Random crashes - K8T Neo

I'm a bit of a novice, and I'm not quite sure how to diagnose this, so I'm looking for some advice.
The computer will freeze for a few seconds, the monitor will blank out, and then I'm stuck. No beeps or any other kind of alarms. The power stays on. I have to reset the power to reboot and I generally find quite a few hard drive errors on the ensuing chkdsk (deletes incorrect indexes, corrupt files, etc). Sometimes this occurs within one or two minutes or booting up. Sometimes the computer can be powered on for a day or two with no problems. Sometimes it'll happen multiple times a day; sometimes not at all - you get the idea.  I'm using a new mb, cpu, and hard drive, so I'm sure where to start looking for the problem. Here's what I'm running with:
Motherboard: K8T Neo-FIS2R
CPU: Athlon 3000+
Bios version 1.8
Aspire AS500W Series Power Supply
Voltage (as read from bios)
 VCore: 1.504
 +5.0V: 5.140
 +12V: 11.802
 -12V: -12.071
 -5.0V: -5.026
Battery: 3.552
+5VSB: 4.993
Ram
 Dimm 1: 256MB Samsung PC3200
 Dimm 2: 256MB Samsung PC3200
 Dimm 3: 512MB Kingston ValueRam PC2700
Seagate ST320082 200GB SATA Drive (Promise driver)
ATI Radeon 9800XT Video card with Catalyst 4.1 driver
Win XP Pro SP2
CPU temp idles at 38C, goes up to about 43C when maxxed. Using stock AMD cooling and 6 case fans
My first guess is that my mis-matched RAM could be the problem, but I don't know much about this myself. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks...

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Originally posted by Apple renegade
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Originally posted by zoom314
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Originally posted by DoubleOZero
Eh well, it crashed again this morning. So far temp problems, memory problems, connection problems, and video card seating problems have been ruled out... any idea what I should try next, or is it time to RMA this thing?
Do You have any other psu unit? I'd try and see If getting an Enermax or an Antec cures Your problem.
C'mon. The guy has 34amps on his 12v rail.
Even Q-tec PSU's aren't that flaky, to cause that amount of crashes.
It was just a thought and I was trying to help. Geez...
Half of what He's asking about look like power problems to Me and It's not like It's an Antec or an Enermax or even a Thermaltake for that matter.
This person does possibly have a few too many fans though and the Temps don't look too bad, As They are cooler Temps than My 2600+ NF2 system has, Currently 42C/46C(It's in a Desktop ATX case, Not a Tower), I do have a Tower case with temps like His/Hers is, So they don't seem too bad.
As what isn't being said is, Does this person have enough actual amps coming from the psu for what is running in the PC?
I've looked at some of those Aspire psu's and I don't think much of the heatsinks on them, It might work Ok on an Athlon xp-m (K7) system, But not on something newer and faster.
And This Person should try running with just the Kingston ram, It couldn't hurt to try and make sure that the ram is fully seated too.
And Yeah update those drivers for both the chipset and the video card.

Similar Messages

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    Are you suggesting my card/pc isn't receiving enough power to work at full blast?
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    And if by a "sirene" they mean a constant beeping sound, then yeah it's most probably a voltage problem.
    [edit]
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    +5V  30A
    +12V  16A
    +5Vsb  2A
    -5V  0.3A
    -12V  0.8A
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    And in my BIOS they fluctuate as follows :
    Vcore  1.552V
    +5V  5.168V
    +12V  11.923V
    -12V  -12.071V
    -5V  -5.077V
    Battery 3.520V
    +5V SB  4.993V

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    Win98 has yet to be beat AS the best gaming Platform yet!!!! I say though Doom under DOS 6.22 is better than Doom under Win 95, 98, etc....
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  • MSI K8T Neo - System & Application crash/reboot

    Windows XP Pro, SP 1
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    hey thanks for your reply. yes i made sure everything was enabled and i just fixed my own problem. just for the heck on it i called msi tech support [talked to a real smart fella] and he told me that sometimes you need to jumper the drive when your using a single hard drive. i played with it a few minutes and it worked. its installing xp right now. i guess you learn something new everyday.

  • HEAVY Problems with Linux x86_64 on K8T Neo

    Hello, Community!
    I experience *HEAVY* Problems with Linux on my MSI K8T Neo (FSR). Since the customer support of the german dependancy seems to ignore my call for help I'm in good hope that maybe you can help me out or give me some useful advise.
    First some Hardware Specs of my system:
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    AMD Athlon 64 3000+
    3x 512MB Kingston DDR400
    Enermax EG365P-VE (350W) PSU (3.3V/5V 185W Combinded)
    MSI GeForce FX5200 TDR 128
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    Contrary to the problems I experience while trying to install Linux my Windows XP (32-Bit), as well as a test installation of Windows XP 64-Bit, run like a charm without any problems. Strange but true.
    Since I already read trough several posts in this forum I already tried running my system with memory sticks from another manufacturers as well as with a more powerful PSU. I even removed my tv-card and raid-controller.
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    Has anyone a clue what I can/must do to successfully install Linux?
    Might it be that the BIOS has some flaws that might cause the problems?
    Has anyone managed to install Linux (what distribution) on this Mainboard?
    I would greatly appreciate any help. If you need to know something I haven't provided here please feel free to ask. I'll answer ASAP.
    Thank you in advance.
    P.S.: The system is *NOT* overclocked in any way.

    And now even the last problem is solved ...
    Since I was successful in installing a basic Gentoo system but still failed to install Fedora I reflashed BIOS 1.5. This time I cleared the CMOS by unplugging the PSU, setting the jumper and removing the backup battery.
    Yesterday I only flashed it with the /a switch, which should have cleared the CMOS as well - so far for the theory. However, it once went fine as I upgraded from BIOS 1.1 to 1.4.
    After setting up the BIOS options again I gave it another try and booted from Fedora (Core 2 test 3) install CD: No more complains about the CPU errata, although USB legacy is enabled, and I even went through the installation without any problems.
    It seems as I will stick with Gentoo as my primary distribution since the kernel makes a more "mature" impression than the one from Fedora (i.e. the K8 PowerNOW! Driver seems to be missing in Fedora's Kernel 2.6.5).
    By using an spare Athlon XP Mainboard I worked out that only one of my three Kingston memory sticks had errors - I'm going to replace the faulty stick tomorrow.
    Now for the conclusio:
    Thanks, especially you JLP, for helping me with my issue. Without the advise to use Gentoo, and the included MemTest86, I wouldn't have been able to track down the error to a faulty memory stick that fast since Windows always ran fine.

