ECS 780GM-A (v: 1.1) Boot Problem

Hello ,

This is my first post and i really like this emoticon .

Well here is my problem :


System :

ECS A780GM-A (V:1.1) - updated to latest bios

2 Kingston RAM : 2GB each

HDD : 320 SATA Western digital

1 IDE DVD ASUS

Operating system : xp
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First the problem was that the computer hangup at boot and the screen would give strange colors horizontal and vertical colored lines and restarting the computer allowed me to load the system

Then updating the bios fixed it and replaced it with :

A Black screen at boot restarting also allows me to boot the system


Can anyone tell me what could it be ?!!!!!!!1


Best Regards


Waleed

.... power supply , actually that might be it

But if anyone has another scenario please i would appreciate it as i want to know what all the possibilities are

What kind of PSU? I am guessing that the "GM" board means you do not have an external video card. What kind of beep codes do you get while all this is happening?

And does the system always boot into a useable system eventually?

hello jsc thank you for taking the time,

sometimes it gives a normal beep and starts and sometimes it doesn't,

as you see would any of the above steps i took be the end of this problem ?

The power supply should assert a power good signal when the supply lines are stable
True. The "PowerOK" signal should go to a "logic HIGH" (3.5 to 5.0 volts) within 500 milliseconds from powerup to meet ATX 2.0 specs. This removes a hardware RESET from the CPU enabling it to start executing BIOS code.

but it would appear that the supply gives a glitch (maybe caused by the hard drive starting up) causing the computer to crash.
The "PowerOK signal drops to a Logic ZERO forcing a hardware RESET.

Possible causes of this could be a faulty or inadequately rated power supply, Very likely.

running the computer from a long extension cable,
Unlikely. My work computer, a medium grade C2D system, is powered through a 25 foot extension cable, and two outlet strips with 6 foot cords. (My shop office has power distribution problems.) A good PSU will power a computer with as low as 90 volts going into it. You would need a really long extension cord.

faulty motherboard, Possible. And it's possible that the onboard video circuits are glitchy. If that's the case, if the motherboard has a slot for a video card, you can use an external video card.

or faulty processor. Unlikely. First, CPU's are very reliable. Second, a bad CPU would tend to hang in the same place every time.

Now for troubleshooting, you can try this (the following is a general troubleshooting guide I wrote, not everything will apply to your problem):

Clear the CMOS RAM. (This works often enough to be worth doing.) Your motherboard manual will tell you how. Make sure the HSF is properly installed. (You may have to remove the motherboard from the case to check this.) Turn on your PC. If it's still broke, continue on.

Disconnect and unplug everything but the PSU, CPU & HSF, power & reset switches, and the system speaker from the motherboard. When you turn on the PC, you should hear a series of long single beeps. This will indicate a memory failure. (You do not have any memory installed, remember?) In a way, this is very good. This tells you that your PSU and CPU are good, and the motherboard is probably good.

If you do not see anything happening, swap the case power and reset switches. (Maybe you have a bad case power switch).

If you get silence, either the PSU, motherboard, or CPU is bad. The only practical way to determine which is bad is to test by substitution. Most likely failure (in order) is PSU, motherboard, and CPU. One other possibility is that you have something installed improperly in the case and it's shorting out the PSU. Only way to test this is to remove the motherboard from the case and reassemble everything on an insulated surface. This is called "breadboarding" (from the '20's).

If you hear the beeps, turn off the PC and install one memory module. Turn on the PC and you should hear one long and two or three short beeps indicating a problem with the video card. Silence indicates that the memory module is shorting out the PSU. Long single beeps (my GA-EP35-DS3P and eVGA 680i motherboards) usually indicate a really bad memory module. (Your BIOS codes may be different.) Test and install the rest of the memory.

Turn off the computer. Install the video card and plug in the monitor. Turn on. System should boot and pass POST (single short beep), and you should see messages on the screen. If not, your video card or monitor is bad. A bad video card will usually generate something like one long and two or three short beeps. If you get silence, your video card is probably shorting out the PSU. Again, your BIOS codes may be different.

If you see messages, turn off PC and plug in keyboard and mouse.

If this works, start plugging the other components one by one.


This can all be done before installing any the parts into the case. I always breadboard a new build. It lets me test all the parts before I install them in a case.

True but a small glitch may not be detected by the power supply but be enough to crash the computer..
running the computer from a long extension cable,

As I don’t know galvar installation I gave this as a possibility as I actually experienced this problem once, the length of the cable does not matter but if it is wound on the extension reel this can cause problems.

I agree it is a low possibility but my own computer an aging Athlon 2800 has this very problem it won’t work until the processor warms up for a few seconds (proven by substitution)

what about this question --->


Hello again,

I followed your troubleshooting guide and opened the motherboard manual

I found that i added the 2 RAM in DIMM 1&2 in unganged mode and the manual said to put them in DIMM 3&4 unganged mode

ofcourse i unplugged everything and re-installed again one piece at a time

Now does the ganged and unganged mode matter in this problem ?

I feel that the computer is faster and boot time is faster with no black screen or colors

I FIXED IT but forgot to post the solution sorry about that

The problem is in RAM sockets as they have to be placed in a certain way

place the 2 Kingston ram sticks into the yellow sockets not the red sockets

Then start the PC and enter Bios setup - > Advanced Chipset setup

Set ( DCT unganged mode ) = Disabled

That`s it your PC should run fine just like mine hehehahehahehahehaheha

I hope you read this, because is a little bit late but the problem is very simple to solve. In the bios under Advanced setup rhere is an option that say Enhanced Halt (c1e)t must be dissable because if not you are going to get the black Screen. I just past Through the same problem.

REgards

Humboldt