Iwill MPX2 won't boot

[Shodan486]

Hi all again,

I'm trying to migrate from my PIII setup to this dual athlon XP, using Iwill MPX2 mobo. I'm sure I have seen a huge thread somewhere here about this board having some problems with Ati Wonder cards and so, I recall Topcat being the originator, but anyways, I have a problem with it.

I have two of these, one is v1.3, second 1.5 - both display similar behavior. When I turn the computer on, it turns off after a few seconds...can do this all day, no change, only the v1.5 holds on for a minute or so, then turns off, or does the same as the v1.3. I'm using AthlonMP 2600+, which has a 16x multiplier, which may be a problem, no? Max for this mobo is 15 (at 133FSB). I tried using single or both CPUs, I do have a EPS12v compatible power supply, tried even that, nothing changed, still does the same. Power supply is a Fortron Epsilon 700W.

PLEASE HELP

[ratdude747]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

hmm... last ii checked, Iwill was crap.

i think the no ATI board was for tualies...

find a cpu or two that is not a 16X multiplier... the speed is programmed... it is likey saying "15x... cool... WAIT- it is a 16x? WTF? error! must shut down!"

do you know what core it is (palamino, t-bred, barton, thorton)? do not mix them... you board may not be compatible with your core.

[seanc]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Have you tried it outside of a case?
Have you reset the CMOS?

I had someone bring me 3 AM2 based AMD motherboards, 2 CPUs to go with, some RAM and a power supply.
All were "broken". Actually, only the power supply was broken. You're definitely using 2 known good power supplies?

[pfrcom]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

hmm... last ii checked, Iwill was crap.

Iwill is now defunct, like Abit

I’m quite fond of Iwill products, still have a new P4CT motherboard, S478, top of the line Canterwood chipset, waiting for an opportunity

I found support for Iwill, like BIOSes, difficult to find when I bought the P4CT, quite a while ago

The P4CT was supposed to support only Northwood processors, not Willamette – have you checked whether your MPX2 has any restrictions like that ?

[bigbeark]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

You need 30A on the 5v on your power supply. You also must use ECC ram. Check Tyan 2466 to see if something in your setup is incompatible (similar chipsets). Try resetting the CMOS by removing and replacing the battery or using the jumper.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

hmm... last ii checked, Iwill was crap.

.
And when was that you checked?
Have you ever even SEEN an Iwill board?
- I think NOT!

Iwill was a small upstart company that, once established, focused on high end & server parts.
http://web.archive.org/web/200702261...www.iwill.net/
- - Fully on a par with Tyan.
In fact they were the -first- company to offer a dual AMD server board that used DDR.

Used ones are rare because they were low production, expensive and they were GOOD so people hang onto them.
- THAT'S why you don't know anything about them.
.

[Shodan486]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

PCBONEZ's right - IWill (to me) was superior than Tyan - it provided OC options on an server platform, the way Abit did with BP6 and VP6, but this one has MP760 northbridge with AGP and PCI64 bus support, also CPUs communicate via the PCI64, not the old PCI bus as Abit used. Also ratdude (I really respect you) - check the picture of that mobo and you'll probably see the best component layout in a dual Athlon of all times - putting the CPU VRM circuit to the same area is a thing that other manufacturers properly adopted years later, but enough of history.

To all others - I am using a stable PSU, the same I use in my VP6 setup, so it's not in it (and yes, it has 30a on both +5v and +3.3v rails). I did reset the CMOS, though did not replace the battery, but I don't suppose that'll help, but I'm gonna give it a try. Yes I tried it outside the case - same thing. Yes I tried it with both non ECC and ECC, no change.

The thing that bothers me is that it behaves the very same in regards whether I use or don't my other components - VGA, RAM, fans. The other thing that bothers me more is that the green light turns on also, but no beep at all and I'm sure my portable PC speaker is fine.

Another question of mine is whether this board can boot up with such a multiplier, I'll try my T-bred, which should be lower. As for the current CPUs and their cores, I suppose they're still T-bred, as they are at higher frequency, but still have 256KB L2. And yes, they're a matched pair, ebay of course

[Shodan486]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Made a mistake, it has a 760MPX chipset.

[bigbeark]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Make sure the CPUs are good. Try them singly in another socket A motherboard. Any board using DDR and with an up-to-date BIOS should post if the CPUs are good.

It probably is a BIOS issue if 15 is the max, 16 is probably(maybe) not going to work. I have a SOYO board like this, won't run anything more than 1400Mhz but will probably run 2600 if I ever get around to flashing the BIOS. Are there no BIOS updates for IWILL boards?

[pfrcom]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Seeing they're defunct, BIOS support (lack of) is the Achilles heel of Iwill boards

I still have an Iwill KV200-R which is an early model KT133 board, limited to 200mhz FSB

After reboot, its latest available BIOS turns the processor cooling fan off and leaves it off - not a good idea, with an Athlon Thunderbird

A board of MPX2's vintage probably has a socketed BIOS chip - maybe worth trying alternate BIOS chips, flashed with one of:

http://www.elhvb.com/mobokive/Archiv...px2/index.html

[Shodan486]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Update: Tried Durons in it, almost same behavior - the board won't boot when I try turning it on and it turns ITSELF on only when plugging the power cord to the PSU. I will do more testing, this is quite inaccurate, may compromise the whole solution...

[mockingbird]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Interesting. A dual-CPU Irongate board. I didn't know the Irongate could do that.

I don't think they put pits on the Athlon MP. In that case can you try pencil trick on it to unlock the multiplier? Then see if it boots. Also try 1 Duron and see if it boots.

What kind of caps do you have on this board?

[Shodan486]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

What kind of caps do you have on this board?

Various sorts...but seem quite nice and heavy, ready to do their job...I think a picture could be found somewhere.

[pfrcom]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Iwill's other Achilles heel was their insistence on using Hermei caps

If you search this forum's search for "Iwill Hermei", you'll find some threads on the subject

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Iwill's other Achilles heel was their insistence on using Hermei caps

If you search this forum's search for "Iwill Hermei", you'll find some threads on the subject

Doesn't surprise me on boards from the days when nearly EVERYONE was using crap caps.

They also moved to Polymer sooner than most others.

I'm not like an Iwill fan or anything.
Studied up on them when I needed a server board and they had one with some serious drool factor. Going with an Intel board turned out to be cheaper though...
.
.

[pfrcom]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Doesn't surprise me on boards from the days when nearly EVERYONE was using crap caps.

They also moved to Polymer sooner than most others.

I'm not like an Iwill fan or anything.
Studied up on them when I needed a server board and they had one with some serious drool factor. Going with an Intel board turned out to be cheaper though...
.
.

The P4CT I mentioned before still has Hermei caps - nearly put me off buying it, but couldn't resist a new Iwill

[Shodan486]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Okay guys, working on this problem rite now at work, so have plenty of parts for testing, BUT I CANNOT GET IT WORKING!!! Any experiences would be welcome.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Reset the CMOS.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

Hmm. If you get one those boards working, i want to buy that VP6 off you.

[Shodan486]

Re: Iwill MPX2 won't boot

done bonez - nothing...will rip out the battery. Unique, we can make a deal, but you want the one which capable those unreal speeds? That I wish not to sell, I have couple of them running stable at 166FSB though - that one I can spare.