AB9 QuadGT Cannot install O/S - everytime boot to floppy or CD the system reboots

[dudleycpa]

yes, if it's on the original 1.0 BIOS you'll need a DOS floppy (I use the driver free DOS one for flashing from www.bootdisk.com).
if it's got 1.1 on it already you can also use an USB memory stick but it has loads of fixes anyway.

also, don't use the version of the uGuru GUI on the CD as it overvolts on the QuadGT - get 3.103 or 3.104 from abit.com.tw
similarly download the manual from abit.com.tw as it's revised incl. the BIOS setup pages that the hardcopy doesn't have ...

Thanks for the through answer. Would I be correct that the bios would fit on a floppy?

 

[Heidfirst]

yes, it will fit on a floppy as long as you only have the necessary files.
XP makes boot disks with hidden system files that take up space & with those on it won't fit.

 

[dudleycpa]

yes, it will fit on a floppy as long as you only have the necessary files.
XP makes boot disks with hidden system files that take up space & with those on it won't fit.

Much thanks once again.

I got lots of floppies!

 

[g0dM@n]

yes, it will fit on a floppy as long as you only have the necessary files.
XP makes boot disks with hidden system files that take up space & with those on it won't fit.

to get around that i always used one floppy to boot and another with the bios files...

but... i'm definitely going to start doing what you said... gonna go to bootdisk.com

 

[youngbuck]

I'm setting up my new Quad GT this weekend. I have a USB floppy drive that has come in handy more times than I can count. I've used it to flash many BIOS before, so hopefully it works on the this board. I also plan on using a SATA optical drive from the get go, so hopefully no challenges there either.

 

[g0dM@n]

I'm setting up my new Quad GT this weekend. I have a USB floppy drive that has come in handy more times than I can count. I've used it to flash many BIOS before, so hopefully it works on the this board. I also plan on using a SATA optical drive from the get go, so hopefully no challenges there either.

Make sure that if your ram needs more volts to run ddr2-800 that you take care of that... I didn't notice until today for the 1st time that you have to manually set the ram voltage if the manufacturer asked for it.

For example, I have so much ram here and wanted to test them out to ensure they all work... with two diff OCZ DDR2-800 kits (5-5-5-) it would blue-screen or crash... then I looked up the model #s and they both need 2.0 or 2.1v for their rated specs... made that change and wallah...

You want your system stable when you flash.

And... try not to mess with ANYTHING else in the bios until after your flash. The way I got mine to flash was a CLEAR CMOS and then I hit F1 to bypass getting into "setup" (bios)... went straight for the flash after the clear cmos.

 

[g0dM@n]

just figured this was funny...

Floppy is spelled "floopy" LOL

 

[dudleycpa]

After being on Abit's website I'm surprised that they where THAT close.

 

[youngbuck]

I would have lost my mind with this board if I had not read this thread before hand.

I thought I would be OK using a USB FDD to flash the BIOS before loading the OS. NOT the case.

After about 20 minutes of trying numbers different setups, I was still having the same problem as godman. And note, this is using a USB FDD and a SATA optical drive. I couldn't boot to either one! Right when it started to boot from that device, the system would reboot.

So, I figured out what was causing the problem for me. I have to DISABLE THE ONBOARD USB CONTROLLER. I tried every different way there was to configure it, but as long as that controller was enabled, I couldn't boot to anything. So, basically, I can't update my BIOS before loading the OS, which kinda sucks. But at least I can boot to my optical, so I can load an OS and flash from w/in Windows.

I can't believe they would let a boad on the market with a BIOS this immature.

Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated. This thread will be a resource for others that buy a QuadGT.

And I gotta thanks godman for taking the blunt of this QuadGT scenario for me

 

[g0dM@n]

I would have lost my mind with this board if I had not read this thread before hand.

I thought I would be OK using a USB FDD to flash the BIOS before loading the OS. NOT the case.

After about 20 minutes of trying numbers different setups, I was still having the same problem as godman. And note, this is using a USB FDD and a SATA optical drive. I couldn't boot to either one! Right when it started to boot from that device, the system would reboot.

So, I figured out what was causing the problem for me. I have to DISABLE THE ONBOARD USB CONTROLLER. I tried every different way there was to configure it, but as long as that controller was enabled, I couldn't boot to anything. So, basically, I can't update my BIOS before loading the OS, which kinda sucks. But at least I can boot to my optical, so I can load an OS and flash from w/in Windows.

I can't believe they would let a boad on the market with a BIOS this immature.

Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated. This thread will be a resource for others that buy a QuadGT.

And I gotta thanks godman for taking the blunt of this QuadGT scenario for me

Glad you at least didn't spend 7-8 hours like I did... I woulda rather spent an extra $100 cuz I would make a lot more than that in 7-8 hours... oh well... but definitely hope no one else has to go through that too...

