOS loads the code, and the video code is supposed to help
set up the card for a standard VESA mode, so that the POST screen
can be displayed etc.

You've tried two video cards, and that proves it is not the video card
side at fault. It could be the video card slot of the motherboard holding
it bad. The motherboard has the option to beep when that happens, and yet
that isn't happening. Processor recognition failure, on the other hand,
is silent.

The reason I'm hesitating on the PCI video, is just price. If you could
borrow one, that would be ideal. If the PCI video didn't work, you could
then pick up a CPU and try working that angle again. A brand new PCI card
might not be a good investment, if there isn't much chance of you using
it again. I don't have one in my debugging collection (it would make a
good addition, but I haven't really needed one yet).

You could try a local computer recycler, to see if they have a PCI video
card.

If you could find more evidence, that a Mobile processor works in that
board, then I'd say, work on your video card theory. As long as the
Biostar page provides next to no info on CPU support, and there aren't any
users doing it, that makes me more suspicious about Mobiles. People
do use certain brands of desktop boards, to run Mobiles, but it requires
at least one user to be a guinea pig and test the motherboard, as you
aren't likely to find a Mobile in a support list. So usually, Mobile support
is an "underground" thing you might find evidence of, on an enthusiast web
site.

Paul
 
Thanks for the in depth reply! I picked up an old pci video card ($2.00)at
the computer show but it doesn't fit in the boards pci slots. I always
thought pci was pci!
I think the guy I bought it from on Ebay told me a line when he said that
the mobile 3400 would work on my board.
I alos have the option to cut my losses and just buy a MD/CPU combo and
start fresh since I have all the other components I need. It serves a good
lesson about buying parts on Ebay!

Thanks Again,

Brian
 
Brian said:
Thanks for the in depth reply! I picked up an old pci video card ($2.00)at
the computer show but it doesn't fit in the boards pci slots. I always
thought pci was pci!
I think the guy I bought it from on Ebay told me a line when he said that
the mobile 3400 would work on my board.
I alos have the option to cut my losses and just buy a MD/CPU combo and
start fresh since I have all the other components I need. It serves a good
lesson about buying parts on Ebay!

Thanks Again,

Brian
Click to expand...

PCI cards have options for I/O voltage. There is a picture here.

http://www.servercase.com/32bit-PCI-1.gif

The possible I/O voltages are 3.3V, 5V, and universal on the
PCI card side.

The motherboard designer, has just one choice. The motherboard
has to be either 5V (what mine uses) or 3.3V (popular on some
of the faster PCI slot types or on servers).

It could be that you got a 3.3V card, your motherboard has a
key in the 5V position, and thus the card cannot be fitted to
the slot.

The universal type is the most popular with users, because it
will work anywhere. The 5V only would be the next most popular,
as a lot of desktops would be compatible with it. There is an
example of a 5V only here.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/15-108-107-05.jpg

This is an example of a universal PCI card.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/15-124-002-10.jpg

Check the motherboard slots, and see where the key is located
in each PCI slot. (They should all be keyed the same of course.)

Actually, you can see here that they are 5V slots. (NF325-A7 mobo)

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-138-247-13.jpg

There also exist 32 bit and 64 bit (longer slot) cards. Some
64 bit cards won't fit into 32 bit slots, because the gap they
sawed in the card isn't wide enough. There are some 64 bit cards
that are voltage compatible and can be fitted into a desktop
motherboard. The excess 32 bits of bus, hang in the air.

Paul
 
Paul,

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and ordered the $25.00 cpu. At least I
should be able to get the board to post and go from there.

Brian
 
Thanks for all the help here! I got my $25.00 AMD Semptron 2600 today from
Newegg put it in the board and it fired right up! So it was the mobile 3400
that was the issue all along. At least know my MB is ok!

Thanks,
Brian
 
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