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Two failed P4C800-Deluxe's in six weeks
Folk,
I've had two P4C800-deluxe motherboards failures in six weeks. The first lasted four weeks, the second only ten days. Both failed identically. I'm willing to write two consecutive failures off to a bad production run (or just bad luck), but I want throw my story out here in case it rings some bells. Maybe I've overlooked something. Comments anyone? Failure mode: on reboot, the POST stops at the ASUS splash screen (with the Intel Inside logo in lower-right corner). No beeps or voice warnings. After replacing the first board, the system booted up just fine and ran perfectly until failure. The first board failed without previous symptoms during a reboot that is recommended after device driver installation. The most recent one failed while I was using it. The system got VERY slow (5 seconds per mouse event). The task manager didn't show any hog processes, so I just rebooted--only to find the system failed as described. (Note: two days earlier, I had found the computer frozen in the morning, but it rebooted normally.) I ran exactly the same troubleshooting tests on the second failure as the first. In both cases, the CPU heatsink was warm to the touch (about the same as in normal operation), as was the Northbridge heat sink. I disconnected every possible peripheral from the motherboard to see if the POST would proceed farther--no joy. However, when I remove both DIMMs, the BIOS's voice announced that the memory test had failed (duh), but the screen didn't change; to me, this just shows that the POST hangs after the memtest. In failure mode, all power supply voltages are right on the button. Here's my system: ASUS P4C800-deluxe mother board 1x CPU P4 2.4GHz, 800FSB 478P/512K 2 x Kingston 512mb 400 DDR DIMMs 2 x Seagate Baracuda 80 Gig (SATA) 1 x Sony DVD/CD reader (DDU1612) 1x Sony DVD/CD writer (DRU-510A) 1x Sony floppy drive (MPF9020) 1x Matrox G450 dual headed video card 1x Antec Sonata case with 380W power suppy 1x Zalman INT CNPS5700D-CU (copper heatsink & cooling fan). Windows XP Pro Thanks, Joe Campbell |
#2
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"Joe Campbell" wrote in message
... Folk, I've had two P4C800-deluxe motherboards failures in six weeks. The first lasted four weeks, the second only ten days. Both failed identically. I'm willing to write two consecutive failures off to a bad production run (or just bad luck), but I want throw my story out here in case it rings some bells. Maybe I've overlooked something. Comments anyone? Failure mode: on reboot, the POST stops at the ASUS splash screen (with the Intel Inside logo in lower-right corner). No beeps or voice warnings. After replacing the first board, the system booted up just fine and ran perfectly until failure. The first board failed without previous symptoms during a reboot that is recommended after device driver installation. The most recent one failed while I was using it. The system got VERY slow (5 seconds per mouse event). The task manager didn't show any hog processes, so I just rebooted--only to find the system failed as described. (Note: two days earlier, I had found the computer frozen in the morning, but it rebooted normally.) I ran exactly the same troubleshooting tests on the second failure as the first. In both cases, the CPU heatsink was warm to the touch (about the same as in normal operation), as was the Northbridge heat sink. I disconnected every possible peripheral from the motherboard to see if the POST would proceed farther--no joy. However, when I remove both DIMMs, the BIOS's voice announced that the memory test had failed (duh), but the screen didn't change; to me, this just shows that the POST hangs after the memtest. In failure mode, all power supply voltages are right on the button. Here's my system: ASUS P4C800-deluxe mother board 1x CPU P4 2.4GHz, 800FSB 478P/512K 2 x Kingston 512mb 400 DDR DIMMs 2 x Seagate Baracuda 80 Gig (SATA) 1 x Sony DVD/CD reader (DDU1612) 1x Sony DVD/CD writer (DRU-510A) 1x Sony floppy drive (MPF9020) 1x Matrox G450 dual headed video card 1x Antec Sonata case with 380W power suppy 1x Zalman INT CNPS5700D-CU (copper heatsink & cooling fan). Windows XP Pro Thanks, Joe Campbell Hello, I don't have this board. But, I have read this about it. I don't know if this is your problem. You can decide. http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ Good luck |
#3
