ready to throw my computer out window

D

demografik

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2002
Messages
1,055
I'm really unhappy with the Gigabyte GA-7N400. I had to RMA my first one because when I installed it, I didn't realize I couldn't boot from my hard drive with a new motherboard. I didn't want to format, so I put my 8kha+ back in to try to find out how to replace a motherboard without formatting. After I figured out what I should do, I put the board back in, BAM doesn't work. LED's come on, fans start up; no bios beep or post.

So today I got the new one. Now I know what I need to do to install it without having to format. So I carefully and slowly set everything up. I fire it up, everything works great. Just need to set to boot from cd-rom to boot with the w2k cd and repair. While I'm in the bios, I check my temps. The cpu reads high, around 70c. I quickly turn it off to take it out. I look at the cpu, looks like the problem was too much thermal grease. I apply a thinner layer and go to turn the computer back on. At first I get a really weird low-pitched siren type sound from the bios and it shuts itself off. Then I turn it back on and guess what..back to the same problem I had with the first one. GREAT! I've tried resetting cmos, unplugged all cards, IDE devices, unplugging the power and activity LED's, even using a seperate power supply for the fan on my heatsink as it's a delta 8k rpm that eats up alot of power. Also reseated the cpu and heatsink repetedly. Still nothing.

Here are my specs:

Athlon 2500+
Corsair 512mb xms2700
Antec 300watt psu
Radeon 8500
Maxtor 40gb

Right now I'm using a machine i put together with my old 8kha+, 2500+, hard drive and video card. Basically I just put it all into another case with a 200watt power supply. Help please?
 
... you type all of that.. what do you want help with? it sounds like either -

you got bum boards
or you dont know how to set up a computer...

ive put together some computers with some FUCKING dodgy motherboards etc, and managed to make them all work... its actually pretty rare that a motherboard is the issue when it posts fine first time up.

theres not really much we can help you with - either you got a shit board/run of boards or you youve done something wrong

The only thing i can really suggest is trying some different ram, but if the board makes no noises whatsoever, its pretty unlikely its that.
 
I've built dozens of computers. In fact I just put one together using this board and an 1800+ with no problems. All the parts I'm using work fine with my 8kha. This is really aggravating.
 
300w is cutting it close even with a quality psu... I'm using a sparkle 300 temporarily and all the rails are very low on my barton setup. DFI lan party, 2500+ geforce3 and one hard drive.

200w is really low. That may be part of your problem.

Did you connect the delta to the motherboard fan connector initially? Can do some damage.

Formatting and doing a fresh install is really the best thing though. All those old chipset drivers can clog things up when you put new ones over them.

Can you backup the information you need to save and then reinstall?

Good luck and don't get too frustrated. I know the feeling!
 
Would the jump from the 8kha to the 7n400 be that big of a deal that 100 extra watts isn't enough? The 8kha is running fine on the generic 200watt right now.

5v is at 4.948
12v is at 11.856
 
Originally posted by demografik
I had to RMA my first one because when I installed it, I didn't realize I couldn't boot from my hard drive with a new motherboard.
Click to expand...

You can boot from your harddrive with a new motherboard; sounds like you RMA'd a 'good' board.


Originally posted by demografik
I put the board back in, BAM doesn't work. LED's come on, fans start up; no bios beep or post.
Click to expand...

What board is this? This part kinda contradicts the first part unless you meant to say you RMA'd the board because of the problems you mention here.


Originally posted by demografik [/i]
The cpu reads high, around 70c. I quickly turn it off to take it out. I look at the cpu, looks like the problem was too much thermal grease. I apply a thinner layer and go to turn the computer back on.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it wasn't 70F? Also did you resit your HSF properly after removing some of the thermal grease?


Originally posted by demografik [/i]
At first I get a really weird low-pitched siren type sound from the bios and it shuts itself off.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you didn't connect your HSF and you fried your CPU? Or maybe the board got static damage?


TOriginally posted by demografik [/i]
Then I turn it back on and guess what..back to the same problem I had with the first one. GREAT! I've tried resetting cmos, unplugged all cards, IDE devices, unplugging the power and activity LED's, even using a seperate power supply for the fan on my heatsink as it's a delta 8k rpm that eats up alot of power. Also reseated the cpu and heatsink repetedly. Still nothing.
Click to expand...


When you reset the CMOS did you remember to remove the battery before moving the jumper? When I built my first system a few months back this was something I didn't know had to be done (i.e. completely remove the battery, move the jumper to the clear position for a few seconds and then move it back and finally reinsert the battery.
 
The PSU can't handle the board. Even if you got lucky enough to get it running, it wouldn't be stable.
 
I've seen a few PSUs get eaten for breakfast by these power hungry Motherboards + components ;) (We're talking 12v rail all the way down to ~9v).

As for installing a new mobo without re-formating. That's a bad idea, period :p

Cheers,

Mr. Pain
 
have you tried it with a different cpu?

I had a whole batch (127 machines) built with giga-byte boards, they were having weird post issues with 133 fsb chips, so i had to take an old duron, boot them, flash them, and then boot with the proper cpu.
 
Flashing the bios?

I was thinking the power supply might be too weak, too. I'll update when I can get ahold of a stronger one.
 
----- I BELIEVE YOU -----

I have gone through 4, that's right FOUR of these POS boards. I ordered a couple of 7n400Pro's with 2500+ procs last August.

From the begining I had nothing but trouble with data corruption and mysterious failures. I always assumed it was some piece of hardware in the systems that was bad, or a bios or driver issue or under-powered PSUs. I tried everything for months.

