Ping Jef (and the NG) : KT7-RAID Rebuild

Jef,

I received my "new" recapped mb from Patty today....thanks again, Patty
<g> !

Haven't done anything with it except eyeball it, but a couple of
observations and questions for you and/or the NG...

The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ? The only thing I see
is the RAID connectors are a different color <g> ! Just curious....

The old, flaky board has JPCON caps....the new recapped board has TEAPO
caps....I think I remember reading somewhere that the JPCONs were
crap.....

The recapped board was sent back without the Northbridge cooling
fan....the one on the old mb works....should I just transfer it over, or
is it not even needed ?

I've seen references to the mysterious JP1 <g>...no idea what it does
(not in the Manual), but it's set different on the recapped board....a
50-50 crap shoot....should I change it to match my existing board, or
just leave it alone ?

Suggestions/comments welcome !

Now....where did I put those BIOS Saviour directions.....

Dean....

D Larsen wrote:
|
| Jef,
|
| I received my "new" recapped mb from Patty today....thanks again,
| Patty <g> !
|

Dean -

Once again: papal blessings, major fame and excellent karma are hereby
bestowed on Patty for helping you out!

|
| Haven't done anything with it except eyeball it, but a couple of
| observations and questions for you and/or the NG...
|
| The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
| board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ? The only thing
| I see is the RAID connectors are a different color <g> ! Just
| curious....
| were crap.....
|

That's precisely my dad's observation regarding the "re-cap job" he received
back from Abit.

|
| The recapped board was sent back without the Northbridge cooling
| fan....the one on the old mb works....should I just transfer it over, or
| is it not even needed ?
|

You want the NB fan installed on the board. Abit's fans are notoriously
cheap and prone to failure .. so swap away and, if (or when) the fan fails,
replace it with an aftermarket fan.

|
| I've seen references to the mysterious JP1 <g>...no idea what it
| does (not in the Manual), but it's set different on the recapped board....
| a 50-50 crap shoot....should I change it to match my existing board,
| or just leave it alone ?
|

I seem to recall that this undocumented jumper had to do with the legacy use
of IRQ12, depending on how it's set. My memory may be totally in left
field, but I've read elsewhere that position 1-2 shorted on this jumper
assigns the legacy IRQ12 to the PS/2 ports and position 2-3 shorted assigns
IRQ12 to the ISA slot. Since IRQ sharing is not implemented for any of the
legacy devices, probably best to set this on pins 1-2. The jumper probably
addressed some obscure need for certain ISA cards that required use of
IRQ12.

As stated, I'm not certain on this one .. totally from fuzzy memory and the
Way-Back Machine® is on the fritz after Mr. Peabody and Sherman got eaten by
cannibals on their final mis-adventure.

| Suggestions/comments welcome !
|
| Now....where did I put those BIOS Saviour directions.....
|

Can't find them: have a look at http://www.ioss.com.tw.

|
| Dean....

Good luck with the rebuild Dean! Hopefully you'll be up and running in no
time on Patty's re-capped board.

Sorry to have taken so long to get back to you. My head-cold has forced a
bit more bed-rest than usual.

Jef

Bird Janitor® wrote:
|
|D Larsen wrote:
||

Something strange happened on the way to cyberspace. What I wrote seems to
have gotten jumbled...

Maybe the head-cold is more in control than thought.

You wrote:

||
|| The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
|| board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ?
||

My response disappeared somehow...

|
| There was obviously a minor design revision from 1.01 to 1.02.
| Abit doesn't tend to post this stuff. Major design revisions, like
| KT7A revision 1.0 - 1.2 versus revision 1.3, which is well
| documented.
|
||
|| The only thing I see is the RAID connectors are a different color <g>
||

Again .. my response disappeared.

I droned on about the Feng Shui of the board focused better energy on your
overclocking by the use of different colored bits of plastic.

Next is were things went completely bonkers.

