possible bad motherboard? want your opinion

Crunch It Now · 05-25-2000, 07:10 PM

this computer i am trying to build is being a real beotch. its a tekram mobo - that one that was posted on the deals page around a month ago for like $40. anyways, what it does is it POSTs, and gets to the part where it says "updating ESCD" and then it is supposed to hit up the OS, right? well, instead, it just reboots - and it does this over and over forever. i have swapped cpus, ram, power supplies, and i have unplugged everything from the mobo, except the power switch, mobo power and speaker, but it still does it. i tested the voltage on the cmos battery, and its still good at 2.9 volts. i have tried every combination of bios settings - i have disabled everything and turning everything on one by one. the last time i tried to get into the bios, however, a black screen came up and said "Failure..." and that was it. thats when i got really pissed and quit working on it.

so you guys think this is a bad board, or does anyone else have anything else i can try? i tried looking on Tekram's tech support page, but it was useless.

Sjarred · 05-25-2000, 11:37 PM

If the same problem came up when you switched different components ie: cpu, rams, etc. then I guess the board is messed up. Did you ground yourself while installing the board??? It may have been fried. Good Luck.

Crunch It Now · 05-26-2000, 12:45 AM

i always ground myself when working on comps - i also do many times while i am in the middle of working on em. but every board that i have seen that was deemed "fried" never POSTed. but this one still does. i think im gonna try and exchange it....

BADFlSH · 05-26-2000, 01:18 AM

I have never heard of anything like it. The only think I can think of is to check and make sure that none of the screws holding the motherboard in place have shorted out the board.

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skyjuice · 05-26-2000, 10:41 AM

who buys Tekram mobo anyways?

skyjuice · 05-26-2000, 10:54 AM

no but on a serious note- I once obtained a Tekram SCSI card that was bad- I had a hell of a time finding there phone number but after speaking to several oriental pc techs, i did get an english speaking technician who mailed me out a replacement card. They were pretty fair about it, it just took me like an hour of information and dialing this number and this number. Tekram has really, really low quality products-i recommend you get that board replaced because it is obviously defective. Then try and use the replacement. I hope you got the certificate of authenticity with the board cause that usually helps, but then again if you scream loud enough, they will replace it. Good luck to you. PS F Mettalica-out.

Crunch It Now · 05-27-2000, 05:14 AM

yeah - i had a hell of a time trying to find their number too - but i did find it and called em up today, and the lady i talked to was really nice. i just told her the board was defective, and she emailed me an RMA number right away, so im just exchanging it.

Speedfreak · 05-31-2000, 12:28 PM

Maybe the part on the motherboard that finds the OS is bad.

Seriously, though... It does sound like SOMETHING is wrong with the motherboard.

My friend had a problem one time where his computer just kept rebooting (without even posting). We eventually found out that the reset button was stuck, so it just kept getting the command to reset. It was nice to know that no hardware was bad, but it kind of made us mad after looking it over for a couple of hours and then finding out it was something like that. Now I just laugh.

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Crunch It Now · 05-31-2000, 05:35 PM

i thought about that too - so i just unplugged the reset switch cord from the motherboard, and it still did it - so i figured it wasnt the reset switch that was stuck...

MaStAYoDA1 · 06-09-2000, 08:13 PM

Yeah, definitely the motherboard... you might want to look into an ABIT or ASUS... they may be more expensive, but you'll definitely get paid off in the long run.

Mercury · 06-12-2000, 08:59 AM

Hey, had the same problem with a cheap MOBO a while back and it had nothing to do with the MOBO. it's acutally a HDD / OS thing. I had to go through and check all the partitions and make sure the primary drive was active, and to make sure it was all good. Try swapping that HDD in to another machine and see if it gets past the ESCD step. Probably won't.

