A8N32 replacement

toucam

toucam

toucam

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After almost one week of constantly reinstalling Windows and fixing all sort of BSODs and countless of problems I have decided to ebay my A8N32. If you're running Windows XP 32 bit, don't even think about buying it as you will have nothing but headache (Windows 64 runs very stable). This is my first AMD build ever and I couldn't believe all the hassle I have endured so far.
I'm thinking of buying a different board, all I need is a stable, fast and a reasonable amount of features board. I know DFI seems to be a good choice for many people but since I don't OC much don't know whether I should buy them. I'm thinking of either DFI NF4 Ultra-D, Abit AN8-32X nForce4 SLi or Abit AN8 SLi Fatal1ty nForce4 SLi.
I always think Abit makes very good board but it seems a lot of people here just buy either Asus or DFI?
 
What problems has the A8n32 caused? You say you have had BSOD's but are you sure it was because of the board and not a compatibility problem (or dare I say it...user error??). Personally I havn't had any problems with the board and find it to be VERY stable. You wont find too many people switching from Asus to DFI in the hope of stability tbh as Asus are more biased towards stability and DFI for overclockability. For me the A8n32 has offered both in bucketloads! I have XP 32+64+Vista and found the board to be stable with all 3 OS at stock and when OC'd.
 
toucam said:
After almost one week of constantly reinstalling Windows and fixing all sort of BSODs and countless of problems I have decided to ebay my A8N32. If you're running Windows XP 32 bit, don't even think about buying it as you will have nothing but headache (Windows 64 runs very stable). This is my first AMD build ever and I couldn't believe all the hassle I have endured so far.
I'm thinking of buying a different board, all I need is a stable, fast and a reasonable amount of features board. I know DFI seems to be a good choice for many people but since I don't OC much don't know whether I should buy them. I'm thinking of either DFI NF4 Ultra-D, Abit AN8-32X nForce4 SLi or Abit AN8 SLi Fatal1ty nForce4 SLi.
I always think Abit makes very good board but it seems a lot of people here just buy either Asus or DFI?
Click to expand...

I'm with w3bbo, I just got an A8n32 sli deluxe last week and have had not one problem. No lock up, no BSOD. The only "issue" I did notice was that when I went to a 300mhz fsb the marvell network controller disappeared from Device manager (I don't use it though).

Did you consider Rma'ing it ? Maybe you got a lemon? In my experiences with PC's I have built a lot of computers. I have had one lemon mobo' , an Asus CUSL2. Spent about 48 hrs solid trying to get it working right, gave up and RMA'd it. The replacement ran 24/7 for over 2 years and never baulked. It happens.

A more likely reason for erratic OS behaviour is dodgy or incompatible memory. Have you tried other types ?

mj
 
Well the board is one of the best out there, i have one and its as good as my Expert. I dont think saying its not worth having unless running 64 bit windows is a fair comment.

Memory or user Error.
 
I went from a DFI lanparty SLI-DR to the Asus A8N32 SLI and have no problems at all with 32Bit Windows,sounds more like a memory problem to me.I'm running my 2 GB Balistix @ 2.2.2.5 as i have no need to overclock the memory as i have an FX55 & adjust the multiplier instead.
 
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Asus A8N32
Opteron 170
Power Color 1800XT 512MB
2x512MB PC3200 Geil UltraX-BH5 CAS2
2x512MB PC3500 Geil Golden Dragon CAS 2.5
BIOS 1103
OS: Windows XP Pro Corp SP2, Windows XP Pro x64 SP1

I don't know what's wrong with my board but I did google around and found tons of user having exactly the same problems. When I install it there were ACPI compliant and Bad head pooler BSODs, managed to pass those and finished Windows installation.

Problem 1: It just automatically reboots when Windows starts loading, sometimes it doesn't but most of the time it does.
Problem 2: Everytime I install ATI CAT 6.3, the hard drive turns itself off in the middle of the process with a loud "click" and Windows reboots, install Omega Driver CAT 6.2 it runs for about 45 mins then it happens again.