  • Msi k8t neo fis2r problems part 3

    sometimes when the computer is turned on it just turns the fans and leds on but doesnt boot up...
    most of the time it loads up and i boot to the windows xp cd and i install the drivers for sata and then when it reaches the point of copying the files it will give me a bsod and say that there is a problem with the irql driver and then force me to shut the pc down..
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    i just cant figure out what the heck is going on..any help would be appreciated.my specs are
    "IRQ NOT EQUAL OR LESS"
    athlon 64 3000+ cpu
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    western digital 8mb cache 80 gb sata hard drive
    sapphire radeon 9800 pro 128 mb 8x agp

    fyi look an your cd sticker ity will show power, consumption, but they are way lower than you would think, hard drives,can be only 10 watts, less then some case lights , and fans, cd are  similar.. your video, is the biggy somewhere between 90~150 watts..yikes .next to the cpu..and the mobo can use 50 or so (not sure about new mobos)  not to mention the ram 1024 is @40 watts or so., dont forget about 25watts per pci card, not counting the sound card which can be double....
    ergo the need for a big psu..
    the combined total ratting on a psu is not the max number that the psu is rated, that is surge value.. so a 500 may only hold 400 sustained , and that will drop as the machine heats up, so in the end your 500 may onlyy pull 366 @50'c...

  • K8T800 K8T NEO-FSR Memory Problems

    Just a warning before I start in, this is a pretty long post. I'm going to try to include all the information I can.
    Here's my system right now. It's running Windows XP Professional with all the latest updates.
    Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor. Not overclocked at all.
    Motherboard: MSI K8T800 K8T NEO-FSR, latest BIOS updates from MSI
    Video Card: ATI RADEON 9800PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, latest Catalyst drivers from ATI installed. Not overclocked at all.
    Memory: Mushkin 184 Pin 2x512MB DDR400 PC-3200, running at DDR400 with Auto selected for all the memory timings in the BIOS. Memory placed in DIMM#1 and DIMM#2. Not overclocked at all.
    Hard Drive: Western Digital 80 Gig
    I started experiencing random reboots and critical errors in game applications on Sunday. The computer would randomly reboot at random intervals from Windows. In addition, while running games like Warcraft 3, Asheron's Call, or World of Warcraft I would receive frequent critical errors that certain sections of the memory could not either be read or written to.
    I figured that there was some kind of problem with the memory, so I downloaded Memtest86 and ran it. The first stick of RAM was in DIMM#1 and the second stick in DIMM#2. This was the memory configuration during all the random reboots and critical errors.
    Memtest86 came up with several failures during the 5th phase of the test. The same failures came up upon repeated testing in the same phase of the test. I decided to try to isolate the failure and see if one stick or the other was defective. I yanked out the second stick from DIMM#2 and left the first stick in DIMM#1. The first stick (which I'll refer to as the "good RAM stick") passed the memtest repeatedly. I then stuck the second RAM stick into DIMM#1 alone and the computer would not even POST.
    I then moved the second RAM stick (which I'll refer to as the "bad RAM stick") over to DIMM#2 alone and managed to get it to POST. The bad stick failed the memtest with the exact same errors during the same phase of testing as the combined sticks had failed during the initial test. For the sake of completeness, I moved the bad stick over to DIMM#1 alone and finally managed to get it to POST. However, the bad stick passed the memtest repeatedly. Puzzled, I moved the bad stick over to DIMM#3 alone and tested it there, which it also passed repeatedly. I moved it back into DIMM#2 alone and it failed the test repeatedly again and again.
    Intrigued, I then moved the good RAM stick into DIMM#2 alone, to try to see if perhaps there was some kind of motherboard error occurring. The good stick passed the memtest repeatedly in DIMM#2. I then moved the good stick into DIMM#3 alone and it passed the test repeatedly in that slot.
    After checking the motherboard manual to make sure I could do it, I put the bad stick in DIMM#1 and the good stick in DIMM#3 and ran the memtest. The combined sticks passed the test where previously, while configured in DIMM#1 and DIMM#2, they had failed it. I moved the sticks back into DIMM#1 and DIMM#2 to test again. The combined sticks failed as they had during the initial test.
    I then reconfigured the sticks to DIMM#1 and DIMM#3 again and booted up the system. Although I only had limited testing time last night, I seemed to be totally stable. The system did not reboot at all and I actually managed to play WoW for an hour without a single crash.
    Any suggestions on what's occuring? I figured that maybe the mobo's memory seating in DIMM#2 was messed up, but I wanted to get some more guidance from others.

    Well if it's an Antec Sl-350, that one only has 16A @ 12V, way too little to handle your system.....
    I would get another PSU in any case, as even the TP-380 is bare minimum.....
    Go for the Enermax 465 it has 33A @ 12V and then you are sure it's not a power problem...
    Also, a good PSU is never a waiste of money

  • Woohoo! K8T Neo / Kingston ValueRAM instability fixed

    This is my system, that I've been having random, intermittent instability and corruption problems on :P
    AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (2400 MHz)
    MSI K8T Neo FIS2R (MS-6702)
    eVGA NVIDIA 5900 Ultra 256 MB with original BIOS, latest drivers
    2 x Kingston PC-3200 Value Ram 512 MB (2.6 V 2.5 3 3 8)
    SoundBlaster Live! Value
    HSP56 Micromodem
    Win98 SE with unofficial SP 1.6.2
    DirectX 9.0c
    Old keyboad, PS/2 connection
    Intellimouse Optical with USB connection (but plugged in with PS/2 adapter)
    Western Digital 100 GB & 40 GB hard drivers
    NEC CD-ROM
    Basically, Windows would crash randomly, Rar's would fail to unpack randomly, and games would die rapidly (within minutes). memtest86 did not show anything however Prime95 detected a hardware failure every time within a minute.
    The solution? Do not use 1.8 bios! Use 1.4 bios instead!!
    Even in 1.8 bios with the memory slowed down - 333 Mhz, 3 6 15 6 (the slowest) it still had problems. But with Auto settings in 1.4 BIOS, Prime95 test does not produce failures! And it has the same temperature.
    Now I just need to track down all the corrupt files in my windows installation :(