You wrote:

||
|| The old, flaky board has JPCON caps....the new recapped board has
|| TEAPO caps....I think I remember reading somewhere that the JPCONs
|| were crap.....

||
|
| That's precisely my dad's observation regarding the "re-cap job" he
| received back from Abit.
|

This is where my responses fall back into line... it's as if a whole screen
load got flushed down the crapper...

Everything else looks okie-dokie (unless I screw this post up .. in which
case: I give up).

I'm going back to bed.

;-}

Jef

D Larsen wrote:
> Jef,
>
> I received my "new" recapped mb from Patty today....thanks again, Patty
> <g> !
>
> Haven't done anything with it except eyeball it, but a couple of
> observations and questions for you and/or the NG...
>
> The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
> board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ? The only thing I see
> is the RAID connectors are a different color <g> ! Just curious....
>
> The old, flaky board has JPCON caps....the new recapped board has TEAPO
> caps....I think I remember reading somewhere that the JPCONs were
> crap.....
>
> The recapped board was sent back without the Northbridge cooling
> fan....the one on the old mb works....should I just transfer it over, or
> is it not even needed ?

I ran mine for years with no fan after the OEM one failed. Since you
have one, I'd do the swap, but if it fails I would just pull it. If
that worries you, a larger passive heatsink should be available on ebay
for roughly the same price as replacement.

-Dylan C

>
> I've seen references to the mysterious JP1 <g>...no idea what it does
> (not in the Manual), but it's set different on the recapped board....a
> 50-50 crap shoot....should I change it to match my existing board, or
> just leave it alone ?
>
> Suggestions/comments welcome !
>
> Now....where did I put those BIOS Saviour directions.....
>
> Dean....

Dylan,

Thanks for the feedback ! I remember some discussions on whether or not
the NB cooler was even necessary, but I figure Abit put it there for a
reason <g> !

I made the swap with the old fan....maybe while I have everything torn
down I'll do the "Peel label-dab of oil" trick and see if that prolongs
the fan's life....it IS making some pretty funky noises <g>

Dean....




Dylan C wrote:
>
> D Larsen wrote:
> > Jef,
> >
> > I received my "new" recapped mb from Patty today....thanks again, Patty
> > <g> !
> >
> > Haven't done anything with it except eyeball it, but a couple of
> > observations and questions for you and/or the NG...
> >
> > The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
> > board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ? The only thing I see
> > is the RAID connectors are a different color <g> ! Just curious....
> >
> > The old, flaky board has JPCON caps....the new recapped board has TEAPO
> > caps....I think I remember reading somewhere that the JPCONs were
> > crap.....
> >
> > The recapped board was sent back without the Northbridge cooling
> > fan....the one on the old mb works....should I just transfer it over, or
> > is it not even needed ?
>
> I ran mine for years with no fan after the OEM one failed. Since you
> have one, I'd do the swap, but if it fails I would just pull it. If
> that worries you, a larger passive heatsink should be available on ebay
> for roughly the same price as replacement.
>
> -Dylan C
>
> >
> > I've seen references to the mysterious JP1 <g>...no idea what it does
> > (not in the Manual), but it's set different on the recapped board....a
> > 50-50 crap shoot....should I change it to match my existing board, or
> > just leave it alone ?
> >
> > Suggestions/comments welcome !
> >
> > Now....where did I put those BIOS Saviour directions.....
> >
> > Dean....

Long Post :

Jef,

Aaahhhhh....the computer gods are having fun with me again....I guess I
didn't make the appropriate sacrifice before embarking on this
"project"....

Spent some time this weekend with the swap....

- BIOS Saviour (BS) moved quite easily (except for a couple of bent
pins..."operator error")...Patty's mb had the A9 with HPT 1.11.0402,
which I think is the last "official" version.

- My BS had your A9 mod with the HPT 2.351 (Original is Abit 64 with
HPT 2.0.1203)

- Swapped the Duron CPU, the PC133 memory, and the NB fan

- Checked the mb battery....pretty much dead...so I swapped that from
the old board, too (recently replaced, so it was a good solid 3 v)

- Decided to do a bench "boot" before I put everything back together,
because the cheapie ATX case I'm using doesn't have a removable mb
mounting plate...once you get it in, it's a pain to do anything on the
mb <g>

- Cleared the CMOS; minimal boot with nothing but keyboard, floppy
drive, and Matrox G200 video card...SUCCESS ! Fiddled with it that way
(setting BIOS, etc) Life is good....

