Abit IT7 Cold Boot Issue

Abit IT7 Cold Boot Issue
I put together my IT7/1.6A system this weekend.. Stable as hell at 2.4Ghz at default voltages. Ran both Prime95 and 3DMark together for 6hrs straight no errors reported. Also ran Prime95 alone for 8+ hrs with no errors reported. System temp ~ 32C under full load, CPU temp ~ 56C under full load. However the first time I shut it down and tried restarting it the next morning, nothing happened. After pulling the power cord it booted but hung on POST code A7 (not in the manual). Finally after clearing the CMOS I got it back alive. But the PC wouldn't run, said the CPU was unworkable. Tried setting bios to 100/33/66 but it still wouldn't go. I had to manually set the CPU speed to 1600 before it would boot. As of right now it's crunching Prime95 at 2.5Ghz with 1.62V to the CPU, temps: system at 34C and CPU at 57C. But I'm so afraid it will not boot cold the next time it's shut down. Is Cold Boot an issue with the Abit IT7 as it is with so many other 845 chipset mobos such as the Giga 8IRXP?
Should I RMA this sucker or is this to be expected?
Also do I understand MBM5's maker right, if the temps and voltages aren't listed in the bios, there's a good chance MBM5 will not show the proper info? I'm getting really weird -5 and -12 volt readings from MBM5... but then again, they aren't listed in the bios either.

Hi,

I have similar problem with my BG7. I am not sure it's due to low +12v. Mine is 11.7x-11.8x.

Thx -- mrx

I was a bit concerned about my voltages shown in MBM5. However after talking to Antec and reading forum postings at MBM5's site, my bad readings on the -5V & -12V are of lil concern. It seems that if your bios don't support these voltages then most likely MBM will display them wrong. As for my +5/+12 volt readings, all is well according to Antec.
I was hoping to find other IT7 users who have overclocked their system. I'd love to know if any of them have suffered the cold boot issue. I hate it when my system won't start in the morning without clearing the CMOS.

Just got an IT7 with a 2.26B. Have overclocked to FSB 172 stable and no boot issues. Currently running FSB 152 with 3:4 ratio, stable and no cold boot.

mskreis,
interesting.. 152FSB with 3:4 DDR.. That's a lil over DDR400 spec. Which RAM are you using and what's the RAM timing settings? I've been running Corsair 3000XMS memory at FSB 158 at 1:1 yielding DDR speeds under 333 a 2-5-2-2 timings. As for the cold boot issue, I suppose I'll suck it up and RMA my board in hopes of getting a better one.

rbbnet said:

mskreis,
interesting.. 152FSB with 3:4 DDR.. That's a lil over DDR400 spec. Which RAM are you using and what's the RAM timing settings? I've been running Corsair 3000XMS memory at FSB 158 at 1:1 yielding DDR speeds under 333 a 2-5-2-2 timings. As for the cold boot issue, I suppose I'll suck it up and RMA my board in hopes of getting a better one.

Click to expand...

I'm using Mushkin High Performance 2100, 512 MB. To get that speed I had to use 2.5-6-3-3 timings. I'm a little disappointed as I've read others attain this speed at more aggressive settings. However, I'm very pleased with the IT7 and my 2.26B - when the right memory comes along I'll see much higher overclocks and a much higher DDR as I've had my 2.26 up to an FSB of 172.

it7max

I had the it7max board in two weeks now , the first week i didn't do anything other then experimenting overclocking on this great board , never experienced any cold boot problem. i know how the abit cold boot problem works , have abit bd7ii , bg7 , bd7-raid boards too...the abit bd7-raid had the worst cold boot problem , but the mr.natural's and abit final beta fixed this problem.....

maybe you should rma the board.....



---------previous posts-------------------------------------------------------'

I have the abit it7max board , and it is a great board. the problem with my overclocking is the ram , i am stuck with twinmos 2700 ddram, it wont allow me to overclock over 156fsb (cpu:dram ratio is 1:1) .. I have ordered both crucial 2700 ddram and samsung 2700. I will post the result when i get the ram sticks....


abit it7max is great board....



cdier
[email protected]

Hi

------------------------mr.natural's bios files request----------------------


I need the mr.natural's bios files for my abit it7max , bd7-raid , bd7ii , bg7 boards.. if someone cand send them to me , it will be great...


Since i see many post with requesting mr.natural's bios files. i am willing to host them on my ftp server...If somebody got the whole collection of the mr.natural's bios files , please contact me. I will then send further instructions.-...


thanks



cdier
[email protected]

Post Code A7 (answer)

Post Code A7 (answer)
Ok, despite the fact I RMA'ed my IT7 back to NewEgg, I still wrote Abit to find out what the POST code A7 was. Here's their reply:

Dear Customer,

Code "A7" is a RAM error. Please test the system with a different RAM. If the problem still remains, then please fill out the RMA form online at www.abitusa-rma.com for warranty service.

