- Joined
- Jul 31, 2004
Why I think I'm just being stupid and oblivious to something obvious and that my mobo and/or memory and/or processor are NOT bad:
1. I don't think even a cheap processor temp sensor would give a reading that is 35C below actual temp. Also, I am pretty sure the temp reading was correct, as when I had all BIOS settings at default it reported temps that seemed correct.
2. I just bought new 1GB (2x512) PQI Turbo PC3200 Dual Channel (2.5-3-3-7).
3. Processor is AMD Athlon XP 2700+. AMD's site says max temp is 85C and max voltage is 2.0V.
Why I think my memory and/or motherboard and/or processor might be bad:
1. My old memory (A-Data (V-Data sticker, probably value series) 512MB PC3200) that I thought had failed, is of a brand that some threads on here say is good stuff.
2. My diagnostic LED bracket (that came with my MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR board) keeps stopping at the "Initializing Memory" light pattern; manual says LEDs hang there if memory is bad or incorrectly installed. Is it possible that just the DDR slots are dead? I've tried moving sticks around to every possible combination and still no luck. There is a light pattern before the memory one that is labeled "Initializing CPU" and manual says it stops there if processor is bad or incorrectly installed. Some people say that the LEDs are not a good indicator.
3. Neither of the sticks of new memory (PQI Turbo Dual Channel PC3200 1GB (2x512MB)) works in any slot by themselves, or together in any combination of slots.
When I first started the comp with all hardware together, the mobo's default FSB was set in BIOS to 100, so my 2700+ was seen as a 1500+. I raised the FSB to 166, which is what it should be at for 333MHz bus 2700+, which is what I have. It ran fine. I decided to o/c a little. Gradually boosted FSB to 180 with many restarts to test stability at each step. At that point vcore was at 1.675. I had been gradually raising it along with FSB. I then moved beyond 180 to 182 (next step in MSI BIOS). System refused to boot then. This is the first time the LEDs stopped at memory. I couldn't even boot far enough to get to the BIOS and move back down. So I removed CMOS battery, unplugged the power supply, hit the power switch a few times, and left for an hour. Came back, hit switch a few more times, then put back in battery and plugged in p/s. Still wouldn't come on, with lights at init memory pattern. I decided then that my memory must be bad. So I returned it and bought the new PQI stuff. Still having the same trouble. I've done the CMOS reset deal several times now. The system is on air cooling, a 80mm processor fan with a large aluminum heatsink (Aerocool X-Raider, look for it on newegg or on Aerocool's website, if you want to see it); I used OCZ Ultra 5+ on the heatsink and proc die. Also have 3 case fans (front/back/side). I have a Celestica Radeon 9200SE 128MB AGP8X graphics card. When I boot I get no video, maybe this means my video is dead, not my memory? (but LED pattern for booting VGA bios comes after init memory in manual...) Anybody else know if you can actually boot to BIOS screen without memory installed? I really need help with this, I've spent almost $500 building this system and don't want to have to send it all back (not only would it have been a waste of money and paying 15% restock at newegg, I'd have to pay a darn lot of shipping).
The computer was running fine when I was at 180FSB.
1. I don't think even a cheap processor temp sensor would give a reading that is 35C below actual temp. Also, I am pretty sure the temp reading was correct, as when I had all BIOS settings at default it reported temps that seemed correct.
2. I just bought new 1GB (2x512) PQI Turbo PC3200 Dual Channel (2.5-3-3-7).
3. Processor is AMD Athlon XP 2700+. AMD's site says max temp is 85C and max voltage is 2.0V.
Why I think my memory and/or motherboard and/or processor might be bad:
1. My old memory (A-Data (V-Data sticker, probably value series) 512MB PC3200) that I thought had failed, is of a brand that some threads on here say is good stuff.
2. My diagnostic LED bracket (that came with my MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR board) keeps stopping at the "Initializing Memory" light pattern; manual says LEDs hang there if memory is bad or incorrectly installed. Is it possible that just the DDR slots are dead? I've tried moving sticks around to every possible combination and still no luck. There is a light pattern before the memory one that is labeled "Initializing CPU" and manual says it stops there if processor is bad or incorrectly installed. Some people say that the LEDs are not a good indicator.
3. Neither of the sticks of new memory (PQI Turbo Dual Channel PC3200 1GB (2x512MB)) works in any slot by themselves, or together in any combination of slots.
When I first started the comp with all hardware together, the mobo's default FSB was set in BIOS to 100, so my 2700+ was seen as a 1500+. I raised the FSB to 166, which is what it should be at for 333MHz bus 2700+, which is what I have. It ran fine. I decided to o/c a little. Gradually boosted FSB to 180 with many restarts to test stability at each step. At that point vcore was at 1.675. I had been gradually raising it along with FSB. I then moved beyond 180 to 182 (next step in MSI BIOS). System refused to boot then. This is the first time the LEDs stopped at memory. I couldn't even boot far enough to get to the BIOS and move back down. So I removed CMOS battery, unplugged the power supply, hit the power switch a few times, and left for an hour. Came back, hit switch a few more times, then put back in battery and plugged in p/s. Still wouldn't come on, with lights at init memory pattern. I decided then that my memory must be bad. So I returned it and bought the new PQI stuff. Still having the same trouble. I've done the CMOS reset deal several times now. The system is on air cooling, a 80mm processor fan with a large aluminum heatsink (Aerocool X-Raider, look for it on newegg or on Aerocool's website, if you want to see it); I used OCZ Ultra 5+ on the heatsink and proc die. Also have 3 case fans (front/back/side). I have a Celestica Radeon 9200SE 128MB AGP8X graphics card. When I boot I get no video, maybe this means my video is dead, not my memory? (but LED pattern for booting VGA bios comes after init memory in manual...) Anybody else know if you can actually boot to BIOS screen without memory installed? I really need help with this, I've spent almost $500 building this system and don't want to have to send it all back (not only would it have been a waste of money and paying 15% restock at newegg, I'd have to pay a darn lot of shipping).
The computer was running fine when I was at 180FSB.
