Hardware Analysis - Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Sumit Khadka — 2007-11-24T03:23:09-05:00

Hi I recently cleaned my old comp (which has an asus a7n266-vm). Now when I turn it on it starts clicking and wont boot up.

I was in a rush, and dont care about that machine much, so I might have damaged one of the diaodes (i think thats what they are called).

After the initial normal boot up beep from the motherboard.. i get a continues series of clicks that wont stop. The monitor shows the error "CMOS checksum error - Defults loaded". I replaced the internal mobo battery, and still got the error.

I've stripped the machine to bare hdd, ram, mobo, cpu, psu.. and still get the error. I'm pretty sure its not the cpu or ram, cos it gets displayed on the boot up screen.

Is there anyway to tell what the clicks mean?

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Pana Har — 2007-11-08T22:42:35-05:00

Is it possible to add a third hard disc to ASUS A7N266-VM SE?

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Jaideep G.C. — 2007-10-24T08:01:01-05:00

Used Memtest 3.5 from HCI design........Works within windows...... shows memory errors like "pair 1662369 does not store values accurately" & "computer cannot store data accurately in RAM"............... I am assuming therefore that the problem is with my RAM module.

Could it be some problem instead on the Mobo memory area, PSU or elsewhere? Would such a problem show up on the memtest results as mentioned earlier?

Someone please enlighten me if you can...........am at my wit's end right now.

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Jaideep G.C. — 2007-10-24T05:56:33-05:00

AMD Athlon XP 1800+ , 40 GB HDD, CD RW, FDD, 256 mb x 1 PC2100 DDR.

Peculiar problem this........... have a defective PC2100 256 Mb RAM which works sporadically.......... system re-boots at will, hangs at times, does not hold my internet broadband link for long, etc.

Have updated to latest BIOS & have been trying to replace the RAM with a similiar PC2100 256 Mb module but the MB just does not accept the replacement. Tried several new similiar modules but the MB just won't read the memory.........long beeps all the time.

Have even re-set my CMOS & BIOS default settings and also checked jumper settings for proper CPURAM setting.

Only my existing defective RAM is accepted by the MB.............so am constrained (for time being at least) to use my PC with all it's faults.

Some advice say MB memory area maybe faulty......another says the SMPS unit or the power section of the MB maybe defective...........I feel all just shooting in the dark.

Anybody with any concrete ideas please? Help required urgently.

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Matthew James — 2007-09-05T16:12:46-05:00

Hello all,
I reckon that the problem is actually a BIOS problem as when I finally managed to fix the mobo in question in my previous post, I replaced the fan with one I had in stock, no result.
I reseated the cpu, no result.
I tried running the mobo out of the case, no result.
I tried running the mobo on a different power supply, no result.
I tried throwing the mobo over the fence and jumping on it, no result. (Only joking!!)
I flashed the BIOS. Result!!
For some reason, flashing the BIOS worked. Whereas before it woul boot intermittently, now it boots every time and has been used more or less every day since I fixed it (about a week after my last post).
Another solution to add to the list!
PM me if you want to know more...
Moose

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Mike Burns — 2007-09-05T12:27:34-05:00

Mike Burns said:

I built two computers using this MB about three years ago. One for me and one for my mother. The siren beeping sound has come and gone on both of these computers. It has been a while since I have enclountered this problem, but I think I tracked it down to two things. 1) The mother board was making intermittent contact with the case somewhere causing a short to ground. I could always get the MB to boot when it was not in its case. This may also be causing a stress fracture on the PCB due to the weight of the CPU and cooling fan when it is installed in the case.
or 2) This is my latest theory: If the CPU fan is not sensed as having high enough RPM at the correct time during boot up the MB will not boot. Possibly cleaning the fan or while reseatting the CPU, as some people have suggested, will get the fan cleared up enough to allow it to boot.

Hopefully this may help someone out. Both PC are running fine and have been for some time now. Great stable MB in my opinion except for the siren beep that shows up every so often.

I just moved into a new hoouse and I am getting the siren again. I came back here to see what I wrote 7 months ago. I am guessing reseating the CPU is the main problem. I need to get some thermal grease and see if reseating the CPU fixes the problem. Really stable motherboard as long as you don't move it around.

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Matthew James — 2007-04-24T19:32:19-05:00

Hi
Im currently fixing a friends comp which uses a A7N266-VM mobo, but whenever you pwer on the pc it refuses to boot but gives its CPU warning beep - no monitor etc. when i tried yesterday, it booted into XP fine althogh i havnt even moved the PC since yesterday. Im wondering whether its the PSU problem again but the fact that it makes the CPU warning beep hints not. The CPU is a new one, an exact replacement for the AMD Duron supplied with the mobo. The heatsink is the original but with a new thermaltake fan, ie the CPU warning is incorrect. im running the pc without the case panels on so its not a problem of heat build up within the case. Plz help!!
Moose

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

user lander — 2007-03-17T16:21:43-05:00

sure enough - i just dropped two wires from an old IDE cable into the right holes, and now i have a 14x multiplier. i used the info in post #3 in this thread for the a7m266 (different mobo), and it worked perfectly:
http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=234592&highlight=a7m266

i'm not even going to bother messing with the jen jumpers, this is good enough and if i need more, i'll just raise the multiplier. i thought i'd have to dump this board, but now it's got some new life, thanks. :thumbsup:

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Dave Pointer — 2007-03-17T12:32:18-05:00

Yes the mobiles do work- I had to pin mod @ cut the bridges to get it to work right.

http://www.ocinside.de/go_e.html?http://www.ocinside.de/html/w...inmod.html

Theres the web page I used, I would recommend for the wire, to take an ol'ata33 cable and cut it apart, making small U's with wire and then using a fine tweezers to drop the U's into the correct slots.

