J
Jim Shaffer, Jr.
After running my P4P800 for about a week, I got tired of wondering why my BIOS
(version 1006 according to the sticker on the chip) didn't have Turbo memory
mode as listed in the manual. So I upgraded it to 1010, downloaded from
asus.com.tw, via EZ Flash. It booted and ran at the default settings, so I
rebooted and enabled Turbo mode. On exiting the setup screen, the system froze
with a blank screen. The board is supposed to have CPU Parameter Reset, meaning
that if it doesn't boot because of bogus settings it's supposed to reset to the
default settings at the next boot. It didn't -- not with the reset button and
not with the power switch, and not after multiple tries. I switched off the
power supply, removed the battery and closed the Clear CMOS jumper to no avail
-- I even let it sit overnight with no power. It neither beeps nor puts up any
kind of error message when powered up.
I tried all the things I could find suggested anywhere on the net -- powering up
with a floppy or a CD in the drive and holding Alt-F2 in hopes that it would
re-EZFlash, removing the AGP card, and removing the memory and reinserting one
module at a time to force re-detection of hardware. Nothing worked.
I submitted a report on helpdesk.asus.com explaining everything I had done and
including my system configuration in the form above the text entry box. I got
an email asking me to try everything I had explained I had tried and asking for
the information on the other components I had entered in their form! Enough of
this nonsense, I thought, and called them. The tech wasn't interested in my
allegation that CPU Parameter Reset didn't work -- he claimed that it was only
intended to restore a corrupted flashed BIOS, not reset the timing settings!
(Looking at the manual, I see that they call the functionality he described
CrashFree BIOS -- but it doesn't work for me; the board doesn't attempt to load
anything.) I told him that the only indication I got that the board wasn't
completely dead was that if I took the memory out, it would beep three times.
He thought this was a good thing, and told me that I probably had bad memory.
He didn't seem concerned with the fact that I had been running the memory for a
week in various states of overclocking, and suggested I try different memory. I
told him that I didn't have any other DDRAM and didn't know anybody else who
did. He said that they could RMA the board for me, but he would rather I try
different memory first! I told him that I would get back to him.
After reading somewhere that one or two people had restored their boards by
plugging in different memory -- apparently the boards read the timing on the new
memory and readjusted themselves -- I decided that if that worked I would rather
have a working board now than whenever they got a replacement to me, so I went
out and bought the cheapest stick of DDR I could find and plugged it in.
Nothing. So either the board is shot, or the CPU is shot. I'd rather think
it's the board, since other people have had the same problem and there was no
reason to suspect anything was wrong with the CPU.
Now (finally!) my problem is this: if I return the board to them for a new one,
what assurance do I have that the new one will behave? Obviously I wouldn't
ever try setting Turbo mode again, but what if I stumble into another
overclocking setting that causes the same problem? They evidently have a
problem they won't admit to. (I haven't tried discussing with them yet the fact
that others have reported this problem, but the tech I talked to certainly
didn't seem to have had any experience with it since he kept trying to blame it
on something else!)
On the other hand, I don't know what my options are other than eating the cost
of the board and buying something else. The invoice from my retailer says that
all retail-boxed items are directly warranteed by the manufacturer.
(version 1006 according to the sticker on the chip) didn't have Turbo memory
mode as listed in the manual. So I upgraded it to 1010, downloaded from
asus.com.tw, via EZ Flash. It booted and ran at the default settings, so I
rebooted and enabled Turbo mode. On exiting the setup screen, the system froze
with a blank screen. The board is supposed to have CPU Parameter Reset, meaning
that if it doesn't boot because of bogus settings it's supposed to reset to the
default settings at the next boot. It didn't -- not with the reset button and
not with the power switch, and not after multiple tries. I switched off the
power supply, removed the battery and closed the Clear CMOS jumper to no avail
-- I even let it sit overnight with no power. It neither beeps nor puts up any
kind of error message when powered up.
I tried all the things I could find suggested anywhere on the net -- powering up
with a floppy or a CD in the drive and holding Alt-F2 in hopes that it would
re-EZFlash, removing the AGP card, and removing the memory and reinserting one
module at a time to force re-detection of hardware. Nothing worked.
I submitted a report on helpdesk.asus.com explaining everything I had done and
including my system configuration in the form above the text entry box. I got
an email asking me to try everything I had explained I had tried and asking for
the information on the other components I had entered in their form! Enough of
this nonsense, I thought, and called them. The tech wasn't interested in my
allegation that CPU Parameter Reset didn't work -- he claimed that it was only
intended to restore a corrupted flashed BIOS, not reset the timing settings!
(Looking at the manual, I see that they call the functionality he described
CrashFree BIOS -- but it doesn't work for me; the board doesn't attempt to load
anything.) I told him that the only indication I got that the board wasn't
completely dead was that if I took the memory out, it would beep three times.
He thought this was a good thing, and told me that I probably had bad memory.
He didn't seem concerned with the fact that I had been running the memory for a
week in various states of overclocking, and suggested I try different memory. I
told him that I didn't have any other DDRAM and didn't know anybody else who
did. He said that they could RMA the board for me, but he would rather I try
different memory first! I told him that I would get back to him.
After reading somewhere that one or two people had restored their boards by
plugging in different memory -- apparently the boards read the timing on the new
memory and readjusted themselves -- I decided that if that worked I would rather
have a working board now than whenever they got a replacement to me, so I went
out and bought the cheapest stick of DDR I could find and plugged it in.
Nothing. So either the board is shot, or the CPU is shot. I'd rather think
it's the board, since other people have had the same problem and there was no
reason to suspect anything was wrong with the CPU.
Now (finally!) my problem is this: if I return the board to them for a new one,
what assurance do I have that the new one will behave? Obviously I wouldn't
ever try setting Turbo mode again, but what if I stumble into another
overclocking setting that causes the same problem? They evidently have a
problem they won't admit to. (I haven't tried discussing with them yet the fact
that others have reported this problem, but the tech I talked to certainly
didn't seem to have had any experience with it since he kept trying to blame it
on something else!)
On the other hand, I don't know what my options are other than eating the cost
of the board and buying something else. The invoice from my retailer says that
all retail-boxed items are directly warranteed by the manufacturer.