- Hooked up original 80 gig hard disk to HPT controller (ATA
100)....CRAPOLA ! The exact same thing that happened that started me
down this path...fans, etc come on for ~ 1 sec, and then system shuts
down !

- Much cursing, throwing things, and general foul behavior....tried
various drive positions, and various old drives (boots fine with an old
Connor 420 meg HD, regardless of IDE channel !)

- Decided it must be the power supply.....got ripped off by Best Buy
for a cheesy new unit (but hey, I was looking for instant gratification,
and was not willing to wait a week for a decent mail order one from
Newegg....)

- New PS....boots like a charm !

- Hooking the old PS back up and monitoring the power connectors while
booting, I saw an initial reading of ~1/2 of the expected volts on both
the 5v and 12v sides, which quickly dropped to zero and shut down

Guess my problem, all along, was not the caps on the old mb (although
I'm sure they would've become an issue soon !) but my power supply....go
figure !

Thanks for your technical help on this one....see seperate post for
kudos on 1 additional issue <g> !

Dean....







"Bird Janitor®" wrote:
>
> D Larsen wrote:
> |
> | Jef,
> |
> | I received my "new" recapped mb from Patty today....thanks again,
> | Patty <g> !
> |
>
> Dean -
>
> Once again: papal blessings, major fame and excellent karma are hereby
> bestowed on Patty for helping you out!
>
> |
> | Haven't done anything with it except eyeball it, but a couple of
> | observations and questions for you and/or the NG...
> |
> | The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
> | board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ? The only thing
> | I see is the RAID connectors are a different color <g> ! Just
> | curious....
> | were crap.....
> |
>
> That's precisely my dad's observation regarding the "re-cap job" he received
> back from Abit.
>
> |
> | The recapped board was sent back without the Northbridge cooling
> | fan....the one on the old mb works....should I just transfer it over, or
> | is it not even needed ?
> |
>
> You want the NB fan installed on the board. Abit's fans are notoriously
> cheap and prone to failure .. so swap away and, if (or when) the fan fails,
> replace it with an aftermarket fan.
>
> |
> | I've seen references to the mysterious JP1 <g>...no idea what it
> | does (not in the Manual), but it's set different on the recapped board....
> | a 50-50 crap shoot....should I change it to match my existing board,
> | or just leave it alone ?
> |
>
> I seem to recall that this undocumented jumper had to do with the legacy use
> of IRQ12, depending on how it's set. My memory may be totally in left
> field, but I've read elsewhere that position 1-2 shorted on this jumper
> assigns the legacy IRQ12 to the PS/2 ports and position 2-3 shorted assigns
> IRQ12 to the ISA slot. Since IRQ sharing is not implemented for any of the
> legacy devices, probably best to set this on pins 1-2. The jumper probably
> addressed some obscure need for certain ISA cards that required use of
> IRQ12.
>
> As stated, I'm not certain on this one .. totally from fuzzy memory and the
> Way-Back Machine® is on the fritz after Mr. Peabody and Sherman got eaten by
> cannibals on their final mis-adventure.
>
> | Suggestions/comments welcome !
> |
> | Now....where did I put those BIOS Saviour directions.....
> |
>
> Can't find them: have a look at http://www.ioss.com.tw.
>
> |
> | Dean....
>
> Good luck with the rebuild Dean! Hopefully you'll be up and running in no
> time on Patty's re-capped board.
>
> Sorry to have taken so long to get back to you. My head-cold has forced a
> bit more bed-rest than usual.
>
> Jef

Jef,

I don't mean to be rude (well....yes I do....), but frankly, I'm GLAD I
didn't have to wade through some narcotic-induced dissertation on Feng
Shui, and colored bits of plastic, to explain the mb version differences
<VBG>

I DO, however, want to recognize your superior power of "recall"....your
memory about the JP1 setting seems to be right on the money....When I
finally did get the KT7 working, it was booting with JP1 set different
than my old mb setting....and Windows would NOT recognize the PS/2 mouse
attached ! After seeing your note, I thought....well, maybe that's the
answer to my issue....the PS/2 mouse port doesn't have an IRQ assigned
and thus is not recognizing the existing hardware....once I switched the
JP1 pins, everything's back to normal....good call !

