A7N8X-X passes POST then hangs

[CarnMeynen]

Hi Ppl

Today I received parts for a new computer, the list is...

Black Internal 3.5' 13 In 1 Card Reader With Additional USB Port
Maxtor 6L200P0 Diamondmax 10 200Gb 7200rpm ATA133 8mb Cache
1GB DDR PC2700 333MHz 184pin Extra Value Ram
Asus A7N8X-X SKT A Nforce2 AGP X8 Sound USB 2.0 Motherboard Retail Box
A-2548-I ATX Slim/Desktop Case in Black with USB2.0/Audio+80mm Fan and
350w PSU
3 x Sapphire Radeon 7000 64MB DDR TV-Out PCI Retail
Samsung 16x48 DVD Rom Internal IDE OEM Black
AMD Sempron 2500+ (SDA2500BOX) Processor Skt A 256KB Cache FSB333

When plugged in and switched on it went through it's POST and beeped,
tested RAM but then hangs. Del won't take me into the BIOS and the BIOS
won't check the drives.

I tried unplugging each item, including the graphics cards, 3.5 card
reader, HD, DVD and DVD Rewriter with no change. I also tried plugging
in a FDD to see if the BIOS was trying to find one, but still it hangs.

I've built a few computers and had similar problems when the IDE cables
were loose in there sockets, but in this case I removed them altogether
so that ain't the problem.

So, hey, can anybody help here?

Andrew Sprott

 

[Keith Whitfield]

Not sure if this is related but i read somewhere that these boards won't run
the AMD Sempron without the latest bios. You needed to flash it up using an
older style cpu like the athlon then use the sempron. This was for the A7n8x
Delux. Could be the problem. I'm sure someone will correct me if im wrong

Keith

 

[dino]

is the RAM 2 sticks or 1??....if 2 try pulling 1

 

[CarnMeynen]

Just the one stick. In the morning I'm taking in my MB to have it's
BIOS flashed. I will write back here to say if it works.

Andrew

 

[Paul]

Just the one stick. In the morning I'm taking in my MB to have it's
BIOS flashed. I will write back here to say if it works.

Andrew

There are two ways to construct 1GB sticks. The "good" way is
with 64Mx8 type chips. The other (cheaper) way is with 128Mx4
chips. I read recently, that Nforce2 doesn't support a 1GB
module that uses 128Mx4 chips. The consequence should be that
only 512MB of memory is detected.

You might borrow a stick of RAM from somewhere, and try it
in place of the 1GB. Only if you run out of other things
to try.

You can see the price difference between good and not so
good 1GB modules here:

http://www.portatech.com/catalog/memory.asp?ID=285

Paul

 

[CarnMeynen]

Hi Paul

The 1GB stick was 64x8 but still didn't work. So I put in a Crucial
512Mb stick and it works fine.

One thing I noticed about the Sempron and the MB, is even though the
CPU clockspeed is reported as 1050Mhz and the FSB is reported as 200Mhz
the machine still feels a hell of a lot faster. I had to have the BIOS
flashed to take the Sempron. Is this some kind of a quick fix just to
get the CPU working?

Andrew

 

[DDC]

Hi, i think the board had some trouble at the begining with i gig
sticks for 400mhz one because it could take more than 1.5 gig of that
ram speed but its was fix by the bios update and some other bugs fixed
with memory stuff.


Anyway have you notice any speed gain with the semptron core? Witch
one did you get and what was your last cpu on that board.

TY.

 

[Paul]

Hi Paul

The 1GB stick was 64x8 but still didn't work. So I put in a Crucial
512Mb stick and it works fine.

One thing I noticed about the Sempron and the MB, is even though the
CPU clockspeed is reported as 1050Mhz and the FSB is reported as 200Mhz
the machine still feels a hell of a lot faster. I had to have the BIOS
flashed to take the Sempron. Is this some kind of a quick fix just to
get the CPU working?

Andrew

According to the supported CPU list, BIOS 1010 is required
for Semprons:

http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppo...x?type=1&name=A7N8X-X&SLanguage=en-us&cache=1

You can do more searches here:
http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Get a copy of CPUZ from http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php as it
will display the vital statistics of your system. That will
tell you what operating speed is being used.

At least one person here, thinks that 1GB sticks should work with
Nforce2:

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/any...cks-vt54472.html?highlight=nforce2+1gb+sticks

And Crucial lists 1GB sticks for A7N8X-X:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=A7N8X-X&tabid=AM

To know more about your 1GB stick, you would need to look up
the memory characteristics based on the part number of the
memory chips. Making 1GB modules with 64Mx8 is the most expensive
way to do it, so if the DIMM was a "bargain", chances are it is
constructed with cheaper stacked chips or x4 devices.

Nforce2 is picky about RAM, and for my machine, some CAS2
Ballistix made it stable with 3x512MB at DDR400. Getting the
RAM to work, is very much a crapshoot. (And this happens with
other brands of motherboard, so it is a chipset characteristic.)

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/can...x-x-mb-vt55127.html?highlight=a7n8x+1gb+stick

Paul