mixed size DIMMs on P5P800 problems

Jeff Haferman wrote:
> Paul <> wrote:
>> Jeff Haferman wrote:
>>> Paul <> wrote:
>>>> Jeff Haferman wrote:
>>> Machine was unplugged, and the green LED was off. If there was a charge
>>> left in the capicitors, what could happen?
>>>
>> There should be enough load there to drain things.
>>
>> Try just one of the old DIMMs, and try it in one slot
>> at a time. Basically, I'm looking for any response at
>> all, with a minimum load present.
>>
>> http://www.overclockers.ru/images/la...8/p5p800-b.jpg
>>
>> Paul
>
>
> I'm not getting anything with the old DIMMs one slot at a time. The
> capacitors all look good. When I put the DIMMs in (I've got two 512 MB
> - these are the original), I get the single beep on POST. Same thing
> whether I put one in, or both in.
>
> Can you recommend some simple tests that I could perform with a voltage
> meter?
>
> I have ordered some new DIMMs and they should be here in a few days.
>
> Jeff

Looking in the P5P800 downloadable manual, the board has a weird
set of beep codes recorded in the manual.

One beep is

"Keyboard controller error or
Refresh Time error or
No Master Drive detected"

Now, wouldn't that get confused with the one normal beep at POST ?
Are you getting the "normal" one beep at POST, or is the beep code
different in some way ?

What happens when the video card is missing ? What beep code do
you get then ? Do you continue to get the one beep, or a different
pattern ? I'm looking for signs of life here, and the ability
of the board to distinguish one case from another.

You can get a PCI POST card, which listens on port 80 of the first
PCI slot (nearest the processor). You could use that to see what
subroutine the board is getting stuck on. These vary in price, with
the cheapest ones coming from places like Hong Kong. In North
America, some local shops will sell these for $100, which is a bit
of a rip off. I can see one on Ebay now, for about $15, so there
is a wide range of prices. (With Ebay, I suppose the rest of the
price is buried in shipping.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=pci%20post

Paul

Paul <> wrote:
>
> Looking in the P5P800 downloadable manual, the board has a weird
> set of beep codes recorded in the manual.
>
> One beep is
>
> "Keyboard controller error or
> Refresh Time error or
> No Master Drive detected"
>
> Now, wouldn't that get confused with the one normal beep at POST ?
> Are you getting the "normal" one beep at POST, or is the beep code
> different in some way ?
>
> What happens when the video card is missing ? What beep code do
> you get then ? Do you continue to get the one beep, or a different
> pattern ? I'm looking for signs of life here, and the ability
> of the board to distinguish one case from another.
>
> You can get a PCI POST card, which listens on port 80 of the first
> PCI slot (nearest the processor). You could use that to see what
> subroutine the board is getting stuck on. These vary in price, with
> the cheapest ones coming from places like Hong Kong. In North
> America, some local shops will sell these for $100, which is a bit
> of a rip off. I can see one on Ebay now, for about $15, so there
> is a wide range of prices. (With Ebay, I suppose the rest of the
> price is buried in shipping.)
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=pci%20post
>
> Paul


I saw that in the manual, and it doesn't seem to cover all the beep
codes... the following site
http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml#ami
seems to be a bit better.

For example, when I disconnect the keyboard, I get what I would describe
as 3 continuous beeps (and then I get a lot of disk activity, almost
like the machine is booting, plus, when I hold the power key down after
the disk activity stops, it takes several seconds to power off).

I've listened a little more closely, and I found that when everything is
plugged in, I get 2 continuous beeps (very short beeps that almost sound
like a single beep). When I remove the video card, I get the same
sound. Then, when I hold down the power button it instantly shuts off.

When I pull all memory, I get 1 long beep followed by 3 short beeps.
So, I guess I could have a bad video card, though it's funny that what
started all of this was my installing new memory.

I ordered a PCI POST card from ebay... it's hard to find one there for
more than $10!!! I went for a $4.99 card with free shipping and in the
U.S.

I probably have a video card around that I can swap in to see if it
makes a difference. Thanks for all your help. This system is now 3-4
years old, and probably doesn't have a market value of more than a
couple hundred dollars, but I'd still like to try to save it.

For now I seem to have the problem resolved...
(for those just tuning in, after adding a pair of 1 GB DIMMs to my
machine that had an existing pair of 528 MB DIMMs, the machine failed to
boot and I wasn't able to get it to boot after reverting to the original
configuration).

Solution:
I replaced the video card, and the machine booted. However, after a
reboot, it once again failed to boot. So, on a hunch, I pulled the
Pinnacle video capture card that I have installed in an IDE slot, and
viola, the machine booted once again. I then re-installed my original
video card, but the machine did not boot.

So, I've ended up pulling the Pinnacle video capture card, the original
AGP video card, and putting in a new video card, and now everything
seems to be working.

What's interesting is that this all seems to have been caused by
attempting to add more memory to my motherboard. This machine is going
on four years old, so perhaps it's just getting a bit flaky.