I guess I should trust the memory of a guy who remembers Bullwinkle,
Sherman and the Way-Back Machine....I learned more history there than
from any schooling I had <g> ! I also like the Fractured Fairy Tales
<g> !

Hope you recover soon, and feel better quickly ! ....and thanks again !

Dean....


"Bird Janitor®" wrote:
>
> Bird Janitor® wrote:
> |
> |D Larsen wrote:
> ||
>
> Something strange happened on the way to cyberspace. What I wrote seems to
> have gotten jumbled...
>
> Maybe the head-cold is more in control than thought.
>
> You wrote:
>
> ||
> || The new mb appears to be a v1.02 board, vs. my 1.01 flaky
> || board...anybody have a clue as to what changed ?
> ||
>
> My response disappeared somehow...
>
> |
> | There was obviously a minor design revision from 1.01 to 1.02.
> | Abit doesn't tend to post this stuff. Major design revisions, like
> | KT7A revision 1.0 - 1.2 versus revision 1.3, which is well
> | documented.
> |
> ||
> || The only thing I see is the RAID connectors are a different color <g>
> ||
>
> Again .. my response disappeared.
>
> I droned on about the Feng Shui of the board focused better energy on your
> overclocking by the use of different colored bits of plastic.
>
> Next is were things went completely bonkers.
>
> You wrote:
>
> ||
> || The old, flaky board has JPCON caps....the new recapped board has
> || TEAPO caps....I think I remember reading somewhere that the JPCONs
> || were crap.....
>
> ||
> |
> | That's precisely my dad's observation regarding the "re-cap job" he
> | received back from Abit.
> |
>
> This is where my responses fall back into line... it's as if a whole screen
> load got flushed down the crapper...
>
> Everything else looks okie-dokie (unless I screw this post up .. in which
> case: I give up).
>
> I'm going back to bed.
>
> ;-}
>
> Jef

D Larsen wrote:
|
| Jef,
|
| I don't mean to be rude (well....yes I do....), but frankly, I'm
| GLAD I didn't have to wade through some narcotic-induced
| dissertation on Feng Shui, and colored bits of plastic, to
| explain the mb version differences <VBG>
|

Dean -

I could drone on about other things, if you like! ;-}

I think my brain is nearly full from a lifetime acquiring things I'd never
need to know or use again (but otherwise recall with at least some clarity).

|
| I DO, however, want to recognize your superior power of "recall"....
| your memory about the JP1 setting seems to be right on the money....
| When I finally did get the KT7 working, it was booting with JP1 set
| different than my old mb setting....and Windows would NOT recognize
| the PS/2 mouse attached ! After seeing your note, I thought....well,
| maybe that's the answer to my issue....the PS/2 mouse port doesn't
| have an IRQ assigned and thus is not recognizing the existing hard-
| ware....once I switched the JP1 pins, everything's back to normal....
| good call !
|

Coolness! Once again the grey matter (or is it rotted matter) between my
ears has served some useful purpose. I can, once again, resume a happy life
knowing that I know at least one helpful thing.

|
| I guess I should trust the memory of a guy who remembers Bull-
| winkle, Sherman and the Way-Back Machine....I learned more
| history there than from any schooling I had <g> ! I also like the
| Fractured Fairy Tales <g> !
|

I believe The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle are now available on DVD if
you're inclined to take in some wholesome reeducation.

|
| Hope you recover soon, and feel better quickly ! ....and thanks
| again !
|
| Dean....
|

Happy to help. But, alas, I'm still not on the mend. In fact, the cold
this morning was it's worst yet. My neighbor, who is head of anestheology
at a hospital here in L.A. told me to get a pediatric syringe (the kind they
use to put liquid medicine into baby) and mix up a solution of warm water, a
teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Fill the
syringe and whork it up one nostril, evacuating through the mouth. Repeat
the whole salty grossness on the other nostril.

