GA-7N400 Pro2 just won't work

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Hi all
Additional parts: Athlon XP1800, 2x256Mb DDR 2100 (Crucial), Gigabyte
Radeon 9600XT, Nec 2500 DVD RW, a DVD CD ROM, 80 GB HD and a 100 GB HD (as
a raid single standing). Turtle Beach soundcard. Antec 400 W PS.
Where do I start? I had this mobo for a couple of months or so, working
like a charm. Then, suddenly it went downhill. My hard drive was missing
some file. Trying to reinstall Win XP Pro. Couldn't boot from CD ROM, so I
went all the way from floppy and Win 98, including reformat. Managed to get
back in working order. Suddenly, like the day after, it's all messed up
again. Updated the BIOS too, but no good. Got a RMA from Newegg (bless
their soul). Got the replacement, uh, not the ver 2 this time, so I'm
lacking the Clear CMOS connector. Anyways. Putting it all together, and it
worked like a charm again. Happy camper for about 6 hours. That was
yesterday.
This morning, trying to boot up, it's back to misery again. Booting up
takes a looong time. The parts are recognized, that is, after a long time,
the 80 Gig and the two ROMs are acknowledged. After a while the raid HD is
also found. But no further boot. Booting from CD ROM starts, and I give
"installing Win XP" another shot. Doesn't help. When I boot again, it's all
over again with booting from CD ROM....
I would think the hard disk was at fault, but not really. My search for
answers so far have given a hint that my RAM might not be up to the job. So
I got myself a 512 MB 3200 today. Didn't help. I also swapped my Athlon
XP1800 with another identical one. No luck. (Maybe the 1800 is just too
weak?) I'll try another hard drive tomorrow, but I doubt that's the
problem. I'm totally at loss here. I've been messing with my own computers
for quite some years now. But now I'm starting to feel like a moron who
should stick to a deck of cards as choice of toy rather than a PC.
Do I need another RMA from Newegg, or have I goofed up, missing out on a
crucial step? This freakin' mobo is getting on my nerves, and starts to get
costly, too. Maybe I'm better off with a 99 bucks barebone from Tiger
Direct?
Please tell me I'm not. And please help me. I'm turning into a desperado
here...
Oh, did I mention I even got myself an APC Smart UPS 700 just to make sure
my precious get a steady juice?
TIA
Rodger

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

> Please tell me I'm not. And please help me. I'm turning into a desperado
> here...
> Oh, did I mention I even got myself an APC Smart UPS 700 just to make sure
> my precious get a steady juice?
> TIA
> Rodger

If it isnt a virus, then it is either your PSU failing which causes
hardware malfunction of the motherboard, or the temperatures get
extremely high and damage something on motherboard.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Roger,
Tell us more about your drives, like make and model and your boot sequence.

JPS

"Rodger Mathison" <rodgermanospamplease@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns950C28077714rodgermahotmailcom@216.168.3.44...
> Hi all
> Additional parts: Athlon XP1800, 2x256Mb DDR 2100 (Crucial), Gigabyte
> Radeon 9600XT, Nec 2500 DVD RW, a DVD CD ROM, 80 GB HD and a 100 GB HD (as
> a raid single standing). Turtle Beach soundcard. Antec 400 W PS.
> Where do I start? I had this mobo for a couple of months or so, working
> like a charm. Then, suddenly it went downhill. My hard drive was missing
> some file. Trying to reinstall Win XP Pro. Couldn't boot from CD ROM, so I
> went all the way from floppy and Win 98, including reformat. Managed to
get
> back in working order. Suddenly, like the day after, it's all messed up
> again. Updated the BIOS too, but no good. Got a RMA from Newegg (bless
> their soul). Got the replacement, uh, not the ver 2 this time, so I'm
> lacking the Clear CMOS connector. Anyways. Putting it all together, and it
> worked like a charm again. Happy camper for about 6 hours. That was
> yesterday.
> This morning, trying to boot up, it's back to misery again. Booting up
> takes a looong time. The parts are recognized, that is, after a long time,
> the 80 Gig and the two ROMs are acknowledged. After a while the raid HD is
> also found. But no further boot. Booting from CD ROM starts, and I give
> "installing Win XP" another shot. Doesn't help. When I boot again, it's
all
> over again with booting from CD ROM....
> I would think the hard disk was at fault, but not really. My search for
> answers so far have given a hint that my RAM might not be up to the job.
So
> I got myself a 512 MB 3200 today. Didn't help. I also swapped my Athlon
> XP1800 with another identical one. No luck. (Maybe the 1800 is just too
> weak?) I'll try another hard drive tomorrow, but I doubt that's the
> problem. I'm totally at loss here. I've been messing with my own computers
> for quite some years now. But now I'm starting to feel like a moron who
> should stick to a deck of cards as choice of toy rather than a PC.
> Do I need another RMA from Newegg, or have I goofed up, missing out on a
> crucial step? This freakin' mobo is getting on my nerves, and starts to
get
> costly, too. Maybe I'm better off with a 99 bucks barebone from Tiger
> Direct?
> Please tell me I'm not. And please help me. I'm turning into a desperado
> here...
> Oh, did I mention I even got myself an APC Smart UPS 700 just to make sure
> my precious get a steady juice?
> TIA
> Rodger

