M
Mike Easter
I'm trying to conceive of the mechanism behind this hardware problem
even if I decide to not repair it, I would like to have a better
understanding of what is going on. I've brought this problem up here
before in a different form.
Here is the hardware: mobo ECS 741GX-M2 which is a AMD socket A using a
AMD Geode NX-1750 which board has integrated everything, video, sound, &
ethernet via the SiS chipsets 741GX north & 964L south. It has a 250W
PS. Currently only one of the two ram slot/s are/is populated with 1G
DDR ram.
Here is the hardware problem which occurs infrequently under very
limited software circumstances, but is the same with various operating
systems such as XP or Mint or Mandriva and various browsers such as
Chrome or Firefox. While reading a webpage which extends below beyond
the screen's window, I typically use the mouse on the vertical slider
rather than paging; that is, I slide the window slider so as to expose
that lower part of the page which goes beyond the window's edge.
Occasionally, about once a week or so, while performing that operation,
the machine abruptly shuts down. Instantly.
During this shutdown, the following conditions can be observed. The
front power light is off. The two yellow and green ethernet lights at
the rear remain lighted. Most significantly, the front powerswitch does
not work to power back up. The relationship between the mobo and the PS
is 'dead'.
In order to restore funcitonality, it is necessary to turn off the PS's
rear switch. During this type of shutdown, whatever gets reset doesn't
happen 'instantaneously'. It requires a few seconds, say 5-8. The
other thing which requires a few seconds is those little lights beside
the ethernet port. Once those seconds have elapsed and the ethernet
lights are off, I can turn the rear PS switch back on, then the front
panel power switch works again and the machine powers up and everything
is operational for a considerable time, maybe more than a week. Maybe
only a few days.
I routinely view webpages in the manner described, and almost 100% of
the time this viewing method works. But occasionally I get the shutdown
described. Presently I get the shutdown under no other software
conditions that I have found.
However, if I put 2 1G ram sticks into the slots, I have a bigtime
problem with this type of shutdown under all kinds of other conditions.
Since replacing the PS is a popular troubleshooting method for some
power related mysteries, I'm sure that replacing the PS would be
informative, because the result might be that a new PS causes everything
to work properly with 1 or 2 1G sticks of ram and the whole problem is
relatively undiagnosed but solved. The result of that PS replacement
might also be that under conditions of a new PS that the (mobo) failure
problem would occur just as before, in which circumstance the next
experiment would be to replace the mobo.
However, rather than replace anything for information, I would like to
have a better understanding of what the 'meaning' of the change in the
demands on the power that the movement of the window slider causes. I
would also like to have a better understanding of what is the meaning of
the power light on the front panel going off but the ethernet lights
staying on.
I would also like to have a better understanding of the what kind of a
relationship between the mobo and the PS can cause the two of them to
need to be reset because of some kind of power fault protection which
resetting requires to shut down the rear switch for some seconds. And
how come it takes some seconds for the ethernet lights to go off when
the rear switch is shut off.
even if I decide to not repair it, I would like to have a better
understanding of what is going on. I've brought this problem up here
before in a different form.
Here is the hardware: mobo ECS 741GX-M2 which is a AMD socket A using a
AMD Geode NX-1750 which board has integrated everything, video, sound, &
ethernet via the SiS chipsets 741GX north & 964L south. It has a 250W
PS. Currently only one of the two ram slot/s are/is populated with 1G
DDR ram.
Here is the hardware problem which occurs infrequently under very
limited software circumstances, but is the same with various operating
systems such as XP or Mint or Mandriva and various browsers such as
Chrome or Firefox. While reading a webpage which extends below beyond
the screen's window, I typically use the mouse on the vertical slider
rather than paging; that is, I slide the window slider so as to expose
that lower part of the page which goes beyond the window's edge.
Occasionally, about once a week or so, while performing that operation,
the machine abruptly shuts down. Instantly.
During this shutdown, the following conditions can be observed. The
front power light is off. The two yellow and green ethernet lights at
the rear remain lighted. Most significantly, the front powerswitch does
not work to power back up. The relationship between the mobo and the PS
is 'dead'.
In order to restore funcitonality, it is necessary to turn off the PS's
rear switch. During this type of shutdown, whatever gets reset doesn't
happen 'instantaneously'. It requires a few seconds, say 5-8. The
other thing which requires a few seconds is those little lights beside
the ethernet port. Once those seconds have elapsed and the ethernet
lights are off, I can turn the rear PS switch back on, then the front
panel power switch works again and the machine powers up and everything
is operational for a considerable time, maybe more than a week. Maybe
only a few days.
I routinely view webpages in the manner described, and almost 100% of
the time this viewing method works. But occasionally I get the shutdown
described. Presently I get the shutdown under no other software
conditions that I have found.
However, if I put 2 1G ram sticks into the slots, I have a bigtime
problem with this type of shutdown under all kinds of other conditions.
Since replacing the PS is a popular troubleshooting method for some
power related mysteries, I'm sure that replacing the PS would be
informative, because the result might be that a new PS causes everything
to work properly with 1 or 2 1G sticks of ram and the whole problem is
relatively undiagnosed but solved. The result of that PS replacement
might also be that under conditions of a new PS that the (mobo) failure
problem would occur just as before, in which circumstance the next
experiment would be to replace the mobo.
However, rather than replace anything for information, I would like to
have a better understanding of what the 'meaning' of the change in the
demands on the power that the movement of the window slider causes. I
would also like to have a better understanding of what is the meaning of
the power light on the front panel going off but the ethernet lights
staying on.
I would also like to have a better understanding of the what kind of a
relationship between the mobo and the PS can cause the two of them to
need to be reset because of some kind of power fault protection which
resetting requires to shut down the rear switch for some seconds. And
how come it takes some seconds for the ethernet lights to go off when
the rear switch is shut off.