Funny that I'd get a RAM error. I was using a 512Mb stick of Corsair XMS PC3000 but only clocking it to 158FSB/ 316Mhz vs it being rated at 166FSB/333Mhz at the fastest timings. It should have been able to easily handle the 158FSB as long as it was set to 1:1. I had the voltage bumped up .1V just for insurance. Either way I hope the second board I receive will do better. NewEgg signed for my returned mobo this morning.

My PC woes don't end there. Seems a storm got a hold of my other PC this weekend. It came in through the cable line but amazingly skipped my/their cable modem, and took out both my Linksys 4 port cable router and my NIC. Well, that cost me another $75-$80.

Running my corsair

I'm running my Corsair xms3000 at 159mhz with 3:4Ratio with CAs settings at 2.5/5/2/3 (mem v2.7) getting sandra memory scores in the 3240. .I'm dam impressed with this memory. ABit BD7II board.

8Y bios arrived flashed

Has anybody received this mobo with the bios already flashed from 8H to 8Y? I'm wondering if 8Y is the norm for the newstr boards from ABIT now or if NewEgg sent me a peviously used mobo. Yep, my mobo arrived with the 8Y BIOS already flashed. Not a big deal unless NewEgg is playing games.

Help

I'm on my second IT7 mobo and havig the same troubles as I did with the first. It seems if I overclock the system it won't cold boot, even though it can run Prime95 till the cows come home with no errors. When attempting to cold boot I get the POST error code "A7" which ABIT said this about,

" "A7" mean the DDR RAM error ( RAM size error or just can''t be detected ), so maybe you can reinstall them or use other RAM module and try to reboot again ??"

I'm using Corsair PC3000 clocked to 158FSB (316Mhz) and have tried different timings with no luck. The last time it wouldn't boot I couldn't even get it to start with default settings. I finally got it to reboot after reflashing the bios.

Does anybody have any suggestions or maybe the same setup that can lend me some bios settings info?

P4 1.6A
Corsair PC3000
MSI G4 4400
WD Specials 80GB RAID0
Audigy

I have been on HardForums for quiet a while now , but they arnt discussing the cold boot issue as much as you. I want to figure out this problem as much as anyone. So i will share my experiences.

My buddy and I built 2 exact systems(noted in my sig):

My buddy had the first problems with his board:

first he had cold boot issues , then later formed into not booting at all. We then RMA'd the board. When the new board arrived, Cold boot issues popped up again. What the heck? So we swapped ALL hardware exept our cases..im talking cpu, mem, SCSI controller, etc.. Still cold boot issues.

It takes tons of times pressing REset to get it to boot.

Also something very wierd.. He has a better stable OC about 4 more FSB.

So things we looked at:

The PSU on my computer According to Digidoc and the Motherboard 12v rail : 12.24v 5v: 5.05

my buddies comp: 12v rail: 11.85 5v : 4.98

Could this be the problem????

Now check this out....One time while trying to boot his computer, I said just let is stay beeping (with A7 post code) for a couple of minutes.. after we put up with that annoying noise, we hit the reset button ....She started right up..

Now we have if figured out that it will start everytime at 2 1/2 minutes. so could cold boot have something actually with temperature??

I have no cold boot issues at all...

Anyones ..comments anyone??

So, let me get this right. After letting the board sit and long beep for 2-3 minutes all while showing the A7 code, hit the reset and it would restart?
My first board did as your buddy's 1st did. A7, beeped, then crapped out totally. This new mobo got to where it wouldn't boot at all other than into the bios. Seems like it doesn't always detect my Microsoft Internet Keyboard though. On occasions I may have to reboot several times to get the mobo to detect that I'm hitting the "delete" key to enter the bios. But like I said after reflashing the bios, all is well again. I don't really see how temperatures could be the root cause of this either.
I wonder if the board was overclocked, ran, then clocked back down to default before shutting down, if it might start cold without issues?

rbbnet,

yes exactly ..letting it long boot for 2-3 minutes works.

I wish reflashing the bios worked...The board came with the 8y bios, we flashed down to 8H no difference , went back to 8Y , now we are running beta 8Z ..still same problems..

perhaps setting to defaults before shutting down will work...I bet it will...either way its a hassle

IT7 Cold boot solved

Re-Volt,
I found my problem I think. First off I reflashed my bios making sure to kill the power after the flash but prior to booting windows. After killing the power I unplugged the power cord and cleared the CMOS. I had previously skipped this detail. I also had the DRAM Ratio H/W strap set incorrectly. With any 100/400FSB CPU it should be set to low, and with the 133/533FSB CPU's it should be set to high. I'm using a 1.6A (100FSB) CPU but had the H/W strap set to high. I was thinking anything higher than 100 should set the H/W strap to high..... burmp wrong!! After setting it to low and crankin' the FSB up to 158 with the RAM ratio set to 1:1, it's running smooth, shutting down and restarting as it should.
Now the quetion is, just how far can I push my CPU & Corsair XMS 3000? Or should I be happy with 2.54Ghz & 316Mhz RAM producing 12323 3DMarks?