Problem with NF7-S

[agent]

This is my second board, the first one was replaced within a month due to the same problem I am having now, two years later. I have two hard drives set up in a mirror configuration. There is a fan in the middle of my board, I think it's called a GPU fan, which is now constantly making a whirring/grinding noise. My computer also randomly shuts down with a Raid error, telling me the hardrives need to resync. I suspect it has to do with the gpu overheating. Does this board have any known problems?

Also, I am contacting Abit now to see if they know of any problems or fixes but if no one knows anything I'll have to replace the board ASAP, as the shutdowns are now almost every other day. Can anyone recommend a replacement board? I want to be able to use the same parts, memory, CPU, hard drives, etc.

Thanks.

 

[BUFF]

that's your chipset hsf not GPU (which would be on your gfxcard).
As long as you are at stock the board can actually run without the fan running & it's unlikely to be the cause of your problem.

There's a setting in the NF7-S BIOS re. SATA called something like PTP discard, what have you got it set at?
Also, what BIOS & RAID driver versions?

 

[burn-e86]

what else have you got?
cpu, grfx card etc... more info might help
also you will need to get a socket A motherboard if you want to use the same CPU etc

 

[agent]

Thanks for clarifying that. It is my chipset fan. I am at stock, no overclocking or anything.

I'm not at home right now so I can't check on my BIOS settings or versions but I do have the error log for my Abit monitor. Maybe this will help shed some light? I'm not sure what the memory voltage warning means.


2007/02/17 12:02:52 Warning:=PWR: 948RPM
2007/02/17 13:42:35 Warning:=DDRV: 2.66V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.80V -12V: -12.53V -5V: -4.95V 5VSB: 4.87V
2007/02/17 13:42:37 Warning:=PWR: 1048RPM
2007/02/17 18:35:53 Warning:=DDRV: 2.64V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.80V -12V: -12.53V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V
2007/02/17 18:35:55 Warning:=PWR: 1061RPM
2007/02/18 09:21:48 Warning:=PWR: 883RPM
2007/02/18 22:41:38 Warning:=DDRV: 2.62V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.80V -12V: -12.61V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V
2007/02/19 09:37:25 Warning:=PWR: 927RPM
2007/02/20 09:26:04 Warning:=DDRV: 2.62V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.80V -12V: -12.61V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V PWR: 874RPM
2007/02/20 09:26:06 Warning:=PWR: 878RPM
2007/02/21 22:24:10 Warning:=DDRV: 2.64V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.80V -12V: -12.53V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V SYS: 43.0F
2007/02/21 22:24:32 Warning:=PWR: 1081RPM
2007/02/22 07:06:12 Warning:=DDRV: 2.64V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.80V -12V: -12.61V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V SYS: 39.0F
2007/02/22 17:25:39 Warning:=DDRV: 2.62V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.73V -12V: -12.61V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V SYS: 33.0F
2007/02/22 17:31:45 Warning:=DDRV: 2.62V +5V: 4.92V -12V: -12.53V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V
2007/02/23 06:43:56 Warning:=DDRV: 2.64V +5V: 4.92V +12V: 11.73V -12V: -12.53V -5V: -5.00V 5VSB: 4.87V SYS: 39.0F

 

[BUFF]

the warning possibly isn't for the memory but the -12.5/6V

 

[burn-e86]

which means that it is likely that its the PSU causing ur problem
how old is your PSU? specs etc please!
also it seems to me that the (or a) fan is spinning at a riduculusly low speed, you might need to get a new chipset fan

 

[BUFF]

the fan speed looks to be for the PSU (PWR) though?

 

[burn-e86]

I donno about that, the PSU fan wont be monitored by the mobo...atleast in my experience anyway.
also having a look at the warning msgs the values seem to be ok...my old psu was at -13 or lower on the -12v

 

[agent]

When you say PSU do you mean CPU? Anyway, here are the numbers you guys requested:

Bios Ver - 6A61BA1BC-26
Raid Driver Ver - 1.0.0.28
PTP Discard Setting - 30 us
CPU - Athlon XP 2400+
Gfx Card - ASUS A9550
EDIT: Purchase Date - Sept '04

The PWR Fan is separate from the CPU Fan if that makes a difference.

Checked with Abit and even though my board is still in warranty they want to charge something like $15 for the chipset fan (shipping + handling). That's pretty much the cost of the part IMO.

 

[burn-e86]

no the PSU is power supply unit.
if its quite old, say over 3 years old then it might be waring out. atleast thats what my guess would be.

 

[BUFF]

I donno about that, the PSU fan wont be monitored by the mobo...atleast in my experience anyway.

some PSUs have cables for rpm monitoring though.

Checked with Abit and even though my board is still in warranty they want to charge something like $15 for the chipset fan (shipping + handling). That's pretty much the cost of the part IMO.

iirc the chipset fan only has a 3 month warranty - abit doesn't warranty any part longer than it's manufacturer does.
You can probably pickup a Vantec chipset fan or a Zalman passive cooler for less if you are buying other stuff already from somewhere like Newegg.

 

[agent]

The PSU is almost three years old but the warning message goes back to when I first put the computer together. If that's the problem then it was faulty from the beginning.

BUFF, what did you mean when you said -12.5/6V? I'm not familiar with those readings. Thanks.

I did edit my post to add in the purchase date.

 

[agent]

Update. After going through the manual again I believe the PWR setting is for the Northbridge chipset fan. Sometimes the fan stops completely, which can't be good. I'll be ordering a replacement tomorrow. After ruling this out I'll see if the problems persist. It may be my flaky Corsair memory. That would suck because I HATE troubleshooting faulty memory.

Also, is there a way for me to test to see if my power supply is rated high enough for my components? I think it's a 350Watt but I'll have to confirm this when I get home. Would my Abit monitor show a warning or something? Thanks.

 

[rook]

The easiest way is to see what your system needs. Try this. It's a good place to start.
And for memory try memtest86+. I'll usually turn it on before I go to bed and if it has 0 errors when I get home from work (about 18 hours) then the memory is good.

 

[agent]

Rook,

Thanks for those links! The power supply calculator was most helpful. It seems my power supply is adequate for my current system. Which leaves me with a possible memory problem if the chipset fan isn't the culprit. Wouldn't my Abit monitor tell me if my system was rebooting due to overheating? I'll run the memtest to see how it goes.

 

[agent]

I got the replacement chipset fan and it's now working. However my new error message is with the -3.3V. It's dropping below 3.0V. Does this mean that the power supply is bad?