No boot now!

[370forlife]

Now this stupid supermicro board will not boot. It posts, gets through post, but if you have a cd in the drive to boot from it will say "hit <esc> to boot...9" and counts down, so I hit escape and get a blank screen. Just sits there. I try letting the countdown get down to 0, and it does the same thing.

Any Ideas?

[zandrax]

Re: No boot now!

Check the boot order setting in bios: the cd player should be the first one, the hard disk the second. Disable or move to successive postions the floppy drive, unused USB and SCSI units, network boot (PXE).
Then check the cd drive: does it actually read your Windows' cd? Try with a linux live distro or another bootable support; if all discs behave the same, change the drive.

Zandrax

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

I already set the boot order in the bios. DVD/CD drive is the first, hard drive is the second, floppy is disabled, 3rd boot device is disabled, too.

Its like the system freezes up after post, if you hit the numlock or capslock button on it, it will light up and turn off, but after post and the "press <esc> to boot...9" the keyboard's numlock light is solid even if you hit the num lock button, and the otherlights won't light up either.

Do you think my PSU is not beefy enough? Its my old rosewill 500w, and I only have the 8pin cpu connector connected with dual 3.2ghz xeons and a 8600gt.

[Toasty]

Re: No boot now!

Check the Slave/Master/Cable Select jumper. Where is it set and in what position on the cable is it? End or middle?

If on same cable as HD, it should be Master for HD and Middle connector, Slave for CD and End connector. Make sure the cable isn't reversed (it happens ).

[Toasty]

Re: No boot now!

Is the HD partitioned or formatted? I've seen that cause wacky problems too.

[zandrax]

Re: No boot now!

I don't think the psu is the culprit: a bad psu may completely freeze or randomly reboot a whole computer, not only a cd drive. Your cd seems unable to read the cd, a signal of a bad drive (unable to read other discs) or a bad support (others play fine).

In the first case you should clean the pickup wth a cleaning lens cd or a cotton swab and isopropyl alocohol; if isn't enough, then the laser is likely worn [*] and the unit must be replaced.

In the second check the media: bad recordable discs from unreliable or unknown brands will be partly unreadeable after a few of weeks and complete junk in a couple of months, supposed they aren't coasters immediately after the burn Get an original, pressed Windows installation disc or burn one on decent supports: Verbatim and Tayo Yuden ranges from very good to excellent, some batches of Ritek and Sony dics are good too, others are mostly crap with few exceptions.

Zandrax
[*] All drives have one or two screws on the pick up: they're potentiometers for the cd laser if one, for both cd and dvd lasers if two, and regulate the beam intensity: if the screws are accessible, increasing intensity by turning the screw(s) (a good first attempt is 45 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise) allows the player to read again for some time, but eventually it'll nevertheless die. Replacement is only postponed, not avoided.

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

The cd I used this time is a memorex. I have the cd and the hard drive each on their own IDE channel. Both are set to master and on the last connector for the cable. I guess I could try a different cd drive, but i don't know why it would be the cd drive freezing up the whole computer after post.

Also, I just burned this cd with imgburn, and when it checked it, it found no errors.

[Toasty]

Re: No boot now!

Nope, Master (Drive 0) goes on center connector.

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

It sees the drives in the bios though...

[Wizard]

Re: No boot now!

Beep. 80 wire IDE cable have end for drive 0 "master", while middle connector signifying drive 1 "slave" when jumpers are all set for cable select on any drives.

Cheers, Wizard

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

I just tried what toasty suggested, and it just said that "devices not compatable with atapi"

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

I think it is overtaxing the power supply, its a old 500w rosewill with 2 12v rails, one with 15a, one with 16a.


PLUS THERE IS A 8PIN CPU CONNECTOR AND A 4PIN CPU CONNECTOR, THE MANUAL FOR THIS BOARD STATES THAT HAVING ONE CONNECTED WILL CAUSE INSTABILITIES IN HIGHER POWERED SYSTEMS!!!!!!!!!!

(please note I have 2 3.2ghz nocona xeons, and a 8600gt with only the 8pin connector connected)

[sofTest]

Re: No boot now!

Nope, Master (Drive 0) goes on center connector.

That would be true with old 40-conductor cables. With the modern 80-conductor cables, the master is at the end of the cable.

Edit: I see Wizard corrected you while I typed this.

[Toasty]

Re: No boot now!

Wizard / sofTest -

Nowhere does he mention what # wire ribbon cable he is using. Let's have him confirm it, yes?

He said he has them set for Master, not Cable Select.

He is using both IDE channels.

370forlife - What type of cables are hooked to which drive? Are they 40 wire or 80 wire?

Additionally, 40 wire should be used on the CD as it is not recommended to use 80 wire.

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

Uhhh, I really could not tell you. I just grab whatever cables I have and use them.

All I know is that I set both drives to cable select and put them at the end of cable now, and it does the same thing as setting both to master. Freezes after post, but both drives still show up correctly in the bios.

[sofTest]

Re: No boot now!

Uhhh, I really could not tell you. I just grab whatever cables I have and use them.

All I know is that I set both drives to cable select and put them at the end of cable now, and it does the same thing as setting both to master. Freezes after post, but both drives still show up correctly in the bios.

If the cable has one blue, one grey and one black connector, it would be a 80-conductor cable. Otherwise it probably is a 40-conductor cable. On a 40-conductor cable, cable select usually don't work, and you have to manually set master/slave.

[370forlife]

Re: No boot now!

well then they are both 40pin

So that means I need to set them to slave to be on the end of the cable and master to be in the middle?

[sofTest]

Re: No boot now!

If on separate cables, your HD should be set to master and connected to the middle of the cable, and the DVD as slave connected to the and of the cable. This is how it should work. If you run into trouble, try connecting the DVD to the end of the cable with the HD, as a slave.

[Toasty]

Re: No boot now!

370forlife >>Uhhh, I really could not tell you.<<

Would you please confirm? Look at pics in the link from sofTest's post -
http://www.mikeshardware.com/howtos/...ct_ide_hd.html

>>...your HD should be set to master and connected to the middle of the cable<<
Where have I heard that before...

>>If on separate cables...the DVD as slave connected to the and of the cable.<<
I disagree. Since both the cables are 40 wire, then CD/DVD goes on second channel set as Master on Middle connector, not end. Do not use Cable Select for CD/DVD here.

Also, try to avoid a CD/DVD Burner and HD on the same cable/channel. Better I/O to have them on separate channels.

Keep Fightin!
Toast

[sofTest]

Re: No boot now!

370forlife >>Uhhh, I really could not tell you.<<

Would you please confirm? Look at pics in the link from sofTest's post -
http://www.mikeshardware.com/howtos/...ct_ide_hd.html

>>...your HD should be set to master and connected to the middle of the cable<<
Where have I heard that before...

Didn't you read his last post?

>>If on separate cables...the DVD as slave connected to the and of the cable.<<
I disagree. Since both the cables are 40 wire, then CD/DVD goes on second channel set as Master on Middle connector, not end. Do not use Cable Select for CD/DVD here.

Also, try to avoid a CD/DVD Burner and HD on the same cable/channel. Better I/O to have them on separate channels.

Keep Fightin!
Toast

In general, I would keep opticals and HDs separate also, but 370forlife might have a faulty cable, so to test, put both drives on same cable, and try both cables also.

Putting an optical as a master on a separate cable will usually work, but so will usually a slave configuration also.