A7N8X Dlx v2.0 boot hang

[Mark McNally]

Looking for some expertise that might help me resolve a problem that
I've run into recently with my A7N8X Dlx 2.0/AMD 2800 at home. My
machine had be running well for almost a year (mostly turned on) when
one day last month, I decided to shut it down before going to bed. The
next morning, the machine wouldn't boot properly. It would get past
POST, I'd hear the voice begin to say "System Completed
Power-On-Self-Test, Now Booting Operating System" and half way through
that phrase the system seemed to die. The power was still on, but no
WinXP booting.

When I finally got the machine to work that night, I wasn't particularly
happy since nothing I did actually solved a problem. One minute I was
still having boot issues (say trying to boot a KNOPPIX CD-ROM, or WinXP
CD) and the next minute, I tried to boot WinXP and the bloody thing just
worked. After getting the machine to boot I determined that running at
166 bus speed caused my machine to be unstable (I'd lose monitor sync
after about 5 minutes or sooner when trying to test the system using
Prime95). For the next month, I had my machine running at 133 bus speed
(AMD 1650 or something like that) and all has been going well until last
night. It has started behaving like it did at 166; unstable. So now
I've slowed down the bus to 100MHz (AMD 1250?). If I try to speed up
the bus, strange static/short-circuit noises eminate from the speakers
(using onboard sound card) during "normal operation" and then shortly
after booting up, I lose monitor sync but the power is still on (so it's
not as if I'm overheating my CPU, which I don't appear to be doing -
tops out at 53 degrees C). In addition to this, I shutdown my machine
last night to find it behaving exactly as it did about a month ago.
After POST, it freezes without actually booting. I opened my box,
fiddled here and there, pushed wires in and after the sixth attempt, I
boot up.

Other important info:
1 GB Dual Channel RAM (512x2)
nVidia GeForce 4600
Maxtor 200GB SATA Drive
Maxtor 40GB ATA100 Drive
Plextor CD-RW
Creative DVD-ROM
Some Old Floppy Drive
Some Enermax power supply (450 Watts I believe)

What is going on? I'd really appreciate your insight on this.

Sincerely,
Mark

 

[Rob Hemmings]

Looking for some expertise that might help me resolve a problem that
I've run into recently with my A7N8X Dlx 2.0/AMD 2800 at home. My
machine had be running well for almost a year (mostly turned on) when
one day last month, I decided to shut it down before going to bed. The
next morning, the machine wouldn't boot properly. It would get past
POST, I'd hear the voice begin to say "System Completed
Power-On-Self-Test, Now Booting Operating System" and half way through
that phrase the system seemed to die. The power was still on, but no
WinXP booting.

When I finally got the machine to work that night, I wasn't particularly
happy since nothing I did actually solved a problem. One minute I was
still having boot issues (say trying to boot a KNOPPIX CD-ROM, or WinXP
CD) and the next minute, I tried to boot WinXP and the bloody thing just
worked. After getting the machine to boot I determined that running at
166 bus speed caused my machine to be unstable (I'd lose monitor sync
after about 5 minutes or sooner when trying to test the system using
Prime95). For the next month, I had my machine running at 133 bus speed
(AMD 1650 or something like that) and all has been going well until last
night. It has started behaving like it did at 166; unstable. So now
I've slowed down the bus to 100MHz (AMD 1250?). If I try to speed up
the bus, strange static/short-circuit noises eminate from the speakers
(using onboard sound card) during "normal operation" and then shortly
after booting up, I lose monitor sync but the power is still on (so it's
not as if I'm overheating my CPU, which I don't appear to be doing -
tops out at 53 degrees C). In addition to this, I shutdown my machine
last night to find it behaving exactly as it did about a month ago.
After POST, it freezes without actually booting. I opened my box,
fiddled here and there, pushed wires in and after the sixth attempt, I
boot up.

Other important info:
1 GB Dual Channel RAM (512x2)
nVidia GeForce 4600
Maxtor 200GB SATA Drive
Maxtor 40GB ATA100 Drive
Plextor CD-RW
Creative DVD-ROM
Some Old Floppy Drive
Some Enermax power supply (450 Watts I believe)

What is going on? I'd really appreciate your insight on this.

