Pooter Problems

[Susan]

To make a long stupid story short, I stupidly bought a ECS P4Vmm motherboard and a Pentium 4 processor off a guy on Ebay, it was defective (MB) and he sent another, then have been away a lot for the past two months...now that I finally get it all put together, it's DRIVING ME CRAZY (very short putt...)

When I re-boot, it boots 1 out of 5 times....when it won't boot it screams a LOUD continuous beep until I reboot. Then once it goes in, it will re-boot itself. SOmetimes it goes 30 mins without doing anything, but eventually it will either just re-boot itself or lock up.

BUT, the best part is..the dude I bought it from is OUT OF BUSINESS. Shut down the phone line, went away, disappeared into the sunset. So warranty on the MB is nonexistant.

Does this sound like a processor problem or a MB problem?I've already eliminated the power source and memory by replacing, etc. I've donwloaded every driver on every component to the newest version. I've tried screaming obscenities, and even patted it occasionally..like talking to plants..

aIt has taken me four tried to get this post on...it dunked me every time...

Any suggestions???
Susan

or rather

Very Frustrated Susan

[Lex]

Susan, I am going to move this topic to Tower of Power, it really is more for that area.

I had an Abit board that liked to do that, and I thought it was the motherboard. Later, come to find out, there was a bad hard drive, but I am still not convinced that the mobo was not a problem.

Long story short, I don't think it's the CPU. It's probably the motherboard, or maybe a hard drive. But that's an outside shot really. Just my opinion.

Real bummer.
Lex

Lex

[Bing Fung]

That's a real bummer Susan :cry: It could be a multitude of things with your board.

You could always try to RMA it to the factory web site and see if they'll give you a dealer name to send it to.

I don't know what the error code may mean off hand. I had a quick look at the manual and it did not have a decoder for the error auditable.

You could try flashing the bios to see if that may help. Page 26 of the manual shows you how. ECS also has a online download that you may want to read... Go Here

I don't know a lot about the Via chip and P4's however it seems Via has made the 4-1 drivers unified for all Via Chipsets and OS. You could try downloading them and see if they will install.
Via Drivers

A few questions,

What OS are you using?
What type of RAM are you using and what is the brand name?
Are you using the integrated chips like the graphics or sound chip?


I'll do some more snooping around and see if I come up with anything.




Bing

[Andrew Pratt]

Susan when you say it won't boot are you talking about loading the OS or simply doing the POST test? If its not loading the OS but POSTs every time I'd say the motherboard is more likely to be ok then if it won't een post every time. What cards do you have installed right now(sound, video etc)?

[SiliGoose]

If I'm not mistaken, a single long beep code usually means no video signal is present. Of course, beep codes vary by mobo so follow Bing's recommendation to figure out exactly what that code means.

I know you already reseated your RAM but double, and tripple check your CPU, video card, and memory to make sure everything is seated correctly. When you power up does the fan on the CPU spin? If not, that's a problem. Is the fan plugged into the right header? Some motherboards won't boot if the fan isn't plugged into a specific header.




-Sili

[Susan]

thanks for the suggestions..I dragged home a P233 from the office to check your responses. I have already given my PII400 to my kid..bad mistake..

Lex...we already tried another hard drive. No change.

Bing...I flashed the bios first thing two weeks ago, went well, but no change. I also downloaded all the driver updates for the VIA chip. I'm using WIN98SE, and currently using the onboard video, a floppy and CD-RW...no other cards yet...oh, also using the onboard LAN card.

The shrill beeeeeeep is as it is posting..as soon as it starts to post. Poor OS never gets a chance, Until today if I kept re-starting it would eventually boot, usually 4-5 times to get in...but today I guess my luck ran out and now it won't boot..just screams at me.

Two 256K memory sticks are identical..switched them out for new to make sure they were OK. Power surce and fan are fine..switched them out also to make sure. (the main networking dude at a local college here in town has been very nice about "loaning" me new goodies to try..my son works with him part-time).

I was re-seating the P4 last night when we noticed that there was a teeny-tiny spot of that "goo" in between the CPU and the heat sink, and it fell off, so today I drove 35 miles to get more and we re-applied the goo. Hooked it back up, it booted and was trouble-free for 2 hours..then it re-booted itself and has not come back on since.

It is now 4:30 am an I'm so tired of this thing I'd almost like to chuck it over a cliff somewhere...my son talked to another guy who had the same thing happen to his P4VMM and he sent his P4 back to MS for service and all is well with his now, so maybe I should try this. I MIGHT have a pooter going by September...