    Quote
    Originally posted by azagahl
    This is my system, that I've been having random, intermittent instability and corruption problems on :p
    AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (2400 MHz)
    MSI K8T Neo FIS2R (MS-6702)
    eVGA NVIDIA 5900 Ultra 256 MB with original BIOS, latest drivers
    2 x Kingston PC-3200 Value Ram 512 MB (2.6v 2.5-3-3-8)
    SoundBlaster Live! Value
    HSP56 Micromodem
    Win98 SE with unofficial SP 1.6.2
    DirectX 9.0c
    Old keyboad, PS/2 connection
    Intellimouse Optical with USB connection (but plugged in with PS/2 adapter)
    Western Digital 100 GB & 40 GB hard drivers
    NEC CD-ROM
    Basically, Windows would crash randomly, Rar's would fail to unpack randomly, and games would die rapidly (within minutes). memtest86 did not show anything however Prime95 detected a hardware failure every time within a minute.
    The solution? Do not use 1.8 bios! Use 1.4 bios instead!!
    Even in 1.8 bios with the memory slowed down - 333 Mhz, 3-6-15-6 (the slowest) it still had problems. But with Auto settings in 1.4 BIOS, Prime95 test does not produce failures! And it has the same temperature.
    Now I just need to track down all the corrupt files in my windows installation :(
    It sure sounds like something in Win98se is not liking something in the 1.8 Bios or vice versa. As when I had Win98 crashes could happen and It was not a Secure OS either. I didn't bother to upgrade to 98se, I bypassed It and ME and upgraded to Windows 2000 when It came out instead, Now I use Windows XP Pro, And I have no problems(I use the NTFS file system too). Besides I'm not sure that Win98se is even fully supported on a 64bit cpu/motherboard, So I'd get an upgrade soon as possible. When 98se came out cpus were 16bit and 32bit, Not true 64bit cpus like Yours is.

  • K8T neo please help!!!

    hi
    I have a k8t neo board with athlon 64 3200 and G4 mx460vtd and every time I play games it randomly crashes ???
    I have tried every thing I can think of the only thing that made a difference was installing processor driver from AMD which stoped it crashing so often but it still crashes aprox every 30mins
    also I have cool n quiet enabled and running latest core center but it doesnt seem  to clock down at idle it doesnt seem to  do anything except monitor temp and voltage
    anyone have any ideas???

    Quote
    Originally posted by Supafishel
    Quote
    Originally posted by emc2inc
    Quote
    Originally posted by Supafishel
    Quote
    Originally posted by scottg26
    Is your ram on MSI's list of approved ram?
    what sort of CPU cooler do you have?
    Hey Scott,
    Are you saying that if the Memory is not on the approved list, I shouldnt get it for the K8T Neo-FIS2R?  I was going to get the Kingston HyperX PC3200 for it...but I wanted to check with you guys first before getting it.
    Thanks to: Wonkanoby
    The link below is the list as of today of supported hardware, RAM included.
    http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_trp_detail.php?UID=496&NAME=MS-6702
    Unless someone can see a reason not to:
    I am ordering the following Kinston HyperX PC3200 RAm:
    2 x KHX3200/512 512MB 64M x 64-Bit PC3200 CL2 184-Pin DIMM running at Timing Reference:2-2-2-6-1 at +2.6V
    Even if it is not on the list it looks like it will work. I should have the ram  & other things necessary to build the system by the end of next Sunday. I will report thereafter.
    Hey EMC2INC,
    Did the HyperX PC3200 ram work on your motherboard?  I'm looking to have almost the same setup as you, but just wanted to check to see if all is good with yours.
    Well, my supplier crapped out on me at the last minute and I had to either wait till the new year or get OCZPC3200EL. So that is what I went with. This was my first build from scratch and my 4 hour estimate emnded up taking me about 20 hours in total. However, the system now worlks beautifully with SUSE linux 9.0 for AMD64.  1 GB of ram and 200 GB of hard disk are awfully nice.And while I think they are overpriced, those LianLi cases are truly wonderful.
    I will be putting up Windows XP ( a trial version) just to see what it is like.  I won't be using windows long term.

