Uh oh... Did I just kill my mobo?!

[The_Rev]

Yikes... Ok, here's what I did:

I tried to unlock some overclocking features in my Intel D975XBX (rev 304) mobo by flashing a custom BIOS created in the Intel Integrator Toolkit (admittedly, I'm not very familiar with ITK).

My processor is a D805, and I think I forced the FSB bootstrap up to 800MHz, because I read this is what one does when OCing the 805 in a 975XBX via ITK.

After I flashed the BIOS, I switched on the power with the motherboard jumper set to "Maintenance Mode," and the BIOS came up and I could make adjustments to several things (e.g., memory timings, burn-in percentage and direction), but not FSB speed.

Puzzled as to why I couldn't adjust the FSB, I didn't change settings in the BIOS, powered down, and set the jumper back to "Normal Mode."

When I powered back on, all my fans and disks spun up for about 1/2 a second, then shut down for a couple seconds, then spun back up, but nothing ever appeared on the screen. It wouldn't even post.

At this point I thought I had screwed up something terribly, so I made a BIOS recovery disk per the instructions on the Intel support site, removed the jumper to put the mobo in "Recovery Mode," and turned on the juice. This time, the fans kicked up immediately, but again, I got no output on the screen. Not only that, I don't think the recovery floppy was being accessed (I didn't hear anything anyway).

So that's what I'm up against. The only way I can see anything (i.e., the BIOS) is to put my jumper back in Maintanence Mode, and I've tried tweaking different things to get a boot in Normal Mode, but so far nothing has worked.

Anyone have any recommendations? How screwed am I?

Thanks in advance,
Rev

(other hardware listed in sig)

 

[jammydodger]

Unplug the computer from the power, take the battery out of the motherboard and set the CMOS jumper to "clear CMOS" leave the computer like this for a few minites then put everything back asnd try again. This has worked for me a few times when I have done some dodgy overclocking settings.

If this doesnt work you could have a problem.

 

[The_Rev]

Unplug the computer from the power, take the battery out of the motherboard and set the CMOS jumper to "clear CMOS" leave the computer like this for a few minites then put everything back asnd try again. This has worked for me a few times when I have done some dodgy overclocking settings.

If this doesnt work you could have a problem.

I guess I forgot to mention that I already tried taking the battery out for a few minutes and had no change... I don't think this mobo has a clear CMOS jumper...

So now we're really screwed?

 

[jammydodger]

Hmmm, its a toughy. You didnt move anything else on the motherboard did you? Does it make any beeping noises at all when you turn the computer on? Have you tried removing all the non-vital components and then booting?

 

[The_Rev]

Hmmm, its a toughy. You didnt move anything else on the motherboard did you? Does it make any beeping noises at all when you turn the computer on? Have you tried removing all the non-vital components and then booting?

Nothing was moved on the mobo before I started having probs.

I striped it down to the CPU, both memory sticks, a single video card, the hard drives, the CD-ROM, and the floppy... Essentially, I just removed a video card and the sound card... I suppose I could remove more and give it a shot, but I fear the results will be the same.

Sometimes, when I messed with the memory configuration and tried to boot, I'd get 3 beeps, which indicates a base 64 K memory failure, so I'd just go back into Maintanence Mode and change to back something that works (and I use the term "works" very loosely in this case).

In its current state, we get no beeps, just fans spinning full-tilt.

Thanks for your replys, btw. Hopefully there's an answer out there.

 

[Grimmy]

After re-reading everything, I think the only other possibility to get out of this jam, is to try to see if the recovery mode can recognize the CD/DVD rom or to use USB flash memory.

Its possible that the same files on a floppy can be placed on a USB flash pen or drive for the bios to find.

GL on that.

 

[The_Rev]

After re-reading everything, I think the only other possibility to get out of this jam, is to try to see if the recovery mode can recognize the CD/DVD rom or to use USB flash memory.

Its possible that the same files on a floppy can be placed on a USB flash pen or drive for the bios to find.

GL on that.

Well I tried to recover from the CD-ROM and a USB flash drive... no luck. What are the odds I can get Intel to take this board back and give me a new one? Better yet, what are the odds I can return this thing to Fry's and have them swap me for an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe?

 

[Grimmy]

To tell you the truth, I have no idea.

But, if you installed a bios update that is correct for the MB, and followed their instructions, I don't see why not, as far as swaping it out, or even getting it fixed.

