Please help, is my 7njs dead?

doojicus · Just got here...

Can someone please tell me if my motherboard is a goner or if there is hope.
My brother donated his old PC to me which had apparantly been working without a problem.
When the whole thing was moved into a new case the first thing that went wrong was the HD were not detected so no OS boot. Now the there is no video, no POST beeps and plugging in the cbox gives the code FF immediately and nothing else. The cpu and bridge fans are working.
The video card and HDs are known to be ok in other machines, I cannot test the cpu or the ram, as far as I know, they have never been overclocked.
Have tried the RAM in different slots, cleared the CMOS, different powersupply, no change. Please help. THX in advance, Doug.

System (as near as i can tell)
chaintech 7njs non ultra
athlon 2600?
unknown RAM, 256mb? 1 stick double sided. big W on globe logo on the chips?
geforce fx5200 gfx
western digital 80gb hd
samsung 120gb hd

uddarts · nForce Aware

i'd remove the board from the case. check for a extra stand off on the mb tray that doesn't belong there. i would then try to boot it out side of the case on a nonconductive surface with just video, ram and hs/fan.

ud

doojicus · Just got here...

Hi, thanks for the reply, the board seemed to be well clear but i took it off anyway to try this. Same result I'm afraid.

The FF POST code, the manual lists this as 'boot attempt (INT19h)'. As this was last on the list i thought this would mean attempt to boot an OS. Am I right to think that it is in fact the code for master reset and the board is stuck, as in can't get past reset. (The reset button appears to have no effect). Is there a way to kick it past this so to speak.

Could this be caused by bad RAM or CPU, (which I can't test right now), or more likely dead board or BIOS. Is it worth replacing the BIOS.

Again any advice much appreciated, Doug.

BTW what does (INT 19h) mean?

uddarts · nForce Aware

i had no idea but found this.

Int 19h

When the BIOS completes it's POST it will invoke int 19h which
usually points back into the BIOS and starts looking for a boot
disk (either floppy, hard disk or CD-ROM).

nice try with the cbox. i wouldn't have thought of that one. the ff code probably showing up immediately is more than likely a default thingy.

what psus have you tried? make and model numbers. i would look there first. if you can get hold of a digital multimeter to test the 5v(red wire) plus using either black for ground and then 12v(yellow wire).

no reason to think the bios chip is bad. i don't think you'll even get fans if the cpu is bad.

i'd try booting with just the processor and hs/fan. if you get any sort of beeps start adding ram, vid card, etc. one at a time.

keeps us updated.

ud

doojicus · Just got here...

Hi, still having no joy with this. No beeps, ever, regardless of whether ram, video, drives, cpu, are in place.

The power supply is Jeantech JNP-400P, 400W.
I get 5.10 and 12.39V. Also this PS boots other boards no problem. Even if it was under powered for this board surely it could manage a POST with no RAM and Video installed.

I'm on the verge of binning this board as a new bios will probably cost as much as a 2nd hand board and may not fix the problem anyway. Can anyone help save this board? Thx in advance, Doug.

BTW, the fans do run without a CPU.

Radiohead57 · **--?--** nForced

Bout all I can think of at this point would be an inadequate power supply. What are the specs on the jeantech power supply you're dealing with here? They should be listed on the side of the power supply. The most important would be the 12Volt rail. To run that board I would think it should be at leat 18A on that rail. NForce mobos are very power hungry even the NF2 boards.
If the board was indeed running properly before you got it there may have been a short somewhere when you swapped it into that case. If you are suspicious of the bios chip I guess the best bet would be to uplug the system, move the CMOS jumper to the clear position and leave it there for several hours. After moving the jumper to clear its also a good idea to press the treset button on the case several times to drain any residual power from the onboard caps. It may also help to hold the insert key down when booting for the first time to see if it'll boot. That helps on some systems. Can't say I'm terrribly up on chaintech boards and may be way off course here but its worth a shot at this point.

doojicus · Just got here...

Hey thanks, thought this thread was dead.

Anyway, 12V rail is rated at only 17A but did run this board for ages previously with no probs. Tried the CMOS clearing thing again, this time for a good long time as you suggested, still no change.

What does the insert key do at power on? All the lock keys flash once when I do this but no other change, thats still the only sign of life.

Any other advice appreciated, thx, doug.

Radiohead57 · **--?--** nForced

Well if you haven't added any new hardware I'd be tempted to think that perhaps your power supply is starting to fade. 17A is just barely gonna cut it and if the unit has a few years under its belt it could be starting to put out less power. Its definitely gonna be hardware related but the exact cause if not the power supply would be hard to center in on. If you can beg borrow or steal a half decent power supply then I guess thats about all I can suggest.
As for the insert key it can often be the magic trick on some motherboards although at this point I can't rmember exactly what actions it has on the system. Good luck.

michielj73 · nFHQ Member

hello,
i've got the same problem.
mainboard does nothing.
not even beeps.
think it's the BIOS so try to find one.
if anybody has one please help me.
hope this tread is not dead yet.
i'll keep you posted
M

uddarts · nForce Aware

hello to you too.

what exactly happen to your board. did you turn it off one day and it wouldn't start back up, new build or flash gone bad?

list your hardware.

ud