8KHA+ Bios Chip

[cpufast]

I recently upgraded from a 8K7A to the 8KHA+ mobo and have been reading about the soft reboot problem. I am experiencing this condition currently where the board stops initially when booting. When I reset it it boots through fine? Okay I am not new to bios....oc'in etc. This occurs at default setting..FSB. The bios chip is marked U=. Can someone tell me which bios chips are the suspects for this problem. I am using the latest bios and am a little puzzled. I have high hopes for this board but need some input of others in regards to this or it's off to Asus.

[Holst]

The letter on the bios chip only indicates which bios version it shipped with.

If you have flashed to the latest bios then the letter has no relavence.

Im using a "U" bios and its fine.

Have you tried the beta 2661 bios from www.aoafiles.com. It is known to fix some boot problems with this board.

[Holst]

What PSU are you running.

What are your 5v and 3.3v line voltages at ?

The 8kha+ is known to need a high quality PSU to perform at its best.
Personally I use a Sparkle 400watt..as I had problems with a supposedly AMD approoved 300watt unit.

You might also want to try reseating your components..just to rule out a bad contact somewhere.

[cpufast]

I am using th 2116 bios and flashed to the hal00 bios then back. I am using an Antec 412PS that I adjusted the +5V pot to give me consisitent voltage on the rail. So the markings are irrelevant? Allot of people appear to be having problems with this board. I was aware of them but am trying to work with it. I am running the memory wide open "Turbo" and am using a stick of Corsair and Apacer. I have also tried the different combinations in the 3 dimm slots. Still have the problem.

[cpufast]

I will try one by one to see if it is a Dimm slot. Then I will make sure the rom chip is firmly seated. Any other input? Please advise...........okay!

[Holst]

This is the third time ive tried to reply...and my isp has messed it up each time. Sorry if this is a little breif.

Try all the usual trouble shooting stuff.

Swap your memory around.
Set the bios back to defaults.
Clear the CMOS.
Try moving and removing PCI cards.
Make sure your cooling is ok.
Check your power lead (you never know)
Reseat the CPU and other components.
Run the board outside the case to rule out any shorts.
Try another PSU if you have one avalable. (even if its a lower spec)

If none of that works then you might have a bad bios chip. Epox tech support will send you a replacement if they think it might help.

The letter on the bios chip is totaly irrelavent....there is no one letter that will cause problems....that was just a totaly unfounded forum rumor.

As for the board being unreliable...I think that a large number of users have underestimated the need for a high quality PSU...especially within the overclocking community. Myself included..I only had mediochre results untill I got my sparkel..I can now run at 200fsb stable, I just wish I had some memory that could too.

Dont give up on the board...once its running its a great performer.

[EPoX Tech]

Originally posted by Holst
The letter on the bios chip only indicates which bios version it shipped with.

If you have flashed to the latest bios then the letter has no relavence.

Im using a "U" bios and its fine.

Have you tried the beta 2661 bios from www.aoafiles.com. It is known to fix some boot problems with this board.

Almost correct there Holst, but not wrong in any way !!!

The sticker merely represents the production run of board. So the sticker U= could be placed on any kind of manufactured eeprom chip whether it be EON, Winbond, SST etc.

There has never been any particular chip with which there has been a problem, merely a BIOS binary image - as such if the BIOS on your chip is dated 02/11/01 or later, it is okay. As it is marked U= I would imagine it to be dated 08th January 2002.

There is no need to send out a replacement BIOS chip if it is flashable.

At the same time - thank you Holst for your valued input once again.

[Holst]

There is no need to send out a replacement BIOS chip if it is flashable.

Can you suggest any other fix for the problem.

He has flashed between several bioses..does that mean the chip is fine ? Or could it still be bad ?

Id still suspect that the PSU is the problem, although I cant seem to find any info on a Antec 412ps

Another member (i forgett his name) had a new bios chip that fixed similar problems (a guy with a blue avatar)

[BobyJo]

The 412 supposedly is the same as the PP403, both are 400watt ps.

Both have 245 combined power rating. The 412 has P4 power hookups where the 403 does not have these.

I purchased the 403 simply because it is certified AMD ready up to XP200+ and above. The 412 is not rated on the AMD list at all.

