Problem w/ BIOSTAR TForce 6100/NF 410, Socket 754

I may have had a virus, but now the problem has really started... my
machine was being very sluggish so I rebooted and then I couldn't get
past the windows XP start-up screen with the scrolling blue bar near
the lower center. So, stupidly, I restarted again and went into the
bios and reset it to the default. Now I can't see anything. I get
one beep and the keyboard flashes when I turn it on now but the screen
stays blank. I think the connections are all good -- I've got
everything plugged in -- but I can't even see a bios screen or
anything now! I'm not the most savvy comp user and I don't have the
manual. Even if I did it might be Greek to me. Does anyone recognize
this problem and can they explain or link me to a few possible
solutions? Is there something I need to reset manually on the
motherboard? It's my primary machine and I am at a real loss right
now.

N. Zero wrote:
> I may have had a virus, but now the problem has really started... my
> machine was being very sluggish so I rebooted and then I couldn't get
> past the windows XP start-up screen with the scrolling blue bar near
> the lower center. So, stupidly, I restarted again and went into the
> bios and reset it to the default. Now I can't see anything. I get
> one beep and the keyboard flashes when I turn it on now but the screen
> stays blank. I think the connections are all good -- I've got
> everything plugged in -- but I can't even see a bios screen or
> anything now! I'm not the most savvy comp user and I don't have the
> manual. Even if I did it might be Greek to me. Does anyone recognize
> this problem and can they explain or link me to a few possible
> solutions? Is there something I need to reset manually on the
> motherboard? It's my primary machine and I am at a real loss right
> now.

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...t.php?S_ID=189

(Manual)
http://download.biostar.com.tw/uploa...189_manual.exe

The motherboard has four diagnostic LEDs on the surface. See page 20
or so. Check to see if a code is showing. LED D1 and LED D2, if both
are ON, that means NORMAL or no problem found.

Check that reset switch is not jammed in the ON position. Motherboard
switches are momentary contacts. There may be switches on the motherboard
surface, as well as computer case switches. A reset switch jammed in
the ON position, prevents a motherboard from starting. Either the
switch on the case could do it, or the switch on the motherboard
could do it.

If you've been clearing the CMOS, you may have not followed the
procedure properly. JCMOS1 is in the lower right corner of the
board. Clearing CMOS should only be done with the AC power cord
unplugged, to guarantee there is no +5VSB present on the motherboard.
Failure to do so, can result in burned ORing diodes, feeding the
CMOS well on the chipset. That can prevent startup too.

When you're finished clearing the CMOS (with the AC power off), check
that the jumper is in position 1-2, as shown in the manual on PDF page 18.

Check that the CMOS battery is in place. If it isn't, unplug the
computer and put it back. It should only fit one way, with the
(+) terminal on top. If you have a multimeter, you can verify it is
3.0V or so. If the voltage is below 2.4V, it is time to change it.

I'm not sure the manual is showing all the BIOS screens, so there
could be some other function to look at. You probably know your
own BIOS better than I do. Of course, if you cannot see the screen,
it may be pretty hard to navigate anywhere in any case.

Do you have other hardware installed in the computer ? Do you have
a video card plugged in ? Give an inventory, just in case there is
some possibility I missed.

Paul

Thank you so much. My machine is still down but it's nice to think I
may be able to start making progress on it's recovery.

I haven't tinkered with any of the hardware yet and the failure
occurred strictly through software and Bios action. I am not terribly
experienced with resetting things like CMOS but I will follow your
instructions via the manual and get a friend to help. I am just a
little surprised that these things would reset/revert/change
themselves without manual effort from the user? I've only done
anything with a mouse so far so I can't see how the old set-up on the
motherboard would need to be changed?

I see two sets of LEDS on the motherboard. One is a group of 4 red
lights and the other below that is one blue light.
The video card is standard on-board. No other exceptional hardware
added.

