Help required in Booting-out, Boot-up problems..!

[Fozzer]

The never ending Boot-up problems...!
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Hi Lads..(Hardware Experts)....!

It's that time of year again, (year after year), when I ask the same old question...
Does anyone else have this interesting problem...?

Gigabyte GA 7- VT 600(L) Motherboard. 400Mhz FSB.
AMD XP 2600+ socket A processor.

Whenever I switch the power on and attempt to boot-up my machine, (DOS and Power On Self Test), it invariably freezes before the display card is recognised, (obviously one of the first things to be loaded), with the hard drive light locked on, and that's as far as it flippin' gets..!
The reset button now has no effect...
This then requires the machine to be switched off completely and re-booted several times before it successfully goes through its DOS/POST sequence and then loads up Windows...!
Also...
...wait for it...
Even if the boot-up is successful it often, (most times!), in-correctly recognised the processor type/speed..!

The Processor is actually an AMD XP 2600+, but often reports it as being either an AMD XP 1800+ or an AMD XP 2000+...!
The speed in BIOS should be 166 Mhz to recognise a 2600 processor, but often defaults to 133 Mhz which results in the slower processor speed reported!
(Interesting note: I have successfully increased the Bus speed from 166Mhz to 180Mhz to get it to run as and AMD XP 2800+).

This is quite random, and after few attempts at re-booting it sometimes comes up with the correct processor speed being reported...166Mhz = AMD XP 2600+..!

I have the latest Gigabyte Motherboard drivers, and latest Via chip set drivers installed.
The only thing I haven't installed are up-dates to my original Version 6 Award BIOS... for obvious reasons!
(There seems to be very little difference between the Version 6 and the latest Version 14 BIOS...and it is recommended to leave the Version 6 in place)..!
Important: The temperatures and voltages are well within limits!

These same problems occur with both Win '98SE and Win XP Pro.

It appears to be a problem of "Timing", The initialisation, and boot-up sequence of hardware seem to get out-of-step, resulting in confusion, and either an initial lock-up, or failure to recognise the correct processor speed.

Any ideas, Chaps...?

If not, I will re-post this again in 2006...!
LOL...!
(Full System specs in the Signature below).

Cheers all...!

Paul The Infinitely Optimistic... ... ...!

[congo]

VIA chipset

[Fozzer]

Hi Congo... ...!

I have always had this bleedin' problem ever since I fitted the GA7-VT 600(L) motherboard in 2003, (BIOS V6).
..and the problem has persisted through many, many hardware-up grades and re-builds over the years...
....including processor and PSU up-grades...!
It has happened even during my old Win '98SE installation days...

You mentioned the BIOS battery....but the only thing which changes in BIOS is the "speed"....it should be 166, but sometimes insists on running at 133 Mhz... ...!

As I say...the whole thing is completely random and un-predictable from one boot-up to the next, even minutes apart...... ...!

I wonder if there is the chance of having a "dodgy" motherboard from day one...?
(Otherwise it's a super motherboard)... ...!

...(out of interest, what is the life of the BIOS battery)...?

Cheers Mate...!

Paul...need a re-charge... ...!
LOL...!


P.S. An interesting note:
If the 'puter locks-up during boot-up, (or shuts down), the power in still applied to the motherboard, and the power HAS to be switched off at the mains to completely re-set the computer.... ...!
The computer "power switch" merely shuts down the computer and puts it into a form of "standby". The radio mouse, etc is still powered from the motherboard. It HAS to be switched off at the mains to kill ALL power to the computer and motherboard to re-set "EVERYTHING"..!

[Weather_Man]

Batteries usually last around 5 years, though it's not unusual to have one go earlier. You can still boot up with a bad battery, it just won't save the CMOS info after shutdown (will reset to defualts). Which leads me to believe the PSU is bad -- or -- the motherboard is faulty. Check the capacitors/MOSFETS on the board for any that are swollen or leaking fluids. My bet would be the PSU though. That is probably the most common major component to fail.

If the CPU were bad, it would not POST at all and nothing would work. If the RAM were bad, you would error during POST with some beeps (after vid card POST). If the vid card were bad, you'd get a nice long beep then blank screen.

[the_autopilot]

I'd also update the BIOS to the newest versian, but yeah, it sounds like a dead battery or PSU.

[congo]

....and the problem has persisted through many, many hardware-up grades and re-builds over the years...
....including processor and PSU up-grades...!
It has happened even during my old Win '98SE installation days.......I wonder if there is the chance of having a "dodgy" motherboard from day one...?

There is a strong possibility the mainboard was dodgy from the start then, providing the symptoms haven't changed. I was going to say the CPU may be dodgy, but... as you said above, this problem persisted thru cpu changes.

...(out of interest, what is the life of the BIOS battery)...?

Batteries may easily be faulty from day 1.
The battery is a very low tech item, it can be overlooked as a problem source, however, from the symptoms, I no longer think this is the problem.

P.S. An interesting note:
If the 'puter locks-up during boot-up, (or shuts down), the power in still applied to the motherboard, and the power HAS to be switched off at the mains to completely re-set the computer.... ...!
The computer "power switch" merely shuts down the computer and puts it into a form of "standby". The radio mouse, etc is still powered from the motherboard. It HAS to be switched off at the mains to kill ALL power to the computer and motherboard to re-set "EVERYTHING"..!

