hey all,
I'm working on an i7-920 build for my son. The board is used but appears in very good condition. It is not posting.
Got a post test from my local computer guy, and it stops on 04 "Looking for CPU". He suggested this probably indicates that the bios doesn't recognize the i7-920, and that I need a compatible cpu to boot up and flash the most recent bois.
Problem is, it looks like the i7-920 is the oldest chip this board ever supported… Does anyone know if this board should have supported the i7-920 on its original bios? what's the best (cheapest?) cpu to look for to try to update the bios? is it possible the previous owner bricked it with a bad bios? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The CPU might be bad, board might be bad, I think faulty memory can do that as well.
Bios might be bad, which can be changed with a bios chip.
I'd try it with only 1 dim of memory after clearing the cmos.
"edit" Tried reseating the cpu and checking the pins?
yep. memory has been suggested as the culprit several times. I've tried with 8 different sticks of memory, in various combinations and individually, and with no memory as well.
The cpu was donated by a friend who tells me it was working just fine last time he used it.
(I know that's not conclusive, but... : )
I have cleared the cmos several times, with the button, by setting the jumper, and by physically removing the battery.
I have tried reseating the cpu several times.
The pins appear to be in good condition (checked under a magnifying lens).
By this, do you mean replacing the actual bios chip?
Edit
I don't have another LGA1366 cpu to test with, but I am planning to find a cheap one (amazon/whatever). Hopefully that will reveal whether the i7 is bad, and/or allow me to update the board's bios. I just want to make sure I get one which the board should support with no problems. : )
I'm guessing its the motherboard itself, might just be a bad cpu though.
And btw if you're going x58 try the X5650 6 core, 32nm and overclocks really well.
X58 boards should basicly support the i7-920 out of the box.
Maybe try to reseat the cpu..
hmm… I thought so, which is why I thought maybe the previous owner bricked it somehow.
I have reseated the cpu quite a few times, with no effect. I think my next step is to try to pick up some other LGA1366 chip for testing. @thelonewanderer, do you know whether I should expect the X5650 to work "out of the box"?
X5650 might need a bios update to work properly.
Some CPU that are newer than the boards work with limited instruction sets, and can act funky.
I'd get a bios chip of ebay and replace the one on the motherboard, they come with the newest bios.
There's a way to troubleshoot this, put a compatible CPU you know that works into the board. Or put the CPU into another motherboard and see if it post. It could be the pins on the board, the switch/latch itself as well as other things on the motherboard.
big chance that the board or cpu is dead/
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Yep. Unfortunately I don't have a second board or chip. I'm looking for a chip online.
Actually I just found mention on MSI.com that this model is supposed to be able to flash the bios from a usb drive. So, wish me luck on this.
Well you're no fun : p
Flash it without a cpu installed?
I know my motherboard can do this, but I thought it was somewhat of a new feature.
Well, just to let you guys know what happened…
Got the xeon, no change in results. I think the board is dead, so I'll be returning it. The alternative is to keep buying more boards and CPUs. : )
Kinda disappointed, but I'm not going to be putting any more time/money into troubleshooting this. In a few months I'll have some extra money, and I'll just buy new components. Son is bummed out too, but he'll get an even better system than he was expecting.
Thanks, everyone, for your help and input!
The woes of X58, the 920 (if it was working) should have worked out of the box.
In saying that there are loads of instances where the memory channels were very flakey. So perhaps suss out running just 1 stick of ram in the designated single channel slot.
Plus check the socket pins for any damage.