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"Navid" wrote in message . .. "Joe Campbell" wrote in message ... Folk, I've had two P4C800-deluxe motherboards failures in six weeks. The first lasted four weeks, the second only ten days. Both failed identically. I'm willing to write two consecutive failures off to a bad production run (or just bad luck), but I want throw my story out here in case it rings some bells. Maybe I've overlooked something. Comments anyone? Failure mode: on reboot, the POST stops at the ASUS splash screen (with the Intel Inside logo in lower-right corner). No beeps or voice warnings. After replacing the first board, the system booted up just fine and ran perfectly until failure. The first board failed without previous symptoms during a reboot that is recommended after device driver installation. The most recent one failed while I was using it. The system got VERY slow (5 seconds per mouse event). The task manager didn't show any hog processes, so I just rebooted--only to find the system failed as described. (Note: two days earlier, I had found the computer frozen in the morning, but it rebooted normally.) I ran exactly the same troubleshooting tests on the second failure as the first. In both cases, the CPU heatsink was warm to the touch (about the same as in normal operation), as was the Northbridge heat sink. I disconnected every possible peripheral from the motherboard to see if the POST would proceed farther--no joy. However, when I remove both DIMMs, the BIOS's voice announced that the memory test had failed (duh), but the screen didn't change; to me, this just shows that the POST hangs after the memtest. In failure mode, all power supply voltages are right on the button. Here's my system: ASUS P4C800-deluxe mother board 1x CPU P4 2.4GHz, 800FSB 478P/512K 2 x Kingston 512mb 400 DDR DIMMs 2 x Seagate Baracuda 80 Gig (SATA) 1 x Sony DVD/CD reader (DDU1612) 1x Sony DVD/CD writer (DRU-510A) 1x Sony floppy drive (MPF9020) 1x Matrox G450 dual headed video card 1x Antec Sonata case with 380W power suppy 1x Zalman INT CNPS5700D-CU (copper heatsink & cooling fan). Windows XP Pro Thanks, Joe Campbell Hello, I don't have this board. But, I have read this about it. I don't know if this is your problem. You can decide. http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ Good luck Navid, Thanks! For those following this tread: the gist is that pressure from the heatsink/fan mounting bracket deforms a solder pad over time so that the pad leaks (and eventually shorts) to an adjacent trace. Based upon the photo in link you sent, this seems very plausibly the source of my problem, especially considering that the weight of the Zalman heat sink is right at the limit specifed by Intel, and, since it's mounted horizontally, is torquing the mount bracket even more than a stock fan/heatsink. I'll certainly report back with the results tomorrow. ... Joe Campbell |
#4
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Hi Joe,
I believe my first P4C800-E had this problem, so I returned it. (it would only boot up about 1 in 10 times - but once booted ran fine) The replacement board I received, had a modified heat sink retainer, with spacers, so it didn't press on any solder joints. I also filed down the standard intel heatsink, so it didn't press down so tightly. So far, this one is 'much' better. It only loses the BIOS settings about once a week.. Bill ...... (my 'old' supermicro has booted faithfully for the last 2 or 3 years....) "Joe Campbell" wrote in message ... "Navid" wrote in message . .. "Joe Campbell" wrote in message ... Folk, I've had two P4C800-deluxe motherboards failures in six weeks. The first lasted four weeks, the second only ten days. Both failed identically. I'm willing to write two consecutive failures off to a bad production run (or just bad luck), but I want throw my story out here in case it rings some bells. Maybe I've overlooked something. Comments anyone? Failure mode: on reboot, the POST stops at the ASUS splash screen (with the Intel Inside logo in lower-right corner). No beeps or voice warnings. After replacing the first board, the system booted up just fine and ran perfectly until failure. The first board failed without previous symptoms during a reboot that is recommended after device driver installation. The most recent one failed while I was using it. The system got VERY slow (5 seconds per mouse event). The task manager didn't show any hog processes, so I just rebooted--only to find the system failed as described. (Note: two days earlier, I had found the computer frozen in the morning, but it rebooted normally.) I ran exactly the same troubleshooting tests on the second