Martin said:
Paul, thank. I can't find the darn speaker pins. There is a front panel
(audio header) and one set of pins that read (spdif) in the manual. I have
to play around with it a little bit more. I wondering if something is
grounding on the bottom of the board? I might have to loosen it up and raise
it a little and then boot it to see if this makes a difference if I can't
get the speaker hooked up.
What's funny is that I am using Kingston memory. There site says that I
should be using KVR667D2N5/1G. But the memory that I got from Best Buy has
on it that reads KVR667D2/1GR on it. I see the that NewEgg has that model
so I don't know if maybe I might have the wrong memory in there. Like you
said, it would be a big help if I can hear the error code. Arrgg!, it's
never easy.
Note: I don't have a video card installed in it right now because mine was a
AGP. This board requires PCI-Express. So I have been trying to get this
thing going with just the onboard video. Maybe I need to go out and buy a
video card now.
thanks,
Martin
The modules appear to be identical, so I don't think that is the problem.
Initially the trailing "R" bothered me, but comparing these two datasheets,
I can't see an obvious difference between them. The datasheets differ in
age by a couple years.
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR667D2N5_1G.pdf
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR667D2_1GR.pdf
When I said speaker, I was referring to the computer case internal speaker.
Since the motherboard has a piezoelectric device in the lower right hand
corner of the board, the connection to the speaker should not be needed.
You can visually verify that the piezo is present - if it is missing, then
you'd need to find "SPKR" pins on the PANEL header, and hook up a normal
computer case internal speaker. (I checked the manual, and "PANEL1" is
a 2x5, with four interfaces total - reset_sw/power_sw/HDD_LED/MSG_LED -
so no SPKR there.)
You shouldn't need a video card. My suggestion to remove any video card
and RAM, is to try to get a beep code. To generate a beep, generally you need
the CPU installed, and a valid BIOS chip in the BIOS chip socket. If
the motherboard is working, the BIOS code can discover the RAM is missing,
and that should generate a beep pattern.
When installing a motherboard, the standoffs should only be installed in
holes, where there is a matching plated hole on the underside of the
board. For example, on my Nforce2 board, one location must remain blank,
because there is no hole that matches. When users of that board install
a standoff underneath that point, it shorts out one channel of the onboard
audio. The thing is, the plated holes are at ground potential (they aren't
separated electrically), The intent is, for ground to be connected to the
bottom of the board. (Perhaps better for emissions - not sure it really
is the best thing for electrostatic protection.)
When I position a board in a case, I use a video card, a PCI card, and the
motherboard. The purpose of the two cards, is to check alignment of the
slots. Usually, the mechanical alignment is pretty good, so that when
viewing the standoffs, the threads are dead center. I start with the
board dead center, tighten a couple screws, and then check that my test
cards move smoothly into and out of the slots. If not, the board may need
to be jockeyed a tiny bit, so everything works well.
But trying the board outside the computer case, will eliminate shorting to
the bottom as a problem.
I'm not really certain, what the significance is of the power going off
after 30 seconds. If the motherboard was a Biostar, I might suspect their
12V wiring method. Biostar likes to join the 12V from the main connector,
to the 12V from the 2x2 connector. In theory, an ATX 2.0+ supply might not
appreciate that. If the actual supply outputs were independent (12V1/12V2),
you could get a loop current, which may trigger overcurrent. But with the ATX
power supplies, that doesn't seem to be the way they are designed. It is
more likely to be one common 12V output circuit, plus two current limiters
(one for 12V1 and one for 12V2).
If you cannot get it to beep, with the RAM missing, but a processor installed
and both fan header and ATX12V 2z2 connected, I'd send the board back. You
could check for voltages on the main connector, with a multimeter, to see
if the power supply is delivering what it is supposed to. I clip the
multimeter black lead, to a screw in the I/O area, and then only have
to handle the red lead to make voltage measurements. On modern supplies,
you'd expect to find +3.3V, +5V, +12V (main and 2x2), -12V (used by serial
port perhaps), +5VSB (standby power while sleeping). Your manual shows the
pinout for the 24 pin connector. BTW - this has got to be the biggest
PDF for a motherboard manual, I've ever downloaded
35MB! Good thing
I'm not on dialup.
http://www.ecsusa.com/DLfile/manual/mb/eng/p4/P4M900T-M _v1.0.zip (35MB)
Paul