Right now the board is running pretty well... we'll see how she holds up.

 

[g0dM@n]

just finally started OCing... just spent about 45min, but that's enough for now... just wanted a quick try... I still don't know anything about DDR2 and whatnot, but I couldn't run 3600mhz stable until I bumped my ram voltage from 2.1 to 2.2, and then to 2.3v... then I got to this here:



but now it's time to sleep... i'm sure i can get 3800mhz soon enough... i got one core stable on it, but that's it... still need to figure out if it's the RAM or the CPU, but I'm on the lowest ram divider, so I can't lower ram anymore... maybe I should loosen timings even more? I hate OCing when I haven't isolated the OC to each part (i.e. first cpu then ram and vice versa)...

and even though i'm at 1.575vcore, i have NO IDEA why my idle temp is 37c but my load temp is only 41c?!?!?!?

 

[dudleycpa]

FSB 473?/3764? Now that rocking!

 

[toddm27]

man wish I saw this thread earlier, I had one of those boards and it gave me more issues than anything, I had issues running a sata dvd drive with raid, couldn't do it period, but bios must have matured, one thing I can say is don't as in do not try to flash the bios with a usb drive, it will lock up and screw the bios, found out the hard way, btw shoot me a pm if you want a backup bios chip, ended up having to order one from abit's (lack of) support and it's just lying around

Glad it's finally cooperating though

 

[youngbuck]

Ok, I believe I did find the solution. You must disable onboard USB to flash the BIOS, or to boot to CD-ROM/floppy.

I thought I would be OK using a USB FDD when I initially read this thread. But obviously not. I could not boot to my SATA optical nor my USB FDD no matter what I did. I changed everything you could imagine in the BIOS to no avail. But as soon as I disabled the Onboard USB Controller the problem with it rebooting when trying to boot to CD/Floppy went away.

I just had to take a regular FDD out of my other computer, and was successfully able to flash the BIOS to v1.3.

Now, I am up and running with it: 2 Raptors in RAID 0, SATA optical drive... and everything seems to be working excellent.

I let you guys know how it OCs in the next several days.

 

[Heidfirst]

Ok, I believe I did find the solution. You must disable onboard USB to flash the BIOS, or to boot to CD-ROM/floppy.

didn't have to do that myself on 1.0 but as ever ymmv (& obviously did) ...

 

[youngbuck]

Hmm, that's wierd.

 

[g0dM@n]

Okay guys I can't figure out if it's my motherboard hitting a wall or my RAM is just not running it's spec!!!

I can't break 477mhz FSB even on the lowest (6x) CPU multiplier... I am giving plenty of voltage to the CPU, and I have 5-5-5-15 timings on the ram running 1:1... and I tried both 2.2v (its spec) and 2.3v on the ram...

So either my board can't go higher, or I'm gonna have to RMA this ram if it's not running its spec. According to this ddr2 ram list here, my RAM could be either of these two??
Micron D9GMH (B6-3)
Micron D9DQT (BT-3)

I know the D9GMH is the good stuff... could mine actually be the D9DQT and doesn't oc well...

My next attempt is to run the 4:5 divider on a lower FSB (and pushing the ram to 500mhz 5-5-5-15 2.2v right at its spec) and see how the ram takes it... think that may isolate the problem so I can figure it out...

 

[youngbuck]

Where did you get buy your RAM, because I have the same exact stuff in my rig. My system has hardware very similar to yours, so I'm really interested in your results.

 

[Gunlance]

By dropping the multi from a stock of 8 to 6 you are making the NB actually run at 477*(8/6) = 636 MHZ. Have you tried using the 8x multiplier?

 

[g0dM@n]

Where did you get buy your RAM, because I have the same exact stuff in my rig. My system has hardware very similar to yours, so I'm really interested in your results.

I bought my ram from the buy.com...
2gb ballistix tracer pc2-8000 for $159.99 - $40 MIR

I now have the 2gb ballistix (non tracer though) pc2-6400 on order from buy.com for $71.99 after 10% off coupon and $45 MIR

I bought this last set b/c I don't think my 8000s are holding up... may have to RMA, but not sure if it's user error yet or not... cuz i'm still learning core2...

By dropping the multi from a stock of 8 to 6 you are making the NB actually run at 477*(8/6) = 636 MHZ. Have you tried using the 8x multiplier?

Can you shed some light? I am guessing this means my bus is pushing 636 x 4 = 2544mhz? I don't know much about core2... and from socket 939 I know you can change the LDT multi. For example, my opteron 165 and DFI NF4 I would set FSB to 344mhz x 9 (3.1ghz) and the LDT to 3x so that the HTT was running just a tad above its rated 1000mhz... if I had it set to 4x the system wouldn't go that high of an FSB.

Is there a similar way to do this with INTEL? And also... what's too much, or what should I avoid?

Thx