failure as the first. In both cases, the CPU heatsink was warm to the touch (about the same as in normal operation), as was the Northbridge heat sink. I disconnected every possible peripheral from the motherboard to see if the POST would proceed farther--no joy. However, when I remove both DIMMs, the BIOS's voice announced that the memory test had failed (duh), but the screen didn't change; to me, this just shows that the POST hangs after the memtest. In failure mode, all power supply voltages are right on the button. Here's my system: ASUS P4C800-deluxe mother board 1x CPU P4 2.4GHz, 800FSB 478P/512K 2 x Kingston 512mb 400 DDR DIMMs 2 x Seagate Baracuda 80 Gig (SATA) 1 x Sony DVD/CD reader (DDU1612) 1x Sony DVD/CD writer (DRU-510A) 1x Sony floppy drive (MPF9020) 1x Matrox G450 dual headed video card 1x Antec Sonata case with 380W power suppy 1x Zalman INT CNPS5700D-CU (copper heatsink & cooling fan). Windows XP Pro Thanks, Joe Campbell Hello, I don't have this board. But, I have read this about it. I don't know if this is your problem. You can decide. http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ Good luck Navid, Thanks! For those following this tread: the gist is that pressure from the heatsink/fan mounting bracket deforms a solder pad over time so that the pad leaks (and eventually shorts) to an adjacent trace. Based upon the photo in link you sent, this seems very plausibly the source of my problem, especially considering that the weight of the Zalman heat sink is right at the limit specifed by Intel, and, since it's mounted horizontally, is torquing the mount bracket even more than a stock fan/heatsink. I'll certainly report back with the results tomorrow. .. Joe Campbell |
#5
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All,
I don't know whether to glad or sad, but neither of my failed motherboards has the problem described above. In fact, it's obvious that Asus has addressed the problem: the solder pad that was the source of the short/leakage has now been wiped clean during manufacture. Any other ideas appreciated.... ... Joe |
#6
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All,
I acquired a new P4c800-e on 19.01.2004 + P4 2.8ghz 800fsb + generic 2x 256mb P3200, CL3 ram + MSI FX5200 video. The said solder points on otherside of the CPU part of the board are as flat as the "Vers 2.0" board is - no problem. I took out my 100% reliable 3+ year old Asus P3BF m/b and through this lot in (gently). I cannot get the m/b to POST - not even an ASUS logo to appear on the screen. All I get is the "CPU test failed" via the m/b audio out connection. I thought it was the CPU so I replaced with no improvement.The MasterCooler heatsink and fan were scary, they were so hard to clip on. From what I've read on the following link, I may have applied too much force - I installed the cooler while m/b was free from the case so as too have more control over pressure points - http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ I have even tried POSTing with the heatsink + fan removed to rectify pressure problem. I spoke to Mike at Asus' Support line (T.0870 1208340 from the UK) and he advised me to release the CMOS battery and mains power cord and also to change the BIOS clearing connector from pins 2+3 to 1+2 for about 10 seconds - I thought releasing the CMOS battery would have been enough. When I explained that this had already been tried his reply was to just take m/b back to supplying shop (Watford Electronics/Savastore). This is a half our away so I will have to wait until Saterday. The only other thing I can think of is the possibility that PSU, which states 0.5 amps @ UK's 230v, could be starving the 75w consumption CPU. This same power supply (20 pin to m/b connector model) successfully powered my previous P3BF + 500mhz P3 + two hard drives + two DVD player + DVD re-writer, so I'm not too sure about the truth of the 0.5 amp statement. Sorry can't help any further. Peter "Joe Campbell" wrote in message ... All, I don't know whether to glad or sad, but neither of my failed motherboards has the problem described above. In fact, it's obvious that Asus has addressed the problem: the solder pad that was the source of the short/leakage has now been wiped clean during manufacture. Any other ideas appreciated.... .. Joe |
#7
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In article , "p&j"
