Question:
Problem with new motherboard?
gabriel
2012-09-24 16:51:09 UTC
Hi, I recently bought a new motherboard/processor/ram and installed them in my old case with my old power supply, graphics card and drives. (All makes and models at the end of this post) Upon trying to start it up, I got the blue screen of death and tried reinstalling windows XP, which solved the problem. (I took out one 4GB stick of ram prior to this install, so I can't rule out bad RAM as a cause of the earlier problem) I then decided to install windows 7 64 bit to take advantage of the 8GB of RAM that came with the board. The install worked fine and the computer was usable for maybe 20 minutes before I got the BSOD. I couldn't even reinstall off the dvd as I was caught in a never ending loop ending in blue screens every time. I'd heard of sketchy RAM causing such problems, so I took out one stick and it all worked fine. To see if it was the RAM or the socket or MOBO, I tried the other stick, which also worked fine. Either stick worked in either socket, but not both together. (They are the same make and model and both came with the board) Anyway, I checked the Bios version of the MOBO and it was over a year old, so I thought I'd update on the offchance that that would fix my problem. I downloaded the latest version and used that neat little EZ Flash (or whatever it's called) that Asus has to update my bios. I ok'd everything, then got a screen asking if I wanted to use the default bios settings, or something. (I think it was "enter bios and screw around" or some shiz) I figured the default would be fine and I would come back to it later if needed. Anyway, the computer booted up fine and was working normally so I powered it down to put in the other stick of RAM. Now, when I try to power it up, the power comes on, but that's it. The monitor doesn't power up, there's no hard drive activity going on, and I can't even turn the computer off without ripping the power cord out of the back. I tried going back to one stick of RAM, but the same thing happens and all I can think of is that somewhere I missed saving the new BIOS and now it's blank. However, if there was a message asking if I wanted to save the new BIOS, I know I would have clicked yes. I'm sure there was such a message, but I don't remember. So now I seem to have a braindead computer. Any suggestions?

Oh, the new MOBO is Asus M5A78L-MLX V2
The processor is an AMD FX-4170 (If I remember rightly) the RAM is 1333mhz DDR3 but I can't make out the model or manufacturer.
If it matters, the old stuff already in the case is an ATI HD 4600 Graphics card, a WD 10,000rpm 78GB Raptor hard drive (And I've had 3 of those die on me) and some random power supply that I think is good for 750 watts.
Three answers:
brianthesnail123
2012-09-25 01:41:14 UTC
hi gabriel

nothing is wrong with your motherboard... it the bios that need updating.... i recently upgraded from a lga775 platform to a 1155 motherboard and all was well when installing windows.. however as soon as i installed the chipset drivers and restarted windows i was greeted with a blue screen of death .... the reason for this was the outdated bios.... so using "@bios" which is gigabytes own bios flashing utility i flashed ( updated ) the bios from v1.0 to v4.0 .... after this windows booted fine without any bsod

however flashing a bios has its dangers .for example if your electric supply trips or fails midway through the flash it can corrupt your motherboards bios and unless it has a dual bios ( not sure if asus motherboards support dual bios ) you will need to take it to a trained pc technician for reprogramming of the bios chip

that said ive done many bios updates over the years without any problems so you should be fine .... you can download the latest bios update for the Asus M5A78L-MLX V2 from http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A78LM_LX/#CPUS ... and bios updating utilitys can also be found there... the latest bios version for your motherboard is 1401 ..

basically when new processors such as the amd FX series are released some motherboards require updating so they can understand and support the new architecture..... this may be just a few small lines of code but without this the cpu wont operate correctly and like yourself you may see blue screens of death (bsod )

theres a rule us pc enthusiasts use when updating a bios... " if your pc is running fine then dont update your bios " ... some guys think by updating the bios they can get extra performance from the cpu or ram... wrong... all the bios does is run the pc,s hardware and peripherals at the most basic level... without a bios your pc wouldnt start since it wouldnt know what drive to boot from or what peripherals your using

also after the bios update remember to clear the cmos and reset all your boot options ..... also remember to ensure sata is enabled .... some motherboards will still have ide/pata as the default hdd controller ....

hope this helps ,any problems let me know

good luck gabriel !
gabriel
2014-08-19 04:23:22 UTC
Guys, the problem was simple. There was no place in the chassis that matched the lower screw holes in the MB and it must have been shorting on the case. It's fine now. And to the guy spamming registry cleaners...Don't be that guy
currier
2016-10-03 02:41:55 UTC
try unpluggin each and everything from the board. you could continuously take the cpu out and inspect it for burns yet i doubt it burned up except it overheated. confirm the heatsink is on each and each of how regardless of the undeniable fact that. you may desire to of went with a corsair psu. I dont understand what proportion watts your psu is yet i'm hoping its over 500w. verify you have the 4 pin connector from the psu plugged in or i think of could desire to be 8 pin. you could touch me on yahoo messanger for extra suppoort purely view my profile. PimpMyPc


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...