  • My Unofficial K8t Neo Guide

    Disclaimer: You try any and all troubleshooting at YOUR OWN RISK!!
    Here is my unofficial guide to the K8t Neo fisr2 If you Like It give it a thumbs up so it will stick out. I will warn you it is long and I will edit off and on.
    to add as needed.
    first I'll start off with components,
    CASE..you will need an atx case with good cooling a few extra fans like a blowhole at the top can help cooling, also bundle cables and power leads
    so that they don't interfere with airflow.
    MOTHERBOARD,...This is based on the K8TNEO series, when you attach it to your case make sure that is is mounted to risers to keep it from contacting case, they are usually small brass pins, also make sure that all the mounting screw are secure and in place, this will prevent the PCB from flexing and cracking as you install components, there should be around 9 or so screws, that usually go into the riser pins or raised case mounting points,don't forget to use those fiber or plastic insulated washers. These should be the only case contact point to the mobo other then the back plate with all the usb, net jacks etc..
    Also use all of the mount points you can..if not you can crack mobo putting in cards etc...
    CPU...Athlon64 processor2800+, 3000+, 3200+, or a 3400+, all 754 pin chips...k8neo CAN NOT USE FX chips or Opterons. 3200,&3000 are basically the same chip, same clockspeed of 2.0 ghz but the l2 cache is different 3200 1mb...3000 512k, you may not notice the difference in many applications but will see 2~10% diff in benchmark testing, the 3000 is usually about $75 cheaper
    the 2800 is a newer model an a good way to get into 64bit without high cost.
    PSU.... one of the most overlooked and most important component,
    that old 300 watter you have from your old duron 800 don't even try.PSU's have caused a lot of trouble with a64 systems, they use a lot of power Get a good name brand psu if you can, and make sure it is at least 400 watts and has at the minimum of 20a on 12v, also look at combined total wattage
    the psu must have a 20 pin connector and a 4  Pin( Square) Connector, and there is Only 1, Called the+12V 4 Pin Processor Connector.
    some of the recommended brands are enermax,and antec.
    Here is the reason most problems are the psu
    amd64 uses 12v power, Intel chips used a lot of 5v power.
    so until now most big psu's pushed 5 v not 12v
    almost everything in your computer uses 12v except ram (3.3V)
    AMD 64 and motherboard =12a @12V
    so your already at 12A with no fan,s no hd, no CD,no DVD ,no mobo chip-set , no mem, no sound..etc  
    so what happens is your mem gets starved for power and then gives out errors,in your data, which = corrupt sata,or it fails to post. .
    MEMMORY...Another big trouble spot,not just with the MSI board but with Via chip-set, and or the A64 memory controller.
    DDR non ecc- single channel 400 is baseline although slower chips also work, The CPU's memory unit only supports 4 banks total so in order to use three sockets at least two of the memory sticks have to be 1 bank,.one bank or two bank chips look similar so check specs, dual bank chips usually have chips on the back as well. mem should match type and speed. if you run into problems try going into bios and limiting ram to 333.mem should match type and speed.
    (edited out till i find more info [STRIKEOUT] if using two mem sticks it is best to use slots 1 and 3,[/STRIKEOUT])
    edit :ok tiresmoke just replied so have a look. "One thing that often does not get addressed. I had a couple Blue Screens early on. Here is how I fixed it. I run my RAM in sockets 1 and 3. 1 and 2 gave a little instability.Yes I decided to keep mine in slot 1/3 but I did test in 1/2 since I changed Bios. Typically slot 1/3 can slow you down but it did not with mine so best to say that difference RAM will give different symptoms. Try combinations to find what works best for you."
    LOL Keep in mind that Jocko uses 3 sticks of dual bank RAM and according to AMD they only support 4 banks total. Jocko has 6 so you do the math.
    you can check msi's website for compatible ram, but be careful it can be confusing,
    they list by part numbers,
    but some known configurations that work are:
    I would stay away from corsair xms mem right now many people have problems.
    corsair and kingston owners may want to look here
    AMD 3000+ systems...
    BIOS 1.2
    2 x 512 - Corsair CMX DDR400 @2-3-2-5
    2 x 512 - Corsair Twin Pro DDR400 @ 2-3-2-6
    2 x 512 - Corsair Value Select DDR400 @ defaults
    1 x 512 - Geil Golden Dragon DDR400 @ 2-3-3-6 (2.7V)
    2 x 512 - Hynix DDR400 @ 2-3-3-6
    2 x 512 - Kingmax DDR433 @ 2.5-3-3-6
    2 x 512 - Kingston DDR400 @ 3-3-3-8
    1 x 512 - Kingston HyperX DDR400 @ (defaults?)
    1 x 512 - Kingston ValueRam (KVR400X64C3A) DDR400? @ (Defaults?)
    2 x 512 - Muskin Level 1 DDR400 @ 2-3-2-6
    2 x 512 - Muskin Level 2 DDR433 @ (defaults?)
    2 x 256 + 1 x 512 - Muskin Basic DDR400 @ 2.5-3-3-8
    1 x 1024 - OCZ EL DDR400 @ 2-3-2-6
    BIOS 1.3b2
    2 x 512 OCZ EL DDR433 @ 2-3-3-7
    AMD 3200+ systems...
    BIOS 1.1
    2 x 512 - Mushkin Level 1 Black DDR433 @ 2.5-3-3-6
    BIOS 1.2
    2 x 512 - Apacer DDR400 @ 3-4-4-8 (2.5v)
    2 x 512 - Corsair Twin X DDR400 @ 2-3-2-6
    1 x 1024 - Corsair TwinX DDR400 @ 2-3-2-6
    2 x 512 - Crucial DDR400 @ defaults
    2 x 512 - Elixer OEM DDR400 @ defaults
    1 x 1024 - GeIL GoldenDragon DDR400? @ defaults
    2 x 512 - Geil Value Series 512MB DDR 2.5-3-3-6
    2 x 512 - Hynix DDR400 @ 2-3-3-6
    2 x 512 - Kingston HyperX KX DDR433 @ 2-3-3-8
    2 x 512 - Kingston HyperX DDR400 @ (defaults?)
    2 x 512 - Kingston HyperX DDR400 @ 2.5-3-3-8
    2 x 512 - Mushkin Level 2 DDR400 @ 2-2-2-5 (2.75V)
    2 x 256 - Mushkin Level 2 DDR400 @ 2-2-2-5
    2 x 256 + 1 x 512 - Muskin Basic DDR400 @ (defaults?)
    2 x 512 - Twinx CLPRO DDR400 @ (defaults?)
    2x512- Pny Verto DDR433 @defualts
    AMD 3400+ systems...
    BIOS 1.2
    2 x 512 - Kingmax (MPXC22D-38KT3R) DDR400 @ defaults
    2 x 512 - Mushkin Level 2 Black DDR433 @ 2-3-2-5
    you may have to email you mem manufacturer and manually set timings and voltages to get your memory working.
    HARD DRIVES......Here you have alot of choices, basically two categories, SATA and PATA(IDE). There are many brands and speeds, IDE drives come in different speeds, such as ata33, ata66, ata 100, ata 133 for hard drives, the 33,100,133, being theoretical maximum transfer rating MB/sec.
    newer ata(IDE)hard drives are ata100 which is ultra 5, and ata133 ,ultra6 is ,
    PIO mode is the standard data transfer mode without the ultra enhancements, the fastest being 16.66 mb/sec. ultra 2 is 33 mb/sec . So when i say my CD,DVD, and DVD are ultra 2 it means they transfer at a maximum of 33 mb/sec, and my Maxtor hardrives are ultra 6 and have a maximum transfer of133 mb/sec. my old zip100 transfers at a max of 16 mb/sec since its in pio mode. Note these are maximum speeds, my hardrive transfers more like 65 mb/sec sustained according to SIS Sandra.
    That is why SATA 150 is such a big deal, vs say a Western digital ata100
