Windows won't start after re-installing motherboard.

G

gkg101

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
Messages
422
Win XP sp3
Corsair HX620w
AMD Opteron 185 dual core
2 gigs corsair xms
Asus a8n sli se
2x8800 gts 320

I just replaced the chipset fan on my a8n sli se. I removed the mobo out to do so. So after installing the fan, I start the computer, the asus splash screen appears, but no single beep! I get a message: Warning: EZ plug not connected. But I never had the EZ Plug connected to begin with, my configuration doesn't call for it. I tried to disable it in the BIOS but my machine still can't get past the bios.

I've attached everything that was attached before I removed my motherboard so what could be the problem? Did something change in the BIOS just because I had to re-install my mb? I think I noticed some changes in the SLI setup but not sure at all if that's the issue.
 
If the motherboard is out of the case, check the other side of the motherboard behind where you fitted the new fan to see if its overheating.
ie touch your finger on it while it is running and see how hot it is.
This will tell you if the cooler has good enough contact or if the chip has thermal runaway from previously being overheated.
There is no chance of electric shock, be careful not to short anything.
Check that nothing else is overheating and all fans are running

If you are stuck, reset the CMOS.
 
He gets the Asus splash screen so the CPU is operating.
 
Nenu said:
If you are stuck, reset the CMOS.
Click to expand...
I would reset the CMOS anyways, could/would save time. So yea either by the reset button or by taking the battery out for awhile (make sure your rig isn't plugged in).

If it still gives you probs, try turning the computer on with only 1 video card in. Idk if it will fix it or not, but it could help narrow down the problem(s). :)

GL
 
Win XP sp3
Corsair HX620w
AMD Opteron 185 dual core
2 gigs corsair xms
Asus a8n sli se
2x8800 gts 320

I replaced the chip set fan because I think it was making an annoying noise like a colony of crickets. And I started getting a low chipset fan speed warning during boot-up. The replacement fan from Asus seems to be working fine because the BIOS reports its RPM at over 6500. But the cricket noise started coming back! Other folks report bad replacement chipset fans from Asus, but I'm worried that the noise could have been coming from the hard drive all this time. (But the BIOS recognizes the hard drive). I've already been through changing a bad CPU fan (it was making a loud grinding noise) so that's not it. And the noise always starts when system comes under load.

The removing video card suggestion makes sense, as the EZ plug is related to SLI? but I doubt that's the problem, and I don't I think it's a heat issue as BIOS reports temps normal. But I'm worried that my hard drive might have been failing over time and broke, precipitated by simply moving things around in the case while changing out the chipset fan. However BIOS recognizes my hard drive so hopefully that's a non-issue.

Anyway, now I'll try to reset the BIOS and try starting with 1 video card. I get back with the results.





Any insights on this?
 
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Win XP sp3
Corsair HX620w
AMD Opteron 185 dual core
2 gigs corsair xms
Asus a8n sli se
2x8800 gts 320

After removing the 2nd vid card, I stop getting the EZ Plug Warning but wind up on the next page, which list all the computer's drives. Nothing happens from there.

So I disconnected the hard drive to see if the suspected noise would stop. (I had suspected that cricket noise was coming from the hard drive). But the noise started up again elsewhere.

Could the problem still be a dead hard-drive.

I should now focus on the BIOS:

After I re-installed my motherboard, the settings for SLI and Over-clocking had reverted to what I think are defaults. That surprised me somewhat!
I'm going to reset the CMOS but I was wondering. How could I even get into the BIOS program if my CMOS was wiped or corrupted?

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated
 
Win XP sp3
Corsair HX620w
AMD Opteron 185 dual core
2 gigs corsair xms
Asus a8n sli se
2x8800 gts 320

Well I might not need anymore help as resetting the CMOS did the trick. I wonder why just removing the mb messed up the BIOS. Is that a usual thing?
 
Did you plug the sata in the correct mobo sata connector? Worndering if when you were tinkering if you unhooked the harddrive from the mobo and simply have it hooked up to the wrong port? Just a thought.
 
Win XP sp3
Corsair HX620w
AMD Opteron 185 dual core
2 gigs corsair xms
Asus a8n sli se
2x8800 gts 320

When I re-installed my second card after successfully loading Windows, I got that EZ plug message again, and the system would not start. Removing the 2nd card got Windows to load again.

It seems that the EZ plug boot failure was with 2 cards installed but not one, whether the 2 cards are bridged or not doesn't matter. So I'm thinking vid card problem. Luckily EVGA has a lifetime warranty. Still, got this annoying colony of cricket noise which varies depending on system load. It's always hard to tell where fan noise comes from and I tried process of elimination but noise still there! Maybe this new CPU fan I recently got from AMD under warranty, is making the noise.

It's not the new chipset fan I mentioned earlier, cause the noise was still there when I disconnected it

I haven't tested all the case fans but I don't think the noise is coming from there. The noise level is dependent on system load and I wouldn't think case fans would be affected on my system.
 
I don't think SATA cares what port a device is on. I think the BIOS takes care of that, but I could be wrong. I did make sure that the hard drive was connected to SATA 1 after I had plugged it in a different port during earlier fidgeting with this problem(s)
 
Win XP sp3
Corsair HX620w
AMD Opteron 185 dual core
2 gigs corsair xms
Asus a8n sli se
2x8800 gts 320

I feel dumb because I had connected the chassis speaker wire to the wrong pin, and that's why I said that I didn't get a 1 beep post code. That caused misinterpretation on my part.

The EZ Plug warning after the BIOS was because the BIOS had reset to defaults, whereby my previous configuration had the EZ alarm off. By resetting the CMOS, and then dialing in the correct SLI options in the BIOS got me running again. Windows is stable, games play fine but there might be some residual weirdness. For one thing, about half of my programs in the start menu are now highlighted as if they are new programs. And every time I start Windows, it tells me it found new hardware. And when I went to play NFS Pro Street, the game wouldn't start. I got a message telling me my system time was wrong and asked me if I wanted to connect to a time server. Time servers don't work for me so I updated to the current time in the BIOS clock (which I had forgotton to do). That worked.

I still got this found new hardware thing, though.
The noise I complained about earlier in this thread was coming from a brand new AMD stock CPU fan that they had sent me as replacement for the original that went bad. Oiling the bearing under the sticker helped.
 
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Uncheck 'highlight newly installed programs' by right clicking on your taskbar. That should get rid of them being highlighted. Also, is your system clock set to the correct time? That would seem logical for why you got the error for your system time.
 
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