It could be that the graphics card is faulty or isn't seated
properly in the AGP socket (they can work loose with thermal
expansion/contraction or vibration - this is very common on many
mobos). Try removing the AGP card completely and then
plugging it back in (obviously with the power switched off
at the mains plug). Worth a go and costs nothing to try..
HTH

 

[Rob Hemmings]

Looking for some expertise that might help me resolve a problem that
I've run into recently with my A7N8X Dlx 2.0/AMD 2800 at home. My
machine had be running well for almost a year (mostly turned on) when
one day last month, I decided to shut it down before going to bed. The
next morning, the machine wouldn't boot properly. It would get past
POST, I'd hear the voice begin to say "System Completed
Power-On-Self-Test, Now Booting Operating System" and half way through
that phrase the system seemed to die. The power was still on, but no
WinXP booting.

When I finally got the machine to work that night, I wasn't particularly
happy since nothing I did actually solved a problem. One minute I was
still having boot issues (say trying to boot a KNOPPIX CD-ROM, or WinXP
CD) and the next minute, I tried to boot WinXP and the bloody thing just
worked. After getting the machine to boot I determined that running at
166 bus speed caused my machine to be unstable (I'd lose monitor sync
after about 5 minutes or sooner when trying to test the system using
Prime95). For the next month, I had my machine running at 133 bus speed
(AMD 1650 or something like that) and all has been going well until last
night. It has started behaving like it did at 166; unstable. So now
I've slowed down the bus to 100MHz (AMD 1250?). If I try to speed up
the bus, strange static/short-circuit noises eminate from the speakers
(using onboard sound card) during "normal operation" and then shortly
after booting up, I lose monitor sync but the power is still on (so it's
not as if I'm overheating my CPU, which I don't appear to be doing -
tops out at 53 degrees C). In addition to this, I shutdown my machine
last night to find it behaving exactly as it did about a month ago.
After POST, it freezes without actually booting. I opened my box,
fiddled here and there, pushed wires in and after the sixth attempt, I
boot up.

Other important info:
1 GB Dual Channel RAM (512x2)
nVidia GeForce 4600
Maxtor 200GB SATA Drive
Maxtor 40GB ATA100 Drive
Plextor CD-RW
Creative DVD-ROM
Some Old Floppy Drive
Some Enermax power supply (450 Watts I believe)

What is going on? I'd really appreciate your insight on this.

It could be that the graphics card is faulty or isn't seated
properly in the AGP socket (they can work loose with thermal
expansion/contraction or vibration - this is very common on many
mobos). Try removing the AGP card completely and then
plugging it back in (obviously with the power switched off
at the mains plug). Worth a go and costs nothing to try..
HTH

 

[Paul]

It could be that the graphics card is faulty or isn't seated
properly in the AGP socket (they can work loose with thermal
expansion/contraction or vibration - this is very common on many
mobos). Try removing the AGP card completely and then
plugging it back in (obviously with the power switched off
at the mains plug). Worth a go and costs nothing to try..
HTH

I like your unplugging and replugging theory. I would add to
that, try removing the ATX 20 pin connector and reseating it.
Do this with the computer unplugged, as that makes it safe to
play with the hardware. Occasionally, people have trouble with
the contact between the 20 pin connector and their motherboard.
If the 20 pin connector is burned or melted, the problem
will happen over and over again.

It could be some other kind of power problem, heat problem, or
a failing CPU. If you can get into the BIOS, check the hardware
monitor BIOS page, and check the listed voltages, temps,
and fan speeds. See if anything is out of spec.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Mark McNally]

I like your unplugging and replugging theory. I would add to
that, try removing the ATX 20 pin connector and reseating it.
Do this with the computer unplugged, as that makes it safe to
play with the hardware. Occasionally, people have trouble with
the contact between the 20 pin connector and their motherboard.
If the 20 pin connector is burned or melted, the problem
will happen over and over again.

It could be some other kind of power problem, heat problem, or
a failing CPU. If you can get into the BIOS, check the hardware
monitor BIOS page, and check the listed voltages, temps,
and fan speeds. See if anything is out of spec.

I had a stroke of luck today. I pulled out an older power supply (250
or 300W) and was able to test the CPU/Motherboard at 166MHz. I ran
Prime95 for five minutes where before I couldn't even boot up the
machine with the bus speed at 166. It appears I have a dying
power-supply. This is great relief!

Thanks for your suggestions.

Mark