    SATA is a different interface all together and can transfers closer to its maximum
    theoretical speed. BUT the pci bus itself is limited to 133 mb/sec so an add-on card
    should never be able to reach over 133, regardless, of SCSI,IDE, or SATA
    so on the k8t neo you have some choices. With the IDE you can use, IDE1,2, or 3
    IDE1&2 are ata100. ) to attach use a 80pin round or flat cable, the first slot goes into the mobo, the middle connector is for a slave or should be left empty, use the end for master, or single drive. you must also setup jumpers for hd or cds.
    The master is primary unit and the slave is secondary unit, for each channel.
    Or use the Cable Select jumper and USUALLY the BIOS will select the drive for you.
    IDE1 & 2 is ata100, or 133 depending on board if using for only 2 drives put them on different channels
    ...ie master on IDE 1, and master on IDE 2 . that way they will have maximum bandwidth. especially for disk to disk copies or burning
    IDE3 RAID is ata133, or can be raid 0 or 1 by the promise chip. 0 being striped for performance,1 being mirrored for safety, mirror only protects hd from failure,not viruses,or corruption for that you need a backup or as i prefer a drive image program such as accronis trueimage..linux compatible.and Norton ghost.you will first have to enable the promise chip in the bios, then you have to load drivers by hitting F6 during windows installation, and insert floppy drive, yes you will need a floppy, at least for initial setup. If you want to set up raid you will have to do that first before loading windows,by hitting ctrl+F  (read quick user's guide Serial ata raid, serial ata) only hd's can use ide3.If you don't have enough IDE slots you can add on pci card with one or two more headers for up to 4 more drives, I added a Maxtor ultra ata133, since i have 5 idehd's and 3 DVD/cds.
    SATA, here you have two choices, use the Promise chip set or the Via. Either one or both can be set to raid0 or 1, see users guide to setup, You will also have to enable them first in bios, and F6 and load floppy drivers to use in windows install, or load drivers in windows if using an existing install. either chip-set can be set for raid, in the manual, opinions are that the Via is faster, but you wont have a HD LED activity indicator light, The promise will have a HD light, but is slightly slower.
    Also note that SATAs don't OC as well as IDE hard drives, they can even crash and loose data.
    always make a backup of your computer, and remember raid 1 does nothing for virus, or contaminated installs.
    SOUND....Here you have a few choices, On board or Card, unfortunately not both, yet.(UPDATE Bios Version 1.5 and above will fix this)... If using a card there have been some issues with Audigy 1 cards, but there may be a cure in this threadhttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threadid=46849&sid=( Moved to stickies) audigy2 and 2zs cards work fine as do turtle beach.
    on-board sound is not as high definition and uses some CPU cycles, so a card might be advantageous to gamers.
    REALTEK GIGABIT...Is the on-board Ethernet, you will need to load drivers once in windows, it has caused some problems booting, as it can be set to a boot device as well. you will get a message "failed to boot press any key."..then "ntdlr error"...to fix this you may need to hit the key combination during boot to set it up, it will bring you to a menu, you need to set boot order, i recommend setting it to bios, and you can adjust or disable message and time length it is displayed.
    VIDEO CARDS-  You should install an agp 8x directx9 video card for best performance. Ati has better directx support so is better for gaming, but Nvida has better OpenGL so if you want to do 3d in Linux, you have better luck with Nvida.
    When you set up windows, install via 4-1 drivers first, then the video drivers, check video manufacturer's website for updated drivers. make sure any extra power leads are plugged in. In bios Agp should be  fast write enabled, and
    if you are using 1024 of ram aperture size to 256, but check 3dmark to see which setting is faster.
    BIOS- NO BIOS INSTALLED This is a message that you see during boot up from the promise on-board raid saying that it found no drives attached to its SATA or IDE channels so it's not installed the BIOS.This IS NOT a problem or anything to worry about!
    jumping Bios reset jumper, be careful, make sure power is off.  jump it and return it to the original position. If you power on with jumper in reset position you can erase your bios...requiring a Return to Manufacturer Authorization(RMA)
    I have had no problems using windows updating to the latest bios ,It cured some issues, such as firewire ports, sound blaster audigy1 troubles,tweaked temps displayed,and so on. but be sure to have a backup of original bios disk. I have heard new 1.8 beta bios cures Newcastle temp problems.
    some good settings are.. SMART enabled this will warn you of hard disk failure,System bios cacheble and shadow ram are more for older computers and should be set to disable.boot to os2- disable...memory setting vary by card and some even need to be set manually so check with manufacturer or get familiar with cmos reset jumper.(just be sure to have power off)...plug and play os to disable(more of a win 98 thing) disable serials and parallel ports if you don't need them, as with on-board sound firewire etc. this is just a few pointers the rest is a more personal thing, but i have heard turbo setting causes problems and is best left to fast, and dynamic oc'ing is similar use at your own risk
    USB keyboard don't forget to enable USB in the BIOS. This caused some problems when installing XP. Without USB enabled in BIOS when you come to the "Hit any key to proceed" the install will fail with the ntldr error
    POWER SAVINGS...Having trouble getting fans or case lights to shut off on standby set to S3, then disable apm, and be sure to set a wakeup event..such as wake from usb, or keyboard command. I have agp boot disable, but depends on card.
    Want to know more about bios, and what those settings are? click this link
    http://www.rojakpot.com/(eb1mg5zatgcf5r55lv5no155)/default.aspx?location=9
    CORE CENTER....Another personal choice, I like it and use it a lot, to increase and decrease fsb without going through bios. the NB fan sensor should read 0 unless you plug a fan onto it, personally i have an 80mm antec and it doesn't read it, but i tried a old CPU fan and it worked fine.
    COOL AND QUIET Another personal choice, I don't use it because some people have had there CPUs power down in the middle of games, and such
    (it goes down to 800 MHz) others had small bugs in there system that went away when they disabled it. But some like it and use it a lot. Good for energy savings.
    want to get your boot time down
    start by selecting  OS drive as first in boot sequence, you can always change bios when you want to boot from floppy or CD(which isn't often).disable floppy drive seek
    then clean out your startup folder under rt click explore start button.
