8K7A Weirdness

Valid

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Upstate New York

• Aug 24, 2001

• #1

Having a little problem. No display. Disconnected all non-necessary components. No display at all. I'm wonder if maybe my AGP slot is erroring. Chip on the motherboard posts "FF" as soon as the computer is turned on. It doesn't cycle through any of the codes. Any suggestions?

 

Bobby Manus

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• Aug 24, 2001

• #2

FF is what it is suposed to say, that means it is booting to the operating system, or in other words not indicating any problem.

 

OP

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• Aug 24, 2001

• Thread Starter
• #3

Exactly. It doesn't cycle through the other POST codes. I don't think it's a problem with my chip - I just replaced my old one with a new one. (My Horror Story in General for more details). I also don't think it's a problem with my bridges, as they came uncut. (The L1's at least). My arctic silver II job was also done pretty well, and isn't on the chip in any other place but the core. I'm e-mailing the people from EPoX tech support, and they've been pretty helpful, though I've tried everything they've suggested so far. (And before I emailed them to boot)

 

Paul -The Mad Hatter

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• Aug 24, 2001

• #4

are the dip switches/jumpers set to default? Some people would get this error if they had an unlocked cpu and set it to something other than default.

 

VideoPhreak

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Aug 9, 2001

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• Aug 24, 2001

• #5

Same thing happened to me untill I removed the CPU from the mobo, cleared CMOS, then re-installed it...it booted fine and has never done that again.

 

OP

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• Aug 25, 2001

• Thread Starter
• #6

Maybe I'll try it another time. You do have the same hsf I do. I was looking at it, and I'm thinking maybe if the studs that hold the Swifty are off center a little bit, they could be shorting something out, but I don't know for sure. I'll have to start from the beginning.

 

OP

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• Aug 25, 2001

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• #7

Just some further checking. Tried powering on with only the CPU installed. (No RAM, Hard Drive, Floppy Drive, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, DVD-Drive, Graphics Card, Sound Card, NIC) Still posts "FF" - again without going through the other codes. I'm thinking this is definitely a problem with the motherboard.

 

supraway

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Mar 28, 2001

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• Aug 25, 2001

• #8

My friend still has this problem with this motherboard -- press resset and it should boot.

 

Paul -The Mad Hatter

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• Aug 26, 2001

• #9

Valid said:

Maybe I'll try it another time. You do have the same hsf I do. I was looking at it, and I'm thinking maybe if the studs that hold the Swifty are off center a little bit, they could be shorting something out, but I don't know for sure. I'll have to start from the beginning.

Click to expand...

I've heard about 3-4 other people w/ that hs that had the same problem, one user broke a tiny resitor and had to re solder it on.

 

OP

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• Aug 29, 2001

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• #10

Argh! I am so stumped! I've tried it on a nonconductive surface outside the case, reinstalled everything. Still the "FF". I swear it's mocking me!

 

Paul -The Mad Hatter

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• Aug 29, 2001

• #11

Valid said:

Argh! I am so stumped! I've tried it on a nonconductive surface outside the case, reinstalled everything. Still the "FF". I swear it's mocking me!

Click to expand...

Have you tried a diff. power supply? I know thats proly not the problem but its worth a try.

 

OP

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• Aug 29, 2001

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• #12

Maybe that IS it. I don't know what else to try. I'll try the electrical tape bit, but I'm pretty sure that it's not a problem like that, as this has spanned two processors. I didn't suspect the power supply at first because it DID power on, it just reads "FF" as soon as it does. But, remembering back, when the system first failed, my Patriot UPS errored, and I suppose that could have caused some sort of failure in the power supply. The only parts I haven't checked (or replaced) are the RAM and the power supply. So I'm guessing it would have to be one of those. I think I'll try my SVC Golden Gate 40 on there tonight. That way I can either confirm my suspicions of the MC462 or be sure it's not that.

 

OP

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• Aug 29, 2001

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• #13

Well, through process of elimination, I have deduced the problem! It WAS my Swiftech. Something about the mounting studs is shorting out my motherboard. The SV Golden Gate 40 is working just fine. Does anyone know anything about this fan? I know it's a OCZ Gladiator rip, but other than that I really don't know performance. To be honest, I was saving it for a duron system I was going to put together as a server. I've got that with a YS-Tech fan on it, which I believe is rated at 40.1. I've looked a little - can anyone point me to a comparison between that and the swifty so I can mourn all the cooling I'm losing?