ok so this is sort of an odd one, and an old one. 1st of all hello i'm a newbie here and this is my 1st post. i have a 3.2ghz socket 478 800mhz 1mb prescott, installed on a dead MSI 865pe-neo2 PS, installed are 4 sets of ddr400 kingston KVR400X64C3A/512 512MB (equals 2gig of ram). the reason why the motherboard died is quite simple, it died. so i found a good deal on an FIC P4-875P MAX motherboard which is brand new and quite cheap. now the BIOS installed on it does not support my CPU since it's a 1st version bios so i do update it successfully using my other 2.66ghz 533mhz 512kb processor. after that the new bios is installed and running perfectly fine. i install the 3.2ghz processor and i get nothing. it still won't work. i have tested the 3.2 on an intel 865g and it runs perfectly fine on windows plays games etc... the ram also are fine since they had been detected on that same board with the 2.66 processor. now i look up the cpu table on the FIC website and they advertize it does run on it. this leaves me quite helpless here. usually on boot using the 2.66 processor i do see the port 80 in action runing numbers i do not understand and it ends up giving me a C5 and system boots. on the 3.2 i only get an FF from the start, and it stays there with the vga not starting and nothing really running but the fans. any help would be really nice. another thing, i went to the award website and they say that they will send new BIOS through email if i fill out a form putting the bios string and the date and blablabla. is this worth a shot? thanks again for the help
Since you first used the 2.66ghz on this new board, do you reckon it could be possible that the voltage settings have been automatically set to lower than the new CPU requires (and maybe the bios update doesn't make the mobo able to change the voltage, rather instead just lets the board recognise that the processor exists?)? Check your CPU voltage in the BIOS and match it to the voltage your 3.2 prescott is meant to be... Mike
thanks i'll be working at it now, it doesn't sound like a bad idea, however i want to ask one thing, is it a common problem, or is my case one in a million? it does sound logical as an explanation though since i have tested the board on a 2.8ghz northwoord 800mhz 512kb, and the vga still didn't turn on. however there was activity on the port 80 while there wasn't on the 3.2. meanwhile i have mailed 3 times technical support at FIC and they still haven't given me any sign of life, so i'll keep you guys posted. thanks again.
I swear I posted a reply last night but evidently not haha... How did the voltage thing go? Are you sure your PSU can handly your new motherboard and processor? Thanks, Mike
i have been doing some research on how much power the 3.2 prescott requires to see if i can match it on the 2.66 i have. so i have one question to ask, so i can understand exactly what we're supposed to be doing here. while the 2.66 is installed, i insert the 3.2 prescott voltage value in the bios, then i insert the 3.2 prescott and see if it runs? what i am worried about is that if i change the voltage value of the 2.66 is there a chance of it to be damaged? i'll be working at it tonight since yesterday had too much to drink and crashed. another thing, the power supply is definitely up to the task since it does support 4 IDE harddrives, 2 cdroms, 1 scsi pci interface, 1 scsi harddrive, 2 pumps for liquid cooling kit, and around 8 fans in total. so when i was working at it, none of these were installed except for the liquid cooling kit that is supposed to cool the cpu. thanks again cheers. cheers
Do you not have jumpers on your motherboard to change CPU voltage? That'd be the best way of doing it... And the only safe way of doing it... Have a look at your mobo manual. But find out the voltage differences first if you can... Another question, when you put your 3.2 in, can you not even access the BIOS? Best way to do it without jumpers is to go into bios with weaker CPU, change the voltage... Remember the new settings don't take place til restart so save settings and stay in bios if it allows you to. Then turn off the PC manually, replace the CPU, and start up again. EDIT: Keep in mind that once the voltage is changed, you'll have to reset the CMOS before you put your 2.66 back in again. Don't want to fry it. If your mobo requires you to exit in order to save, you could always risk selecting to save and exit and do a manual shutdown the moment you select the option. This is dangerous though and I wouldn't reccommend it. Mike
Please post your full system setup and the exact model and wattage of your PSU please That will clear some stuff up. No matter how well a power supply can handle all that stuff, it still has its limits. Mike
ok hello again, merry xmas to you all. ok i will give you guys the exact details of the computer hardware parts and links so here we go: -FIC P4-875P MAX ~Welcome to First International Computer, Inc.~ cpu table, select in the socket 478 section the P4-874P MAX ~Welcome to First International Computer, Inc.~ as it says in the site, upon flashing the new IGA42 Bios, the motherboard should be able to run my cpu. - CPU : intel 3.2Ghz Socket 478 800Mhz bus 1mb L2 cache (prescott) the cpu isn't an extreme edition since it doesn't have a 2mb L2 cache nor a northwood since it also isn't 512kb. - RAM : KVR400X64C3A/512 kingston ddr400 512MB x4 (total 2 gigs of ram) the ram are supported by this motherboard as advertized on the kingston website. -VGA : ASUS geforce 6800 512MB AGP. -PSU : 400W, 450W, 500W tested all three, same same ok i have to admit that your technique is quite scaring me, since i cannot access even the BIOS with the 3.2 prescott because vga won't start, again the cause of VGA not starting is the no activity in port 80 since it sticks on the FF signal the second i power on the machine and stays there, while on the 2.66, port 80 does shows some activity, then vga starts, then again activity upon booting OS. i