MSI K8N Neo4 Plat bootup problems?

S

SkaarjMaster

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 31, 2002
Messages
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Built a system with this MB last week and it was working fine. It was transported to Naples, FL and setup and working at that location over the weekend. Just yesterday, it doesn't want to bootup at all. It fires up and fans spin and then shuts back down with no beeps. We tried clearing CMOS and that didn't work either (of course, now this means I have to reset all the bios settings once it IS working). Long distance (over-the-phone) fixing beyond making sure everything is connected will not work in this case and the computer probably won't be back here in Tampa until tomorrow or Thursday. But before transporting, everything will be reseated and the RAM will be checked (one stick only in DIMM1 and then the other stick and then completely new RAM) first. If this works, then the computer stays and we're done. If not, it comes back to Tampa. Any other suggestions beyond this? :confused: Thank you and here are the specs:

WinXP SP2 (with all updates)
AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice core CPU (retail with fan/HS)
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum MB (1.5 Bios)
1GB of Corsair TWINX1024-PC3200C2 RAM (SPD settings)
Enermax 460W PSU (33 amps on +12V rail)
Sapphire Radeon X600XT 256MB video card (5.6 catalyst)
Audigy2 OEM sound card (latest Audigy2 drivers)
Asus E616P3 DVD-ROM (IDE1)
NEC 3520A DVDRW (IDE2)
WD SATA 200GB HD (SATA1)
Samsung floppy drive
Viewsonic VX715 LCD monitor
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Logitech MX500 mouse
 
Someone in another forum thought it might be a bootup bug in the 1.5 bios. I was thinking that was only with the SLI cards. Anyway, we tried hitting the reset button 3-4 times and it doesn't stay on long enough to hit the reset button. It just tries to come on and then shuts down. Any ideas? :(
 
Maybe when it was transported something shifted around inside causing a short? Take it out of the case and see if it will boot off of a cardboard box or something. Might require the drive though :(.
 
The computer is for the sister of a co-worker. He's going down there tomorrow night to check all connections and stuff including RAM. If no luck, then we'll be dealing with it at work on Thursday.
 
Yeh, the more I think about it, the more I think it's a short. Could it be a fried bios chip? I've heard the bios chips on this MB are a little sensitive.
 
Everything seems to be working now! Thanks for your help.

My co-worker went down to Naples last night and made sure all the connections were secure and disconnected and connected everything again, unseated video and sound card and reseated both. Then tried the system and same thing. He tried with one RAM stick in first DIMM slot and then the other........both times nothing. He stuck both sticks back in and packed up the computer and drove back up to Tampa in disgust (i.e. - he never turned it back on to see if both sticks worked before leaving).

This morning I hooked the monitor, mouse, etc. up to the back of the computer, installed D-bracket, made sure all connections were secure and reseated video and sound cards, and fired it up and it gave me some looking for Silicon RAID error and I held delete down to get into the BIOS. Once in the Bios I noticed the memory error on the D-bracket. I then thought why it let me in Bios if there was a memory error and just made sure memory was pushed in all the way before changing Bios settings back to what they should be (RAID disabled, etc.). I'm guessing the memory error came up on the D-bracket because the last time the system ran it only had one stick. Even though the DRAM settings are set to Auto, for some odd reason the Trc shows 12T and the Trfc shows 24T.

It's working fine in Tampa! I guess the computer just doesn't like being down in Naples, hehe. :D
 
FALSE ALARM!

It's doing it again (hit power button and fans spin for a brief split second and it shuts down). D-bracket doesn't help because all four lights light up red for a split second. I've unhooked power to each DVD/CD device, floppy and HD and restarted and nothing, so those devices are fine. I've done one case fan and unscrewed the MB screws and screwed them back in. I may need to do one screw at a time and see what happens. Could it be possible that one of the MB screws is barely touching the other side of the case because it is slightly too long? I'm continuing to check for shorts, but it's not looking good for the MB. I've also moved the RAM to DIMMs 3 and 4 and this didn't work either. Besides the short, could it be anything else? Bad power supply? Bad Bios chip?
 
I know this is gonna sound really elementary and MIGHT not fix it, but it's worth a shot.

I've had a "similar" problem. My computer would BSOD then shut down. I would restart it, then it would boot up a bit, and shut down again; never could get a BIOS screen or anything. Turns out the problem was that the HS had split in half and was laying on a transistor (I know, VERY strange...disappointing, it was an SLK740U too.)

Try taking out the CPU and reseating it, maybe with a new HS/F. Problem COULD lie in the CPU as well. I know it's caused a lot of problems for me.

Hope this may help somewhat. Keep us posted.

-TylerJ
 
I'll check for that also. I wonder if there is any chance I could shine a light to see between there with a mirror or something? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm........that's definitely something new though.
 
Nope, that doesn't seem to be it........no cracked HS.

Motherboard still doesn't power up outside of case. We had a 350W Antec laying around and tried it only connected to main and 4-pin connector on MB and it fired right up. Then unplugged it and plugged in the Enermax 460W again and as I plugged in power cord and before I could hit the power button on the front of the case it powered up. I turned it off and on again and it fired up. Sounds like maybe a short in one of the power cords or something was not seated correctly (main or 4-pin connector) on the MB. I'm tempted to just RMA the Enermax 460W and see what happens with new one that arrives. What do you guys think?

EDIT: He just ordered the Antec SP-500 from Allstarshop and RMAed the Enermax 460W from ZipZoomFly!

EDIT AGAIN: Just for fun, I plugged in the Enermax again and it fired up without hitting the power button on the front of the case again; I then powered the system completely off, waited 30 seconds, and used power button on case front and it turned on with no problems.......go figure. :eek:
 
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