HTPC-Mother Board Going Bad?

VA Supremacy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
475
cliffs::D:D;)

1) All hard drives (3 IDE/1 SATA) and DVD-Rom drive (SATA) work in external enclosures
2) mobo detects drives after using various cables
3)bios is slow to get into (feels like 30min to an hour)
4)Stalls on logo screen does not boot into Vista on C:\>
5) 8800GT doesn't always work have to revert back to the old anloge connector

specs:
Silverstone LC10-E
Corsair TX-750watts
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ AM2 3.1Ghz and heatsink
2 x 2GB Corsair Twin2X4096-6400C5DHX
2 x 2GB Corsair Twin2X4096-6400C5DHX
Asus M3N78 Pro
eVGA e-GeForce 8800GT AKIMBO PCI-E x16 1GB DDR3
Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 Slim HDMI out PCI
Western Digital 160GB Caviar IDE
Western Digital 160GB Caviar IDE
Western Digital 640GB Caviar Green SATA
Rosewill RC-208 ATA PCI un RAID card
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380215A 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
Asus DVD Rom DVD-E818A6T SATA
Antec Veris Multimedia Station Basic [iMON]
Windows Vista Home Premuim Service Pack 1 64 bit OEM
 
Try removing all devices except the O/S drive. It sounds like the motherboard, but some basic troubleshooting will confirm.
 
rechecked and it still freezes and bios still takes forever to load.

I'm guessing RIP

What should I do now? This is the first one I've built so I've never had this problem.
 
taking 30 min to get to BIOS ?


well if you registered with Asus you may be able to RMA ?

if not, pick up a cheap board to replace it.
 
could be RAM/HD as well. Try just plugging in one stick and see if you can get into the BIOS faster. Even when booting into BIOS, it checks RAM/HD
 
It feels like 30 minutes getting into the bios..its probably a minute or more but less than 30. IT just feels like forever because it seems to hang there for awhile.

It doesn't go into Vista at all freezing on Asus Logo Screen.

I've tried drive C: only but not with less than 8 gig so I'll try it but when I have had only 2 gigs/1 stick it outputs in a green tint.
 
Try swapping the video card. Use one stick of ram. Do not have any external devices plugged in. Use only keyboard, mouse, and display. Unplug c: drive and boot to a linux live cd. Check power supply voltages while booting.

If nothing works, rma.
 
Having already taken the computer apart I was going to go put everything back to try some other things but a pin broke and some are bent.

Can I do a downgrade from AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ AM2 3.1Ghz to AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+ AM2 3.0Ghz?

How does it effect the bios and Vista?

I seem to have trouble finding an exact duplicate and that one was the closest to what I was using.
 
A 5800 would be fine. The bios will recognize it fine, and Vista will probably ask for a restart because it found a new processor.
Have you checked for an updated bios?
You can pick up AM2+ boards pretty cheap.
 
It is an an AM2/AM2+ board

Isn't Vista tied to the mobo though? So if I changed boards don't have to get a new key?
 
Checked the bios apparently the latest download is a Beta Version 1402 which I can now use AM3 [i think]

Description M3N78 PRO BIOS 1402
Support new CPUs. Please refer to our website:http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

I never updated the bios since I don't know anything about doing that so if I get the beta does that mean I would get all the ones I've missed and do I need the previous ones?
 
While Vista OEM is tied to the board, you are perfectly within your rights to replace the board or other broken hardware. You just might have to call to re-activate it, that's all.

As far as the bios, I only asked because there may have been a bios update that addressed this situation in the past.

Is the board still under warranty? If so, start the RMA process. If not, use this opportunity to do a simple upgrade. A open box board from the Egg, and an Athlon II X2 245 can be done for close to $100. This setup will sip power compared to that 6000.
 
2011 is when its up though at least that's what the site says
Motherboard
3 Year
All ASUS motherboard purchased after November 1st, 1999 will carry 3 year warranty services. ASUS product warranty is based on the serial number printed.

Note: Warranty void for user removing serial number sticker on the motherboard .

I saw the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+ AM2 3.0Ghz $50 at compusa/tiger direct/CC so would the AM2+ be higher than the AM2 Ghz wise or is the AM2+ more powerful? I don't get it.

If I do a new board what would I do? This seemed the best to me at the time and it still does so I have no idea what would be better for an HTPC setup.
 
If you're going to get a new processor, spend the extra $10 or so and get an AM3 Athlon II for it. It does more work faster, uses less power, runs cooler, all around a better chip.
RMA the board and get a modern processor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687
This would work in that board. And when that board is out of warranty and you need a new one, you should still be able to find an AM3 board and keep using the processor. Don't waste money on a processor that they don't even make anymore. AM3 chips can use DDR 2 or DDR 3, somewhat futureproof.
 
okay I'll RMA soon.

would this better then?
newegg

I suppose this would be adequate since I can get offline:
microcenter

Though i don't really know which to choose.
 
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Honestly, it's an HTPC, not a gaming rig, I would say the cheaper the better. Any Athlon II would be sufficient. I had a X2 5000+ and never had a problem. Right now I have my brother-in-laws 4200+ in it until I get my RMA back from AMD. If my board could take an Athlon 2, I would have one in it already.

Or in the interest of saving power and running cooler, less stress on the board,
there's this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103897
Only 45watts.
 
I always thought the higher the Ghz the better/faster it was.
I'll look into I've not made up my mind just thought getting the best one meant the highest Ghz.
 
Best one doesn't necessarily mean fastest. Depends on use. If you encode movies with it or game, then yes, higher Ghz. If it is just a HTPC with no encoding or gaming duty, then it's just a waist. Either way, a newer processor is better than an old X2 5800+.
 
what about ripping movies to the hard drive? would it be like encoding movies or would it be a lower cpu be just as good?
 
A couple hundred Mhz aren't going to make that big of a difference. If just ripping to the hard drive, then a lower is fine, the time difference is minimal. If re-encoding to a different format for other devices, then more Ghz will be faster, at the expense of power and heat during normal operation.

It basically comes down to personal preference.

Then again, there's always a quad core like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103901

It's 45 watts too.
 
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I'll stick with dual core though still thinking about.

If I have to get a new key for Vista would I have to reinstall using the OEM disc?
 
You don't have to get a new key for Vista. Since you are going to be using the same exact setup with the exception of the processor, you will not have to reinstall anything. Usually just a reboot when the processor is detected by Windows.
 
Well then the best thing to do is a fresh install. And if you are doing a fresh install, switch to Windows 7 while you're at it.
 
I'll wait until the drive dies or use a SATA to IDE adapter. I want to use vista a little while longer.
 
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