O.T. : Need Help with a Problem SA-6

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s4brains
Posts: 46
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 10:36 am

O.T. : Need Help with a Problem SA-6

Post by s4brains »

I know that this forum is devoted to our beloved BP-6's, so please forgive my asking for help with an SA-6. I value the knowledgeable input from members here.

I have an unusual problem with an Abit SA-6 that is driving me insane. This SA-6 motherboard lapses into an unbootable state 10-30 minutes after powerdown. It remains unbootable until I remove the graphics card and perform an attempted boot without a graphics adapter. (Of course this forces an error, complete with BIOS warning beeps.) Then I can reinsert the graphics adapter and it will boot correctly again. I think removing the video card in this fashion causes the BIOS to remap the adapters but I'm not knowledgeable enough about what happens during the boot process to be certain of this.

I would suspect some sort of problem with the CMOS memory chip, but it appears to retain all customized BIOS settings correctly throughout the video card removal and replacement even though it refuses to boot before this is performed. The problem doesn't appear limited to adapter interface because it appears with both AGP and PCI adapter cards.

I can also power down for a period of up to 30 minutes and it will properly boot unless a long period of time has elapsed.

Does anyone here have a suggestion?

Any help would be appreciated.


Best Regards,

s4
InactiveX
BeOS Forever
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Post by InactiveX »

Hi there s4brains.

Have you checked that the capacitors on the SA6 are OK? Have a peek at this if you are unaware of the problem.
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KliK
Posts: 350
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Post by KliK »

might be that...

or might the the problem with the insufficent PSU...did you put sthg new in the system lately?!

or might be the graphic card is going to be fried soon...watch for grapihc capacitors also...


send us the feedback from that 3 options...
s4brains
Posts: 46
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 10:36 am

Post by s4brains »

@InactiveX,

While I can't easily rule out a problem with capacitors, I'm also not ready to believe that bad capacitors are the cause of ALL strange problems that arise with motherboards. A visual inspection suggests that the capacitors present are not in "great" condition, but they are in better condition than the ones present on my healthy BP6. Randomly replacing capacitors would involve more time and expense than I think the board is worth.

@KliK,

The power supply is operating correctly, but because I have a few extras, I tried a different one simply to rule out the possibility. The different power supply did not make a difference with my problem. Both power supplies are capable of 300 W which is far more than what should be required.

I have also experimented with removing all adapter boards except for the graphics card and the problem remains the same.

It is very unlikely that it is a problem with a particular graphics adapter since I have tried various adapters (some PCI and some AGP) with no success to eliminate the problem.

Thank you both for your suggestions!

At times the difficulty getting it to boot is so great that I am forced to remove the CPU and replace it with one that has a different rated speed. (I have multiple FC-PGA CPU's that I know are good.

Even though the CMOS chip retains customized BIOS settings, I am still concerned about it. If I had a substitute chip available, I would try a "hotswap" creation of a BIOS image on the substitute chip even though I have never performed such a procedure.

I remain receptive to other suggestions if anyone has one or would welcome information on a source for an inexpensive CMOS chip that I could buy to use for a test. The CMOS chip is one of the newer ones that is square shaped and fits into a plastic socket with pins surrounding the perimeter of the chip on the edges. I do not know the brand or memory capacity of the CMOS chip.

Best Regards,

s4
KliK
Posts: 350
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
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Post by KliK »

the CMOS you can find on the eBAY...

but you can download the BIOS from the ABIT, and thied the latest there is there for your board...maybe that would clear the problem...


also, it might be the issue with the chipset, so try to remove the cooler from it...put some paste on it, and put that or bigger one on tha chipset...maybe that would help...


that is all for now...'cause i cannot think of anythng else?!
Dave Rave
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Post by Dave Rave »

if it won't turn on, then my suggestion won't work. darn.....

one of my bp6's is in a semi-sad state, i can power it on, and it will all spin up, but it won't post until about 4-10 minutes later.
i leave it, and suddenly the beep and the post screen starts.
i'd be sort of sure it's a strange capacitor problem, but it woks fine once it's on, and i don't run it now anyway.

bad caps do weird things.

the suggestion was the reset cmos trick.
power it on, and as it posts, pull the power cord so it fails off, not powers down.
this will reset bios.
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