P5P800 boot ?

[Bobby Mac]

Hi,

I have recently updated the bios on this MB to 1006 now each time i start
the PC from cold i have to press the reset switch or press the power button
2 or 3 times to boot it just locks up after checking memory.

Does anyone have this problem? my config is Maxtor Sata HD on SATA1 and DVD
writer and Rom on IDE2, everything is configured correctly i just cant find
whats wrong and its driving me mad.

TIA
Bobby

 

[Joe]

Remove and reinstall the memory serveral times. I found that solve my
problem. Sometimes the contacts don't make a good connection.

 

[Paul]

Hi,

I have recently updated the bios on this MB to 1006 now each time i start
the PC from cold i have to press the reset switch or press the power button
2 or 3 times to boot it just locks up after checking memory.

Does anyone have this problem? my config is Maxtor Sata HD on SATA1 and DVD
writer and Rom on IDE2, everything is configured correctly i just cant find
whats wrong and its driving me mad.

TIA
Bobby

Things to try:

1) In the statement above "press the power button 2 or 3 times",
are you pressing the power button and nothing happens ? Or,
in each case where you pressed the power button, it always
hangs just after the POST memory test ? If the computer
refuses to start at all, that could be a power supply problem.
If it reliably starts and you see a POST screen in each case,
but it fails to pass the memory test, perhaps you could get
a copy of memtest86 from memtest.org, and test the memory
thoroughly.

Also, Joe recommended reseating the memory. Are you certain
the memory is fully seated ? Sometimes the sockets are a
pretty tight fit, and the memory is not all the way down into
the socket. The best way to seat the memory, is while the
motherboard is outside the case, because you can put something
solid underneath the DIMM area, to support the motherboard
while pressing the DIMMs into place. After DIMMs have been
inserted and removed a couple of times, the insertion force
will be a lot less. And the thing you use to support the
motherboard, should not scratch the bottom of the board.
Maybe a soft cover phone book would be a good support.

1) Roll back the BIOS to the old version you were using
prior to 1006. Do the symptoms still happen ?

HTH,
Paul

 

[Bobby Mac]

Thank you for taking time out to answer,

I have seated the memory correctly and i have checked again at your
recommendation,
unfortunately i don't think its a memory issue, the bios checks the mem its
only when i get to checking the
ide/sata drives after the mem check in boot up that it hangs which leads me
to think is there a problem with Maxtor Sata drives?


I don't really know i am clutching at straws here i have uninstalled AI
Booster to see if this corrects the problem and it still exists, could it be
a setting in the Bios?

To answer some of Pauls questions
My dims are Crucial value select 400mhz 2x256 =1gb configured in blues slots
running at dual channel.

And sorry i forgot to mention it happened with my old bios to.

Someone please help i wish i had gone the 925 chipset route now.

TIA
Bobby

 

[Bill]

Well I posted a note above. Probably not a BIOS prob.
There are adapters that will let you plug-jn a 20 pin conector but
the PS may be difficient. PC Power and Cooling recommended a 470 W
unit with the 24 pin wired connection correctly supplying the 12V
I suspect you have a power problem. The new CUP uses 100 W by itself
and with dual drives you probably need a 500W + size. PCP&C will
overnight you a unit.
FWIW
bill
atlanta

 

[Michael W. Ryder]

Well I posted a note above. Probably not a BIOS prob.
There are adapters that will let you plug-jn a 20 pin conector but
the PS may be difficient. PC Power and Cooling recommended a 470 W
unit with the 24 pin wired connection correctly supplying the 12V
I suspect you have a power problem. The new CUP uses 100 W by itself
and with dual drives you probably need a 500W + size. PCP&C will
overnight you a unit.
FWIW
bill
atlanta

I am using a Zalman 400 Watt power supply with this board and a 3.4 GHz
Prescott and have no problems with the 20 pin ATX connector. I did not
use an adapter to 24 pins. I tried a 24 pin power supply on it earlier
but did not like it and it made no difference. The only problem I had
originally was getting the heat sink properly mounted and it being too
close to my power supply. A new case solved the second problem by
moving the power supply a couple of inches higher.

 

[Paul]

Thank you for taking time out to answer,

I have seated the memory correctly and i have checked again at your
recommendation,
unfortunately i don't think its a memory issue, the bios checks the mem its
only when i get to checking the
ide/sata drives after the mem check in boot up that it hangs which leads me
to think is there a problem with Maxtor Sata drives?


I don't really know i am clutching at straws here i have uninstalled AI
Booster to see if this corrects the problem and it still exists, could it be
a setting in the Bios?

To answer some of Pauls questions
My dims are Crucial value select 400mhz 2x256 =1gb configured in blues slots
running at dual channel.

And sorry i forgot to mention it happened with my old bios to.

Someone please help i wish i had gone the 925 chipset route now.

TIA
Bobby

Even if you are not having a problem with memory, you should still
use memtest86 from memtest.org . It tests all of the memory, and
even moves the executable out of the way and tests underneath. A
very thorough memory test. You should test the memory, in case
it needs to be returned before the warranty is up. It takes way too
long for an OS crash to tell you something is wrong with the memory.

Here is one thing you can try. Go into the BIOS and set
"AGP/PCI frequency" to [66.66/33.33] instead of the default auto.
That forces the clock chip to use perfectly standard frequencies,
and prevents the hub bus from being overclocked. What I don't
know, is if this improves the SATA clock or not.

The Intel datasheet for the ICH5 shows the SATA interfaces receive
a separate 100MHz clock. As long as the clockgen is not sending a
different frequency than that (while using AI Booster), the SATA
interface should work.

I have seen sporadic problems listed with some Maxtor SATA drives,
but it is hard to say if there is a design problem with them or
not.

Something you have to realize, is SATA is pretty high tech stuff.
It is a lot more technically challenging to run a low jitter signal
at 1.5Gb/sec, than it is to do the stuff that is on the PATA cable.
One of the reasons I still like to use my collection of PATA
drives.

HTH,
Paul