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05-25-2000, 07:10 PM	#1
Crunch It Now Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Des Moines, WA, USA Posts: 149	this computer i am trying to build is being a real beotch. its a tekram mobo - that one that was posted on the deals page around a month ago for like $40. anyways, what it does is it POSTs, and gets to the part where it says "updating ESCD" and then it is supposed to hit up the OS, right? well, instead, it just reboots - and it does this over and over forever. i have swapped cpus, ram, power supplies, and i have unplugged everything from the mobo, except the power switch, mobo power and speaker, but it still does it. i tested the voltage on the cmos battery, and its still good at 2.9 volts. i have tried every combination of bios settings - i have disabled everything and turning everything on one by one. the last time i tried to get into the bios, however, a black screen came up and said "Failure..." and that was it. thats when i got really pissed and quit working on it. so you guys think this is a bad board, or does anyone else have anything else i can try? i tried looking on Tekram's tech support page, but it was useless.

05-25-2000, 11:37 PM	#2
Sjarred Lieutenant Join Date: May 2000 Location: Riverside, CA, USA Posts: 379	If the same problem came up when you switched different components ie: cpu, rams, etc. then I guess the board is messed up. Did you ground yourself while installing the board??? It may have been fried. Good Luck.

05-26-2000, 12:45 AM	#3
Crunch It Now Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Des Moines, WA, USA Posts: 149	i always ground myself when working on comps - i also do many times while i am in the middle of working on em. but every board that i have seen that was deemed "fried" never POSTed. but this one still does. i think im gonna try and exchange it....

05-26-2000, 01:18 AM	#4
BADFlSH Lieutenant Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Oregon Posts: 314	I have never heard of anything like it. The only think I can think of is to check and make sure that none of the screws holding the motherboard in place have shorted out the board. ------------------ <{{{{<( ßÅÐfÏ§H )>}}}}>

05-26-2000, 10:41 AM	#5
skyjuice Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: NY Posts: 175	who buys Tekram mobo anyways?

05-26-2000, 10:54 AM	#6
skyjuice Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: NY Posts: 175	no but on a serious note- I once obtained a Tekram SCSI card that was bad- I had a hell of a time finding there phone number but after speaking to several oriental pc techs, i did get an english speaking technician who mailed me out a replacement card. They were pretty fair about it, it just took me like an hour of information and dialing this number and this number. Tekram has really, really low quality products-i recommend you get that board replaced because it is obviously defective. Then try and use the replacement. I hope you got the certificate of authenticity with the board cause that usually helps, but then again if you scream loud enough, they will replace it. Good luck to you. PS F Mettalica-out.

05-27-2000, 05:14 AM	#7
Crunch It Now Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Des Moines, WA, USA Posts: 149	yeah - i had a hell of a time trying to find their number too - but i did find it and called em up today, and the lady i talked to was really nice. i just told her the board was defective, and she emailed me an RMA number right away, so im just exchanging it.

05-31-2000, 12:28 PM	#8
Speedfreak Fleet Admiral Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: I am here, so there I am. Posts: 8,027	Maybe the part on the motherboard that finds the OS is bad. Seriously, though... It does sound like SOMETHING is wrong with the motherboard. My friend had a problem one time where his computer just kept rebooting (without even posting). We eventually found out that the reset button was stuck, so it just kept getting the command to reset. It was nice to know that no hardware was bad, but it kind of made us mad after looking it over for a couple of hours and then finding out it was something like that. Now I just laugh. ------------------ §=-Sp34dFr34k-=§

05-31-2000, 05:35 PM	#9
Crunch It Now Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Des Moines, WA, USA Posts: 149	i thought about that too - so i just unplugged the reset switch cord from the motherboard, and it still did it - so i figured it wasnt the reset switch that was stuck...

06-09-2000, 08:13 PM	#10
MaStAYoDA1 Lieutenant Join Date: Apr 2000 Posts: 236	Yeah, definitely the motherboard... you might want to look into an ABIT or ASUS... they may be more expensive, but you'll definitely get paid off in the long run.

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06-12-2000, 08:59 AM	#11
Mercury Ensign Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 38	Hey, had the same problem with a cheap MOBO a while back and it had nothing to do with the MOBO. it's acutally a HDD / OS thing. I had to go through and check all the partitions and make sure the primary drive was active, and to make sure it was all good. Try swapping that HDD in to another machine and see if it gets past the ESCD step. Probably won't.