lastelement21

Hi, I have tried 2 X-fi's and 1 Audigy 2.

None are even detected (not in pci device list) in bios.
I have updated my bios, tried a fresh install of XP, made sure my onboard sound was removed, tried reducing the power load on my system by unplugging things, and pulled out most of my hair being frustrated because I cant even figure out what the problem is.


My last hope is that maybe it will work if I plug a 24-pin power lead into the mobo as opposed to the 20-pin ive been using. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas? Help! (Thanks)

Specs:
Abit An8
eVGA 7800 GT CO
2gb ddr
4 hds, totalling 420gb
2 cd/dvd-ram drives
Audigy 2 Zs (Help!)

dai

reseat the card
your specs do not mean much when you leave out the ones that ties them all together
cpu
and the power supply
and would expect to see a 550-650w quality
the cpu and the video pull most of the power,unplugging will not make that much difference

lastelement21

Sorry, its a 3700+ San Diego, with an Aspire 520w 20-pin psu.

I have reseated, and tried multiple pci slots too, to see if it was an irq conflict

psu link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148009

Its always been strong on all rails.

dai

if it was power you would expect your video card would fail to power up
have you disabled onboard in the bios

lastelement21

An8 has a daughtercard for mobo sound, with a proprietary slot. I removed the card entirely, as there is no disable option in the bios. The onboard sound has no problem appearing in the PCI device list when installed (Multimedia Audio Controler)

Its an AudioMax ac97 based daughter card

dai

if it is listed in the device manager because it was once installed disable it there

lastelement21

No luck. I uninstalled all remnants of the old card, pulled out the onboard, and retried the Audigy. As for the computer failing video because of low power? The 7800 has 2 4-pin inputs apart from its pci-e bus power. It would probably still work even if the slot had low power.

dai

does or did the onboard work
are there any jumpers on the m/b that have to be set

lastelement21

Onboard works fine when its installed, and there aren't any jumpers. Just removing the board is the accepted way to disable it, as mentioned many times on Abit forums.

I'm going to try a few other cards, see if the problem is limited to the sound cards or if my Mobo is just broken.

Thanks for helping, btw.

dai

is there a setting in the bios to enable or disable the slots

lastelement21

no option in bios no. Although I may have just had a breakthrough... ill update in a sec

lastelement21

Nope, I made minor progress, but no breakthrough.

New info: A TV Tuner card ALSO fails to register as even being plugged in in slot 2.

BUT: A Netgear Ethernet card plugged into the same slot (2) works and detects fine.

Speculative conclusion(?): Cards that require more power fail to detect whereas a low draw ethernet card has no problem running.

Agree? Disagree? Constructive feedback?

Thanks

TheMatt

Try another PCI slot.

lastelement21

Done that. No luck with it. So far the lack of sufficient power theory seems to be holding water, a 20 to 24 pin adapter should arrive at about 11 in the morning tomorrow, so we'll be able to test part of it. The extra four pins are there to divide power loads and supplement pci and pci-e power arent they?

dai

have you checked the actual output on the lines

lastelement21

I havent used tools to measure the output, no, but I have looked at the monitors in the bios. Ill update this post with what they say in a minute.

PSU ratings:
+12v line @ 35A
+5v line @ 32A
+3.3v line @ 30A

BIOS Voltage readings:

+12v rail is at +12.32v
+5v rail is at +5.16v
+3.3v rail is at +3.36v

lastelement21

FedEx delayed delivery till later this afternoon. =P Oh well, hopefully it will work!

lastelement21

GAH! It didnt work. Looks like im stuck until I get a new motherboard. I was going to get an SLI one eventually anyways... unless you guys have any more ideas?

Thanks again for the help.