Is this a dead IC7-G or a bad Power Supply?

Building a system for a friend, almost identical to mine (see sig), but a little better:
P4 2.6C
2x512 MB DDR500 Corsair
2x120 GB SATA WD raptors
Radeon 9800 Pro AIW
Abit IC7G

Put everything together in Chieftec case (with 400w no-brand power supply included).
System will start to post, then hang at the exact same point every time.
I see the first line of the CPU with speed and multiplier (13x100)
The second line showing 1 GB of RAM
The third line is supposed to show the CPU identification and hyperthreading. All I get is the first 3 letters on that line (CPU).

Tried unplugging everything, except video. Same thing.

All fans are turning.

I put both the CPU and the RAM in my system, and I was running Prime95 at 250 FSB (ram at 1:1) in 5 minutes.

Question: is this a bad motherboard or a crappy Power Supply?

First thing I would do is upgrade the bios (if not done) .
The original bios that came with the IC7/G had know problems with SATA drives . Try that and see what happens .


stereo555

Considering I can't get the POST screen to complete, upgrading the bios is not really an option... I never get far enough...

Which SATA controller are you using . The Intel ICH5 is reported to be alot less trouble free .
Just a thought .


stereo555

I'm using the ICH5 controller.

But that doesn't mean anything.

I'm stuck at line 3 of the first POST screen.
The system detects the CPU and the RAM and then freezes.

And as stated above, the CPU and the RAM work fine in my other system on the same type motherboard.

I dont think it is the motherboard problem. If it does, you would not get any POST at all. To me, the bios is first come to mind, but try using IDE hard drive to see if you can boot instead of using SATA.

texp4:
That would be a valid suggestion, IF I had not tried this with everything unplugged from the motherboard, including the SATA drives. the only thing plugged in, are the CPU, CPU cooler and video card.

I still get to the same point and then freeze...

can you get into the bios by hitting DEL key?????
or cannot get into bios at all????

I don't mean to be a **** and I appreciate you are trying to help, but please read the post.

The system freezes at the begining of the 3rd line on the FIRST POST screen.

This is before the drives are recognized, before the CPU is listed with Hyperthreading, etc...
You can only get into a BIOS AFTER all that has happened.

DEL or INSERT don't do sh*t at this point.

So no, I cannot get into a bios at all. It doesn't even list the BIOS version at the bottom of the screen yet...

same

I had the sme problem with my IC7-G, had to RMA it but I got one back with the new north bridge fan. RMA it and get a good mother board. I have my P4 2.4C @ 3.27 but I have to push voltage to 1.7 fo4r stable system. I am using Cosair XMX 3500 Ram (2X 512) running (5:4) with 2.8 volts. Great gaming system for the net.

RMA, sometimes you get a bad board

Thanks.
That's what I figured...

Have you tried putting your rams to your friend's set up?
I've heard that these latest high performing ram (PC3700 and up) sometimes does not allow the mobo to detect its correct SPD settings.
One way to fix this is to use older model rams to enable your mobo to post and boot in to bios. Change SPD settings to reflect your new rams (3-4-4-8, I believe). Save and turn off your computer and put the new rams back.

I've had similar problems on my IS7 and IC7-G, especially right after bios update or CMOS jumper clear. I heard about this possible fix after I RMA'd the boards so I didn't get to test it.

You should try it.