Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: problemobo on December 31, 2010, 09:07:18 pm
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Hey, Hope someone can help.
I have just tried to set up my new motherboard and things have gone pretty pair shaped.
The motherboard started restarting itself during attempted installations of Vista off a USB.2.0 DVD Drive.
The PC booted into a screen that notified me of an unstable frequency fluctuation.
I am a bit confused as all components are as recommended.
I stripped the motherboard down to bare minimum and now the bloody thing just keeps rebooting.
The CPU fan comes on and the four Motherboard lights come on but only for a couple of seconds and
then the board reboots constantly.
All the components are brand new and compatible.
I first used a fan-less Zalman radiator heat sink first. But I got glitchey graphics during installation attempts.
I swapped the Zalman heat sink for the fan cooler heat sink that came with the cpu, but found no improvement.
I am using the following Components:
Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3
Ram : 2 x 2 GB RAM OCZ Gold DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz
CPU : i3 550 3.20 GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA 1156) Standard Heat Sink
PSU : Coolmaster GX 650W
Alt Heatsink : Zalman CNPS10X Flex CPU Cooler
Monitor : Basic VGA Monitor
Everything brand new apart from the monitor which works fine with other PC's too.
I also have a the following:
Ext USB DVD-RW : LG GE20NU10 (own psu(
Keyboard : Kensington USB Keyboard
Mouse : Microsoft USB Mouse
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500 GB Sata II 16MB
Graphics Card : XFX ATIRadeon HD 5750 XXX 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-E
I think that perhaps I need to reset the CMOS as I cant even access the BIOS at moment.
think that the constant rebooting has messed everything up.
I read previously that with these boards, if you only have 2 RAM sticks, then you need to install the RAM Sticks in the White Ram sockets and not the blue, as this can cause the mobo to reboot.
So this may have been the initial cause of the reboot issues?
Although there may be other issues too.
Please Please Please Please Please Please Help!!!
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Sorry. Have tried 2 different cases too.
1 generic case
and one BitFenix case. Still no luck.
Have resulted to placing the mobo on the box it came in, in order to rule out bad case (shorting out).
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Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.
I agree that you probably need to clear the CMOS but first I would advise checking the CPU socket for any bent pins.
Very carefully remove the heatsink and fan. Probably a slight twisting motion is best to release the two as the thermal paste can act like a glue.
Once off remove the CPU taking extreme care both physically and electrically(static) and place somewhere safe.
Make sure that the lighting is very good and even.
Now scrutinise the socket for any pins that are out of alignment, even slightly.
If in any doubt whatsoever take a couple of macro (close up) photos of the socket and post them on here for us to check.
Also look at the bottom of the CPU at the lands (little copper circles) and make sure that there is a mark in each somewhere near the centre.
If there are any missing marks or any of the pins are obviously bent then that is your problem.
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Hi Dark Matis,
Thanks so much for your reply and thanks so much for the info.
I think you could be right.
I think one of the pins is slightly bent.
I just took off the CPU to check and when looking at the socket from one angle (not all angles)
there did seem to be a break in the uniform pattern.
Is this something that can be fixed?
And if so, can it be sorted easily at home?
Otherwise. Happy new year!!!
And thanks again for being so bloody helpful!!!
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Happy New Year!
Yes if you are very careful you can probably straighten it out with some tweezers and a magnifying glass.
Good luck.
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Hello again Dark Mantis,
Thanks for the advice, although after looking at the array of pins, how small they are.
I have decided to not mess about with the pins too much as do not want to break them.
Can Gigabyte fix this type of thing with a mother board?
Was wondering what I else I can do?
The Motherboard is brand new, never used.
I do not believe I damaged it during installing the CPU.
Do motherboards ever get sent out with bent pins?
Am wondering how I stand with regards to getting a replacement?
This is very frustrating as I ordered the mobo to replace a computer that some one had damaged.
It was ordered a week before Christmas and I only received it yesterday.
When I picked up the components, some of the boxes looked like they had been opened.
The PC Case I brought needs to be sent back as well due to damage. It looks like its been kicked or something.
Would be grateful for your advice. Cheers.
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Deliveries of parcels at that time of year is always a bit hectic and what with the bad weather also I can't say I am suprised if some things are delivered damaged.
I would advise you to in the first instance contact the supplier of the motherboard and tell them you want a replacement as it was delivered damaged. They will probably argue the point but I would just stand my ground if I were you.
Post back to let us know how you get on.
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Hello Dark Mantis Person.