have no problems whatsoever with cooling since cpu temperature on cooling kit shows something around 22 degrees celsuis (pretty neat cooling kit huh?). again i tested the 3.2 on INTEL boards 865G and it's still running normally there on a 300W PSU. so regarding your technique, i should 1st boot with the 2.66, enter bios, change voltage to what the 3.2 requires, then save and exit, turn off system directly, insert the 3.2 and hope for the best. if doesn't work, remove cmos jumper to clear it, and we're back to where we started. i am thinking of giving that a try. another thing, the board doesn't have cpu voltage jumpers it's all in bios. i have also tried loading default bios settings and didn't work remove cmos batter didn't work. use 1 or 2 ram instead of all 4 didn't work (did change slots locations) tried using different type of ram didn't work changing psu to 500 W didn't work i still believe i have options but i just hoped that someone out there might have had this problem before and all this could be fixed in no time... apparently to my luck.... NOT. hehehe meanwhile i got myself a PSP for xmas and i love it. merry xmas again. cheers
Leave the method of voltage changing as a last resort... I'm also wondering, did you make sure you flashed it with the correct BIOS? It's a mistake that can be made... Mike
ok problem almost solved. here's what i did.... in order to make sure the problem was from the power supply, i removed all the fans and everything and connected them to an adjacent case which was running (including liquid cooling kit), so the fans are running but the board isn't. i plug the 500W PSU on the board and this PSU is only supplying the board which has no fans running and has only cpu,1 stick of ram (512) and vga on it. i turn on the power and...... TADA..... port 80 numbers running, vga boots, i enter bios and the 3.2 prescott is running fine with a temperature of 30 degrees. now i'm really freakin happy here.. i turn off the pc.... install the 3 other ram to get 2 gigs, and same setup here.... and no ... doesn't work this time. but at least it's a great step for humanity. so tomorrow i'm getting a 650W PSU (true power) which will empty the remaning cash in my pocket... and hope for the best. thanks alot again and will keep you informed once the set is installed and the machine running. cheers
It might be worth buying a Hiper 580w Type-R (about 50 quid from Ebuyer). My old Sansun PSU was 500w "True Power" but you can have as many watts as you want, if you don't have enough amps then there's your problem. However, a 650w PSU might cut it, just make sure it isn't a cheap tack one. Mike
hello again, there are a few updates, and awkwardly, things didnt go as i expected. i purchased a 650W PSU (it's sexy, hehehe). i turn on the power and... same same. it doesn't boot. now i get really pissed off, and suddenly and idea that i have no idea why didn't come up to me earlier came up to me. i press the reset button and the system boots fine. install all the ram, turn on the power, doesn't boot. press reboot, system boots fine. took off the 650W PSU, reinstalled the 400W PSU, turn on power, as usual nothing. press reboot, system boots fine. so i was wrong thinking that the problem might have been the PSU. i'm also glad the system boots, but now we're into another problem. why won't the system boot from the 1st time? why should i press reboot everytime in order for it to run? but let's say plainly, i do have a smile on my face right now cos i had so much trouble from this. if any of you guys have any idea why this would happen, any help is welcome. meanwhile i'd like to thank you for the support you gave me. cheers
Is your front panel connected properly? Refer to your mobo manual and make sure you've got it connected to the right pins etc. but I'm probably wrong if it boots up fine with your 2.66 ... This is a tough one, I'll think about it in-between calls and see if I can come up with something. Mike
So its booting fine now with the 3.2ghz? From the sounds of it aswell the front panel connectors aint connected properly as Mike thought. Since you last got into windows, you replaced the motherboard right? i rekon your going to need to re-install windows because of the new Motherboard. I am kind of confused abit now at the moment though.
hello again. here's the latest news. as i try installing windows, (i still have to press reset everytime i power on) the system hangs screen freezes on the second phase of install of windows. it is actually freezing when it saves settings the last 5 minutes of install. so i change the harddrive, install a different one, try again, and again system freezes. i change the cables, try again, system freezes. i would like to point out that it doesn't freeze at the exact point everytime, but it always freezes somewhere after they ask me to setup the network connections. i took one of the drives, install it on a different machine, and it installs normally. so the problem isn't from the drives. it isn't from the cables, it isn't from the windows cd. i took out all the extra cards, disabled LAN, firewire, audio, almost everything too, and left only the HDD, and one cdrom to install windows. i try again and bang same same, it hangs. so i'm getting an awkward feeling that maybe that bios i flashed isn't too good. should i try flashing it again using a different floppy drive? or is my problem different? the temperature sensors are running normal and system doesn't seem to be overheating, plus the front panel connectors are installed correctly since i removed them all except for the power one. thanks again and hope i'm not boring u with my everlasting problems#
Try flashing the bios using a different bios version, possibly the earlier one you flashed from. Make sure it is the exact bios for your baord too.
Never give up lads, lets get this sorted. ATX reset been mentioned yet? Disconnect power, hold power button in for 25 seconds, reconnect power, and boot. Try it, it just might work.
