Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

**pfrcom** · 02-04-2021, 06:36 PM

Re: Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

Originally posted by bigbeark

They both boot fine and show the MX Linux first screen. When I press Enter to start the O/S, they hang with a blinking cursor on a blank screen.

If I select the option that shows the detailed loading steps, it shows 2 lines, last of which is "loading Ramdisk" after which the same blinking cursor id shown on a blank screen.

Normally I would see "loading Grub" but it never gets that far.

"Loading Grub" is the first thing I see on my dual-boot MX 19.3/Win10 machines - flashes by very quickly once BIOS hands control over to GRand Unified Bootloader

Grub then shows MX Linux's menu

When Linux is started (by default in my case) "Loading initial Ramdisk" is an initial message that flashes by, after which it switches to graphics mode and completes start up

I've had problems similar to yours after inadvertently leaving a non-bootable USB key plugged in, and BIOSes of vintage similar to yours don't handle that very gracefully - but with that issue, it doesn't even get to Grub's MX Linux menu

When you get to the blinking cursor, does Ctrl-Alt-F1 switch you to a CLI login screen? (Ctrl-Alt-F7 to get back to GUI)

Failing above as the issue, I'd suspect HDD - would try erasing it and loading a clean WinXP to see if that encounters the same problem

Or try MX on an IDE HDD if that's an option for you

**bigbeark** · 02-04-2021, 06:50 PM

Re: Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

pfrcom, this is my regular HDD for testing. I've just successfully started it up on another board. Will try CTR-ALT-F1. I did try Ctrl-Alt-Delete, but nothing happened.

**bigbeark** · 02-05-2021, 01:18 PM

Re: Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

pfrcom, some results

I removed the SATA Drive and instead attached an IDE drive from one of my working machines

Asus P5GV-MX that uses 3 KZG 1000uf 16V in the VRM circuit:

Same result as before: CTRL-ALT-F1 and CTRL-ALT-F7 have no effect at all. Stops after "loading Ramdisk" as before. I performed MEMTEST and no memory Errors detected.
I had previously replaced 2 bulging KZGs right next to the CPU heatsink .

Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 that has 3 KZG 1500uf 1I6V in the VRM circuit:
Successfully booted with IDE Drive. I had previously replaced 2 bulging KZGs beside the CPU Heatsinkl

Tested another motherboard ASUS K8V-MX/S that would not boot SATA, will now boot IDE. This is my only fully working Socket 754 board. I had previously removed all KZGs.
On looking carefully at this board I see that I have 2 Sanyo WG 6.3v 1000uf that are bulging. One near the northbridge and one near the RAM. I installed these several years ago and suspect these are fake Sanyos.

**momaka** · 02-06-2021, 12:04 AM

Re: Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

OK, I see multiple motherboards with supposedly the same issue... but then not quite. This thread will likely get confusing. My suggestion is to have only 1 thread per motherboard, and if any other motherboards have the same or similar issues, put that information there just for extra reference.

Anyways, since this thread is already created, I'll sum up what I suspect so far...

1) Since both ASUS P5GV-MX and Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 stop at the blinking cursor with the same Linux installation from the same HDD, I suspect these boards just may have a problem with the boot loader on that HDD - that is, the motherboards may be fine. To verify this, get another HDD and try a fresh Windows XP install as pfrcom suggested. The fact that Memtest passes on a board should be a fairly good indication that the board is working fine and likely you have a software (OS) problem.

3) 16V KZG caps don't have anywhere near as many issues as 6.3V KZG. In fact, 16V KZG rarely fail. It's extremely unlikely that both the 1500 uF and 1000 uF 16V KZG on both boards have failed without any visual signs and are making both boards crash the same way - the chances of this happening are just slim to none, as noisy CPU V_core can have different effect on different CPUs and different motherboards.

3) You mentioned you replaced 2 KZG next to the CPU on the P5GV-MX and also on the GA-8IPE1000. Where were these caps located (left side of the CPU by the CPU VRM or between CPU and memory slots?) And what voltage and capacity did these caps have? Do these boards have any more of the same KZG caps as the ones that had failed? If yes, you may want to replace the rest, as they might not be far behind. But again, I suggest leaving the 16V ones alone / replace as a last resort - they are extremely unlikely to be your issue.

4) Post a picture of the Sanyo WG caps you have (vent, sleeve printing, and rubber bung.) Chances are, they are likely to be fake if you got them online. I don't think you can find many legit places to sell genuine WG anymore. If you had used any of these for a recap and they bulged, it may be best to remove all of them and replace them... then don't use the rest anymore (at least not for anything you care about.)

**bigbeark** · 02-13-2021, 02:34 PM

Re: Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

The ASUS P5GV-MX and GigaByte GA-8IPE1000 problems are both solved. The both now load Linux Mint using an IDE HDD. The Sata 150 chips on these boards are by Promise and don't seem to work.

The problem was with the Thermaltake TR-430 Power supply. I fitted another power supply and everything works now. As advised by Momaka I will recap the two TR-430s I have,

**bigbeark** · 02-13-2021, 02:44 PM

Re: Motherboards boot, won't load O/S. Possible KZG problem?ibb

The Sanyo WG caps that failed are pictured below. They look convincing but I think they are fake. The first 3 pics are of an unused 6.3v 1000uf Sanyo WG cap followed by 2 pics of the bulged one that failed in use. Comments?

Attached Files