Been having quite a bit of problems with this since the beginning but
now I've come to a dead hault. My problem is that I have no display
whatsoever on my monitor, I get no beep codes even if I remove the RAM
stick, I've tried flipping the pc speakers connector and still nothing
has happened. Disconnected all drives and removed all cards except video
and I still can not get display or any beep codes. A tech support guy
told me it's possible that my video card is not supported by the
motherboard but would that keep it from sending out beep codes to me?
All of the drives spin up when powered on but the CDROM "busy" light
will stay lit and turn off for a brief second after about each minute.
A few people have told me that my BIOS could
be thinking I have a PCI video card when it's actually AGP but I would
think the BIOS would auto-detect that. Really starting to believe that
the card isn't compatible with the motherboard like the tech support guy
told me. Anyways...is it possible things aren't working because the new
power supply I have has incorrect voltages? Someone told me to check
those and to look through the motherboard manual but it doesn't say a
thing about voltages. If anyone can please help shed some light on my problems I would
appreciate it VERY VERY MUCH!!

timstone:
I might just have the answer your looking for. Because of what you said about the CD ROM light staying on, it sounds like you have your hard drive and CD-Rom improperly configured.

This could include:
1. Both drives are set to "Master" on the same IDE channel.
2. The HD could be set as "Slave" with the CD as "Master".
3. The CD could be on the IDE2 by itself but set to "Slave".
4. And check your cables carefully. You may have one of your cables backwards. (PIN 1 on motherboard going to PIN 40 on drive).

I have hooked up a floppy drive cable backwards once or twice with the exact same problem. Floppy drive light would come on and basically stay on with no error message, no beep codes, just a black screen. Check your drives and cables.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays

well thanks, that solves my cdrom problem, i do have it seperately on IDE2 set as slave but i've still got the video problem

Hey Timstone,

Please provide more information about the system, such as motherboard make and model, wattage of power supply, RAM being used, CPU being used, video card, and so forth.

Have you checked under the CMOS battery on the motherboard? Sometimes when motherboards are shipped out from the factory, they will place a piece of cardboard or plastic between the battery and motherboard, to conserve battery life. Check that.

En passant, having the CD-ROM on the secondary IDE channel set as slave should still work. I have a couple of systems that came configured like that, so I don't think that's the problem. However, if the harddrive is not configured correctly, that may create a problem.

Provide some more info and we'll go from there.

Big Blue 66


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Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
- Pamela Vault Starr

PCChips 830LM Motherboard (YES I KNOW THAT WAS THE FIRST MISTAKE, ITS ALL I COULD AFFORD AT THE TIME)

52X Blaster CDROM

128MB POWMEM DDR RAM

1.3Ghz AMD T-bird CPU

MITSUMI 1.44 Floppy

Maxtor 5400RPM 10GB HDD

Well not sure if this helps.

1stly try removing ur VGA card to see if it give u that beep. If it does, it is believed more or less ur mobo is safe.

If possible can u loan a VGA card of any brand any size and slot it in and see if u boot up as normal. If it does, probably ur VGA card is dead. If u are not convinced try it on another Mobo. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I'm really not sure If I mentioned above but I haven't got a beep out of the thing since it actually started to power up. Even if I remove the video card and RAM I still can not get it to beep for anything..and yes the speaker is connected to the mobo in the right place and the right way.

If you're not getting any beeps with the memory removed, make sure the case speaker is properly connected to the MB.
Also, check that the memory, CPU and all cards are fully seated.

If the above is ok, then either the power supply, CPU, or MB is bad.
You can check the PS leads to see if it's putting out the correct voltages. If not, replace it.
The only way to troubleshoot the CPU and MB is to swap them out.

ok......well now i have more to tell....i ran the computer last night for about 15 minutes and the heatsink was kinda warm, i guess that would mean the cpu is not bad....the mb just got sent back to me from the place i bought it and when they had it they said it worked perfectly, the power supply is brand new and AMD recommended is 250W, when connected to the drives they will all spin up, guess that rules that out too. what now? possible that the speaker just went bad or was blown somehow?

Remove the screws that hold the MB to the case and slide a piece of cardboard or any other insulating material under the MB.
If the system boots up, then the MB is getting grounded out.
Check that the screw heads are not contacting the MB circuitry, and that there are no extra screws, stand-offs, etc., laying behind the MB.
Place plastic washers under the screw heads.
Also, make sure all cables are securely connected to the proper terminals on the MB, and all cards and the CPU are fully inserted.

If the system does not boot up, then either the CPU or the power supply is bad.
FWIW, a 1.0GHz or faster AMD CPU needs at least a 350 watt power supply, and maybe a 400 watt unit if the video card is a high end model(you did not specify the video card you're using). I've heard of many probblems when trying to use a 250 or even 300 watt PS with the above.

If you can't force a beep code either the CPU is toast or the Mboard is faulty............


And that's with things assembled properly with otherwise working components.


Luck.

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....How long is a minute... depends on which side of the Bathroom door you're on. ......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
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If you can't force a beep code either the CPU is toast or the Mboard is faulty............


And that's with things assembled properly with otherwise working components.


Luck.

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....How long is a minute... depends on which side of the Bathroom door you're on. ......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
..........

i have an ATi Radeon VE video card. which is probably not compatible with my motherboard. as for the power supply, i believe its only true purpose other than to power the CPU is to power extra hardware, which in my case i should not ever need a 350W or 400W power supply as i only have 3 drives and will be adding a dvd drive soon. I have a 250W power supply which is just enough for it. the power supply is also brand new, just bought it 2 days ago, as for the CPU, i let it run for about 15 minutes the other night and then touched the side of the heatsink and it was hot, which means it was working too.

Well Tim, it sounds like you have gotten some good tips here and they don't seem to suit your fancy.
Skis' idea of trying the mobo out of the case or insulated from the standoffs would be the next thing to try. His thoughts on a larger PSU are on the mark as well. Just because the drives spin up, does not mean it is adequate.
Nexis9's idea of trying a different vid card sounds reasonable to me. That could confirm your thoughts on compatability or just that your card is bad.
As for the CPU getting warm or hot does not mean that it is good. It simply means it is getting power.
Try the simple stuff first (mobo out, vid card) and then go from there.
Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

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Frank's Place (http://www.members.aol.com/frankscompsrvice)

*****NEWSFLASH******
I was talking to a friend of mine about this problem and he told me that since my floppy drives light is coming on and it is loading and making noise that my BIOS IS in fact booting but there is no video. I am going out to purchase a new video card tomorrow that I know for sure works with my motherboard, he is going to purchase my other card. He also said that in one of his books it does say no less than 300W PSU for AMD CPU's so I will take that back and replace it with a 300W tomorrow also. As for the CDROM light staying on, I have found out it is probably a faulty CDROM and it also needs replaced. Will send info after I find out what happens.

Tim...

The 830LM is actually an ECS K7S5A clone. PCChips has owned ECS since 1999. 830LM probably sold as an Amptron. The M830 is also an ECS K7S5A clone.

Click on this BBS http://forum.ocworkbench.com/ocwbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=4&SUBMIT=Go For hours of reading pertaining to troubleshooting and problem solving from those who have this style Mboard. Even tho the forum is labeled K7S5A, the information there will pertain to your Mboard.

Luck.

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....How long is a minute... depends on which side of the Bathroom door you're on. ......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
..........