On Jul 15, 7:03*am, Paul <nos...@needed.com> wrote:
> N. Zero wrote:
> > I may have had a virus, but now the problem has really started... my
> > machine was being very sluggish so I rebooted and then I couldn't get
> > past the windows XP start-up screen with the scrolling blue bar near
> > the lower center. *So, stupidly, I restarted again and went into the
> > bios and reset it to the default. *Now I can't see anything. *I get
> > one beep and the keyboard flashes when I turn it on now but the screen
> > stays blank. *I think the connections are all good -- I've got
> > everything plugged in -- but I can't even see a bios screen or
> > anything now! *I'm not the most savvy comp user and I don't have the
> > manual. *Even if I did it might be Greek to me. *Does anyone recognize
> > this problem and can they explain or link me to a few possible
> > solutions? *Is there something I need to reset manually on the
> > motherboard? *It's my primary machine and I am at a real loss right
> > now.
>
> http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...t.php?S_ID=189
>
> (Manual)http://download.biostar.com.tw/uploa...100_189_manual...
>
> The motherboard has four diagnostic LEDs on the surface. See page 20
> or so. Check to see if a code is showing. LED D1 and LED D2, if both
> are ON, that means NORMAL or no problem found.
>
> Check that reset switch is not jammed in the ON position. Motherboard
> switches are momentary contacts. There may be switches on the motherboard
> surface, as well as computer case switches. A reset switch jammed in
> the ON position, prevents a motherboard from starting. Either the
> switch on the case could do it, or the switch on the motherboard
> could do it.
>
> If you've been clearing the CMOS, you may have not followed the
> procedure properly. JCMOS1 is in the lower right corner of the
> board. Clearing CMOS should only be done with the AC power cord
> unplugged, to guarantee there is no +5VSB present on the motherboard.
> Failure to do so, can result in burned ORing diodes, feeding the
> CMOS well on the chipset. That can prevent startup too.
>
> When you're finished clearing the CMOS (with the AC power off), check
> that the jumper is in position 1-2, as shown in the manual on PDF page 18..
>
> Check that the CMOS battery is in place. If it isn't, unplug the
> computer and put it back. It should only fit one way, with the
> (+) terminal on top. If you have a multimeter, you can verify it is
> 3.0V or so. If the voltage is below 2.4V, it is time to change it.
>
> I'm not sure the manual is showing all the BIOS screens, so there
> could be some other function to look at. You probably know your
> own BIOS better than I do. Of course, if you cannot see the screen,
> it may be pretty hard to navigate anywhere in any case.
>
> Do you have other hardware installed in the computer ? Do you have
> a video card plugged in ? Give an inventory, just in case there is
> some possibility I missed.
>
> * * Paul

N. Zero wrote:
> Thank you so much. My machine is still down but it's nice to think I
> may be able to start making progress on it's recovery.
>
> I haven't tinkered with any of the hardware yet and the failure
> occurred strictly through software and Bios action. I am not terribly
> experienced with resetting things like CMOS but I will follow your
> instructions via the manual and get a friend to help. I am just a
> little surprised that these things would reset/revert/change
> themselves without manual effort from the user? I've only done
> anything with a mouse so far so I can't see how the old set-up on the
> motherboard would need to be changed?
>
> I see two sets of LEDS on the motherboard. One is a group of 4 red
> lights and the other below that is one blue light.
> The video card is standard on-board. No other exceptional hardware
> added.
>

At this point, I would recommend reading the manual, with respect
to those four LEDs. Two of the LEDs have a diagnostic code.
Of the four possible values of the two LEDs, one is a "good"
value, while the other three values indicate there is trouble.

You can try the CMOS clearing procedure, if you haven't done
it already. It should restore the output to the integrated
graphics chip and the connector on the back of the computer.
Make sure the jumper is back in the "inactive" position (1-2 ?),
before connecting the power cord to the wall again. The procedure in
the manual is pretty clear about what to do.

It could be, that the sluggishness you were seeing before all
this happened, was actually caused by the built-in graphics
failing. So that is another possibility. If none of your
attempts to revive it are working, that might be the problem.
If the motherboard has any warranty left on it, that might be
your recourse. To send it back and have them install another
Northbridge. Usually there is a procedure where you request an
RMA, and you write the RMA number on the outside of the package
before sending it to the motherboard manufacturer. The
shipping/receiving door at large companies, won't accept
a parcel unless there is a valid RMA number printed on it.
An RMA number means they're expecting it, and know what
the parcel is all about.

There is another thing you can try. It is also possible a
stick of RAM has failed. If memory locations below 640K
are bad, the BIOS may not be able to do enough testing, to
give a beep error (or update that diagnostic LED display).
I have a motherboard here that failed that way, it wouldn't
beep when the RAM died.

If you have two sticks of RAM in the motherboard, test them one
at a time. It isn't likely two would die at the same time.

When changing the RAM, make sure all the power is off. This
is another case, where I want the computer unplugged, to
prevent damage to any RAM sticks. There is "standby" voltage
in the RAM socket, as long as the power supply is switched
ON at the back.

Yet another test, is to not plug any RAM sticks in, then observe
the motherboard response. Do those diagnostic LEDs have
a code for "RAM failure" ? If so, I'd expect to see the
two LEDs show the proper code. Sometimes, removing all
RAM, attempting to start up, then shutdown, power off,
and install some RAM, power up again, is enough to revive
some motherboards. Some of them seem to "reset" something,
if no RAM is present. I haven't a clue why that works, but
it is another test case to try. The "no RAM" test case,
followed by "installed some RAM" test case.

Paul