| Motherboard Burn-In and Testing |
| To build quality systems for your customers, you need to sufficiently burn-in and test your Motherboard along with CPU, memory and hard drive.? We have been using a product from Ultra-X called 'QuickTech' for five years now and it has worked great to quickly and accurately troubleshoot failures.??One of QuickTech's many advantages is that it¡¯s self-booting. You simply insert the QuickTech diskette and turn on the computer. The program loads itself before any operating system (e.g., DOS, OS/2, 95, 98 etc.) is loaded. Thus, QuickTech¡¯s tests are conducted without the interference of an operating system or any other programs (TSRs) that may be loaded into memory during the boot sequence (such as expanded/extended memory device drives, network drivers, various operating system commands, etc.). A unique?feature allows the program to run in automatic burn-in mode. In this mode, the user selects the tests to run and the duration (either number of hours or loops). This information may be saved as a script, which can be executed at a later time without a keystroke |
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| CMOS Clearing Procedure |
If your motherboard will not boot all (no video or beep codes) and you have already checked that the jumper settings are correct, a very useful trick is a manual CMOS clear.? This process will clear the CMOS memory and reset everything to factory defaults allowing a fresh BIOS boot.? There are two ways to do this.? First, turn of the power and disconnect the ATX or?AT power connector from the motherboard. ?Next,?on most motherboards there is a jumper (such as JBAT) that can be temporarily moved to the Clear CMOS position for about 5 - 10 seconds.? Check your motherboard manual for the location and settings of this jumper.? Some motherboards (like ASUS) may only have two solder contact points on the board which must be shorted (touched together with a metal object for several seconds).? Secondly, if this fails or you cannot find the jumper,?you can easily remove the small round?CMOS battery and?short the battery pins.? Again, do this with the power off then replace the battery and try to boot again.??It may help in some cases to remove?or disconnect all devices attached to the board then clear the CMOS again before testing.? This trick can work?for older systems?that may have gotten exposed to too much static electricity or dust.? As always, make certain to follow all standard safety precautions. |
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| Steps to Building a New System |
When building a new computer, be sure to take the minimalist approach.? Whenever possible test the motherboard for power-up and video on a bench, before taking the time to install it into a case.? If this is not possible, install the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and VGA into the case, plug in the power, and check for boot and video. If all goes well proceed to connect your CD-ROM, HDD and FDD, and install your Operating System.? After the O/S and all of the latest chipset drivers are loaded, install one component and driver at a time, checking to make sure it is operational, and not causing conflicts before installing the next.? This will ensure that all of your components get settled in their position with the correct drivers before another device starts trying to use the same resources. |
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| Before Calling ASI Technical Support |
| Before calling ASI Technical Support for assistance with a problem, please be sure to have the following items ready: customer number, component info, driver info, operating system info, solutions that you have already tried, and a detailed explanation of the problem that you are seeing.? Please remember that it is very difficult to troubleshoot computer system problems over the phone, or through E-Mail. Your patience and full cooperation is much appreciated; remember we are depending on you to be our eyes and ears in order to help solve your problem. |
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| Common BIOS Errors |
| CMOS Checksum Error - CMOS has been cleared or battery is dead, please enter BIOS and reset configuration info |
CPUid Error - BIOS needs to be updated in order to support your CPU, or disable "BIOS update" setting in CMOS. |
Hardware Monitor Error - A reading in the Power section of your BIOS is out of spec, please check BIOS for more details. |
| Inaccessible Boot Device - No valid bootable hard drive is found, please recheck your boot order, hardware settings and drives. |
Incorrect CPU Speed Shown - Double check your jumpers, (or settings in CMOS on jumper-free boards), a BIOS update may be needed. |
Incorrect Memory Size or Speed Shown - Verify that you have compatible modules for your motherboard, try memory in different socket, or on different board to verify problem. |
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| Checking your motherboard BIOS version |
In order to verify that your motherboard has the latest BIOS version, you must boot the system and hit the pause button at the first screen where the memory is being counted. Near the top or bottom of the screen, you will see 1 or 2 lines that will say the model of the motherboard, and usually the BIOS version that the motherboard is using. The BIOS revision should appear as "BIOS ver xxx". If you can't find this number, you should be able to find a date that the BIOS was released. Check this number against the BIOS release dates on the motherboard manufacturers web site and you should be able to verify which version you have. |
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With the AMD Duron and Athlon Processors AMD has moved the core of the CPU to the top of the package where you can easily attach a heat sink to it. The core of the AMD Duron and Athlon CPU's are made of a glass like substance which is extremely fragile. If, when installing the heat sink on the CPU, the core happens to become chipped or cracked, the CPU will often be destroyed. When installing the heat sink, it is very important to make sure that it is centered, and flat on top of the CPU core while cautiously exerting pressure downwards on the clips, and not on the center of the CPU itself. While the Intel FCPGA CPU is not quite as susceptible to damage during installation and removal of the heat sink, it is important to exercise caution and patience while working with this CPU as well. We recommend working very slowly in a well lit area when installing or removing the CPU heat sink. We also recommend not using any sharp objects to force the clips on, or off, of the CPU as they can easily slip and damage the motherboard or the CPU. Damage of this nature is referred to as "CID", (Customer Induced Damage), and can not be returned or replaced for credit.? |
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