ECS 780GM-A (v: 1.1) Boot Problem

galvar

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Dec 27, 2008
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Hello ,

This is my first post and i really like this emoticon :bounce: .

Well here is my problem :


System :

ECS A780GM-A (V:1.1) - updated to latest bios

2 Kingston RAM : 2GB each

HDD : 320 SATA Western digital

1 IDE DVD ASUS

Operating system : xp
---
First the problem was that the computer hangup at boot and the screen would give strange colors horizontal and vertical colored lines and restarting the computer allowed me to load the system

Then updating the bios fixed it and replaced it with :

A Black screen at boot restarting also allows me to boot the system


Can anyone tell me what could it be ?!!!!!!!1


Best Regards


Waleed
 
My guess would be either a faulty motherboard or more probably a faulty power supply. The power supply gives a power good signal when all of the voltages are stable this may be incorrect or the motherboard is ignoring the signal. Sometimes certain makes of power supplies are incompatible with certain makes of motherboards due to this reason.
 

galvar

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.... power supply , actually that might be it

But if anyone has another scenario please i would appreciate it as i want to know what all the possibilities are
 

galvar

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Hello again,

I re-entered the bios setting to check up and disabled the quick boot and made it do the original self-test

I figured that the first boot device was set to PCI-E and i only have an onboard chipset so i reset it to onboard

Now it booted 2 times successfully but i will wait and surprise the computer with an un-prepared power up and see how it will re act LOL


Would any of the above be a problem ? or might have been the cause
 

galvar

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hello jsc thank you for taking the time,

sometimes it gives a normal beep and starts and sometimes it doesn't,

as you see would any of the above steps i took be the end of this problem ?
 
the screen would give strange colors horizontal and vertical colored lines
This is a classic symptom of a computer crashing.

From what you have described it appears that the computer tries to boot up when you apply power for the first time but then crashes, subsequent resets allows the computer to boot.

The power supply should assert a power good signal when the supply lines are stable but it would appear that the supply gives a glitch (maybe caused by the hard drive starting up) causing the computer to crash. Possible causes of this could be a faulty or inadequately rated power supply, running the computer from a long extension cable, faulty motherboard, or faulty processor. See if it posts correctly without the hard disk connected if it does then it is defiantly the power supply.

 
The power supply should assert a power good signal when the supply lines are stable
True. The "PowerOK" signal should go to a "logic HIGH" (3.5 to 5.0 volts) within 500 milliseconds from powerup to meet ATX 2.0 specs. This removes a hardware RESET from the CPU enabling it to start executing BIOS code.

but it would appear that the supply gives a glitch (maybe caused by the hard drive starting up) causing the computer to crash.
The "PowerOK signal drops to a Logic ZERO forcing a hardware RESET.

Possible causes of this could be a faulty or inadequately rated power supply, Very likely.

running the computer from a long extension cable,
Unlikely. My work computer, a medium grade C2D system, is powered through a 25 foot extension cable, and two outlet strips with 6 foot cords. (My shop office has power distribution problems.) A good PSU will power a computer with as low as 90 volts going into it. You would need a really long extension cord.

faulty motherboard, Possible. And it's possible that the onboard video circuits are glitchy. If that's the case, if the motherboard has a slot for a video card, you can use an external video card.

or faulty processor. Unlikely. First, CPU's are very reliable. Second, a bad CPU would tend to hang in the same place every time.

Now for troubleshooting, you can try this (the following is a general troubleshooting guide I wrote, not everything will apply to your problem):

Clear the CMOS RAM. (This works often enough to be worth doing.) Your motherboard manual will tell you how. Make sure the HSF is properly installed. (You may have to remove the motherboard from the case to check this.) Turn on your PC. If it's still broke, continue on.

Disconnect and unplug everything but the PSU, CPU & HSF, power & reset switches, and the system speaker from the motherboard. When you turn on the PC, you should hear a series of long single beeps. This will indicate a memory failure. (You do not have any memory installed, remember?) In a way, this is very good. This tells you that your PSU and CPU are good, and the motherboard is probably good.

If you do not see anything happening, swap the case power and reset switches. (Maybe you have a bad case power switch).

If you get silence, either the PSU, motherboard, or CPU is bad. The only practical way to determine which is bad is to test by substitution. Most likely failure (in order) is PSU, motherboard, and CPU. One other possibility is that you have something installed improperly in the case and it's shorting out the PSU. Only way to test this is to remove the motherboard from the case and reassemble everything on an insulated surface. This is called "breadboarding" (from the '20's).

If you hear the beeps, turn off the PC and install one memory module. Turn on the PC and you should hear one long and two or three short beeps indicating a problem with the video card. Silence indicates that the memory module is shorting out the PSU. Long single beeps (my GA-EP35-DS3P and eVGA 680i motherboards) usually indicate a really bad memory module. (Your BIOS codes may be different.) Test and install the rest of the memory.