After (Problem 2) happens Windows won't load as described in (Problem 1).

I didn't plug anything in, just Keyboard, Mouse and LAN. I have tried to run it with one stick at a time, swapped them around different slots, then 2 sticks then 4 sticks and still have exactly the same problems.
I tried to set bios to default, disable APM, ACPI, turn off USB Legacy Support, disable most of the options in BIOS and still no luck.

So if it's memory then how come Windows 64 runs just fine, I haven't any problems at all as fas as Windows 64 is concerned. I'm convinced there's nothing wrong with my memory otherwise I would have a lot of problems running Windows 64.

I'm running out of options here, can anybody shed some light to help me as I'm so close to put back my faithful IC7-G and P4 NW 3.2 back into the case and chuck this thing straight out of the window. :(
 
I've had this board now for a few days, so far I say its a very impressive and stable board. Only slight niggle with it is the location of the FDD connecector, but who uses a floppy anyways for anything other than loading raid drivers.

I'm no expert but just looking at the mixed memory you are using seems like asking for trouble tbh. One is CL2.5 and other is CL2? what are you running at then?
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles toucam.

Erratic reboots point towards a PSU fault. Why it wouldn't do the same with x64 is a mystery though. What type of PSU do you have? Also I take it you are aware that Geil is not listed as a supported brand by this motherboard (although should work fine imo).

The problems also occur and seem most consistant when you try installing video drivers which definately leads me to suspect a PSU problem as it is coming under load during/aftrer instal of the drivers and cant take the load so shuts the HD/pc down. Is the amperage sufficient for the x1800XT card, have you connected the additional power lead to the x1800xt? If so I would try using a higher rated PSU, 520w minimum with a strong single 12v rail. When you are in windows what temps is PC probe giving you? I ask because a badly seated CPU(overheating) could also be a cuase of your problems.

Hope you find a cure for the problem and get to see how *** this motherboard really is.
 
I'm running Q-Tec 650W PSU. If I have the same problems with Windows x64 then I can say there's something wrong with my setup, but there's absolutely none, totally trouble-free!
After quite a few reboots I even got into Windows x32, set everything to max and played Splinter Cell CS for about 30mins (Omega CAT 6.2), it was fine. If the PSU couldn't handle the load then it would have shut down Windows after the first few minutes in the game.
Yes, I have connected the additional power lead to the 1800XT and my temp under load is about 50ish, I'm using Arctic Freezer 64 Pro + AS5.
I've just check the manual and GEIL is listed in the Qualified Vendors List.
:( :mad:
 
toucam said:
I'm running Q-Tec 650W PSU. If I have the same problems with Windows x64 then I can say there's something wrong with my setup, but there's absolutely none, totally trouble-free!
After quite a few reboots I even got into Windows x32, set everything to max and played Splinter Cell CS for about 30mins (Omega CAT 6.2), it was fine. If the PSU couldn't handle the load then it would have shut down Windows after the first few minutes in the game.
Yes, I have connected the additional power lead to the 1800XT and my temp under load is about 50ish, I'm using Arctic Freezer 64 Pro + AS5.
I've just check the manual and GEIL is listed in the Qualified Vendors List.
:( :mad:
Click to expand...

Sounds like a b*gger of a problem :(

I had an intersting night last night - I had to reinstall XP on mine :rolleyes:

I actually posted a query about the one niggle I've been having - strange IDE behaviour specifically when burning dvds. My setup has 3 pata disks and 2 DVDs. Obviously I'm limited on PATA connections so had to install an Ide card. I have one HD on the mobo primary, and the 2 dvds connected to the secondary. My other disks are hooked up to the IDE card. No SATA stuff at all.