Hope this helps

Dave

Home Server
a7n266-vm
Pin Modded 2004, still running
Mobile Barton 2.4ghz (18x133)
1 gig of memory
128mb Ti4600
160 gb Main drive
Raid Card
1.2 tb raid drive (4x320)
Win XP pro

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

user lander — 2007-03-16T17:35:38-05:00

can anyone confirm that athlon mobile processors will work with these boards? i have bios 1007 and tried a 2400+ mobile in mine, but it will only run at 800MHz. does the wire mod allow these boards to run mobile processors?

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Richard Mason — 2007-02-05T21:54:12-05:00

Took the board out of the case and placed it on some cardboard, to completely rule out shorting. Had just the PSU plus CPU h/sink and fan and connected the monitor. No RAM etc.

Nothing, except the CPU fan spinning, and the green LED on the motherboard. No sounds at all. Nothing on the monitor.

Tried with one stick of RAM (in different slots) and still nothing more.

Replaced the CMOS battery and no better.

Am about to reach for my sledgehammer!!!!!! Well, not really, but it gives you an idea of the frustration.

Thanks

Richard

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Richard Mason — 2007-02-02T22:11:56-05:00

I am trying to repair a PC for a friend where the PSU was dead. Prior to this it would power off randomly after a few minutes useage (once I get past this stage, re-seating the CPU and the contacts to the heatsink with some good thermal paste are on the list to do).

Aside from A7N266-VM, there is a 2200+ chip, but I have not removed to check exact specs.

I have installed a new 450W PSU,but cannot get the board to POST. Green LED on the board itself comes on, CPU fan, case fan and PSU are all working nicely. Wireless mouse/keyboard hub from ps/2 sockets lights up, and LED's for power and HD are lit, so power seems to be getting into and around the motherboard.

Have tried with only one stick of RAM, swapping ram sticks between slots, removing CMOS battery, and removing and reseating the board with insulating washers on both sides in case of shorting; still just the PSU, cpu and case fans and LED's only; no hint of a POST.

Any suggestions gratefuly received!

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Mike Burns — 2006-12-28T15:55:28-05:00

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

nandhakumar vemban — 2006-10-12T09:34:27-05:00

Hai Friends
My Pc config as
A7N266-VM/AA
AMD athlon XP 1700+ with 256 MB Ram.

My Problem is I am getting Music at that time of boot. Previously its running fine. But instead of BEEP sound now i am getting Music. So i am confused i dont know the problem. Plz Any one knows about it then Reply me.

Nandhakumar.vemban@cmcltd.com

Re: Help with ASUS A7N266-VM

Jukka Kohtala — 2006-09-22T20:33:16-05:00

Hello

Thanks to this thread, now I've solved my problems with A7N266-VM board, so I'd like to share my complete solution, which took this board back to live.

This is how the story goes.

First problem: "dii daa dii daa dii daa" like sound
------------------------------------------------------------------------

This motherboard was doing fine until last weekend. Then it suddenly died and after several reboots all I got was police siren like sound "dii daa dii daa dii daa". After a short investigation I noted that there are five 3300uF capacitors on the board, which all have leaked. I studied information from http://www.badcaps.net and came to solution that capacitors are faulty.

Original 3300uF capacitors capable of handling 6,3 V were not good enough for this motherboard so they leaked. I bought five new 3300 uF capacitors, which are able to handle 16 Volts (total cost about 8�).

Note: Before removing old capacitors, I first removed processor, memory, battery and all the peripherals from Motherboard, and motherboard from the case... obviously

Removing the old 5 capacitors took me about 5 hours. I'd say it was the hardest precision job I've ever done as I'm not an expert with soldering. Anyway, with my soldering iron, which is good (60W Weller) I got only 3 of them succesfully out of the board. Then I had to use my cheaper (no mark whatsoever) soldering iron which heats up to really hot (red) to remove last two capacitors.

At this point, I was sure that this motherboard was totally destroyed, but as I already bought those new capacitors I decided to give it a try. I welded new ones into motherboard. Of course they did not fit in directly, so I had to weld small metal wires into motherboard first. Then I connected capacitors into the wires.

Next problem: "No Emulation"
-----------------------------------------

After rebuilding this PC I was surprised that it actually booted up and passed POST, so something was actually fixed. No more police sirens. I was also able to get to BIOS and all the peripherals were identified correctly. After POST sequence, machine still either froze or when trying to start from CD, gave an error like "No Emulation"

At this point I created a DOS bootup disk and was able to boot to DOS.

Hmmmm... POST was ok, freezes when things loaded from CD or processing load got higher... Maybe not enough power? I took PSU from my another PC and switched it on. Yet another boot (between there were about 50-100 ) and this time POST went ok, BIOS ok, no more "No Emulation" message and my Knoppix Linux got fully loaded. All seems to be fixed now.

--------------------------
Conclusion:

As simple as It may seem, it all took about 10 hours. But in the end, only 5 new capacitors were replaced and a better power supply was installed. Now it's been working for 5 hours without a problem. Fixing the PSU would not make any sense. There were another five 3300uF capasitors broken, and one of the huge 680 uF 200 V capacitors leaked too, so parts to fix this would make more than 15 �. Not an option as you can get better PSU with 40� or so.

Images of fixed mainboard:
http://www.pcuf.fi/~jukohtal/fixed.jpg
http://www.pcuf.fi/~jukohtal/fixed2.jpg
(not too pretty but it works)