 

[Dave]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

"jpsga" <jpsga@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<LfKAc.52302$Hg2.3498@attbi_s04>...
> Roger,
> Tell us more about your drives, like make and model and your boot sequence.
>
> JPS
>
> "Rodger Mathison" <rodgermanospamplease@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns950C28077714rodgermahotmailcom@216.168.3.44...
> > Hi all
> > Additional parts: Athlon XP1800, 2x256Mb DDR 2100 (Crucial), Gigabyte
> > Radeon 9600XT, Nec 2500 DVD RW, a DVD CD ROM, 80 GB HD and a 100 GB HD (as
> > a raid single standing). Turtle Beach soundcard. Antec 400 W PS.
> > Where do I start? I had this mobo for a couple of months or so, working
> > like a charm. Then, suddenly it went downhill. My hard drive was missing
> > some file. Trying to reinstall Win XP Pro. Couldn't boot from CD ROM, so I
> > went all the way from floppy and Win 98, including reformat. Managed to
> get
> > back in working order. Suddenly, like the day after, it's all messed up
> > again. Updated the BIOS too, but no good. Got a RMA from Newegg (bless
> > their soul). Got the replacement, uh, not the ver 2 this time, so I'm
> > lacking the Clear CMOS connector. Anyways. Putting it all together, and it
> > worked like a charm again. Happy camper for about 6 hours. That was
> > yesterday.
> > This morning, trying to boot up, it's back to misery again. Booting up
> > takes a looong time. The parts are recognized, that is, after a long time,
> > the 80 Gig and the two ROMs are acknowledged. After a while the raid HD is
> > also found. But no further boot. Booting from CD ROM starts, and I give
> > "installing Win XP" another shot. Doesn't help. When I boot again, it's
> all
> > over again with booting from CD ROM....
> > I would think the hard disk was at fault, but not really. My search for
> > answers so far have given a hint that my RAM might not be up to the job.
> So
> > I got myself a 512 MB 3200 today. Didn't help. I also swapped my Athlon
> > XP1800 with another identical one. No luck. (Maybe the 1800 is just too
> > weak?) I'll try another hard drive tomorrow, but I doubt that's the
> > problem. I'm totally at loss here. I've been messing with my own computers
> > for quite some years now. But now I'm starting to feel like a moron who
> > should stick to a deck of cards as choice of toy rather than a PC.
> > Do I need another RMA from Newegg, or have I goofed up, missing out on a
> > crucial step? This freakin' mobo is getting on my nerves, and starts to
> get
> > costly, too. Maybe I'm better off with a 99 bucks barebone from Tiger
> > Direct?
> > Please tell me I'm not. And please help me. I'm turning into a desperado
> > here...
> > Oh, did I mention I even got myself an APC Smart UPS 700 just to make sure
> > my precious get a steady juice?
> > TIA
> > Rodger

Sounds like an unstable processor or a cable issue with the drives,
use only 80 wire between the controller and the HD, 40 wire after
that.
Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

"jpsga" <jpsga@comcast.net> wrote in
news:LfKAc.52302$Hg2.3498@attbi_s04:

> Roger,
> Tell us more about your drives, like make and model and your boot
> sequence.
>
> JPS
Hi
I used an 80 Gig WD Caviar (WD800JBRTL) as a single drive on IDE1. It was
new in April. Then another older WD 100 Gig connected to IDE3 as ATA133.
On IDE2 is a Toshiba DVD ROM model SD-M1612 as master, and a NEC ND2500A as
a slave.
The boot process was veeeryy sloooow, but all drives were recognized. When
the "Verifying DMI Pool Data..." was done, "Boot from CD" started.
Seemingly the 80 Gig is no good. At one time I got the "NTLDR is missing".
The drive seems to be working at times, but surely not always. I'll take it
back to Circuit City and hope for the best.
I'm currently using a 20 Gig HD w. 5400 rpm. Slow, but I was able to
install Win XP, and I am feeling a little better he he.
Another problem is the Toshiba DVD ROM. Might be a conflict, because when I
try to use it with any CD ROM, the light on the drive stays on. So does the
HD LED. And the PC hangs. Only remedy is a hard off. Any tips here?
I'm using a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard and disabled the mobo audio.
The soundcard's game port is not working due to lack of resources. I might
try to remove the soundcard and try the onboard audio and see if that will
change anything.
So, things look a little better, but I need to get the DVD ROM to work. And
I need to get the 7200 rpm WD Caviar fixed, use that as C: and once again
install Win XP plus plus...
Hm, would I release some resources if I used both HDs on IDE1 and disabled
the RAID/ata133?
I wonder if half a sec of power outage was the cause of the problems? Guess
I'll never know.
I appreciate any help and suggestions.