Even after RMAing each board once - for a total of 4 unique mobo's I couldn't make everything work properly on them. I finally got fed-up and RMA'd the boards for cash back and bought a couple of ABIT NF7-S boards.

Viola -- Everything just works... My overclocks are better, with lower voltages. I have no data corruption, and no instability. All of this with the same optical/storage drives, same ram, same cpu's - SAME EVERYTHING. Where once I ran prime95 for almost 10 seconds before it would crash, now I can run it for 24 hours with no errors...

BTW: the reason for building 2 of these comps, was to build a comp up for my brother. He's not what you'd call a computer enthusiast, but he does enjoy playing games - which he now can finally do...
 
Yeah, I've been thinking about the Abit. I don't think newegg would let me RMA mine in exchange for an NF7 though.
 
If you have the 7n400Pro RMA it - they don't carry that model anymore and so they are forced to either offer you your money back, or the abit AN7.

I took the money and got an NF7-S somewhere else, but the AN7 might suit your needs. I went and looked at abit's website and I couldn't actually tell the difference between the AN7 and the NF7?

Here's a copy of the email newegg sent me:

Dear Daniel,

We have received { item #13-128-191 } that was sent back to us on RMA#10224894 , unfortunately we no longer carry this specific item or it is currently out of stock. We have found an alternative item comparable in specs to the original item, (item #13-127-167) which is a (ABIT nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "AN7" -RETAIL ). If you can please make time available to check this item at www.newegg.com and please let us know if this is a acceptable replacement, If for any reason this is not acceptable with you we can offer you a refund of ($96.00 ) which is the current market value for this Item. You can request a refund by check if necessary.
Click to expand...
 
if they no longer sell it, there's probably a pretty darn good reason

I would follow dewhite's suggestion and RMA it.

I just don't think i can trust giga-byte anymore personally.
 
Originally posted by velocitypimp
if they no longer sell it, there's probably a pretty darn good reason

I would follow dewhite's suggestion and RMA it.

I just don't think i can trust giga-byte anymore personally.
Click to expand...
Not that I disagree with your implication, but the reason they no longer sell the 7n400Pro is because they now stock the 7n400Pro2 - which differs only in featuring gigabit LAN...
 
Amazing
velocitypimp
The reason it is no longer sold, they dropped the Pro because it was too close in feature set to the 7nnxp, the Pro was substituted with the Pro2 which is a lesser featured board than the 7nnxp and the Pro.

So lets see, we have a power supply that for this board is at its very best a bare minimum if even that.

An attempt to change mb's without a clean o.s install.

The number of users with the giga board with problems that ive seen all boil down to the following.

12v 4 pin power not plugged in
hs on backwards(that is becoming a dialy double)
Incompatible memory
And power supplies that are inadequate

Sorry you are having a problem, but this is one of those cases where I wish I had that system in front of me.

so hey, by all means rma and replace the board with something else, a word of cautions though, research your next decision carefully.


Personally if I had to purchase another board today, based on my needs I would seek out another Pro board.
Laterz,
dafanman
:cool:
 
I'm not sure, but I think I resent your implication that I'm some newbie who doesn't understand the process of elimination.

I've never mounted an HSF backwards, don't think a 400Watt PSU is too small, and I'm not known for being so hasty as to forget the P4 connector.

Do you think Corsair XMS PC3200 TwinX memory was an innapropriate choice? Keep in mind that I didn't neglect to run MemTest86 on it to make sure they were good modules. So we can forget about memory problems. I updated my BIOS's early and often - and when gigabyte stopped updating their's I switched the PREACHER BIOS (both F11, and F12).

None of this worked for me. The entire time I had less than stellar stability and constant data corruption on both the ITE Raid controller and the SiImage SATA controller.

Oh, and because of all the data corruption I had the privilege of going through several clean installations of Windows XP...
 
I'm very careful when putting on the cpu and heatsink due to past experiences, so I know it's not that. 12v was plugged in.

I'm leaning towards power supply, but dewhite's sig says he has 2 hard drives, a 9800 and an oced 2500, that's alot more than what I have. His power supply is only 50 more watts. That seems strange to me he can run all that stable on a 350 and I can't even post with a 300.
 
demografik,
Hear me on this one man, its not the total wattage:(

On your power supply there should be a label, on that label what does it say your wattage output is for 12v,5v, and 3.3v rails?

That is what matters.
Or look at it like thisGigabyte Nforce Power Supply FAQ This came about because so many of the giga users that were either coming from a previous via setup, or got a cheap psu with their case were having various startup, bootloop, spontaneous shutdownd, ect.....

Regardless of wether you keep the pro2 or not, this is necessary information for nforce2 boards.......

Laterz,
dafanman

You should consider posting your prob over at Amdmb Gigabyte Forum if you still want to attempt to get it going, lots of knowlegeable users there.

Good luck demografik, again sorry youre having a problem..
Laterz,
dafanman:cool:
 
Sweet dude, thanks for the help! That link says I need 20-24a on my 12v rail and my power supply only delivers 15a. So that means this is definitely the problem, then? Do you think it damaged my board?

3.3 = 20a
5 = 30a
12 = 15a

EDIT:

From what I've just learned, it looks like the Vantec 470 watt is a good one. Good ampages and efficiency. If I'm missing something, please tell me.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-103-472&catalog=58&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

I'll read more tomorrow, but I really need to get to bed now.
 
demografik
Well one thing is for sure 15a is not gonna get the job done on a nforce2 board:(

And I certainly like the numbers on the vantec much better, with that in the system you can definately rule out power as being the problem:D

laterz,
dafanman:cool:
 
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