    try and get services set to auto down to about 25. defrag your hdrive routinely,
    . ditch wall paper, and get rid of windows startup screen.(msconfig,boot.ini.and check noguiboot). keep your drivers updated
    if you can find it you can use then try bootvis, but microsoft doesn't support it anymore.Programs ..some useful free utilities are listed below, check goggle, until i make links for them.
    SiS Sandrahttp://www.sisoftware.net/, a good all around benchmark,burn in and, info display
    3DMARK.http://www.futuremark.com/download/.Mostly a Video tester, good for checking OC though.
    Microsoft Memory testerms memtester
    +86memtest.http://www.memtest86.com/..and Prime95http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htmvery good mem testers, and tests for stability
    spybot search and destroy, http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=homeand
    Lavasoft's ad-aware http://www.lavasoftusa.comgot to have for house cleaning.
    atitool, http://atitool.ocfaq.com/oc ap for ati cards,click find max core let it go for 15min or so,then set back to default, and click find max mem...for 15min or so, and now you have the max you can set your video card too.(but set safety limits before manually setting)
    [STRIKEOUT]mbm5 mbm5 link good alternative temp readings to corecenter.[/STRIKEOUT]
    good program but discontinued.
    OTHER USEFUL PROGRAMS
    Norton utilities, good all around disk and OS utility
    Norton Internet secuirity, or similar firewall and virus protector
    Norton ghost, or other drive image software fantastic for backups
    BF1942...lol just fun
    HOME NETWORKING I will add this part because of additional posing of errors
    dealing with USB Broadband routers...try using on board realtek or other Ethernet connection it will save your sanity.
    well i have a real poor mans router setup for you
    2 Ethernet slots, one for for broadband router and one to share.
    if you only want one other computer, use a crossover cable, otherwise, use a hub or switch(better) and let Internet connection wizard and home networking on your machines work their magic,want a firewall download some software there are even, fairly decent free ones.the speed of the card isn't important because broadband still isn't over 10mb/sec yet, so blow the dust off that card in the closet and put it to work.or if your really brave or really cheap you can try to use the usb input from broadband, and on board ether, or firewire port, to link computers
    Trouble shooting
    for total no boot/post failure
    I know you may know how to build a  computer, and i know this is basic, so bear with me here, but at this point you have to do a methodical by the book check list.
    revision
    A: when you first install your motherboard make sure it does not contact case,
    use all nine mounting points, make sure that your case either has built in risers, or use the small brass standoffs, and don't forget the fiber washers.
    when you installed your CPU you:
    1 ___you properly handle equipment so no static damage can occur, (properly grounded)
    2____.you fully lift the CPU ziff socket arm up, orient the gold triangle marking arrow,pins and it easily dropped into socket, with no bent pins ,
    3 ___ backer plate mounted carefully no missing pieces of the board flying off, ( i have seen people launch capacitors, and the like )
    4 ____obviously you removed the plastic thermal pad cover, and heatsink was evenly locked down, and fully seated, and correctly plugged into mobo cpufan1.
    and you fully removed old thermal pad/grease and applied new artic silver, or new heatsink with plastic on pad,you didn't reuse old paste or pad.
    memory
    5 _____memory stick(not sticks, at this point you just want to get it working, not full blast with a gig of ram etc)is fully seated and properly oriented in slot, and is 184 pin ddr non-registered , non ecc ram , and you have tried different non corsair, non twinmoss, brands that have been known to work. and/ or
    tried to set manually mem speed/voltage for some models of corsair, twinmoss, and kingston)
    6.____ plug in only power switch pins 6,8and power led to jfp1, pins 2,4 and they are turned correctly,
    7. ____your new psu has the 20 pin and square 4 pin power connector plugged in to jpw1 turned right and fully seated. and has  a bare min of 18a on 12v+ rail.
    8 ____your video card is fully seated an locked down,also securely screwed in.
    9 ____your floppy drive cable iss facing right way (pin1 is matched with red stripe)
    10. ____you have ata cables for hd and CD set to master/slave or cs. with hard drive set as master, end of cable.
    11 _____the power plugs are all fully seated, including psu rear plug,floppy ,hd, and CD.
    12. _____keyboard(ps2) and mouse plugged in, monitor plugged into video card,
    13 ______every thing is fully secured in case, side cover is off.
    14 ______CMOS jumper is set 1,2 keep data, all usb stuff is unplugged, except for dbracket.
    power it up, one beep, fans spin, in psu and CPU, and video card,
    you get no bios found error,(promise adapter not finding satas..no worries)
    or hit Del to go into bios, set boot order, and .......
    .........your now at the end of the road, and it should by all means work,
    now what i am after,
    there are no bent pins, on CPU, you reapplied artic silver paste.
    no loose wires,
    properly applied heat sink with fan cooling,
    you have tried different brands of known ,to work in an MSI k8tneo
    ddr ram 1 stick at a tme.
    you have tried different video cards, and in case of higher end card, the external molex power supply as plugged in,
    you have tried different ata hard drives
    you then have tried have set up your SATA drive correctly .
    everything is securely plugged in ..fully seated and oriented the right way?
    what are d-bracket error light, and any beep codes?
    you have tried a different wall outlet, you have changed surge protectors,
    you never hot plugged video cards, hd cables or power etc.
    i know this redundant , and basic , it is not meant to be insulting , it is meant to be a checklist and rule out all basic errors and potential problems
    if your mem bandwidth is slower then 3000..like 2400 this may help
    Received from a user - Slow memory 1T Command fix
    OK, here's what to do. Download the following ftp://ftp.vector.co.jp/pack/win95/hardware/other/wpcrs120.exe extract it, and run InstDD.exe. It'll ask to reboot, you don't need to do it right away, at least I didn't have to. Fire up WPCRSET.exe and do the following. Under startup, click on start, and under device, click enable. Now click add. The bus device and function will be 0,24, and 2. The register and data values will be the 93,08. There we have it! Enjoy everyone. I know I'm much happier now.  
    Here's a graphic to make it easier:
    I will add more by edit, or post as needed but i should post now so it can be put to use.
    I would like to Thank BAS,wonkaboy, Jocko, ethereal, Tiresmoke, Reilly, and the many others whose valued input helps solve problems.