Thanks again for replying so quickly. You are very kind.
I have previously sent several messages to the supplier (Overclockers UK) as the enclosure came down first on Christmas Eve.
After sending photos of the damage they agreed to replace or refund, although it took me over a week to get through to them that where I live (Jersey CI) has the same consumer laws for faulty or damaged goods as the rest of the UK.
As at first they were refusing to pay for postage.
As for the other stuff. I am a little bit suspicious. I mean, don't know for sure if the components had been tampered with, however,
one or two of the seals seemed to have been missing or broken and the box to the motherboard had a crumpled edge and no sticker sealing it.
Anyway. I shall wait for a reply from Overclockers tomorrow or next week. To see what they have to say about the Motherboard.
I am just a bit worried that Overclockers sent out components that they had experimented with.
Thanks again for your help.
Cheers
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I always tend to use either http://www.ebuyer.com or http://www.candccentral.co.uk depending on what I am after and both companies give a great service with excellent after sales backup. I am afraid that this can't be said for all companies though if you understand and you have to be careful where you purchase. I wouldn't think that overclockers would experiment with goods before they sold them though.
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Sure. thanks for the advice.
I normally use ebuyer. In the past they have always been really efficient and helpful.
I was just stuck really as I was planning to make a PC to run with triple booting systems.
And as Mac was one of them, I had to match the components to ones that were similar to those of one of the past mac's.
I actually choose pretty much the exact components that someone else had used that was successfully running such a system.
I thought that I may come up against some obstacles when tailoring the system to run mac, however,
I didn't get that far. As I didn't get the motherboard working with any os let alone triple boot!
Its not through lack of experience either, as I have built many PC's in the past and have worked as a Roll Out Engineer, installing Operating systems in hundreds of PC's.
So. I am thinking that there is something not so good going on here.
I wondered about Overclockers UK as they are not only a retailer, they also provide a specialist service building and overclocking PC's for gaming clients.
This is why that I thought that sending out dodgy goods may have been a possibility, although, some of the people who work at the courier company may have also been curious or even malicious.
Its a real pain.
As I really need a working pc and am stuck using my folks pc at their house.
to add to the mess, I have just tried to test the graphics card that I was sent and its messed up the only spare pc that i had working.
One which I had just configured to work to give me basic internet using Ubuntu.
I took out the graphics card and now it doesn't boot at all really, the fan comes on but no ones at home.... ???
So, now I have even more problems.....:-(
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Oh, the joys of computers! ::)
Try just clearing the CMOS and resetting the BIOS to Optimised BIOS defaults on your backup computer that might be all the trouble is.
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hey. thanks again. you must be already the most helpful person in the world and its still only the first day of 2011.
:-)
Very good response dude. You should have your own customer support company!
Anyway, good luck. I managed to get the spare PC to boot with Ubuntu without chopping my hands off, tripping over breaking my neck, falling down a hole or electricuting myself and making the whole house explode!!!
So, thank goodness I am at least back on line at my own home.
Still have over £400 worth of new Broken PC Parts. Which is bloody frustrating when you are desperate to get on with work *(making music)
Still, perhaps I will be able to use this old PC to at least start a few music tracks which I will be able to finish properly once I have a more modern PC on the go.
Going through all this reminds me why I liked buying Mac's off the shelf in the first place.
I just wish I had a spare million pound to buy another one.
But there we go.
Nevermind.
Onwards and upwards I guess.
Anyway thanks again.
If you are into making music with computers and want any advice on anything, please just ask.
I will return when I am next pulling my hair out trying to build my new PC/MAC/Ubuntu monster.
Thanks again.
Cheers
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You're welcome any time. Good luck with the music and the computer. ;)
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Thanks mate.
Best wishes to you to mate.
Cheers
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Hello Again.
Received in the post today,
An additional GA H55M USB3 Gigabyte Motherboard.
That I have brought in addition to one that I have just sent back to be fixed.
Needed the exact same model as making for a specific purpose.
Now, fitted the i3 550 3.2hz CPU.
Being extra careful to make sure I forced nothing so that no pins got bent in the process.
Once fitted. I then fitted a Fanless CNPS10X Flex Zalman heat sink.
Making sure only to put a couple of 1-2mm beads of Thermal Paste/Grease on the CPU / Heat sink.
Tightened the Zalman as directed.
Now, fitted one stick of OCZ DR3 1333 RAM in one of the white RAM Expansion Slots,
again being extremely careful to make sure I do not force or damage anything in the process.