Chances are, the MB is still workable, you may have put a bios on there that may not work properly for the 805 chip, or you may have overlooked something in Maintenance Mode.

Wouldn't hurt to ask your local dealer what you can do at this point.

 

[The_Rev]

The guys at my local computer repair shop seem to think a new bios chip could possibly solve my problems, but installation is a "funky" procedure, and I'm not sure where I would get one of those anyway...

Fry's has a 15-day limit on mobo returns, which I missed by about 3 days...

Does anyone know if the D975XBX has a secondary BIOS chip? I know a lot of mobos out there have them in case somebody like me comes along and breaks everything.

Does anyone know if this particular board has a switch that forces FSB speed upon powerup? I know some mobos have those as well, but I've looked and looked to no avail.

I attempted to call Intel and inquire about warranty issues, but they want $25 for the call -- what a rip.

There's my train-of-thought post for the day. Thanks for all the help, guys. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Rev

 

[mesarectifier]

When you installed your 'homebrew' BIOS you could have perhaps unlocked the FSB/PCI-E/PCI ratio?

I'm not really sure if you have or not, but my system wouldn't boot when the ratio was set incorrectly and overclocking the (in my case) AGP and PCI busses too high.

Unless the frequencies are hardware locked, in which case ignore me. Just a thought.

 

[The_Rev]

When you installed your 'homebrew' BIOS you could have perhaps unlocked the FSB/PCI-E/PCI ratio?

I'm not really sure if you have or not, but my system wouldn't boot when the ratio was set incorrectly and overclocking the (in my case) AGP and PCI busses too high.

Unless the frequencies are hardware locked, in which case ignore me. Just a thought.

I suppose that could have happened accidentally -- I'm not really sure. I don't think the bios currently show any way to change that, unfortunately... Thanks for the tip.

 

[The_Rev]

Ok here's my plan:

I'm pretty sure that I'm not getting a post because I forced the FSB up to 800MHz when I flahsed the custom bios (805 has a native 533MHz FSB).

I'll take my box into the local computer repair shop, ask them to stick a processor with an 800 fsb and try to recover the bios back to their original form that way.

They charge $40 an hour -- it shouldn't take more than an hour for this procedure, soooo... there's that. If it doesn't work, $40 down the drain, I suppose.

Other option is buying a PD930 and selling the 805 on eBay, but if the 930 doesn't fix my problem, then I'm out $180 - sell-price-for-805 vs. the $40 I'd spend for the hour of repair service.

Which option looks like the best to you guys?

 

[CptCpu]

If you need a BIOS chip you can order them here. Just follow the infromation on the site. http://badflash.com/orderbios.html
I almost did this before I RMA my board.

 

[Grimmy]

I know you have tried the recovery mode...

I ended up downloading the PDF manual of your board:

Recovering the BIOS
It is unlikely that anything will interrupt the BIOS update; however, if an interruption occurs, the
BIOS could be damaged. The following steps explain how to recover the BIOS if an update fails.
The following procedure uses recovery mode for the Setup program. See page 49 for more
information on Setup modes.
NOTE
Because of the small amount of code available in the boot block area, there is no video support.
You will not see anything on the screen during this procedure. Monitor the procedure by listening
to the speaker and looking at the diskette drive LED.
1. Turn off the computer, disconnect the computer’s power cord, and disconnect all external
peripherals.
2. Remove the computer cover and locate the configuration jumper block (see Figure 29).
3. Remove the jumper from all pins as shown below to set recovery mode for Setup.
3
1
4. Insert the bootable BIOS update diskette into diskette drive A.
5. Replace the computer cover, connect the power cord, turn on the computer, and allow it to
boot. The recovery process will take a few minutes.
6. Listen to the speaker:
• Upon applying power, drive A will begin to show activity. In about a minute, two beeps
are heard and drive A activity ceases (temporarily) indicating the successful recovery of the
BIOS core. Drive A activity will begin again followed by two more beeps indicating the
successful recovery of the boot block. This sequence of events indicates a successful BIOS
recovery.
• A series of continuous beeps indicates a failed BIOS recovery.
7. If recovery fails, return to step 1 and repeat the recovery process.
8. If recovery is successful, turn off the computer, and disconnect its power cord.
9. Remove the computer cover and continue with the following steps.
10. On the jumper block, reinstall the jumper back on pins 1-2 as shown below to set normal mode
for Setup.
3
1
11. Leave the update diskette in drive A, replace the computer cover, and connect the computer’s
power cord.
12. Turn on the computer and continue with the BIOS update.