    Quote
    amd 64=12a @12V
    ati 9800=7.5~10.5a @12V (assuming 90~125 watts) a max load,
    a 9600 ir nvida 5200 used far less power
    so your already at 18a with no fan,s no hd, no cd,no dvd ,no mobo chipset , no mem, no sound..etc
    If you exclude the motherboard, memory, etc like you did there, the amd 64 draws 7.2A @ 12V.
    90~125W for an ATI 9800?! [irony]Are you working for a PSU manufacturer or what?[/irony] That's just absurd.  
    Go read this post to get a feel for the actual power consumption: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?postid=297061&sid=#post297061

  • K8T Neo F1S2R No Longer Boots - Help Diagnosing

    Hello,
    I've had good service from my K8T Neo Athlon 64 mobo for 2 years. Today when I turned on the PC, all the fans cranked up and nothing more. The four test LEDs stayed red. No beeps, no display to the monitor. The light on one CD drive (I have 2) and the HD light come on solid at power up. According to the manual, four red LEDs at power up indicates a bad processor or processor connection and nothing more.
    I removed my Audigy sound card since I know it has been known to cause boot-up problems on these boards. Still no boot.
    What I need to know is if this is most likely a bad processor as stated in the manual, or something else like a bad mobo or power supply (Enermax). I don't have a spare processor, 64 bit PC, nor power supply to swap and check, so I need to know what is the best step process to resolving the problem. I'd just hate to go out and buy a new processor to find out the problem isn't the processor.
    Thanks!
    Buddy

    UPDATE: Kudos to MSI support! I RMAed my original failed, over 2 year old K8T NEO via the MSI online support system. Shipped the K8T back to MSI on 4/11 and received a replacement on 4/26. It took only 11 business days, east coast to west coast and back.
    I was having stability issues with the new K8MM-V motherboard described here https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=95656.0
    in that I was unable to run my Radeon 9800 Pro at "full" hardware acceleration without crashes. I could only get stability using the onboard graphics or setting the Radeon 9800 to "low" hardware acceleration (the setting next to "none").
    Pulled out the K8MM-V and installed the warranty replacement K8T NEO. The replacement K8T booted flawless, only requiring reinstallation of the Radeon 9800 Pro's Omega drivers on the first boot. I've had flawless performance with hardware graphics acceleration set at "full" with no reboots or blackouts since.
    It was easy as pie to execute warranty service with MSI.
    A big thank you to MSI for their fine support and for providing this forum....and a just as big thank you to all the fine folks here for offerering their expertise and help to us novices.  
    Buddy

  • Weird random crash

    When i am playing games, sometimes i get a random crash. The crash is like the game freezes, the sound starts repeating really fast, almost like a buzz. The only thing to do is hit the reset button. Once i hit reset, the post code indicates a video error, (ami bios, 1 long 2 short). But if i power off, then power on the post screen comes up and says "The previous performance of overclocking is failed" (even though i was not overclocking!!!) I then hit space bar to go into bios, save bios and exit, and everthing is fine.
    This is generally during games, it started with far cry 2, i thought it may have been an issue with the game, but then it showed up in crysis warhead, the witcher, and most recently arkham asylum among others. In arkham it seems to happen at the end of the combo when it goes into slow motion knocking down the last bad guy. But other than that i havn't found any patterns.
    it would also happen whenever i tried to update the same game with the ingame windows live update.
    this seems to have appeared after i changed processors, but ... read on
    I am fairly confident it is not overheating, all system temps remain stable and system is well cooled.
    I have stress tessed the cpu with 4 windows of cpu burn in, for around a day long, with no issues, also stress tested with prime 95 for a long (approx 20 hours ) period with no issues and good heat dissipation, so it makes me wonder if it is the cpu?
    I have stress tested the video card with ati tool, video card stress test, furmark ozone3d, and 3dmark 06 with no issues. furmark raised the temp way higher than any game has and nothing wrong.
    I updated motherboard bios thinking maybe it was an issue that had to be straightened out with the chipset, but no difference. (before i update i had ami v1.8, and instead of 1 long 2 short, it was 8 short beeps, but both are video card related)
    all drivers are up to date..
    tested memory for 20 + hours with memtest 86+ and windows memory diagnostic, both reported no errors.
        * Motherboard brand & model- MSI k9a2 neo-r
        * CPU model (and is it overclocked?)- amd x4 940 be (at stock)
        * Video card(s) evga 8800 gt, 512mb
        * RAM modules brand & model patriot ddr2 800, 2x 2048
        * Power supply brand & model silverstone st50ef plus 500 watt
     sound blaster audigy 2 zs....
    I am going to swap the 5000 back in, and see if it still occurs, since it showed up when i change to the 940, but just wondering if anyone had any input or seen anything similar before.  But the bios beeps referring to video problems also make me wonder, maybe the board itself can't handle the cpu. 
    Thanks

    Ok, so I think i have made some progress, it doesnt seem to be the cpu.. but it is the video card.  I did a few more stress tests and noticed that the card (using furmark) was reaching 100+ degrees C.( while cpu stayed in mid 30's)  Around 105, boom, computer crash.  I didn't think I was reaching this high of temps in games though, so I need to find a way to monitor the gpu temp in games. It is kind of weird that this started with the new cpu though.... but i put in a new cpu fan as well, I added a xigmatech hdt -s1283, so maybe it changed airflow or something?  I need to explore this a little further tomorrow.  Will also apply some mx -1 paste and reseat the gpu heatsink.  and improve case airflow if possible. 
    This is kind of puzzling still, because from alt-tabbing in and out of games, or looking at evga precision after a session, the highest gpu temps are typicall less than 80 under load in games. 

  • I can't handle any more problems with this K8t NEO

    Hi all, I am new to the forum.
    I will honestly say I have tried to read allot of posts before I spoke up but....
    I have:
    K8t NEO
    3200 64
    Updated to the latest BIOS
    Corsair Overclocking RAM (I am looking up the specs)
    256 sick on slot 1
    256 stick on slot 3
    A new PS....something like:
    3.3v 40
    5v 38
    12v 24 (the local CS gave me a hard time saying I DO NOT NEED such a big PS)
    Maxtor 40 gig ATA133
    NVIDIA 5600 256
    and dwindling patience.
    anyhoo, I have had one problem after another trying to get this system to work.
    It took 3 hours to find that you cant run 3 sticks of ram.
    The manual is the worst one I have ever seen. and there is no phone number to be found to talk to tech support.
    I am not getting anywhere with the email "support" from MSI....a DAY to get an abreviated answer that does not answer the specific question. It may be a viable system if they get more staff.
    One question...why does the screen "push any key to boot from CD" get "missed"
    and two.... I cannot install the OS. It will scopy all of its files and on reboot, i get a messasge about not finding the boot info or something...and to insert a floppy.
    I gave up and ran a preloaded HD and it worked for a day until during a recording session, It crashed and when it rebooted it says it cant find any boot info...I should of wrote down the message.
    Now What??
    I have tried:
    A different HD cable
    HD jumper settings (Slave / Master)
    I tried a low level format.
    3 different HDs
    Bought the new PS.
    I hope I do not have to send this thing in...I dont have hardly any free time. (does anyone?) IF it is needing replaced...do I deal with MSI or the Hindus (zboysz) I bought this Mobo from? I have nothing against Hindus but I CANNOT understand ANYTHING they are saying to me.
    Sorry for venting here.
    Can anyone can help?
    TIA,
    ~Wizzie

