New A7DA-S build w/ couple of issues

[stevejr]

I finally got around to building my dual core system with the Foxconn A7DA-S board. But...I can't get the integrated video to work...no monitor. The monitor is good because I'm using it now from my sig rig.

I'm wondering about the ram. It's 2x2Gig of Crucial Ballistix that is supposedly compatible with this board:

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=4D55EAD9A5CA7304

The reason that I'm "wondering", is because on the Foxconn site, this ram is not mentioned...and it lists ram that I have never heard of:http://www.foxconnsupport.com/complist.aspx?models=A7DA-S&type=MEMORY&Series=en-us0000008

And the foxconn site doesn't even list Crucial at all.

So, I wondering if maybe the ram just isn't compatible ?

Also...I get no beeps of any kind...all fans spin and both of the green led's on the board light up.

Oh yea...almost forgot...The thermaltake 500W psu that I have only has a 4 pin cpu power connector and the board has the 8 pin connector. The manual says that if the psu only has the 4 pin, to be sure and install it in the proper portion of the 8 pin connector.

Now, I don't think that just having the 4 pin and not the entire 8 pin would affect the monitor problem...but I needed to pass that along...ya never know...!

 

[trents]

Are you sure the psu you are using is good? Just because you get green lights doesn't mean the psu is good. Can you take it out and try it to see if it will power up another computer?

Now, to my real hunch. I am aware that Foxconn was shipping some boards that had the cmos reset jumper set to the wrong position from the factory and as I recall the owner's manual was even showing the wrong position. PLEASE, research this before you change the position of the jumper because if this is not the problem then you could permanently corrupt the bios/cmos if you power up the board when the jumper is set to reset position. Check the customer reviews for this board on NewEgg and check with Foxconn support first.

Also, have you tried running other ram in the board? Can you rob another computer to test this? Or, have you tried taking one stick of ram out to see if it will boot with just one stick?

I do not think your problem is with the onboard video. If that were the issue you would still be getting a beep at bootup, you would see hard drive light activity, etc.

 

[stevejr]

Trents...The psu is good, I know that for sure.


Hmmm....I may have inadvertently tried to power it up the first time with the cmos jumper in re-set...not really sure at this point.

I, too, had read about the jumper mix up on the board, but I hadn't heard that the manual was possibly wrong as well. If...if the manual is wrong, then I think that the jumper was actually in the correct position at first try...but if the manual is actually correct, then the jumper was in re-set...and I probably scrambled the cmos...ouch..!!

I never got the first beep....what a way to start a new build!

 

[stevejr]

I looked & looked at the foxconn forums for this cmos jumper problem and except for one slight reference to it, I didn't see the jumper mix up mentioned.

I put in a request to the tech support people to get this situation cleared up and to hopefully give it a "stickie" type heads up for others to be aware of.

Oh...trents...unfortunately I don't have any other DDR2 ram to try. And...I have a sinking feeling that you are right about me scrambling the cmos/bios.

I bought the board on July 27th, so I have a few more days before I'm faced with RMA'ing the board and getting another one...and knowing FOR SURE by then the exact jumper set up.

 

[Trap05]

Pull the ram..does the board beep?

 

[stevejr]

Trap05...not sure if I pulled both sticks out & tried...have tried so many combo's that I'm not sure...but I will try that as soon as I can switch monitor/kb/mouse over to new rig..will report back.

Also...I got a response from foxconn support and they sent a picture of the proper default/clear jumper setting...and guess what...it is the OPPOSITE of what the manual shows.

In the manual, the pins are numbered from inside of board to outside as 1-2-3

The picture from support has the pins from inside to outside as 3-2-1.

So...the correct default should have pins 3 & 2 jumpered,
And...clear cmos has pins 2 & 1 jumpered.

I was surprised, and pleased, at how fast Foxconn support responded...a welcome change from so many other vendors.!

 

[stevejr]

Well. well....I pulled both sticks and got a single long beep at about every 3 or 4 seconds. So the board is working enough to let me know that there is a ram problem ( no ram, in this situation)?

Before I turned on psu I also set the cmos jumpers to the correct default...I had them jumpered to "clear".

So what do you think? Perhaps I haven't scrambled the cmos/bios but just have incompatible ram....hope..hope...hope...??

 

[trents]

I have also been very pleased with Foxconn tech support. They are very responsive. I have been building boxes for quite a few years now and have used most all the mobo manufacturers at one time or another. My experience is that no mobo, no matter who makes it, is completely free of quirks even if they are only minor irritations. I wish I could say the same for all the manufacturers tech support departments. Some of them are downright rude and incompetent.

 

[Trap05]

Try one stick at a time perhaps you have a bad stick

 

[trents]

I bought a pair of Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 about a year-and-a-half ago. They were on sale at Tiger Direct. They were bad news and I wound up RMAing them. I wish I had done a little research before I bought them as afterward when I did I discovered that a huge number of customers who bought that ram had problems. There was a consensus in the tech world that Crucial had turned out a bad product. I found out why they were on such a good sale. One would hope they corrected the problem.

 

[stevejr]

I'm almost certain that I tried one stick at a time, but after getting all confused with the cmos jumpers, I can't guarantee that...so I will try that.

 

[stevejr]

Trap05...that was it....one of the sticks is bad.

And I guess that I have a wee bit of " Luck O'The Irish"...the board booted right up and I have been going thru the bios and getting familiar with the features.

Thanks, Trap05 for the help....glad I followed your suggestion!

I'll continue this tomorrow....

 

[Trap05]

No problem glad you got it sorted out

 

[QuietIce]

That CMOS reset error is almost as bad as ASUS showing the wrong RAM configuration for dual channel.
What is the issue with board manufacturers lately ...?

 

[stevejr]

Well. I finally got this new build up & running....good, ...I wasn't looking forward to having to RMA the board.

The one stick of ram seems to be okay. I ran memtest 86+ for just one pass for a quick check and there were no errors, but I am still gonna run it again and let it run for several hrs for a better check. I will buy a 2 x 2Gig set as soon as possible.

Quite some time ago, I bought an AM2 BE2400 and an AM2 5200 from the classies. Right now, I have the BE2400 running and it looks like it's gonna be able to get up to about 2900Mhz after I check along the way for stability and see what voltages increases that it will need. I know that that speed is almost slow by current cpu speeds, but it will do nicely for a non-gamer like myself...and even the integrated graphics looks just fine to me.

But...I am gonna get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16819103687,N82E16819103688

A $5.00 difference....decisions, decisions...!

I would have a hard time convincing my wallet that anything more than one of these would be realistically worth it...!

 

[trents]

I wonder if the 2.9 chip is really better or just binned higher. If the latter, the overclocking end result will be the same.