I've been draining all kinds of crud from my sinuses ever since. For the
first time in days I can actually breathe comfortably.

I might live to foul the newsgroup another day more...

Now, as to your PSU being at issue: Yep... Best Buy isn't always known for
Best Quality when it comes to components. But, bear in mind that your
original board was probably soon to experience the Bad Cap phenomenon...
it's not a matter of 'if' .. but, rather, a matter of 'when'...

Jef

Jef,

RE: "droning on".....no thanks....save your strength <g> ! And
remember.....my therapist said "DO NOT click on any link from this "Jef"
guy" !!

I hope your rotted grey matter doesn't get "expectorated" by your
treatment....your old grey matter helped me !....but I'm glad to hear
the treatment is helping you feel better <g> !

I'll have to check out the DVD of the Bullwinkle series.....the humor
was WAY "ahead of its time" !

Ya, I know the caps issue would've bitten me sooner or later.....(but I
have that solved now !)....and that the crappy Dynex 350 watt PS from
Best Buy is a gross rip-off at $51...but I'm back on-line....I'm happy
<g>

Dean....


"Bird Janitor®" wrote:
>
> D Larsen wrote:
> |
> | Jef,
> |
> | I don't mean to be rude (well....yes I do....), but frankly, I'm
> | GLAD I didn't have to wade through some narcotic-induced
> | dissertation on Feng Shui, and colored bits of plastic, to
> | explain the mb version differences <VBG>
> |
>
> Dean -
>
> I could drone on about other things, if you like! ;-}
>
> I think my brain is nearly full from a lifetime acquiring things I'd never
> need to know or use again (but otherwise recall with at least some clarity).
>
> |
> | I DO, however, want to recognize your superior power of "recall"....
> | your memory about the JP1 setting seems to be right on the money....
> | When I finally did get the KT7 working, it was booting with JP1 set
> | different than my old mb setting....and Windows would NOT recognize
> | the PS/2 mouse attached ! After seeing your note, I thought....well,
> | maybe that's the answer to my issue....the PS/2 mouse port doesn't
> | have an IRQ assigned and thus is not recognizing the existing hard-
> | ware....once I switched the JP1 pins, everything's back to normal....
> | good call !
> |
>
> Coolness! Once again the grey matter (or is it rotted matter) between my
> ears has served some useful purpose. I can, once again, resume a happy life
> knowing that I know at least one helpful thing.
>
> |
> | I guess I should trust the memory of a guy who remembers Bull-
> | winkle, Sherman and the Way-Back Machine....I learned more
> | history there than from any schooling I had <g> ! I also like the
> | Fractured Fairy Tales <g> !
> |
>
> I believe The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle are now available on DVD if
> you're inclined to take in some wholesome reeducation.
>
> |
> | Hope you recover soon, and feel better quickly ! ....and thanks
> | again !
> |
> | Dean....
> |
>
> Happy to help. But, alas, I'm still not on the mend. In fact, the cold
> this morning was it's worst yet. My neighbor, who is head of anestheology
> at a hospital here in L.A. told me to get a pediatric syringe (the kind they
> use to put liquid medicine into baby) and mix up a solution of warm water, a
> teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Fill the
> syringe and whork it up one nostril, evacuating through the mouth. Repeat
> the whole salty grossness on the other nostril.
>
> I've been draining all kinds of crud from my sinuses ever since. For the
> first time in days I can actually breathe comfortably.
>
> I might live to foul the newsgroup another day more...
>
> Now, as to your PSU being at issue: Yep... Best Buy isn't always known for
> Best Quality when it comes to components. But, bear in mind that your
> original board was probably soon to experience the Bad Cap phenomenon...
> it's not a matter of 'if' .. but, rather, a matter of 'when'...
>
> Jef