wrote: All, I acquired a new P4c800-e on 19.01.2004 + P4 2.8ghz 800fsb + generic 2x 256mb P3200, CL3 ram + MSI FX5200 video. The said solder points on otherside of the CPU part of the board are as flat as the "Vers 2.0" board is - no problem. I took out my 100% reliable 3+ year old Asus P3BF m/b and through this lot in (gently). I cannot get the m/b to POST - not even an ASUS logo to appear on the screen. All I get is the "CPU test failed" via the m/b audio out connection. I thought it was the CPU so I replaced with no improvement.The MasterCooler heatsink and fan were scary, they were so hard to clip on. From what I've read on the following link, I may have applied too much force - I installed the cooler while m/b was free from the case so as too have more control over pressure points - http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ I have even tried POSTing with the heatsink + fan removed to rectify pressure problem. I spoke to Mike at Asus' Support line (T.0870 1208340 from the UK) and he advised me to release the CMOS battery and mains power cord and also to change the BIOS clearing connector from pins 2+3 to 1+2 for about 10 seconds - I thought releasing the CMOS battery would have been enough. When I explained that this had already been tried his reply was to just take m/b back to supplying shop (Watford Electronics/Savastore). This is a half our away so I will have to wait until Saterday. The only other thing I can think of is the possibility that PSU, which states 0.5 amps @ UK's 230v, could be starving the 75w consumption CPU. This same power supply (20 pin to m/b connector model) successfully powered my previous P3BF + 500mhz P3 + two hard drives + two DVD player + DVD re-writer, so I'm not too sure about the truth of the 0.5 amp statement. Sorry can't help any further. Peter Did you connect the 2x2 power connector next to the DIMM sockets ? The 2x2 connector carries +12V from the power supply to the Vcore circuit that powers the processor. Without it, you'll be dead in the water. Perhaps a newer power supply will help, or maybe find a drive power connector to 2x2 adapter or something. When you buy your new power supply, make sure it can provide at least 12V @ 15amps output, as the 12V is heavily loaded on modern motherboards. (I.e. no matter what the overall power output is listed for the supply, check the label or have someone check the label, to see how much +12V capacity it has.) I only mention this, because there are some "high power" supplies out there, that only offer 10 amps on the +12V output, and that is asking for trouble. HTH, Paul |
#8
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"Paul" wrote in message ... In article , "p&j" wrote: All, I acquired a new P4c800-e on 19.01.2004 + P4 2.8ghz 800fsb + generic 2x 256mb P3200, CL3 ram + MSI FX5200 video. The said solder points on otherside of the CPU part of the board are as flat as the "Vers 2.0" board is - no problem. I took out my 100% reliable 3+ year old Asus P3BF m/b and through this lot in (gently). I cannot get the m/b to POST - not even an ASUS logo to appear on the screen. All I get is the "CPU test failed" via the m/b audio out connection. I thought it was the CPU so I replaced with no improvement.The MasterCooler heatsink and fan were scary, they were so hard to clip on. From what I've read on the following link, I may have applied too much force - I installed the cooler while m/b was free from the case so as too have more control over pressure points - http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ I have even tried POSTing with the heatsink + fan removed to rectify pressure problem. I spoke to Mike at Asus' Support line (T.0870 1208340 from the UK) and he advised me to release the CMOS battery and mains power cord and also to change the BIOS clearing connector from pins 2+3 to 1+2 for about 10 seconds - I thought releasing the CMOS battery would have been enough. When I explained that this had already been tried his reply was to just take m/b back to supplying shop (Watford Electronics/Savastore). This is a half our away so I will have to wait until Saterday. The only other thing I can think of is the possibility that PSU, which states 0.5 amps @ UK's 230v, could be starving the 75w consumption CPU. This same power supply (20 pin to m/b connector model) successfully powered my previous P3BF + 500mhz P3 + two hard drives + two DVD player + DVD re-writer, so I'm not too sure about the truth of the 0.5 amp statement. Sorry can't help any further. Peter Did you connect the 2x2 power connector next to the DIMM sockets ? The 2x2 connector carries +12V from the power supply to the Vcore circuit that powers the processor. Without it, you'll be dead in the water. Perhaps a newer power supply will help, or maybe find a drive power connector to 2x2 adapter or something. When you buy your new power supply, make sure it can provide at least 12V @ 15amps output, as the 12V is heavily loaded on modern motherboards. (I.e. no matter what the overall power output is listed for the supply, check the label or have someone check the label, to see how much +12V capacity it has.) I only mention this, because there are some "high power" supplies out there, that only offer 10 amps on the +12V output, and that is asking for trouble. HTH, Paul No I haven't. My PSU does not have such a connector and the m/b manual did not appear to mention it. Back in a minute, I'm off to Maplins. Peter |