    Hey Wizzie
    Although I have bought stuff from Tiger Direct ...If I were you instead of fooling around with RMA-ing more defective/incompatable  RAM why not get the RAM modules that are indeed compatable with this mobo .........
    http://memoryx.net/gn512pc3200.html
    I just got 2 -- 512MB Nanya PC3200 CL2.5 184pin DDR400 DIMM from them and they are indeed top of the line. And at $ 110.00 U.S. per module I don't think that you will find a better deal. Not to mention that Nanya is indeed from MSI's - ASUS- ect "neck of the woods"
    more info:
    Memory X offers this Nanya Original 512MB PC3200 DDR 400 184 Pin Memory module. This Nanya memory is the highest quality available on the market.
    512MB Nanya PC3200 CL2.5 184pin DDR400 DIMM
    Nanya is a world leading manufacturer of memory modules.
    512MB 184p PC3200 16c 32x8 DDR DIMM.
    Backwards compatible with DDR200, DDR266 and DDR333
    Manufactured by Nanya
    New, Lifetime warranty
    Compatible with ABIT IC7-G Motherboard, AOpen AX4C Max/ Ax4C-G Motherboards, Biostar P4TCA Pro Motherboard, ChainTech 9CJS ZENITH, Dell Dimension 8300 (800MHz Front Side Bus), XPS (P4, 2.80GHz, 800MHz FSB), XPS (P4, 3GHz, 800MHz FSB), XPS (P4, 3.30GHz, 800MHz FSB), DFI LANPARTY PRO875, Epox EP-4PCA3+ Motherboard, FIC P4-875 MAX Motherboard, Gigabyte GA-8lK1100 Motherboard, GA-8KNXP/GA-8KNXP Ultra Motherboards, Intel D875PBZ Motherboard, MAXDATA Favorit 3000 (i865), 4000 (i865), 5000 (i865), MPC/Micron ClientPro 345 Series, ClientPro 545 Series, Millennia 920i Series, MiTAC P410CX Motherboard. MSI 875P Neo/ 875P Neo-LSR/875P Neo-FIS2R (MS-6758), SOYO SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2, Packard Bell - ixtreme 6080, ixtreme 6110, Tyan Computers Trinity i875P (S5101).
    Cheers!
    Saphire

  • K8T Neo: Problem at power-on...

    Hello!
    Somehow I experience a strange startup-problem ... and I could really need some advice to resolve this issue as I'm out of ideas.
    Last weekend I completely disassembled my rig for the annual "spring-time maintenance". I cleaned out dust, I cleaned the inside and outside of the case and I replaced my DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive with a LG DVD+/-R(W)/RAM drive. After everything was put together again I powered up my system - and it started to act strange.
    Symptom: At power-on the system hangs at "Early Chipset Init" (D-Bracket 1-4: GRRR) and keeps on self-resetting. Several seconds (10-30) later the system starts to POST as expected and runs smoothly until ... power down.
    During the night the system is completely disconnected from the power as it drains a lot of juice in stand-by (~12W for the rig + ~18W for several other external components like scanner, audio, ...).
    What I've done so far to track down the error:
    - Reseated power connectors. Nope - problem persists.
    - Pulled all unnecessary components (just MoBo, CPU, RAM, GFX-card, Keyb). Nope - same prob.
    - Pulled all memory sticks, left only one in the slot (and tried every other one). Nope - same prob.
    - Cleared CMOS - Nope - same prob.
    - Ran memtest86+. Showed no errors after 10+ passes.
    Now I'm out of ideas ... except for the power-on problem the system runs just fine as before. No crashes, no malfunctions, no nothing.
    Technical Data:
    MSI K8T Neo FSR (BIOS 2.0)
    AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Clawhammer Core)
    Zalman CNPS7000B CPU-Cooler
    3x 512MB Kingston CL2.5 PC400 DDR-RAM (@DDR333 - 3 sticks = DDR333 only!)
    NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT AGP (Power Connector is plugged in)
    Highpoint HPT370A IDE Controller (PCI 3)
    Hauppauge WinTV PCI FM (PCI 5)
    Seagate 80GB SATA - Operating system
    Hitachi 160GB - OnBoard Pri IDE, Master
    LG 4167B - OnBoard Pri IDE, Slave
    Maxtor 200GB - HPT370A Pri IDE, Master
    Seagate 400GB - HPT370A Pri IDE, Slave
    Maxtor 80GB - HPT370A, Sec IDE, Master
    Tagan TG480-U01 480W PSU (3.3V@28A, 5V@48A, 12V@28A)
    As I have a Wattmeter at my avail: After power-on and boot-up the system "sucks" ~315W (rig + monitor). If I put load on the system (CPU at full clock, GeForce displaying 3D) it drains ~390W.
    As mentioned above I never had any issues with the system.
    Does anyone have a suggestion how to resolve the rather annoying power-on problem ?!?
    Thanks,
    Jochen

    Quote from: Tiresmoke on 06-April-06, 20:09:53
    Did you checl and replace the CMos Battery? You may need to do a complete Bios Clear and start fresh there as well.
    Also as the Optical drives changed did you try removing them one at a time and see if the system acts noirmally then?
    Hello, Tiresmoke!
    . I unplugged the PSU from the wall socket and removed the battery while clearing the CMOS. The CMOS Battery is OK - ~3.34V (reading from a Voltmeter - matches with the display at PC Health Status).
    . I already took out the LG DVD-RAM drive and put the old optical drives back in. Even in its old "original" configuration the aforementioned problem persists.
    . I already reseated the CPU and renewed the thermal compound.
    However, I even get the "Early chipset" startup when the system is bareboned ... CPU + 1 memstick (doesn't matter which one out of the three I plug in) + Keyb + GFX. D-Bracket shows "Early Chipset Init", the boards goes through several reset-loops and fires up fine.
    BTW: Maybe this will give some clue ...
    . When I do a warm reset (reboot triggered by OS) the board restarts fine - Reset, POST, Boot.
    . When I shutdown and disconnect power from the PSU, lets say for about 5 minutes, then reconnect it and power-on the "Early chipset init" shows up.
    Are there any chances that the PSU is actually causing the problem although this particular problem never showed up before the "spring-cleaning"?
    Thanks,
    Jochen

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