What Do you Think of this Slot A Problem?

[Clocker]

My dad has had this Slot-A Abit KA7 motherboard with an Athon 700 for about two years now. It has been a great machine for this computer/internet noob. It is running Win98SE and a TNT2 graphics card with a 13GB Maxtor 7200 RPM HDD and 128MB PC133 SDRAM.

Nonetheless the system just died. For several weeks my he was having an intermittant problem. The system would not boot up. It would power up but there would be no video signal sent to the monitor (system would not load Windows in the background either). He would solve the problem by unplugging the system (he didn't know he had to hold the power button for 4 seconds to shut down manually) and let is sit for a minute or two and then plug everything back in and restart. Usually it would start back up and boot into Windows OK. The problem only seemed to occur if the machine sat overnight because he could shut it down for a little while during the day and bring it back up no problem.

Anyway, now the system will not boot at all. Everything powers up but no signal goes to the monitor and WIndows will not boot. The RAM, HDD and all other PCI cards are already installed in another system and working OK so I don't think there are any issues with those components. Since the problem was initially intermittant and at boot-up, I don't think the CPU is the problem. Basically, I down to the motherboard. Is it just dead or is the BIOS just corrupted or something?

Any ideas? In the meantime, I have to check if I can RMA a two year old KA7....because I just gave my Athlon 1200 folding mobo and cpu to him....

C

 

[Tea]

Swap out the power supply before you do anything radical

 

[Clocker]

Whoops. Tried that too. Forgot to mention...

C

 

[Clocker]

Also, the PS is now running an Athlon 1200 (underclocked @1000) right now with no problems. The PS (clone of the Antec P303x) is rated for Athlons up to 1000mhz although it seemed to run the system at 1200 with no problems either...I'm keeping it at 1000mhz to be safe and stable for my dad...

 

[Tea]

Underclocked? Do you think you better to hang up your boots and give up your handle?

 

[Clocker]

Lol. Heh heh it is my Dad's machine!

I can't justify giving him a new PSU (to officially support the 1200 Athlon) when he was barely using his 700 mhz Athlon classic processor!

So do you think the board is just toast or that I could save it with a new BIOS chip?

C

 

[Clocker]

Heh...my name is Clocker...not Over-Clocker or Under-Clocker...just Clocker. I guess that means I can go both ways.... ... At least when it comes to computers....

 

[Groltz]

Did the motherboard battery die? Some motherboards, by default, don't initialize an AGP video card. If that battery died, the bios would go into default every time the PC was powered up regardless of where it was set on the previous use. This doesn't sound like the problem though.

Did the system choke to death on dust and lint? (Causes overheating) I have seen it before, but wouldn't expect it in a machine that you have been working on. It is mostly typical of folks that don't ever open their cases. Oh yeah, did the motherboard happen to get cleaned by vacuum or compressed air and an important jumper get dislodged?

Do any of the IDE/video/power supply/mouse/keyboard cables have pins that are bent or pushed in? That could do it--some bioses won't proceed to boot if they can't communicate with these devices. (not the PSU, of course)

Good luck C, I hope you can figure it out.

--Steve

 

[Clocker]

Well, my dad said he left the machine on and came back to find it dead. I don't think I'm going to waste any more time on this mobo. I just bout another KX133 one for $40 and I'll be done with it. It will be a 24/7 cruncher now and my Athlon 1200 will be a part-timer at dad's house. Unless I can get the mobo delivered before my dad starts crying for his computer back..

C

 

[JMP]

The old ABIT Slot A boards use to have a problem with the capacitors (abit newsgroup was talking about it months ago) I have never seen it myself but if you look at the capacitors around the slot check to see if any are bulging at the top.

I don't no about RMA as most of the talk in the newsgroup alt.comp.mainboards.abit was about replacing them yourself.

If it is the capacitors try a search for ABIT and Capacitors or check this site http://home.att.net/~garyheadlee/

Jeff

 

[Clocker]

Thanks JMP! I will be contacting the CapMan for more info. I really appreciate you chiming in here!

Clocker

 

[Clocker]

Yep...I looked at the board...there are about 12-15 blown capacitors on it.

Too bad $75 is too much to justify having the caps replaced.

I hear that Abit had a bad batch of capacitors and that was the cause.

C

 

[JMP]

Glad the information helped.

At least you know what happened to it, I agree though at the price it does not make sence to have it fixed.

Jeff

 

[NRG = mc²]

if you're handy with a soldering iron why not get the caps from RS and do it yourself? 30 caps shouldnt cost more than $10

 

[Clocker]

Cause I'm not handy with a soldering iron Plus, my time is worth more to me than that...

 

[Tannin]

Soldering on multi-layer boards (which all motherboards are) is not easy. It takes the proper tools and a good deal of practice. If you don't do this stuff all the time, pay someone who does do it regularly to do it for you. Or throw the part away. Usually, this last course is the most cost-effective.

 

[Groltz]

Soldering on multi-layer boards (which all motherboards are) is not easy. It takes the proper tools and a good deal of practice. If you don't do this stuff all the time, pay someone who does do it regularly to do it for you. Or throw the part away. Usually, this last course is the most cost-effective.

I was able to successfully unsolder an AT style keyboard port from an FIC VA-503+ motherboard and solder in a PS2 type. Even though the pin hole alignments were the same, it was a pain in the ass. Tannin isn't joking.

 

[Tannin]

And you, Steve, are someone who works with his hands for a living and are thus most likely more than normally capable for this sort of task.

I usually avoid trying to solder on mainboards, not even to replace a battery. I just don't do this sort of thing often enough to be any good at it. If I need a board soldered, I take it down to someone who repairs TVs and VCRs for a living. Quite often costs me nothing, because in the five minutes it takes the guy to do the job for me, he usually picks my brains about some very-difficult-for-him but easy-for-me computer problem. Moral of the story is "each to his own".