Biostar NF325-A7 needs exact DDR?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brian
  • Start date Start date
B

Brian

I am trying to put together from parts a biostar MB and AMD 3400. I cant
get any beeps or post trying it with the ram I have now which is DDR PC266.
Will that keep the board from posting? Also when I take the ram out then I
get beeps from the speaker. 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 AMD 3400. I cant
get any beeps or post trying it with the ram I have now which is DDR PC266.
Will that keep the board from posting? Also when I take the ram out then I
get beeps from the speaker. When the ram is seated nothing. Please help
this rookie builder.

Thanks,

Brian
Click to expand...

Is the RAM registered or unbuffered ?

The beeps are a good sign, because the processor needs to be able
to execute a bit of BIOS code, for the board to beep.

I'd try to find some other unbuffered DDR to borrow and test.

Paul
 
I tried using a post card and get error 29. It is an award bios if that
helps.

Thanks again,

Brian
 
Brian said:
I tried using a post card and get error 29. It is an award bios if that
helps.

Thanks again,

Brian
Click to expand...

If I download a BIOS from the Biostar site, and take it apart, the
main code module says:

"Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG"

If I go to bioscentral.com, there are POST codes listed. POST codes
are "progress codes" and not "error codes" as such. Each time a routine
executes, the BIOS writes a number to port 80. That is what the POST
card detects (and I think the POST card is supposed to work if installed
in slot 1).

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

At the bottom of the page, is as close to V6.00PG as you can get.

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

Could you try removing the video card, leave the memory in place, and
see if you can get missing video card beeps ? That would be a test to
see if the failure is trying to init the video BIOS.

Also, what exact kind of processor are you using ? Checking back in Google,
you were looking at a mobile or something. I couldn't find detailed CPU
support on the Biostar site, such as what minimum BIOS is required for
each CPU type. The last BIOS is dated 8/26/05, and I don't know if that
covers all of S754 types or not. This is not exactly detail, when in some
cases the CPU stepping makes a difference.

http://www.biostar-usa.com/cpusupport754.asp

The http://www.amdcompare.com site has info on processors and their OPN.

For example, this ADA3400AIK4BO is probably a pretty recent addition to
the collection of S754 processors. What does the OPN on your AMD packaging
say ?

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA3400AIK4BO

Paul
 
Paul,

Thanks so much for the very detailed reply! I think yours is the best I've
ever got from a newsgroup!

Brian
 
See below


Paul said:
If I download a BIOS from the Biostar site, and take it apart, the
main code module says:

"Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG"

If I go to bioscentral.com, there are POST codes listed. POST codes
are "progress codes" and not "error codes" as such. Each time a routine
executes, the BIOS writes a number to port 80. That is what the POST
card detects (and I think the POST card is supposed to work if installed
in slot 1).

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

At the bottom of the page, is as close to V6.00PG as you can get.

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

Could you try removing the video card, leave the memory in place, and
see if you can get missing video card beeps ? That would be a test to
see if the failure is trying to init the video BIOS.
Click to expand...

Tried leaving AGP card out no beeps still error 29 on post card. Still the only way I can get beeps is leaving memory out.
Also, what exact kind of processor are you using ? Checking back in Google,
you were looking at a mobile or something. I couldn't find detailed CPU
support on the Biostar site, such as what minimum BIOS is required for
each CPU type. The last BIOS is dated 8/26/05, and I don't know if that
covers all of S754 types or not. This is not exactly detail, when in some
cases the CPU stepping makes a difference.
Click to expand...

It is a mobile AMD 3400 The guy I bought it from on ebay assured me that it would work on any desktop board! If I am getting beep does not that mean that the CPU is working? I guess I could take off the heatsink and get the numbers off the CPU?
 
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