[RESOLVED]GOOD READ...HE GOT FIXED... Dis-enchanted!! Cold boot issue

[old_geekster]

Well, here I am back on my old box again. This is the n'th day in a row that I have fought the OMINUS "cold boot" issue. It is getting old spending the first two hours of my day attempting to get my computer just to start; let alone OC.

 

I read somewhere on this great forum that criticism of DFI would be tolerated if done in a business like and civil manner. So I will attemt to do just that. I believe it is time that this issue is dealt with fully! I want this thread to stay on the site.

 

I did my research and fully understood that some DFI boards had a cold boot issue, going back several years. I did, however, make an informed decision to purchase one anyway. The reason--I wanted to test my skills at OC'ing. There is not a better board manufactured for that purpose. I am still convinced of that fact!

 

I didn't know DFI exisisted until I began my research for the definitive gaming motherboard. DFI came to the top of the heap quickly.

 

It was my first attempt at building a computer from scratch. Therefore, I read H_G's, formerly A_G, "Initial Build w/pictures" until I couldn't see any more. Then, I read ThunDA's "The Definitive DFI A64 Overclocking Guide" until I couln't think of anything else. Finally, I read every OC'ing article that I could find. This is all well and good, but if you can't even get the computer to boot, these are mute subjects.

 

Heck, I would be glad to fight all of the problems associated with OC'ing; such as, booting 500 times; changing the settings so many times that you can do it in your sleep and tweaking, tweaking, tweaking. But this cold boot thing is a pain in the A--. There are many of you out there that know why I started this thread.

 

I am not a foolish kid, I am an old_geekster who has learned many a lesson over the years. The most important being--manufacturers will live and die by their product. Problems like this one will eventually drive customers away. I know this is a fact, because I have read people's complaints on other sites.

 

I don't want to RMA my board. It took me too long to get it assembled and running in the beginning.

 

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

[CPDMF]

RMA the board brother. You have spent alot of time and money only to be frustrated, on top of that you cannot use your computer and enjoy it. You have done your research and chose the best peices known to work with these boards. My personal opinion is that DFI became so popular so fast that some corners were cut to save time and get the product on the shelf. Quality control is the first to suffer..

 

I have never had a faulty DFI board out of seven I have owned personally and a few built for others, but if the day comes I do, it will be RMA'd no question.

[Angry_Games]

lol RMA the board dude

 

thats the only way you are going to cure cold boot

 

if you get the replacement board back and it does the same thing, you can be sure that the motherboard isn't the problem.

 

Best thing to do honestly is to send the board to me first as I will actually test it in a way that the RMA department will not. Not saying RMA dept is retarded, but here's their routine:

 

plug in your board with cpu, memory, psu, video.

 

if it works, step 2 is to plug in your board with different cpu, different memory, different video.

 

if it works again, they pack it up and ship it back to you.

 

 

there's very little room in that procedure to see what's what or to do some deep searching for a problem, because they have a while queue of boards after yours that must go through the same routine etc.

 

 

 

I on the other hand, am lazy and good for nothing and have time to hook up your board and bust out installs of windows and benches and intimate fooling like me and your board are lovers etc.

 

 

 

But you can RMA to DFI first, and see if the board you get back gives you the same problems. An original Lanparty NF4 should not be cold booting at all unless you have been blasting out 3.3v+ the entire time to your memory...but I doubt you have been doing that.

 

So

 

decide what you want to do. We've no problem at all helping you get through this. You did the right thing by presenting your issue in a proper, professional manner instead of screaming in all-caps leet-speak OMFG DFI SUXORS!!!! heh

[old_geekster]

lol RMA the board dude

 

thats the only way you are going to cure cold boot

 

if you get the replacement board back and it does the same thing, you can be sure that the motherboard isn't the problem.

 

Best thing to do honestly is to send the board to me first as I will actually test it in a way that the RMA department will not. Not saying RMA dept is retarded, but here's their routine:

 

plug in your board with cpu, memory, psu, video.

 

if it works, step 2 is to plug in your board with different cpu, different memory, different video.

 

if it works again, they pack it up and ship it back to you.

 

there's very little room in that procedure to see what's what or to do some deep searching for a problem, because they have a while queue of boards after yours that must go through the same routine etc.

 

I on the other hand, am lazy and good for nothing and have time to hook up your board and bust out installs of windows and benches and intimate fooling like me and your board are lovers etc.

 

But you can RMA to DFI first, and see if the board you get back gives you the same problems. An original Lanparty NF4 should not be cold booting at all unless you have been blasting out 3.3v+ the entire time to your memory...but I doubt you have been doing that.

 

So decide what you want to do. We've no problem at all helping you get through this. You did the right thing by presenting your issue in a proper, professional manner instead of screaming in all-caps leet-speak OMFG DFI SUXORS!!!! heh

 

Thanks H_G! I truly appreciate your speedy reply.

 

You are correct, I am not the type of dude who would put tremendous voltage to the memory. I can't afford to replace it. My momma is not a computer whiz like yours and doesn't like to replace components because of my stupidity.

 

As you can see from my sig., I went with advice that I received on the Street to put together what I thought should be a great gaming box. This has been a frustration for me.