Finally, I plugged in the CoolMaster 650W PSU.
Plugging in both the mother board power feeds.
Finishing off by plugging in a monitor in the VGA port and a old type (non USB) keyboard
in the keyboard input.
Notice. I have not yet installed a Hard Drive or CD drive.
Partly because I want to start the installation by adjusting the BIOS settings so that the BIOS allows me to boot from a USB DVD Drive.
Now. I have also not enclosed the Mobo in an enclosure, and am attempting to boot up with the Motherboard resting on cardboard.
This I know is not an ideal solution, as it likely a fire risk if used long term. However, I believe for my first install stage, should be no risk.
This configuration was created with the specific intention in order to make it as simply as possible.
Recap. My set up as follows:
Motherboard: GA-H55M-USB3
Ram : 1 (stick) x 2 GB DDR3 OCZ 1333mhx RAM Stick
CPU 1156 : i3 550 3.2
PSU : Coolmaster GX650
Monitor : Standard VGA
Keyboard : old type.
Now, when I try and start the PC. The PC does not boot. Just keeps rebooting on its own.
I have tried placing the RAM stick in various RAM expansion slot. to no avail. Still no Boot into BIOS!
Please, can some one help. This is all brand new stuff so there is no reason why it should not boot.
Thanks
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Hi
Firstly I take it that the motherboard is revision 2.0 as you have only just purchased it so there shouldn't be any problem with CPU compatibility with the BIOS as it is covered from F7.
Try clearing the CMOS as I think sometimes old data is left on there from testing that might not be correct with your setup.
Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.
Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least ten minutes before replacing it.
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Opimised BIOS Defaults.
Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self and then press F10 to save and exit.
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Hey Mr. Dark Mantis.
Thanks again for the advice.
I shall follow your wise directions as usual.
And hopefully things will work.
Will post back soon.
Cheers
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Hello.
Sorry to bother you again.
But have tried what you said.
Reset the CMOS.
And the board continued to reboot.
I held down the Delete key while it was constantly rebooting.
And this did actually make the pc boot into a settings menu. but not the proper BIOS menu.
The menu gave me the option to either reboot with default settings or reboot using last settings.
I choose the Default.
Which made the PC boot and search for a bootable object.
But because I had not yet plugged in a hard disk (blank or with an operating system on)
I was unable to make the PC boot up.
I then turned off the PC by turning the PSU off.
The PC then returned to rebooting with out reason.
Could turning the PC off in the way that I have cause the reboot that I am now experiencing?
Sorry to be a pain.
Cheers
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Hey let's just get it straight ..this is not a pain!
Connect the DVD drive up and see if it will try and boot from it. You will have to press F12 while POSTing to select the drive. If it still refuses to access the drive than I think we should see if we can get the Backup BIOS to take over form the Main BIOS as it might have got corrupted.
You can kick in the Backup BIOS by shutting down the PSU from the wall, then hold down your case power button in and then turn on the power supply button, a few seconds later the board will start, shut off the power supply then.
Then you can turn on the power supply again and power up the board normally and DualBIOS will kick in.
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Hello Dark Mantis,
.
sorry to not have answered your message yesterday.
I was off line for a while as I had to move my PC parts back to my own house, where I had no spare computer to use to access the internet with.
However, I stayed up to 2am, working on the PC and after following your good advice, I was able to install Windows VIsta successfully.
.
I did have some problems initially trying get the PC to boot using the onboard VGA output. I think that this may be because the monitor that I was using was a really old CRT which may draw too much power?
.
I also had some problems installing Vista on a 500 GB hard drive which I had split into 3 partitions so that I could later install Ubuntu and Mac OS X on.
.
I remedied this by deleting the 2 extra partitions, unifying them back into 1 primary partition, which I formatted during the installation process.
.
The hard disk then was able to take the installation.
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I think that it would be a great idea for Gigabyte to include with each of their motherboards a reset jumper. As, although it is possible to use any jumper or even a screwdriver to reset the CMOS via the CMOS reset terminals,
.
it is safer to use a specifically designed tool to do so.
.
I also wonder if it is possible for Gigabyte to add a BIOS reset button feature to their Motherboard. which deletes past configuration settings such as factory tested settings that prevent the motherboard from booting after installing a new system.
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This would certainly help prevent dumb ass's like me from spending a few days in confusion and frustration trying to get the PC working.
It would also prevent dumb ass's like me damaging the motherboard (socket 1156 for example) during the problem solving process.
.