That's just the normal ATX way of doing things Fozzer, it is actually shut down, unless you have actually shut down into "standby mode". If the PC is rebooting normally into windows, it's not in standby mode at all, but actually turned off.

The light on the mainboard is there as a warning light to power off at the wall switch before adding-removing components.

BIOS reset on some mainboards may require power off at the wall, removal of the battery and the jumper cap reset.

It appears to be a problem of "Timing", The initialisation, and boot-up sequence of hardware seem to get out-of-step, resulting in confusion, and either an initial lock-up, or failure to recognise the correct processor speed.

This may actually be the key to the answer. Find out why the CPU/system config is doing this, and I believe the problem will be resolved.

The system is spitting out the 166mhz FSB speed for some reason, and because it is intermittent and random, it does point to a hardware fault........ ie. mainboard or it's BIOS because of the long term nature thru your many upgrades.

In previous discussions on your BIOS upgrade options, I was not aware that you were experiencing bootup irregularities.

If you are certain that the problem does not lie with other components, loose connections or BIOS settings, then I would definitely try a BIOS upgrade first with a view to

[Fozzer]

Ta, Congo for the replies... ...!

When I purchased the Giga-Byte GA7-VT600(L) Motherboard in 2003 for

[RollerBall]

I've had a couple of naff mobos and this definitely sounds like one.

Don't listen to all this stuff about which chipset is 'best'. I will never take advice from ANYONE in the future after my last new 6600GT (nVidia) sodded up my nForce2 chipset (nVidia) mobo. Never before had such an experience with VIA or SiS.

I am today (right now actually) trying to get data off my last hard drive so I can install the replacement mobo I had to buy as a result and get back to trying to do some work.

Moral - we all have different experiences. I will never again say what is 'best' and I will never take advice from anyone about what is 'best' but I will listen to other people's experiences and share my own which as far as nVidia are concerned right now are abysmal.

[Fozzer]

Mornin', Roger... ...!

When you have got you new Mobo up and running to your infinite satisfaction, please pass this amazing motherboard information over to your old Mate Foz... ... ...!

Cheers Roger...
Calm down... ...!
LOL...!

Paul.. ...!

[RollerBall]

Paul, he he.....I'm beginning to smile again.

The board is a PCChips M848A, it has a SiS chipset and AMIBIOS. All I've done is connect it all up and stuff in my last h/drive that my old nForce2 board was taking chunks out of every time I booted and actually would not boot this morning at all with the old mobo. Cleared CMOS, set up the BIOS, bunged in the auto setup install disk and the old copy of XP came up straight away. All devices installed no problem and it's running like a train.

And it's a

[Fozzer]

For some inexplicable reason I seem to be hooked on AMD socket A, Athlon processors, limited to 2800 MHz.

This also means using socket A motherboards to accommodate them.

If I am in the market for replacing my existing motherboard, is there any advantage to replacing both the motherboard and the AMD processor to a newer/later specification...at a sensible price...?

At the moment the combination of AMD socket A Athlon 2800 MHz processor and nVidia 6600 GT OC graphics card seem to give me all the computing power I need, so are there any advantages to blow loads of money on an expensive motherboard + processor upgrade...?

The whole field of motherboards is overwhelming...!

Cheers all...!

Paul.... ...!

[RollerBall]

For some inexplicable reason I seem to be hooked on AMD socket A, Athlon processors, limited to 2800 MHz.

This also means using socket A motherboards to accommodate them.

This is a Socket A mobo because I've got the 2600+ AMD cpu. Wouldn't use anything other than AMD. It just doesn't have the nForce chipset like my old board. It's got everything else - USB2.0, onboard LAN (old board had plugin card), great audio (front and rear connections) etc. So far I'm very pleased with it.

[Fozzer]

This is a Socket A mobo because I've got the 2600+ AMD cpu. Wouldn't use anything other than AMD. It just doesn't have the nForce chipset like my old board. It's got everything else - USB2.0, onboard LAN (old board had plugin card), great audio (front and rear connections) etc. So far I'm very pleased with it.

Good-on-ya, Roger... ...!

I remember, in the olden days, mid '90's, PC Chips got a right-old slaggin' off by the press for their motherboards, but perhaps they have improved since then... ...!

I've generally been impressed by Giga-Byte but maybe A-Bit and Asus, (or PC Chips.....), etc need looking at for a change...?

Cheers Roger...
(Glad you're cheering up)......!
LOL...!

Paul.

[Ivan]

Never had something going wrong with Asus. Usually fixes come out as soon as problems are discovered (as far as Asus can solve it, some are persistent like the 16MB cache maxtor on nforce which is a nvidia fault)

If the thing doesn't boot right, dont risk a bios update but get a new one (fyi: WinXP doesnt like SATA if it is confronted with a new board)

[Fozzer]

So, Congo... ;)...!

What's your final verdict on this one?...>>>
Giga-Byte: GA-7N400-L1



Remember my present board is the GA-7VT600(L)...(Via chipset) ...!

Cheers...!

Paul.

Note: A present user states that the extra RAM slots are un-useable, (for some reason?)...