I underlined in bold what I thought was important to point out, and wonder how much time you gave it. I know it should take around 3 mins for it to work, but could there also be a possiblity that the floppy drive isn't working properly?

And when you mention that there is no display, it just makes me wonder.

From the above instructions, its just that this would happen (setting it on recovery mode, with no display) even if you had the right settings for the CPU, or if an interruption on updating the bios that would render the system useless, in order to correct it.

But the last thought is.. if the bios is programed to use 800 FSB only, then that would perhaps keep the system from doing anything. That would be almost like not having a processor installed at all, since perhaps doesn't recognize the 805 to configure it to run.

40 bucks isn't much for repair service, but hard to say if it will work.

GL on that.

 

[The_Rev]

Wow, thanks for taking the time to download my manual and make sure I'm not just overlooking something. But yeah, I let the thing run for 10 minutes before I gave up -- I didn't hear the floppy disk being accessed or see any activity lights on the drive. I tried a CD and a USB drive with the recovery file on it but still had the same results.

I think I'll head over to the computer clinic (it's literally right behind my apartment complex, so that's nice) and get an estimate on this procedure I have in mind.

Thanks for the help!

Rev

 

[jammydodger]

Have you tried booting up without the CPU in? This would probably tell you if the problem is with the motherboard as I think there is a beep code for no CPU. If the motherboard beeps then its probable that it just has the wrong BIOS settings. If not then you will prob have to RMA it.

 

[The_Rev]

Update:

Well, I figured out how to solve the problem. (The problem was that my modded bios had the bus speed too high, the option to lower bus speed was not visible in the bios, and the thing wouldn't even post or go to bios unless in maintenance mode.)

It turns out that D975XBX engineering samples had a jumper that would make all overclocking optinos available in the bios, regardless of whether you had an EE CPU in it or not.

The retail boards don't have that jumper, but the solder pads where the jumper used to be are still there. Not only are the pads there -- they're right next to the bios config jumper, and the pads are labeled "OC DEBUG"...

Sooooo... All I did was short the pads together (using needlenose pliers, rubber bands, scotch tape, and a bent staple... I know -- I'm MacGyver), fire it up in maintenance mode, and... voila! All OC options were available, and I was able to lower the bus speed back to 533MHz. I put the bios config jumper back in normal mode, and it booted to Windows with no probs.

Now I'm back in business. I've even started OCing the 805. I've got it up to 3.625GHz at the moment, and I'm Prime95 torturing it as I type.

Just thought I'd share the success story. Thanks for all the help guys!

-Rev

 

[sweetpants]

Update:

Well, I figured out how to solve the problem. (The problem was that my modded bios had the bus speed too high, the option to lower bus speed was not visible in the bios, and the thing wouldn't even post or go to bios unless in maintenance mode.)

It turns out that D975XBX engineering samples had a jumper that would make all overclocking optinos available in the bios, regardless of whether you had an EE CPU in it or not.

The retail boards don't have that jumper, but the solder pads where the jumper used to be are still there. Not only are the pads there -- they're right next to the bios config jumper, and the pads are labeled "OC DEBUG"...

Sooooo... All I did was short the pads together (using needlenose pliers, rubber bands, scotch tape, and a bent staple... I know -- I'm MacGyver), fire it up in maintenance mode, and... voila! All OC options were available, and I was able to lower the bus speed back to 533MHz. I put the bios config jumper back in normal mode, and it booted to Windows with no probs.

Now I'm back in business. I've even started OCing the 805. I've got it up to 3.625GHz at the moment, and I'm Prime95 torturing it as I type.

Just thought I'd share the success story. Thanks for all the help guys!

-Rev

Woot, congrats, I wouldn't have the where-with-all to do that...

 

[DonR]

Rev,

I'd love to know how you finally wound up, and the settings for your rig.

I'm stuck right now where you were early in the thread, where it wouldn't boot or go to maintenance mode. I shorted the OC Debug pads, and got it back. Then made another pass at FSB tweaks and now I guess she's gone for good. Still OCD jumpered, no boot, maintenance or recovery modes. No POST beeps, zippo.

This Intel board has been a real bas**rd. BTW rev 304, BIOS 1334.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

DonR

 

[riftshighway]

**bump**

I have the exact same issue that you had--because I did the same thing.

If you'd give detailed instructions on how you fixed it, I would be so very grateful!