Rodger

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Just to be sure, consider running the "Data Lifeguard " diagnostics on the
JB. If it says the drive is ok then ask it to fdisk and format in NTFS.
Disconnect the NC2500A and put the Toshiba on EIDE2 as master.
Disconnect the 100G unit from EIDE3.
I would even pull the Turtle Bay sound card.
With the box unplugged. pop out the battery to reset the BIOS. Reset day and
date and the boot sequence upon re-boot.

Re-install XP.
Re-install the board drivers.
Then start plugging back in and let XP find them and install them.
The tactic here is one step at a time.

I know this board used to work but something ( virus? ) ,bad driver? gummed
it up.


"Rodger Mathison" <rodgermanospamplease@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns950CEA5B61D63rodgermahotmailcom@216.168.3.44...
> "jpsga" <jpsga@comcast.net> wrote in
> news:LfKAc.52302$Hg2.3498@attbi_s04:
>
> > Roger,
> > Tell us more about your drives, like make and model and your boot
> > sequence.
> >
> > JPS
> Hi
> I used an 80 Gig WD Caviar (WD800JBRTL) as a single drive on IDE1. It was
> new in April. Then another older WD 100 Gig connected to IDE3 as ATA133.
> On IDE2 is a Toshiba DVD ROM model SD-M1612 as master, and a NEC ND2500A
as
> a slave.
> The boot process was veeeryy sloooow, but all drives were recognized. When
> the "Verifying DMI Pool Data..." was done, "Boot from CD" started.
> Seemingly the 80 Gig is no good. At one time I got the "NTLDR is missing".
> The drive seems to be working at times, but surely not always. I'll take
it
> back to Circuit City and hope for the best.
> I'm currently using a 20 Gig HD w. 5400 rpm. Slow, but I was able to
> install Win XP, and I am feeling a little better he he.
> Another problem is the Toshiba DVD ROM. Might be a conflict, because when
I
> try to use it with any CD ROM, the light on the drive stays on. So does
the
> HD LED. And the PC hangs. Only remedy is a hard off. Any tips here?
> I'm using a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard and disabled the mobo audio.
> The soundcard's game port is not working due to lack of resources. I might
> try to remove the soundcard and try the onboard audio and see if that will
> change anything.
> So, things look a little better, but I need to get the DVD ROM to work.
And
> I need to get the 7200 rpm WD Caviar fixed, use that as C: and once again
> install Win XP plus plus...
> Hm, would I release some resources if I used both HDs on IDE1 and disabled
> the RAID/ata133?
> I wonder if half a sec of power outage was the cause of the problems?
Guess
> I'll never know.
> I appreciate any help and suggestions.
>
> Rodger

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

"jpsga" <jpsga@comcast.net> wrote in
news:x0WAc.55779$Hg2.25487@attbi_s04:

> Just to be sure, consider running the "Data Lifeguard " diagnostics on
> the JB. If it says the drive is ok then ask it to fdisk and format in
> NTFS. Disconnect the NC2500A and put the Toshiba on EIDE2 as master.
> Disconnect the 100G unit from EIDE3.
> I would even pull the Turtle Bay sound card.
> With the box unplugged. pop out the battery to reset the BIOS. Reset
> day and date and the boot sequence upon re-boot.
>
> Re-install XP.
> Re-install the board drivers.
> Then start plugging back in and let XP find them and install them.
> The tactic here is one step at a time.

Hi
Thanks for the input. I actually managed to "revive" the JB. After changing
the IDE cable it is now back to speed again.
However, the DVD ROM is still messing up. That too works just fine until I
install the chipset drivers. After that, reading a CD ROM in the DVD drive
results in DVD drive's LED and the HD LED lights up, and the PC stops
responding.
I thought the drivers on the CD they sent back together with the mobo was
messing up as they sent back the same, i.e. for ver.2 not ver.1 as is the
replacement mobo. Anyways, I used drivers I downloaded and that did not
help. Wonder if I should opt out the nvidia IDE SW driver? I could also try
a different DVD ROM drive, tho I doubt that will help.
So, after quite a few hours trying to figure this out today, at least it's
booting lightning fast;-/
Still not installed the sound card and the WD 100 Gig.
I'm grateful for any suggestions, as usual.

Rodger

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Hi
I don't know why I could access the DVD ROM before installing chipset
drivers, but...
I changed the IDE cable with another one. This one led to the same freeze
situation, not with the DVD ROM, but with the Nec2500A drive. Testing a
third IDE cable, and it all worked like a charm. Sweet feeling of finally
success;-)
Just installed the soundcard. It works. And after disabling the onboard
game port, the soundcard's game port works also. Duh!
Next and last item is the 100 Gig WD HD. I'll use that as a slave on IDE1
and skip the IDE3 and 4 altogether.
It's been some, eh, interesting experience. Hoping now that it'll all work
fine for some time ahead.
Guess the lesson is that it's not always what it looks like, so leave no
stone unturned;-)
Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Rodger