Turn off the computer. Install the video card and plug in the monitor. Turn on. System should boot and pass POST (single short beep), and you should see messages on the screen. If not, your video card or monitor is bad. A bad video card will usually generate something like one long and two or three short beeps. If you get silence, your video card is probably shorting out the PSU. Again, your BIOS codes may be different.

If you see messages, turn off PC and plug in keyboard and mouse.

If this works, start plugging the other components one by one.


This can all be done before installing any the parts into the case. I always breadboard a new build. It lets me test all the parts before I install them in a case.
 

galvar

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Hello again,

I followed your troubleshooting guide and opened the motherboard manual

I found that i added the 2 RAM in DIMM 1&2 in unganged mode and the manual said to put them in DIMM 3&4 unganged mode

ofcourse i unplugged everything and re-installed again one piece at a time

Now does the ganged and unganged mode matter in this problem ?

I feel that the computer is faster and boot time is faster with no black screen or colors
 
The "PowerOK signal drops to a Logic ZERO forcing a hardware RESET.
True but a small glitch may not be detected by the power supply but be enough to crash the computer..
running the computer from a long extension cable,
Unlikely. My work computer, a medium grade C2D system, is powered through a 25 foot extension cable, and two outlet strips with 6 foot cords. (My shop office has power distribution problems.) A good PSU will power a computer with as low as 90 volts going into it. You would need a really long extension cord.
As I don’t know galvar installation I gave this as a possibility as I actually experienced this problem once, the length of the cable does not matter but if it is wound on the extension reel this can cause problems.
or faulty processor. Unlikely. First, CPU's are very reliable. Second, a bad CPU would tend to hang in the same place every time.
I agree it is a low possibility but my own computer an aging Athlon 2800 has this very problem it won’t work until the processor warms up for a few seconds (proven by substitution)
 
The "PowerOK signal drops to a Logic ZERO forcing a hardware RESET.
True but a small glitch may not be detected by the power supply but be enough to crash the computer..
running the computer from a long extension cable,
Unlikely. My work computer, a medium grade C2D system, is powered through a 25 foot extension cable, and two outlet strips with 6 foot cords. (My shop office has power distribution problems.) A good PSU will power a computer with as low as 90 volts going into it. You would need a really long extension cord.
As I don’t know galvar installation I gave this as a possibility as I actually experienced this problem once, the length of the cable does not matter but if it is wound on the extension reel this can cause problems.
or faulty processor. Unlikely. First, CPU's are very reliable. Second, a bad CPU would tend to hang in the same place every time.
I agree it is a low possibility but my own computer an aging Athlon 2800 has this very problem it won’t work until the processor warms up for a few seconds (proven by substitution)
 

galvar

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Dec 27, 2008
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what about this question --->


Hello again,

I followed your troubleshooting guide and opened the motherboard manual

I found that i added the 2 RAM in DIMM 1&2 in unganged mode and the manual said to put them in DIMM 3&4 unganged mode

ofcourse i unplugged everything and re-installed again one piece at a time

Now does the ganged and unganged mode matter in this problem ?

I feel that the computer is faster and boot time is faster with no black screen or colors
 
G

Guest

Guest
Hi galvar,

we have identical pc specs as well as the boot issue

My PC (got it on 12/31/2008):

ECS 780GM-A

x2 1GB Kingston DDR2

WD 320 GB SATA HDD

Some Ancient Generic Sony CD-ROM drive (will be replaced soon)


On Cold Boot:

I've experienced the same vertical lines at start-up Which was fixed by restarting the computer

I've also experienced the PC shutting down by itself on cold boot which was fixed by (as suggested above) subsequent restarts


*My problem only happens on cold boots but after 2 or 3 restarts it runs fine all the way. After it has run smoothly after a cold boot you may shut down or restart without problems until the next cold boot let's say after 3-5 hours of not being used.

There are times when i get to start the pc on cold boot in one go without problems. There are also times even if you already logged on windows it BLACKs out and have to restart it again.

Also, i've considered replacing the power supply currently equipped is some generic 500w PSU which came with the atx casing.


I would very much appreciate suggestions

thank you



 

galvar

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Dec 27, 2008
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I FIXED IT but forgot to post the solution sorry about that

The problem is in RAM sockets as they have to be placed in a certain way

place the 2 Kingston ram sticks into the yellow sockets not the red sockets

Then start the PC and enter Bios setup - > Advanced Chipset setup

Set ( DCT unganged mode ) = Disabled

That`s it your PC should run fine just like mine :D hehehahehahehahehaheha
 
G

Guest

Guest
Thanks, Galvar

I did the momry stick switch and the BIOS config

But my boot problem still didn't disappear. Still a black screen at cold boot - have to shut it off and on again for it to work properly.


I guess it's my PSU needing to be replaced

 

Humboldt_39

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I hope you read this, because is a little bit late but the problem is very simple to solve. In the bios under Advanced setup rhere is an option that say Enhanced Halt (c1e)t must be dissable because if not you are going to get the black Screen. I just past Through the same problem.

REgards

Humboldt