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AI7 booting problems with post fault/beeps

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DogDaze

New Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Hi All,

After a little searching I came up pretty much empty handed so I'll describe the problem.

My beloved AI7 won't boot. It has been pretty faithful over the last year or so--except for loosing a PS a couple of months ago. Replaced it with a good Antec and it hummed on.

Yesterday I tried to boot the computer, things started turning and working (CPU/Northbridge and other fans function, HD motor starts, and the digital display goes through several posts (about a dozen) and always stops at code "AF". There are 2 little LED's found on the board and one stays green (power?) and the second stops at red. No hardware changes have recently been made, nor was the computer moved from its "nest." There have been no cooling issues nor any other hint of problems EXCEPT over the course of the last 2 weeks the screen colors on the monitor appeared faded for awhile upon initial startup.

Symptoms include a long, maybe 2 second beep followed by maybe a second or 2 of silence then the 2 second beep again-over and over. Of course there is the "AF" code already mentioned and the beeps occure after the "AF" has been posted.. Nothing comes up on the monitor (except the message that it has saying the computer isn't hooked up, or what ever.) Funny but the colors of the message are great--not washed out like those that must have been coming from the video card.

The computer does not post far enough to get into the bios screen--remember nothing is being sent to the monitor.

So far I have cleared the bios and tried to find the meaning of code "AF" with no such luck. NO hardware modifications have been done for at least a year--that was when I added the Zalman CPU fan.

The rest of the computer is as follows. 3.0 Northwood that was overclocked to 3.55 at low voltage (1.6) with no issues, 4 memory sticks running in dual channel mode, VisionTec 4200 Video Card, 550w Antec PS.

So where should I start and what should I look for???? :shrug:

I am not exactly a newbie and I know how to use a voltmeter and such. I just need to know what to look for. Your help is appreciated!

Anyone see this before on an established system? Could it be the video card finally gave up the ghost and be causing the computer not to boot? What code would it have given?

Thanks in advance for you help!

Dennis
 
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1. Remove all periphials - harddrives / cdroms / extra ram (leave in 1 stick - try each invdvidual stick)
2. try another PSU if you can
3. try your vid card in another system


i have had 2 AI7' snad both have rendomly after working fine i reboot and POOF! they wont boot - i tinker around with the above and finally it would work.

i cant recall the code i got when my x800PRO died, but i know it was not in Abit's book or anywhere to be found.
 
The mobo post codes are pretty much worthless, so forget looking those up. Usually when you hear the long beeps you are describing it's a RAM problem. Alternately, it might be vid card problem. I would try what Mr. Guv suggested. Pull all but one stick of RAM out and test them individually. Also, reseat the vid card and power connectors. If all that fails, try another vid card.
 
Looks like the AI7 is dead. Did the memory trick (tried each stick individually in different slots), reseated the CPU, tried different video cards (including a PCI slot one), reseated the PS connectors, removed the board from the case and tried running it on cardboard, removed battery overnight and eliminated all cards other than the video card. I've also disconnected all drives.

I do not have another PS or CPU to try sooooo I ordered a new MB and a new video card to replace the previously dying one.

AI7's don't appear to be available anymore (no longer being produced?) so I will be jumping ship and trying the ASUS P4P800SE instead.

Thanks for your help everyone!

Dennis
 
I'm not sure whether the AI7 is being produced or not, but there are many other good Abit boards you might wanna try, and if the RMA goes through, and Abit does not make the board anymore, they will probably upgrade you.

You might wanna look into a IC7-G or one of the mnay other boards they make. There's some design differences in the Abit and Asus boards that really make the Abit boards attractive. I like the way the Power section is designed on the IC7-G. I have studied it, and the way they implement the voltage control is superior IMO. If you mod them they are even better.

The P4P800SE has a known droop issue. It droops badly, and if you plan to OC to high levels you will definitely have to incorporate a droop mod on that board.

If you are looking for another board, give some of the other ABit boards a look. It really does help when you are familiar with a certain brand of board.
 
the IC7- G would be a good choice - next step up from the Ai7 , they have better power management (capacitors) then Ai7 for prescott's - the AI7 has more solid control it seems for ram voltages (goes to 3.2) and it doesnt fluctuate - i just bought an AI7 off zipzoomfly about 3 weeks back for $100.
 
DogDaze said:
AI7's don't appear to be available anymore (no longer being produced?) so I will be jumping ship and trying the ASUS P4P800SE instead.

Thanks for your help everyone!

Dennis

They're around, but not on newegg. Tiger and Zipzoom have them, I'd go Zip, it will be cheaper.
 
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