In article <>, wrote:
>
>For now I seem to have the problem resolved...
>(for those just tuning in, after adding a pair of 1 GB DIMMs to my
>machine that had an existing pair of 528 MB DIMMs, the machine failed to
>boot and I wasn't able to get it to boot after reverting to the original
>configuration).
>
>Solution:
>I replaced the video card, and the machine booted. However, after a
>reboot, it once again failed to boot. So, on a hunch, I pulled the
>Pinnacle video capture card that I have installed in an IDE slot, and
>viola, the machine booted once again. I then re-installed my original
>video card, but the machine did not boot.
>
>So, I've ended up pulling the Pinnacle video capture card, the original
>AGP video card, and putting in a new video card, and now everything
>seems to be working.
>
>What's interesting is that this all seems to have been caused by
>attempting to add more memory to my motherboard. This machine is going
>on four years old, so perhaps it's just getting a bit flaky.
needs new power supply.

GMAN <> wrote:
> In article <>, wrote:
>>
>>For now I seem to have the problem resolved...
>>(for those just tuning in, after adding a pair of 1 GB DIMMs to my
>>machine that had an existing pair of 528 MB DIMMs, the machine failed to
>>boot and I wasn't able to get it to boot after reverting to the original
>>configuration).
>>
>>Solution:
>>I replaced the video card, and the machine booted. However, after a
>>reboot, it once again failed to boot. So, on a hunch, I pulled the
>>Pinnacle video capture card that I have installed in an IDE slot, and
>>viola, the machine booted once again. I then re-installed my original
>>video card, but the machine did not boot.
>>
>>So, I've ended up pulling the Pinnacle video capture card, the original
>>AGP video card, and putting in a new video card, and now everything
>>seems to be working.
>>
>>What's interesting is that this all seems to have been caused by
>>attempting to add more memory to my motherboard. This machine is going
>>on four years old, so perhaps it's just getting a bit flaky.
> needs new power supply.

Well, I did replace the power supply about a year ago. Are you taking a
wild guess, or is there a way I can test it out?

In article <>, wrote:
>GMAN <> wrote:
>> In article <>,
> wrote:
>>>
>>>For now I seem to have the problem resolved...
>>>(for those just tuning in, after adding a pair of 1 GB DIMMs to my
>>>machine that had an existing pair of 528 MB DIMMs, the machine failed to
>>>boot and I wasn't able to get it to boot after reverting to the original
>>>configuration).
>>>
>>>Solution:
>>>I replaced the video card, and the machine booted. However, after a
>>>reboot, it once again failed to boot. So, on a hunch, I pulled the
>>>Pinnacle video capture card that I have installed in an IDE slot, and
>>>viola, the machine booted once again. I then re-installed my original
>>>video card, but the machine did not boot.
>>>
>>>So, I've ended up pulling the Pinnacle video capture card, the original
>>>AGP video card, and putting in a new video card, and now everything
>>>seems to be working.
>>>
>>>What's interesting is that this all seems to have been caused by
>>>attempting to add more memory to my motherboard. This machine is going
>>>on four years old, so perhaps it's just getting a bit flaky.
>> needs new power supply.
>
>Well, I did replace the power supply about a year ago. Are you taking a
>wild guess, or is there a way I can test it out?
>
It is a guess, not wild though LOL. Actualy, the fact that when you kept
removing the pci cards and it became stable again seems to me to scream weak
power supply.

GMAN <> wrote:
> In article <>, wrote:
>>GMAN <> wrote:
>>> In article <>,
>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>For now I seem to have the problem resolved...
>>>>(for those just tuning in, after adding a pair of 1 GB DIMMs to my
>>>>machine that had an existing pair of 528 MB DIMMs, the machine failed to
>>>>boot and I wasn't able to get it to boot after reverting to the original
>>>>configuration).
>>>>
>>>>Solution:
>>>>I replaced the video card, and the machine booted. However, after a
>>>>reboot, it once again failed to boot. So, on a hunch, I pulled the
>>>>Pinnacle video capture card that I have installed in an IDE slot, and
>>>>viola, the machine booted once again. I then re-installed my original
>>>>video card, but the machine did not boot.
>>>>
>>>>So, I've ended up pulling the Pinnacle video capture card, the original
>>>>AGP video card, and putting in a new video card, and now everything
>>>>seems to be working.
>>>>
>>>>What's interesting is that this all seems to have been caused by
>>>>attempting to add more memory to my motherboard. This machine is going
>>>>on four years old, so perhaps it's just getting a bit flaky.
>>> needs new power supply.
>>
>>Well, I did replace the power supply about a year ago. Are you taking a
>>wild guess, or is there a way I can test it out?
>>
> It is a guess, not wild though LOL. Actualy, the fact that when you kept
> removing the pci cards and it became stable again seems to me to scream weak
> power supply.
>

....or perhaps a voltage regulator on the motherboard? It's hard to say.
The power supply is fairly new, but without having a good diagnostic
procedure I'm left to trial and error swapping old for new...