 

My problem with sending my board to you is, I have more fear of disassembling the thing than I did building it. My greatest fear is killing the CPU some way when removing the HSF.

 

I have one question, the answer to which has alluded me. How can DFI continue to sell so many boards when year after year the cold boot issue is still is there? I have read many forums, going back to 2003, that have several threads each on the subject.

 

Is there anything that I can do from here to fix the problem? I would appreciate your help, if possible.

 

p.s. The cold boot problem was not there in the beginning. Of course, all the settings were at default. It only began after I had OC'd the CPU to 2640; FSB/HTT - 220, LDT - 4, CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio - 12. This was all that I changed. Everything else was at default. It ran great; would hot boot and cold boot as long as it didn't set over-night. In the morning, I would get two amber lights and the video card fan would jump and one red LED would blink, but no ignition.

 

Now, all of the settings are at "Optimal Default" and I still have the cold boot issue.

[Angry_Games]

How can DFI continue to sell so many boards when year after year the cold boot issue is still is there? I have read many forums, going back to 2003, that have several threads each on the subject.

 

the honest answer is simple

 

cold-boot is not really an issue with the Lanparty original NF4

 

a few users have had it....but think about it....even if 500 users have had the problem....we've sold over 50,000 motherboards....thats a pretty insignificant number in the big picture.

 

You should have contacted me or RMA'd the board the instant you saw this problem cropping up.

 

But the point now is that you are here and so am I, and I am going to help you.

 

So take the comp apart and send the board to me.

 

If you are not sure, just remove the heatsink from the cpu, leave the cpu in the socket, pack up the RAM and put them together, packed securely, and send them to me. The mobo/cpu/RAM is the base of the system and those 3 things together are usually what I request to test.

 

send me a PM when you are ready and I will give you the info on where to send it.

 

As for ruining the cpu etc...you shouldn't worry. You put it together without ruining it (as far as we know) so I doubt you will ruin it by taking it all apart (as long as you are careful).

 

Is there anything that I can do from here to fix the problem? I would appreciate your help, if possible.

 

ya

 

do the above

 

send it to me or RMA the board by itself to DFI.

 

If you have a board that is doing the cold boot then there's nothing I can do for you from here.

[old_geekster]

Right now, I am so busy that I don't have the time to take necessary precautions to ship delicate equipment. I will have to wait at least three weeks before this will happen.

 

If I understand correctly, I should send you the board, CPU and RAM. Is this correct?

 

Who pays for the shipping?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Smoken Joe]

Yes I will second HG statement that a cold boot issue is rare with the original Ultra D and a good PSU and that is a recomended PSU for that MB. If you look at any MB makers support site you should find plenty of examples of cold boot problems after the main components moved the source of power to diffrent lines thought it wasnt absent before then.

 

I can assume that you have done the normal trouble shooting so you should peobibily just send it off to HG.

[Angry_Games]

Right now, I am so busy that I don't have the time to take necessary precautions to ship delicate equipment. I will have to wait at least three weeks before this will happen.

 

If I understand correctly, I should send you the board, CPU and RAM. Is this correct?

 

Who pays for the shipping?

 

Thanks for your help!

pm me for details on shipping

 

you'll pay for shipping to me, I'll pay shipping in return (this is how it works through RMA also).

 

3 weeks eh....thats a lot of hassle time

[old_geekster]

I just got home today.

 

Prior to leaving, I cleared the CMOS overnight. The next morning it booted with no problem.

 

I used it all day and night, shut it off, turned it on in the morning before I had to leave and it powered-up perfectly.

 

After being gone for a week, I came home today and it powered-up with no problem again. All of the settings are set to default.

 

Maybe I should clarify my previous problem. It just wouldn't POST, there wasn't any power-on when I pushed the "Power" button. Then, however, I was slightly OC'd, as you can see from my sig. This is what I described as a cold boot problem.

 

As stated above, I don't have that problem at default settings!

[red930]

Was the 7900GTX card part of the original build?

 

If you want to return to your OC settings and encounter POST problems you can try a few things. Remove any drives not necessary for basic operation. Start your OC adventures with one stick of RAM. Remember to run memtest on the RAM at every level of OC whether with one or two sticks of RAM.

 

Additionally, I would try the one of the "BT" BIOSes available in the BIOS Factory. Tony's BT series seem to be the most stable OC BIOSes available. Most specifically the 704-2bt version.

 

When speaking about the "cold boot" issue, always post what your DIAG LEDs are displaying. It helps a lot to get to the root cause.

 

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showpost.p...705&postcount=4

[old_geekster]

Thanks for the advice, ExRoadie.

 

Yes, the vid card was included in the initial build.

 

As for the DIAG LED's, they are not even lit. One of them flashes (The first on the left, facing the board.) when I push the "Power Button" and the vid card fan jumps, but that is all that happens.

 

As stated, it is working perfectly on default settings. It started the last two mornings with no problem and every other cold boot during the day.

 

Oh, yes, the two amber lights are on all of the time, showing there is power to the board.

[red930]

Since you aren't getting the normal boot RED LEDs it seems the PSU isn't starting properly. The Amber LEDs indicate that the 5VSB rail is sending power but that's about it.

 

Try bringing the rig to a local shop to see if they can test with another PSU.