conflicting HW?

[System]

Hello again,

A few of you probably know that I've been working on a new gaming rig and some have even helped me out in the build process. Well, thats all said and done now and I put the thing together last night only to find that its not working.

there are five problems right now

one - CPU fan - not spinning!!!

It is a zalman 9700 and uses a 3 pin configuration to get its juice from the mobo. it comes with a fan m8 tool that you connect to the fan with and use to lower/raise rpms. Woah, this fan blew my mind away - its gotta be the quietest out on the market.

I tried tweaking the rpms up and down through fan m8. nothing happened. then I tried bypassing fan m8 and just plugging the fan directly into the mobo. nothing.

I believe my problem is that the CPU fan port on the mobo is a 4 pin config where as I am plugging a 3 pin config into a different port (takes in the zalman plug) that is called fan header. I didn't imagine it to be a problem though but in any case, now I have a worthless fan.

two - Squeeky noise... AGAIN!!!

Maybe some of you remember I said that I had squeeky noises coming from my old computer and pointed out to me that it was one of my fans. well for some reason, one of my new fans in this build is doing to same crap.

Before you say anything about it maybe being the zalman, I already tried to check if that was the case. I didn't have the zalman plugged in on one boot up and the noise remained!

three - boot up??? uhhh???

I read everything over and over and over again. I followed instructions, checked labels, read diagrams, and did it again and again to make sure everything as going in. Does it boot up? no...

I'm affraid to let it run for more than 10 seconds, I'll only do that once the fan(s) shut up so I can hear the bios beeping.

four - unknown cable??? where does this go?

I only had one cable that I need to plug in somewhere left over. It belongs to my 3 1/2 ' floppy drive. I got the drive connected to the mobo, but its a special floppy drive. It has a bunch of those card readers intergrated into it as well, so there is this small cable that looks almost like a SATA cable coming out. Doesn't say what it is nor do I have a port for it on the mobo... it plugs onto 4 pins - pwr data + data - grnd.

I left it figuring it wouldn't be a big deal if I had it in or not yet.

five - mobo sound vs sound card?

I have two sound ports in the front of my computer and I went and hooked them up to my mobo. Will this conflict with my sound card? I don't really know why I hooked it up, my sound card has a front panel anyways.. Was just wondering if it actually would screw things up?

Over all, one last thing, My PSU cables are kind of funny. I have the 24 pin aux main power port on the mobo. surely enough, my PSU gives me a main power cable with only 20 pins and then a seperate 4 pin connection to go along with it. so the total is 24 but its 20 and 4.

Then the cpu power, which is 8 pins on the mobo. My PSU has 2 CPU power cords (together rolled into one but seperate 4 pin plugs). I read the mobo manuel, followed its intructions. Only said I needed the one cable. Do I need both cables pluged in? I am running an E6600 cpu...

Last PSU cable issue I'm having is my GPU. it has two 6 pin power ports on it. My PSU comes with two cables PCI-E 1/2. I plugged only one into the vid card though as each is 12V power. It is a SLI PSU so I figured I only use the PCI-E 2 cable for the seoncd vid card.

Any insight on this would be great

mobo - http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...681&cid=MB.157

psu - http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...076&cid=PS.808

[megawhompertoo]

Re: conflicting HW?

1---->one - CPU fan - not spinning!!!

2--->two - Squeeky noise... AGAIN!!![/B]

3--->three - boot up??? uhhh???

4--->four - unknown cable??? where does this go?

5--->five - mobo sound vs sound card?

6--->Then the cpu power, which is 8 pins on the mobo. My PSU has 2 CPU power cords (together rolled into one but seperate 4 pin plugs). I read the mobo manuel, followed its intructions. Only said I needed the one cable. Do I need both cables pluged in? I am running an E6600 cpu...


7--->I only use the PCI-E 2 cable for the seoncd vid card.

1. When you said "bypassing the fanm8 and plugging directly into the MOBO" I couldn't tell whether you meant into the MOBO 4-pin CPU FAN header or a MOBO 3-pin chassis fan header. Depending on BIOS options, you should be able to plug the CPU fan directly into a mobo 3-pin (chassis) header for trouble shooting. FYI--there is a specific pin orientation for plugging a 3-pin cable into a 4-pin CPUFAN header and you MAY have your three plugged into the wrong three of the four. I would spend a few minutes to confirm this first.

2. Isolate which fan squeeks and replace. Not uncommon to have a faulty/squeeky fan, sorta' uncommon to get two in two subsequent computers. Habitable planets are also quite unlikely to form, but it happens sometimes. You're apparently a victim of statistics.

3. When you say "no boot"--I'm assuming the fans spin up (except the cpu, of course) but you get no POST? I'm not familiar with that particlar board (I'm sure some leet oobergraders can help you more), but some boards/bios' have a sensor that prevents function if the CPU fan registers as 0 rpm. Check CPU FAN for your fanm8 as in 1. Also, do you have the retail HSF?

