KT3 Ultra - Hangs at "Checking NVRAM..."

This is the original KT3 Ultra and not a KT3 Ultra ARU. The board was
working fine. I swapped around a couple drives in my case and added
one more. NOTE: I carefully did this.

When everything was reassembled I powered on the system to the 3-beeps
that spell memory issues. I was not surprised, seems to happen
everytime I touch the system. I reseated them. No beeps. System seems
to be starting except now it is hung at "Checking NVRAM". I reseated
the systems cards and memory and tried again and again. Same problem.
I cleared the CMOS. Same Problem.

I know this happened before when I loaned the system out to a friend.
Don't remember what he did to get it going again though and he is
unreachable. Any Ideas?

 

Make sure IDE cables are completely seated at motherboard; same for floppy
cable.
Robert

 

Low on power perhaps?
Memory faulty?
Is bios reset after reassembling?
With bad memory setting in bios memory at hclk+33 and the others as high as
is possible will result in this behaviour.
Also dont set it on spd,it will autodetect then resulting in the higher
settings.
Trey setting memory at the lowest speed settings possible,you could also try
increasing the voltage for memory to 2.8v

 

attempted top install a RAID card to the KT3 U2 MS6380E. I can get to
the boot from A drive point if there are no drives attached on the
mainboard IDE(only on the RAID card). Hangs at "Checking when both are
attached. have tried numerous combinations of cable connections and
other obvious and not so abvious things with no success. System
functioned very well until the install attenpt. If you get a solution
to your problem, please post it as it may be of use to me. I will do
likewise.

 

I have recently had a similar hang on "Checking NVRAM". Came about when I
attempted top install a RAID card to the KT3 U2 MS6380E. I can get to
the boot from A drive point if there are no drives attached on the
mainboard IDE(only on the RAID card). Hangs at "Checking when both are
attached. have tried numerous combinations of cable connections and
other obvious and not so abvious things with no success. System
functioned very well until the install attenpt. If you get a solution
to your problem, please post it as it may be of use to me. I will do
likewise.

 

Since the change is extra load the potential culprit that comes to
mind is the power supply.

Can you post OK if put the system back to how it was? If so, maybe you
could get into the BIOS, switch Clear NVRAM to yes & then see if it'll
post OK with the extra drive.

Maybe also try downloading the latest BIOS file, rename to
AMIBOOT.ROM, copy to a floppy, restart, CTRL+HOME to force it to load.

 

__________ ANALYSIS __________​

Nonvolatile BIOS memory "NVRAM" stores BIOS settings (Also called "CMOS RAM"). In typical IBM compatible PCs, the POST (Power On Self Test) is as follows. This varies a little by manufacturer:

1. Verify CPU registers
2. Verify the integrity of the BIOS code itself
3. Verify some basic components like DMA, timer, interrupt controller
4. Find, size, and verify system main memory
5. Initialize the BIOS
6. pass control to other specialized extension BIOSes (if installed)
7. identify, organize, and select which devices are available for booting

AFTER checking NVRAM, in steps 1 or 2, the P.O.S.T. will size-verify system memory. Hanging at "Checking NVRAM . . . " does not necessarily mean that the NVRAM test is the problem, It could be that the NVRAM test completed successfully, but can't move on to the next testS for RAM or Southbridge components. There are three possible causes:

1. The NVRAM failed it's checksum test.
2. The NVRAM test passed, but can't initialize the main memory (RAM) test.
3. Rarely, if the P.O.S.T. test the ROMS of other on board components before RAM, it could one of those component's whose tests that are failing.

__________ TESTS __________​

I suggest the following test procedures, since bootable devices and plugin slot devices (except the video card) are usually tested last in the P.O.S.T. :

MOTHERBOARD GROUND

1. Shutdown.
2. Confirm that one or more ground screw(s) on the copper motherboard riser(s) is tight.
3. Resart. If you make it past "Checking NVRAM . . . ", that was the cause.

RAM

1. Shutdown.
2. Remove all RAM sticks, but one.
3. Reboot with a bootable MemTest CD, like Haren's Boot CD.
4. Using the Memetest utility for 3 to 4 passes to test that one stick, repeat steps 1 to 3 until you find one good stick.
5. Restart. If you make it past "Checking NVRAM . . . " and into the RAM test, then RAM is the problem.
6. Confirm that this is the correct RAM for your system.
7. Test each of the remaining sticks for 3 to 4 passes with Memtest until you locate the bad one.

SOUTHBRIDGE

1. In the BIOS setup, turn off all on board expansion cards like network and sound.
2. Reboot. If you make it past "Checking NVRAM . . . ", one of those is the problem.
3. Turn them back on and reboot, one at a time, to determine which is causing the hang.

SLOT CARDS

1. Shutdown.
2. Unplug all slot cards except for the video card.
3. Resart. If you make it past "Checking NVRAM . . . ", one of those is the problem.
4. Reinsert them and restart, one at a time, to determine which is causing the hang.

BOOTABLE DEVICES
It's rare that a bootable device would cause this, but

1. Use the same procedure at SLOT CARDS.

NVRAM RESET

1. Shutdown.
2. Jumper the motherboard pin which resets the CMOS/NVRAM (stored BIOS settings).
3. Remove the CMOS battery for 5 minutes.
4. Replace the battery and remove the jumper from the pins.
5. Resart. If you make it past "Checking NVRAM . . . ", either the CMOS/NVRAM was corrupt or the chip needs to be replaced.
   
6. Reboot. Enter BIOS setup. Put your settings back and reboot, one device or screen at a time.
7. If you make it past "Checking NVRAM . . . ", that setting is causing the problem.

Failing all of the above, you could have a motherboard shorting to ground, or a failing BIOS ROM chip. Flash the BIOS with the latest from your manufacturer. If that fails, consider replacing the BIOS ROM chip or the motherboard.

__________ END __________​