[cpufast]

I don't think it's my PS as when monitoring my parameters with MBM the +5V rail is at 5.16V. I am using the latest beta bios and last night pulled one of the 2 sticks of ram. With the ram in the 3rd dimm the system would soft boot. With it in the 2nd dimm it booted fine. I have to try the 1st dimm to narrow this down. This so far was done using the Corsair memory. Once I have done the last step I will repeat it with the Apacer DDR to see if it is consistent between modules. If not then I may have some issues with running both on the board. I also did a double check and everything is seated in its slot correctly. Could there be a little to much voltage on the rail? How does this differ from the 8K7A, Epox Tech? With the other board on average I was around 4.95V on the rail. The PS is only running the board and peripherals. I have another 300W PS running all the fans and other goodies. Looking forward to your reply.

[Holst]

Originally posted by cpufast
I don't think it's my PS as when monitoring my parameters with MBM the +5V rail is at 5.16V. I am using the latest beta bios and last night pulled one of the 2 sticks of ram. With the ram in the 3rd dimm the system would soft boot. With it in the 2nd dimm it booted fine. I have to try the 1st dimm to narrow this down. This so far was done using the Corsair memory. Once I have done the last step I will repeat it with the Apacer DDR to see if it is consistent between modules. If not then I may have some issues with running both on the board. I also did a double check and everything is seated in its slot correctly. Could there be a little to much voltage on the rail? How does this differ from the 8K7A, Epox Tech? With the other board on average I was around 4.95V on the rail. The PS is only running the board and peripherals. I have another 300W PS running all the fans and other goodies. Looking forward to your reply.

That voltage does seem a bit high.
Ive no idea what effect that would have though...try running the board on the 300watt to test. If it works then maybee the overly high 5v line is the problem.

Your PSU sounds fine although it would be interesting to find out what the diference is between the 403 and 412 models.

[BobyJo]

I have the Antec PP403 and the 3.3v rail is 3.24v.

The 5v rail is running at 5.26v.

The 12v supply is 11.91v.

These are what is shown in bios.

This system is rock solid stable. I don't see fixin something that is not broke. Just MO.

[Holst]

Originally posted by BobyJo
I have the Antec PP403 and the 3.3v rail is 3.24v.

The 5v rail is running at 5.26v.

The 12v supply is 11.91v.

These are what is shown in bios.

This system is rock solid stable. I don't see fixin something that is not broke. Just MO.

If your also getting high readings on the 5v then I think we can rule out the PSU as a problem.

Try the other stuff I suggested...check PCI cards and drivers.
If none of that helps then id definately talk to epox tech support direct and see if they have any suggestions.

[cpufast]

Well in the effort to determine if the ram plays a role I have first, using a can of compressed air, clean out the 2nd and 3rd dimm slot. Then installed the stick of Corsair in dimm 3 and wala it booted. Then I installed the Apacer in the second slot and it booted again. Now I am at 150FSB with the DDR Voltage at 2.8 and the Vcore at default. TImings wide open on the ram. I will say that I had to really wiggle the memory sticks to ensure that they were well seated. This board is noce but I have 2 complaints. One that in order to load the first dimm you have to remove the Video Card and second the dimm slots are a little fussy. Well relatively minor though it is something that could be a problem.

[EPoX Tech]

Originally posted by Holst


Can you suggest any other fix for the problem.

He has flashed between several bioses..does that mean the chip is fine ? Or could it still be bad ?

Id still suspect that the PSU is the problem, although I cant seem to find any info on a Antec 412ps

Another member (i forgett his name) had a new bios chip that fixed similar problems (a guy with a blue avatar)

If the BIOS chip flashes, the BIOS is definatley good.

[BobyJo]

As far as memory sticks getting all the way down into the slot, there has been numerous posts about this on amdmb.com/forums.

It seems to be a general opinion that the best way to get the memory installed properly is as follows.

This proceedure should be performed before installing the board into the case. Lay the board on the anti static pkg it came in. With the pkg on a counter top or something clean and flat. Then you can push the memory sticks down into the slots.

When the board is new it is a difficult process in getting the memory sticks down and locked into place. After the memory has been installed for awhile, they are somewhat easier to remove and reinstall.

[EPoX Tech]

Quick side note - never use the outside of a anti-static bag as a work surface since it is only the inside that is anti-static - the outsides will hold and release charge.

An A4 paper pad is a good surface.