#9
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"p&j" wrote in message ... "Paul" wrote in message ... In article , "p&j" wrote: All, I acquired a new P4c800-e on 19.01.2004 + P4 2.8ghz 800fsb + generic 2x 256mb P3200, CL3 ram + MSI FX5200 video. The said solder points on otherside of the CPU part of the board are as flat as the "Vers 2.0" board is - no problem. I took out my 100% reliable 3+ year old Asus P3BF m/b and through this lot in (gently). I cannot get the m/b to POST - not even an ASUS logo to appear on the screen. All I get is the "CPU test failed" via the m/b audio out connection. I thought it was the CPU so I replaced with no improvement.The MasterCooler heatsink and fan were scary, they were so hard to clip on. From what I've read on the following link, I may have applied too much force - I installed the cooler while m/b was free from the case so as too have more control over pressure points - http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/7272/ I have even tried POSTing with the heatsink + fan removed to rectify pressure problem. I spoke to Mike at Asus' Support line (T.0870 1208340 from the UK) and he advised me to release the CMOS battery and mains power cord and also to change the BIOS clearing connector from pins 2+3 to 1+2 for about 10 seconds - I thought releasing the CMOS battery would have been enough. When I explained that this had already been tried his reply was to just take m/b back to supplying shop (Watford Electronics/Savastore). This is a half our away so I will have to wait until Saterday. The only other thing I can think of is the possibility that PSU, which states 0.5 amps @ UK's 230v, could be starving the 75w consumption CPU. This same power supply (20 pin to m/b connector model) successfully powered my previous P3BF + 500mhz P3 + two hard drives + two DVD player + DVD re-writer, so I'm not too sure about the truth of the 0.5 amp statement. Sorry can't help any further. Peter Did you connect the 2x2 power connector next to the DIMM sockets ? The 2x2 connector carries +12V from the power supply to the Vcore circuit that powers the processor. Without it, you'll be dead in the water. Perhaps a newer power supply will help, or maybe find a drive power connector to 2x2 adapter or something. When you buy your new power supply, make sure it can provide at least 12V @ 15amps output, as the 12V is heavily loaded on modern motherboards. (I.e. no matter what the overall power output is listed for the supply, check the label or have someone check the label, to see how much +12V capacity it has.) I only mention this, because there are some "high power" supplies out there, that only offer 10 amps on the +12V output, and that is asking for trouble. HTH, Paul No I haven't. My PSU does not have such a connector and the m/b manual did not appear to mention it. Back in a minute, I'm off to Maplins. Peter Paul, Thanks for your suggestion. I went out and bought a thermal controlled 350w (30 amp) output PSU - nice and quite - and it had the required square, extra 4 pin connector. System now up and running. Just need to get the onboard sound drivers sorted. Everything else is perfect. Next time I'll try more patience and read the m/b manual fully. Peter. |
#10
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Thanks for your suggestion. I went out and bought a thermal controlled 350w
(30 amp) output PSU - nice and quite - and it had the required square, extra 4 pin connector. System now up and running. Just need to get the onboard sound drivers sorted. Everything else is perfect. Next time I'll try more patience and read the m/b manual fully. Not to harp on you personally, but this is exactly the reason that vendors make it so difficult to offer product returns. If folks were a bit more careful the vendors could trust their customers a bit more. |
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