As the title says this is a POST hang issue.
Hardware usedPower Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 (610 watt)
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-890-FXA-UD5 shipped with BIOS F4, now using BIOS F6
CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1090T Black Edition
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2
RAM: 4GB Kingston Value RAM KVR1333D3N9K2/4G (2 x 2GB sticks)
Video: XFX HD6870
Other cards: Hauppauge PVR-250MCE, later removed for testing (didn't affect results).
ODD: Samsung SH-S223C SATA burner FW: SB05 (offending drive), and LG GDR8164B which was later removed for testing (didn't affect results).
HDD: 2 x ST31000341AS (1TB), 2 x ST3500630AS (500GB). HDDs were later removed for testing (didn't affect results).
HistoryOriginal setup:
SATA HDDs on AMD SB ports 0-3 in IDE mode. 2 x ST31000341AS (1TB), 2 x ST3500630AS (500GB)
Samsung SATA ODD on GSATA port 0 in IDE mode.
LG IDE ODD on GSATA IDE cable (master) in IDE mode.
POST hangs were infrequent (about 1 in 5) and random in nature.
Burning issues (Nero hang in Windows XP or Windows 7) were noticed as well.
Updated Drive FW to latest --> fixed a burn quality issue but not Nero hang or intermittent POST hang.
Updated mainboard BIOS from F4 to F6 (JMicron related fixes in the notes for F6 and Samsung ODD was on that controller)
Moved Samsung ODD to AMD port 4 (also tried port 5)
changed HDDs to AHCI mode; problem got worse (every warmboot has a POST hang).
Observations-With Samsung ODD on GSATA controller in IDE or AHCI hang is more likely when AMD SB ports 0-3 have more HDDs connected (particularly Seagate 500GB drives).
-With Samsung ODD on AMD port 4 or 5 in IDE mode hang is more likely when AMD SB ports 0-3 have more HDDs connected (doesn't matter what size).
-with Samsung ODD on AMD port 4 of 5 in IDE mode hang is guaranteed in AMD ports 0-3 are set to AHCI mode with or without any HDDs.
-In the "guaranteed hang" setup the system always hangs on second (warm) boot. First boot (from power off) is always good. In my video I chose to enter the BIOS and just quit back out (lose changes & exit) to make it warm boot. The reason for this is that I don't have to bring an operating system and whatever issues it brings to the experiment. If, from power off, I boot up windows (XP or 7) and then shut down & restart it will still hang on the following warm boot.
-When hung, keyboard is not responding (numlock light doesn't change and keypresses are ignored), power button has to be held for 4 seconds to power off. Pressing the reset button makes it reboot but it hangs again at the same spot right away.
-original Samsung ODD has been RMAd and replacement one hangs the same way.
-Changing power connectors and SATA cables doesn't change anything.
-using no ODD and using HDDs on AMD ports 4 or 5 works fine and performace is normal. (unlikely the physical ports).
NotesNo over/underclocking, over/undervolting, tweaks or other mods are being used. all items are using recommended default timings and voltage. RAM tests fine in Memtest86+. No lockups or BSODs in windows.
Steps to recreate** HDDs are entirely optional and present or not they don't change the hanging, and for the sake of simplicity I didn't use any here.
1. Start with suitable power supply, GA-890FXA-UD5 board, AMD 1090T CPU, 4 GB Kingston Value RAM, XFX HD6870 video in PCIe Slot 1 (closest to the CPU)
2. disconnect mains power & remove battery, clear CMOS
3. connect power cable to Samsung SH-S223-C ODD to and data cable from drive to AMD port 4 or 5
4. replace battery and connect mains power. turn power on.
5. press <DEL> and enter BIOS
6. select "Load Optimized Defaults"
(save & exit are optional, doesn't change hang)
7. from the "Integrated Peripherals" secion change "OnChip SATA Type" from "Native IDE" to "AHCI"
(you may want to disable the graphical boot screen to see what's happening but this doesn't affect hang)
8. Save & exit (should hang at POST screen upon reboot)
A video showing repeated POST attempts with in without HDDs and in IDE and AHCI modes with the SH-S223-C connected:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGrM7cR_gR8suggestions?