I also think that Gigabyte should also include a Gigabyte sticker with their motherboards, as its nice to have pretty stickers.
I would imagine it would make some geeky customers very happy.
.
Otherwise. Thanks again for all your help.
Cheers
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Hi
Happy to hear that everything seems to be working right now and that yo can finally get on with using your system rather than ripping it to bits. ;)
Actually Gigabyte does have a button CMOS reset feature on a lot of the newer boards so that it can be done without even opening the case but this sometimes isn't as effective as doing it the way I suggested to you.
All the best
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Sure, Thanks for the info.
Hopefully, when I have more money. I will be able to buy a higher end Motherboard from Gigabyte.
Incidentally.
I forgot to mention, that when the PC did not boot when plugged into an old VGA CRT monitor.
I unplugged it and then plugged it into my Hannspree 32 inch HD Flatscreen LCD TV using the HDMI input.
The PC then booted no problemo.
And did it look good! Compared to my old 15 inch CRT monitor.
Ideal monitor if you have the money (£250-ish ebuyer).
Although, I am probably going to have to use an old 15 inch flat screen for now for music.
Until I have more money.
However, when I get the returned Motherboard.
I plan to build a similar system for the sole purpose of using it as a Media Centre / Internet Terminal.
Cool.
Thanks again Mr. Mantis.
Big help dude.
Cheers
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Hello.
I return again I am afraid.
Not sure if I should start a new thread,
as have discovered a new issue with the motherboard
that I think has been the original cause of the fault
in the first place.
Yesterday, I plugged in the working Motherboard after fitting the additional 2 GB OCZ RAM Stick
and the board again would not boot.
So, I removed the original RAM stick, replaced it with the newer Stick and attempted to reboot.
The system did not boot.
I then shut unplugged and swapped the better RAM stick back, and rebooted.
as the night before. I was able to get the board working with just 2 GB RAM however after 10 minutes the system shut itself down.
After rebooting. I did a search on possible causes for such problems and Memory problems did come up.
I thought this was unusual as the RAM that I had brought WAS on the recommended Memory Support List for that particular model.
However, after running the diagnostic tool (system stability test) known as Prime95.
According to the Prime95 support forum, the test results that my system returns basically said that the problem was the RAM.
I then did a search on the exact model of RAM and exact model of motherboard to see if others had experienced problems and how others had resolved the problems.
Now, the RAM model is as follows:
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) [OCZ3G1333LV4GK]
- 1333MHz DDR3
- CL 9-9-9-20 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS)
- Gold Z3 XTC Heatspreader**
- Lifetime Warranty
- 1.65 Volts
- 240 Pin DIMM
I realise that the RAM's voltage is 1.65v, which is higher than the ideal RAM voltage of 1.5v
however, as the RAM was still on the official recommend memory list, and I wanted a bit of extra speed to the system,
I thought that this configuration would be acceptable.
Now.
During my search I discovered that some people had attempted to resolve the problem by adjusting the settings in BIOS,
specifically the settings for the RAM.
In essence, these changes to the settings overclock the RAM slots, which although not ideal, is advertised as a feature of this specific board.
I have not yet followed this same approach, as I am not keen with messing with the settings.
Please could an official Gigabyte Support representative advise me as what to do with this RAM.
If i need to adjust the settings on the BIOS. please can you give me advice as to the correct settings for this RAM configuration.
I using this RAM causes the system to be unstable, please can someone advise me as to what to do then, as I do not want to run an unstable system.
How do I stand with regards to getting a refund or alternative replacement for the RAM from the retailer?
Or is it's Gigabyte's responsibility to refund or replace the RAM because they are the party that officially recommended the RAM as being compatible with their Motherboard in the first place?
I would also like to add, that the original mother board was sent back to be repaired due to damage caused to the board during fault finding. If the RAM had been completely compatible in the first place and the system had booted with out problems straight out the box.
I would not have had to endure the fault finding process and the minor damage (if caused by me) would not have occurred.
Please help. Really, I not being funny. I am a very reasonable guy. However, I really think that I have a legitimate and reasonable argument here.
Please help.
Thanks
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PLease do not double post!
I have answered your other post so continue with that one please.
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Sorry Mate. I replied to this post first.
But then I realised that the issue was different to the first one.
I started a new post so that any one who experiences the same problems in the future,
using the same configuration, can find the information easily.
Sorry to be a pain to you mate.
Not intended to cause you any trouble.
Cheers
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It is just that things get a bit messy and everyone forgets where they are with multiple posts. ;)