I'm giving up

[Awperator]

My motherboard needs to die in a fire. I'm tired of it. First off it doesnt like my corsair pc3200xl. I bought a X24 4800+ to replace my fx-53, and i flashed it to the latest official bios. Unfortunately, the board didnt like that, and would keep rebooting after the main bios screen, the one after it shows your hard drives and cpu and stuff, but before the windows graphic comes up. It would restart where it would normally say "press any key to boot from cd." Well anyway, I flashed it back to the 704-2bt bios, and ever since I did that, there is a continuous whine from the speaker. It sounds like "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".... for lack of a better term to describe it. If anyone is curious I can record and .wav of it and post it. It's not a system beep, and it doesnt come from my case speaker, but it comes from the mobo speaker. It's annoying. Windows boots up fine, but the sound is still there. It only goes away when the computer is doing something that requires accessing the bios or something I think. The sound pauses for a second at the "press any key to boot from cd" screen, but it resumes itself when the windows graphic comes up, and it wont stop. I've cleared the CMOS... done the 8 hour clear following the detailed instructions word for word by ExRoadie, and I've tried flashing to different bioses on Tmod's cd. Tried booting with all possible memory combinations (1 stick in the #2 orange dimm, both sticks in the orange dimmss, 1 stick in yellow, etc). The whine is still there. If anyone has any clue what i'm talking about, please let me know if you have any fixes, or want me to clarify anything. Otherwise, i'm ordering an EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA. All I want is a stable mobo, no overclocking, no nothing... that just works!!

[wevsspot]

Did you set the m/b speaker jumper pin to 'enabled'? Normally the board ships with that jumper in the 'disabled' position. Check the users manual for explanation of pin settings for enabled or disabled. If the jumper is set to disabled you shouldn't be hearing anything from that speaker at all.

 

Sorry you're considering jumping ship so soon. My Ultra-D is the best motherboard I've ever owned, even eclipsing my beloved MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (that I still have and still use).

[Voltes-5]

I feel you man, only diff is that I persisted and got my Ultra D working, modded it to SLI and then sold it, bad move. This is what I would do. Take everything apart and build from the ground up again and making sure that every necessary connectors are plugged in. I have a pair of Corsair and it worked on all my four DFI mobos, even if it considered not a good pair with DFI mobos. And quit pulling your hair with your hands in frustration, you go balled fast, LOL, I know that from experience.

[wevsspot]

Bad move because the Expert board has been a hand full, or bad move because the old time Ultra-D was the best board you ever owned once you got it working correctly?

[old_geekster]

My motherboard needs to die in a fire. I'm tired of it. First off it doesnt like my corsair pc3200xl. I bought a X24 4800+ to replace my fx-53, and i flashed it to the latest official bios. Unfortunately, the board didnt like that, and would keep rebooting after the main bios screen, the one after it shows your hard drives and cpu and stuff, but before the windows graphic comes up. It would restart where it would normally say "press any key to boot from cd." Well anyway, I flashed it back to the 704-2bt bios, and ever since I did that, there is a continuous whine from the speaker. It sounds like "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".... for lack of a better term to describe it. If anyone is curious I can record and .wav of it and post it. It's not a system beep, and it doesnt come from my case speaker, but it comes from the mobo speaker. It's annoying. Windows boots up fine, but the sound is still there. It only goes away when the computer is doing something that requires accessing the bios or something I think. The sound pauses for a second at the "press any key to boot from cd" screen, but it resumes itself when the windows graphic comes up, and it wont stop. I've cleared the CMOS... done the 8 hour clear following the detailed instructions word for word by ExRoadie, and I've tried flashing to different bioses on Tmod's cd. Tried booting with all possible memory combinations (1 stick in the #2 orange dimm, both sticks in the orange dimmss, 1 stick in yellow, etc). The whine is still there. If anyone has any clue what i'm talking about, please let me know if you have any fixes, or want me to clarify anything. Otherwise, i'm ordering an EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA. All I want is a stable mobo, no overclocking, no nothing... that just works!!

If you want to start over, here is the guide to use:

 

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20832

 

Follow it to the letter and it will assure the best possible build. If you have problems along the way, post asking for help and we will respond ASAP. This forum is like using IM, people are online constantly. I have posted a message and had a reply before I got back to make a correction to a mistake.

 

Just hang in there!! We will help you get your system purring like a kitten.

[MACarter02]

My expert is still a handful. I have had it for three months (my first DFI, but my 120981832 th mobo.) And I have to admit, I am both impressed and regretful. I went from an A8n SLI Deluxe to the eXpert and boy have I had my work cut out for me.

 

I have had one prob after another. Random game crashes (which I have fixed with correct mem timings and voltage control), SO MANY windows iussues including weeks of BSOD on boot. Cold boot failures, and too many hours tweaking BIOS to count. I now have my Opteron 165 running stable @ 2.6GHz stock voltage, and my OCZ PLatinum 3200 at 440 MHz!