4. Some PSU's have extra cables. I've got a rat's nest of them. 20+4 pin and a CPU power are the inputs you need.

5. Until you get your computer up and running, I would leave the onboard sound disconnected. You can configure your pc for use with both, but it sometimes takes a little homework and advil. Getting a post screen is PRI1 at this point.

6. Sounds right to me. Only thing I'd be worried about is if you tried to stick a 4-pin CPU power cable on the end of your MOBO, but you don't sound like you did that.

Edit--six is more interesting the second time I read it. someone with a 680i should be able to help. might also consider posting this in the 2142 forum as the readership around TBF2 is getting a tad sparse.

7. PCI-E2 would indeed be for your number 2 card.

[System]

Re: conflicting HW?

Thanks man,

That was what I thought may be the case of nothing booting up - the CPU fan registering 0 rpms.

I didn't try to put a 3 pin cable on a 4 pin port connection for the CPU fan. I only used the 3 pin port on the mobo. Fan M8 is connected to the fan and runs it out to small black box to control the RPMs and then is connected to the MOBO. Thats how it works, So when I bypass fan m8, I simply take it out of the route and just plug the fan into the mobo. I figured maybe fan m8 didn't work but the zalman just doesnt want to work period... ::sigh::

CPU power - Maybe we're not entirely on the same page here. Yes, its a 8 pin port on the mobo. My PSU has two 4 pin CPU plugs together bundled up. I read the mobo manuel and it showed how to put a 4 pin power plug into the 8 pin port. I did that with CPU1 cable. What I did not do was go crazy and try to put the other one in.

and just to paint a nicer picture, the 4 pin cables are in a square formation (2x2) and not 1x4.

So I did the video card right, but what I was trying to get at is I don't understand why my video card has two power ports? maybe I should open it up a bit more, its a 8800 EVGA GTX 768 mb card. I don't think it has anything to do with my current issues but if you need to see it, go to here.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...917&CatId=1558

Again, thanks. Oh I almost forgot, yes I do have the retail HSF. I was saving it for last resort, because that zalman was the biggest pain in the *** to put on my mobo. My brother in law was helping me with it and we must have spent 30-60 minutes trying to put that hunk of junk on the mobo.

[megawhompertoo]

Re: conflicting HW?

1-->I didn't try to put a 3 pin cable on a 4 pin port connection for the CPU fan. I only used the 3 pin port on the mobo. Fan M8 is connected to the fan and runs it out to small black box to control the RPMs and then is connected to the MOBO. Thats how it works, So when I bypass fan m8, I simply take it out of the route and just plug the fan into the mobo. I figured maybe fan m8 didn't work but the zalman just doesnt want to work period... ::sigh::

2-->CPU power - Maybe we're not entirely on the same page here. Yes, its a 8 pin port on the mobo. My PSU has two 4 pin CPU plugs together bundled up. I read the mobo manuel and it showed how to put a 4 pin power plug into the 8 pin port. I did that with CPU1 cable. What I did not do was go crazy and try to put the other one in.

and just to paint a nicer picture, the 4 pin cables are in a square formation (2x2) and not 1x4.

3-->So I did the video card right, but what I was trying to get at is I don't understand why my video card has two power ports? maybe I should open it up a bit more, its a 8800 EVGA GTX 768 mb card. I don't think it has anything to do with my current issues but if you need to see it, go to here.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...917&CatId=1558

1. Look up the pinouts on the CPUFAN. Plug the zalman directly into it in whatever manner the mobo says to plug in a 3-pin fan cable. Havine nothing plugged into the CPUFAN header most likely precludes initiating POST. edit 1: plug the fan directly into the CPUFAN header, bypassing fanm8 until you get to a POST screen. if you're feeling adventurous, leave the zalman attached to the cpu and plug in the retail HSF into the CPUFAN port, do number three on this list, and see if you get a post (you WILL NOT damage the CPU with the zalman attached just to look at whether it POSTS or not.) my guess is once you plug in the second PCI-E into that 8800gtx and send a "fan good" signal, you're going to see a boot screen.

2. Having no experience whatsoever with the 680i, I'm at a loss as to whether this is right or wrong. As long as you're following the manual, I'd guess you were right.

3. 8800gtx requires both power connectors, according to a quick google. Consult your manufacturers info for specifics. edit 2: definitely one of your problems. plug in the other pci-e posthaste.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/8800GTX-Power-Analysis-40450.shtml

[System]

Re: conflicting HW?

Great news, I got her running! (on it right now =P)

So, this is what ended up being the problems.

1 - the fan header port I tried to use is defective, I identified this being the issue by unplugging my MCP 680i chip fan and using its port. zalman worked perfectly then. so then I reconnected fan m8 and split the wires to give me more of an extension and pluged the zalman into another fan header port on the mobo. MCP 680i chip fan plugged back in

2 - squeeky fan. I found out which fan and I found the problem. In a barbaric way I just shoved all the excess wires into the 3 3 1/2' driver bays where the fan is located. I did not bother to check if any where in the fan. It appears that one or more was, I simply extended the drive bay out half an inche (which still looks good and is screwed in nice and secure). No more noise

3 - boot up was never a problem, I was expecting the Logo display to be enabled and never saw it so I freaked out. With the noise gone, I could hear the beep. Everything was running great, Over clocking was maybe the easiest part too. E6600 @ 3 ghz FSB 1350 and ram @ 1080 mhz.