In twelve years of pooting I've never had one frustrate me this much!
If you think of anything else I haven't tried yet, please mention it..I hate to give up..not in my genes..:=)
Susan

[Lex]

Susan, try booting with only 1 stick of memory. If not successful, try the same thing with the other stick of memory...

Humor me.

Lex

[Bing Fung]

Good Suggestion Lex, that would have been my next move....

Humm that is a real buggar Susan :roll:

Maybe it's something to do with the way the on board video is configuered in the bios?

Have you updated the drivers for that video chip? That still does not explain the inconsistant post/boot problems that you are experiancing.

CPU is set. Is the fan connected with the 3 pin header on the MB? Some boards have a safety that will not let the board start with out reading some fan signal... Still does not explain why it will boot and run for a while, and then not....




Bing

[Kevin P]

If it boots intermittently, then I would suspect an intermittent connection somewhere. I'd reseat the CPU, memory, fan connectors, power supply connectors, cards, IDE cables, floppy cables, heck, anything that can be unplugged from the mobo, unplug it, check to see that it's clean and not bent, and plug it back in. Also, check the spacers and screws where the mobo is attached to the case to make sure there aren't any potential shorts.

Another thing I would suspect is a defect in the motherboard itself. There are lots of solder joints and if one is flaky it can cause the types of problems you're having. You might want to try pressing down on various parts of the motherboard while the system is running and see if that causes a crash or reboot. If it does, your motherboard is defective, or something is touching that shouldn't be, or something isn't touching that should.

Good luck!

KJP




Official Computer Geek and Techno-Wiz Guru of HTGuide - Visit Tower of Power
My HT Site

[Susan]

Well..the saga goes on..still no relief in sight. This P233 (groan) is getting old...

Lex..had already tried taking out one memory, in out, replaced, you name it..

As stated all drivers, video and otherwise have been downloaded. All connections have been set and reset multitudinous times.

I too suspect a faulty solder situation on the MB somewhere as it did reboot a couple of times if we just barely touched the case...slightest vibration. Killer is, no one lets you buy a MB and try it and then return if that's not the problem!That one itsy solder connetion could casue all this bruhaha is a killer.

I'm finding I'm happier walking away for a couple of days..staying in too close proximity at this point may encourage me to kick it to death or light it on fire. :=)
Psychotic Sue
PS I fear for the mental health of some of you that have to do this for a living....

[Kevin P]

I too suspect a faulty solder situation on the MB somewhere as it did reboot a couple of times if we just barely touched the case...slightest vibration.

Can you remove the MB from the case and lay it flat (say on its cardboard box) and power it up and see if it works? It could be that there's an intermittent short, where something on the MB is touching the case and grounding out, causing your failures.

When you do this, just have the power supply, video card, RAM, and keyboard hooked up. No drives, no other cards. It should at least POST, even if it has nothing to boot from. Then if you like, hook up the drive(s) and see if it'll boot.

If it still fails, you have a defective motherboard. In this case you should be able to exchange it for another one. If it doens't fail with some poking and prodding outside the case, try adding some spacers or plastic washers to the screw holes where the MB is fastened to the case, and look for spots where a solder joint or other component is touching metal it shouldn't be.

KJP




Official Computer Geek and Techno-Wiz Guru of HTGuide - Visit Tower of Power
My HT Site

[Lex]

Oh wait a cotton pickin minute! I think I know what it is!

You replaced the motherboard, right? now, if you don't believe me, take the motherboard loose from the case, leaving everything attached, and make sure it doesn't contact the case anywhere, then boot it. I bet it boots.

Here is what I think the problem is, since all motherboards don't match up with the same slots, I bet you have a screw in base, in a screw hole of the case, that is touching part of the motherboard. You have to make sure that these only touch the holes that are especially designed to come in contact with metal.

Remove the motherboard, look at the screw holes, and I bet one isn't matching up right. I know this from experience. When you said it booted once, just moving the case slightly, I am thinking it was moving enough to break contact at the ground out.

Lex

[Bing Fung]

Oh if it were that simple of a problem... Lets hope!

Great ideas guys!




Bing

[Susan]

Good ideas..we bought a new tower with the motherboard and we did re-seat it in the case, but it didn't occur to me to test the MB sitting away from any metal..will get to that tonight or tomorrow. At least that would tell me if it is the MB or not..great suggestions, guys!
Susan