 

DFI Mobos have the ability to take an 'experienced' builder and humble you back to your most infantile beginnings. They can and will bring you back to when you were first crying in the fetile position bc your first rig wouldnt boot.

 

BUT.... the people who you encounter in this forum are the ones who have been through exactly what you are going through. They are the strong of heart, and the persistant of hand. They READ more than anything, and for that reason they are the best of the best. You can go into as many Asus or MSI forums as there are ants in the world, and the knowledge you encounter there will be a barely a millionth of that you will find here.

 

These are the men who have not only tamed (as I have) their DFI board, but Mastered them (and several of them in many cases). The knowledge that you will gain if you stick to your DFI is emmense.

 

I have been in your position, my friend. I have been on the verge of putting the mobo in my car, driving to the edge of the peir, and pushing the whole damn thing in. But I urge you to stick it out. It will reward you in the end.

 

The first thing I would do is turn off that mobo speaker (by the jumper next to it). THen gop ahead and rebuild. Last, hit the overclicking database for some basic timings for your memory (pull them back a bit, it'll give you a place to go). Then I would READ READ READ all about timings and getting your DFI to work for you, not the other way around.

 

Tame the beast my friend, you can do it. There are some geniuses here (not me) who want to help, and are the most capable you'll find.

 

Above all: good luck

[jimval]

Why dont you try a new bios first?

[Voltes-5]

Bad move because the Expert board has been a hand full, or bad move because the old time Ultra-D was the best board you ever owned once you got it working correctly?

 

Bad move because it was the best board I used among the four DFI's I used. Although I was able to deal with the Expert's attitudes, I could still have used SLI on the Ultr-D. It was so easy to deal with. If I can remember it right, the Corsair TwinXLPro got the best results 1:1 on it.

[Awperator]

Why dont you try a new bios first?

 

Oh trust me i've tried so many bioses from Tmod's cd. I've set the board jumper to on and off. It'll still make the sound no matter what. I even disconnected my case speaker, removed the soundcard, and put the board speaker jumper (according to the manual) to off. Still hear it. The only times I dont hear it is when the board accesses the bios... sometimes it'll say "backup CMOS saved" or whatever at that screen, and then it'll launch windows or it'll launch a bootable cd if its in the drive. That's the only time that it's gone.

[EllisD]

All I want is a stable mobo, no overclocking, no nothing... that just works!!

 

I have had my ultra-D for not too long now but if everything is working great with a 31% OC, Kingston VALUE ram, and an Antec Modular PSU, then you should be more than set.

 

What build guide did you use? Or did you just slap it all together and hoped it would work? Did you start with minimal hardware (CPU, Vid, 1 stick of ram in the furthest Orange slot) and all 4 power connectors plugged in like previously suggested?

 

Also, have you manually set your memory timings or do you have lots on auto? Is your memory memtest stable at stock speeds?

 

It seems like your jumping ship a bit too soon but ultimately it is your choice. can you post some BIOS settings?

[snapilica2003]

Nice post MACarter02 ... everything you said it's true ... now that i own a DFI board.. and now that i know of DFI-Street's existence i would never switch to another board manufacturer.

 

As for Awperator problem i think it's a RMA situation... but don't take my word ... i'm just a newbie. Just wait and see what the Big Guys have to say about this.

[Awperator]

I have had my ultra-D for not too long now but if everything is working great with a 31% OC, Kingston VALUE ram, and an Antec Modular PSU, then you should be more than set.

 

What build guide did you use? Or did you just slap it all together and hoped it would work? Did you start with minimal hardware (CPU, Vid, 1 stick of ram in the furthest Orange slot) and all 4 power connectors plugged in like previously suggested?

 

Also, have you manually set your memory timings or do you have lots on auto? Is your memory memtest stable at stock speeds?

 

It seems like your jumping ship a bit too soon but ultimately it is your choice. can you post some BIOS settings?

 

Thanks for the reply EllisD. Actually, it wasnt a new build. I was running fine with an Fx-53 on the DFI with an old bios, maybe the 6/23 or an old official bios for about a year and a half maybe. I bought a X2-4800+ recently and I wanted to flash the bios to the latest official version (the one posted right now, 2006/04/06) just to make sure that everything was going to be ok and it would recognize my CPU. I flashed, and it wouldnt load windows with the memory (it would just get to the screen right before the windows graphic and then reboot automatically). So then I flashed to the 704-2bt bios, and that's when I got the speaker noise (the speaker jumper was on the default off position). I set the speaker jumper to the on position while following ExRoadie's guide for a CMOS clear. I've stripped the system down to minimal hardware, done a 8 hour CMOSclear, and i've even done a 24 hour CMOS clear as well. I've set the memory timings manually, and also the voltage - SPD doesnt set the timings right. I'll be home in 8 hours or so to give you exact bios settings, but I'm not too sure if its the bios anymore as something wrong with the board. Remember again, windows boots fine, but I cant get that damn annoying whine to go away with the speaker jumper on or off, and the case speaker connector completely disconnected.