Booting? Not quite...

Graham · 09-13-2004, 12:51 PM

Hi there,

I have an ECS K7S6A mobo, Award Bios, AMD 2200+ CPU, 512 x 333 memory, Q-TEC 400W dual fan PSU running WIN 2K.

Yesterday I downloaded the latest WIN 2K updates and it said I had to restart.

So I did, but instead of restarting the PC simply shut down.

When I tried to reboot, nothing happened, or, rather, the LED on the mobo lit, the fan spun about a quarter turn, then it stopped and the LED went out.

This had occurred once before (but not when d/loading Windows updates), that time (advised by a tech savvy friend) I unplugged the mains, reset the CMOS jumper, plugged back in and it worked.

This time, however, it didn't. I tried uplugging everything on the USB, reset the CMOS, still just the flash of LED, slight spin of fan, then nothing.

I did manage to get it to boot once by unplugging the CD ROM and DVD ROMs, the mouse and the KB, but when I booted it said, of course, no KB and when I switched it off again to plug in the KB it wouldn't start again (doing the same thing).

I've replaced the CMOS battery, although I think the old one is fine, just in case.

It's working now, but I had to unplug the 20 way cable from the PSU to the mobo AND unplug the mains AND reset the CMOS jumper AND leave the KB unplugged until it booted and said "no KB", then hot plug the KB (not a good idea, I know, but it was the only thing that worked!) at which time it finally got working.

Now I'm scared to turn the damn thing off in case it doesn't restart at all!

One other thing that may be relevant (I don't know) I normally use Hibernate mode instead of full Shutdown because it restarts faster that way (I use it overnight as well).

Occasionally, however, when I try to restart the fan and drives spin up, but I don't get the initial "beep" and the CD and DVD drives just seem to be continually "seeking" (I can hear a "zwip zwip" sound every few seconds).

The only thing to do then is to hold down the power button until the PC shuts down and start it again, at which time it goes fine.

My friend suggests it may be a problem with the mobo PSU capacitors, meaning a new mobo before they go and take the CPU with them, but any advice, suggestions etc would be very welcome!

Cheers,
Graham.

**kodi** · 09-13-2004, 01:06 PM

I can't help you with your main problem but instead of hot plugging your keyboard go into your bios and you will find settings to either; halt on all errors except mouse and keyboard or if not set it to halt on no errors until you fix this problem.

Graham · 09-13-2004, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kodi0707

I can't help you with your main problem but instead of hot plugging your keyboard go into your bios and you will find settings to either; halt on all errors except mouse and keyboard or if not set it to halt on no errors until you fix this problem.

Thanks for the suggestion, but there's two problems:

1) It didn't seem to want to boot *with* the KB plugged in and

2) if I have to reset the CMOS every time to get it to boot, I'm going to lose the settings anyway...! :(

ChÉv¥Z71 · 09-14-2004, 06:09 PM

i have the same problem, i had unplugged the 4 pin power connector to the mobo..and the fans and everything else stay on...but still no post????

does anyone know a suggestion???

**kodi** · 09-14-2004, 06:27 PM

Set it inthe bios not the cmos and it will stay set until you go in there and change it.

Graham · 09-16-2004, 02:46 PM

Well a happy ending to this, although not what I expected, it turns out that actually the PSU was the problem which was odd, because it seemed to be feeding power to the board initially.

However when the shop plugged in a new PSU it worked, when they swapped to the old one it didn't and doing this a couple of times rather seemed to put the question beyond doubt!

The best thing of all is that the new PSU is a damn sight quieter than the old one, even though the old one (a Q-Tec 400W dual fan) was supposed to be a really quiet model, but this one I practically have to put my hand behind to to check it's working!

Ah well...! :)

09-13-2004, 12:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
Graham Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 3 OS: Windows 2000	Booting? Not quite... Hi there, I have an ECS K7S6A mobo, Award Bios, AMD 2200+ CPU, 512 x 333 memory, Q-TEC 400W dual fan PSU running WIN 2K. Yesterday I downloaded the latest WIN 2K updates and it said I had to restart. So I did, but instead of restarting the PC simply shut down. When I tried to reboot, nothing happened, or, rather, the LED on the mobo lit, the fan spun about a quarter turn, then it stopped and the LED went out. This had occurred once before (but not when d/loading Windows updates), that time (advised by a tech savvy friend) I unplugged the mains, reset the CMOS jumper, plugged back in and it worked. This time, however, it didn't. I tried uplugging everything on the USB, reset the CMOS, still just the flash of LED, slight spin of fan, then nothing. I did manage to get it to boot once by unplugging the CD ROM and DVD ROMs, the mouse and the KB, but when I booted it said, of course, no KB and when I switched it off again to plug in the KB it wouldn't start again (doing the same thing). I've replaced the CMOS battery, although I think the old one is fine, just in case. It's working now, but I had to unplug the 20 way cable from the PSU to the mobo AND unplug the mains AND reset the CMOS jumper AND leave the KB unplugged until it booted and said "no KB", then hot plug the KB (not a good idea, I know, but it was the only thing that worked!) at which time it finally got working. Now I'm scared to turn the damn thing off in case it doesn't restart at all! One other thing that may be relevant (I don't know) I normally use Hibernate mode instead of full Shutdown because it restarts faster that way (I use it overnight as well). Occasionally, however, when I try to restart the fan and drives spin up, but I don't get the initial "beep" and the CD and DVD drives just seem to be continually "seeking" (I can hear a "zwip zwip" sound every few seconds). The only thing to do then is to hold down the power button until the PC shuts down and start it again, at which time it goes fine. My friend suggests it may be a problem with the mobo PSU capacitors, meaning a new mobo before they go and take the CPU with them, but any advice, suggestions etc would be very welcome! Cheers, Graham.

09-13-2004, 01:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
kodi Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 7,153 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 and 32bit, Xp Pro, Windows 7-RC 64 & 32 Bit My System	I can't help you with your main problem but instead of hot plugging your keyboard go into your bios and you will find settings to either; halt on all errors except mouse and keyboard or if not set it to halt on no errors until you fix this problem. __________________ Brian

09-14-2004, 06:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
ChÉv¥Z71 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 13 OS: XP	i have the same problem, i had unplugged the 4 pin power connector to the mobo..and the fans and everything else stay on...but still no post???? does anyone know a suggestion??? __________________ http://www.freewebs.com/ch3vyz71/chevysig.gif

09-14-2004, 06:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
kodi Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 7,153 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 and 32bit, Xp Pro, Windows 7-RC 64 & 32 Bit My System	Set it inthe bios not the cmos and it will stay set until you go in there and change it. __________________ Brian

09-16-2004, 02:46 PM	#6 (permalink)
Graham Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 3 OS: Windows 2000	Well a happy ending to this, although not what I expected, it turns out that actually the PSU was the problem which was odd, because it seemed to be feeding power to the board initially. However when the shop plugged in a new PSU it worked, when they swapped to the old one it didn't and doing this a couple of times rather seemed to put the question beyond doubt! The best thing of all is that the new PSU is a damn sight quieter than the old one, even though the old one (a Q-Tec 400W dual fan) was supposed to be a really quiet model, but this one I practically have to put my hand behind to to check it's working! Ah well...! :)