All with in acceptable ranges for what I bought. nothing hardcore, yet? Hahaha

After installations and what not, the video drive in particular, I noticed a problem. As you indicated to me in this post, I learned through the video driver software that both 6 pin ports need to be used. No damage done, the system simply lowered its settings until I plugged the PCI-E2 cable into the 8800.

After all that is said and done, I only have one thing to say... Way to many f***in updates for win XP Home ED 2002 Lol. I think I passed 200 mbs already...

I'm on a satelite connection, speed is fast but not instant. I'm happy it worked out great though. Can't wait to see what this baby will do on bf2 =P

My only question is - why would the E6600 straight out of the box be clocked at 2133 mhz multiplier x8? I put the multiplier to 9 (the max) and clocked the FSB to give me 3ghz. Was just curious if thats how they come in the box... 2133 mhz...??

[megawhompertoo]

Re: conflicting HW?

1-->Great news, I got her running! (on it right now =P)

2-->After all that is said and done, I only have one thing to say... Way to many f***in updates for win XP Home ED 2002 Lol. I think I passed 200 mbs already...

3-->My only question is - why would the E6600 straight out of the box be clocked at 2133 mhz multiplier x8? I put the multiplier to 9 (the max) and clocked the FSB to give me 3ghz. Was just curious if thats how they come in the box... 2133 mhz...??

1. Good deal. Had to be something goofy like that.

2. Google "slipstreaming xp". Paul Theriott's site is especially helpful. You can roll all the updates into a new installation CD for your next install.

3. E6600@2.4ghz. E6400@2.13ghz. Make sure they sent the right processor?

Satellite can (sometimes) be iffy with the latencies. Hope yours isn't.

Good luck.

edit: if I'm understanding things right, you're plugging your zalman CPU fan into a MOBO chassis fan header via the fanm8. just a suggestion, but I find that disabling PWM and having the zalman fan plugged directly into the motherboard (either CPU FAN or a !working! CHASSIS FAN) gives me more convenient access to adjusting fan speeds than most places where people put the fanm8. If you plug the zalman directly into the CPU FAN you can also enable PWM and let the bios manage the best combination of temps/noise for you. A free program like Speedfan lets you do all sorts of adjustments (automatic and manual) to find a tolerable fan setting. that's how i've got my vf900-cu running on my video card, and I much prefer that set-up to anywhere that I'd be able to install the fanm8, including the back plate.

'Course, if you've got your fanm8 somewhere convenient, then that's a moot point.

[System]

Re: conflicting HW?

2. Google "slipstreaming xp". Paul Theriott's site is especially helpful. You can roll all the updates into a new installation CD for your next install.

Yeah, unfortunetely for me I just did it the brute way all over again with even more trouble. I put my HD into 3 partitions and formatted it when I had the other one still in. I went to install the OS in it and it wasn't working properly. ended up deleting all the partitions I made and just using the whole drive. No big deal, just wasted my time dicking around.

3. E6600@2.4ghz. E6400@2.13ghz. Make sure they sent the right processor?

Well the box is a e6600 but I never actually checked the name on the cpu - not that I can remember very well anyways. I may have glanced at it but then again I could be thinking of the OEM e6600 I bought and returned earlier.

Everything in the software reads e6600 though...

'Course, if you've got your fanm8 somewhere convenient, then that's a moot point.

Well its a bit more difficult than that... but as for fan m8 it has a very long cord, maybe 12 inches or more. easy to move around and what not. Yes, its in a very nice spot, on the side of my computer case actually.

Remember, its a 3 pin fan plug. my cpu fan port on the mobo is a 4 pin. I need to use a 3 pin plug.

Also, now that your mentioning case fans, thats a whole new story. none of them are connected to the mobo. I found it easier to directly connect them to my PSU as I have this option. However, the speed controls are very short, so I'm at a loss there. All I can do is buy some wire and extend them one day if it comes down to that - but I think medium setting should be fine.

Heck, the computer is making me cold and its 2 feet away from me on the floor. no fan is even pointing at me... Lol.

Issues now:

I can't get xfire to log in. working on that one in the xfire forums. no idea whats wrong with it. fresh download/install. type my name in and had to reset the pword. copy paste it and it still says my name/pword is wrong. So I type it out (the pword) and get no where. Someone suggested it may be a firewall issue but I manually added xfire into the safe list after, no changes.

My computer just doesn't like xfire anymore.

Then I notice I get some errors, more often than I'd like. Then again, I'm playing with settings ALOT so I suppose I shouldn't be crying about the errors just yet O_o

The confusing thing is my BIOS readings. In your normal BIOS scrn I clocks my cpu and everything. I have the option of changing my BIOS in windows too with this mobo. I go and check it out, totally different readings on speeds and how they are achieved. weird?