What was happening was this - when using the dvds I was getting a constantly lit HD led. I did burn/verify and for single layer disks I was fine. But I couldn't burn dual layer at all. The buffer was going up and down and the disks were wasted with "write error" "scsi error" depending on which HD the data was coming from.

Somone said the Nvidia drivers were to blame - but even though I said yes during nstall, they were not installed - so I force installed them............

Next reboot, desktop.....BSOD. Into safe mode and tried to remove the Nvidia drivers (which said no go !), , reboot, and bang , the same thing , into safe mode and the drivers are back to MS Standard - but it would not load the desktop.

So I reinstalled. XP Pro/sp2. Installed the latest Nforce drive pack (minus the "storage" option) , installed the Cat 6.2's and I'm back to normality. I have yet to install and try my burning apps but I think nothing will have changed and I'm looking at hooking them to the IDE card if it doesn't. Strange.

Anyways, here is a list of what my system is as it might assist you in diagnosing.

PSU - Antec 430 using 20-24 pin convertor
Video - 1800XT 256mb
Memory - 2 * 512 Crucial pc3200 cas3 (2 years old)
Sil Raid IDE card in Pci slot 3
3 7200 8mb cache IDE disks
2 Dvd-rs (Pioneer 105 and Nec 4550a)
Cpu, Opty 146 running at 2800 (280*10 with HT at 3x)
Cooler is the A64 FreezerPro with AS5. Max load is 41'c, ide 33. I know the dual core runs hotter but yours appears a lot hotter ??
Bios is the one it shipped with - 1009.

I worried about my PSU and my memory but without need by the look of it. From the info' you have given I can't offer any concrete advice - but if it were me I'd be looking to RMA the board as it appears you have rulled out drivers, the PSU (if it runs 64bit fine) and the memory. It might be worthwhile trying your CPU in another board though as it could be the problem or part of it.

Hope you get it sorted
mj
 
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toucam said:
I'm running Q-Tec 650W PSU.
Click to expand...

There lies your problem m8.

Q-tec, no matter how much watts they 'say' it provides it is usually way overestimated and is probably the worst brand of PSU you can buy.

Don't just take my word for it, do a search on this forum and look at all the bad reports concerned with this brand of PSU. I'll admit it is very strange that x64 is ok though :confused:
 
mj3zero said:
Sounds like a b*gger of a problem :(

I had an intersting night last night - I had to reinstall XP on mine :rolleyes:

I actually posted a query about the one niggle I've been having - strange IDE behaviour specifically when burning dvds. My setup has 3 pata disks and 2 DVDs. Obviously I'm limited on PATA connections so had to install an Ide card. I have one HD on the mobo primary, and the 2 dvds connected to the secondary. My other disks are hooked up to the IDE card. No SATA stuff at all.

What was happening was this - when using the dvds I was getting a constantly lit HD led. I did burn/verify and for single layer disks I was fine. But I couldn't burn dual layer at all. The buffer was going up and down and the disks were wasted with "write error" "scsi error" depending on which HD the data was coming from.

Somone said the Nvidia drivers were to blame - but even though I said yes during nstall, they were not installed - so I force installed them............

Next reboot, desktop.....BSOD. Into safe mode and tried to remove the Nvidia drivers (which said no go !), , reboot, and bang , the same thing , into safe mode and the drivers are back to MS Standard - but it would not load the desktop.

So I reinstalled. XP Pro/sp2. Installed the latest Nforce drive pack (minus the "storage" option) , installed the Cat 6.2's and I'm back to normality. I have yet to install and try my burning apps but I think nothing will have changed and I'm looking at hooking them to the IDE card if it doesn't. Strange.

Anyways, here is a list of what my system is as it might assist you in diagnosing.

PSU - Antec 430 using 20-24 pin convertor
Video - 1800XT 256mb
Memory - 2 * 512 Crucial pc3200 cas3 (2 years old)
Sil Raid IDE card in Pci slot 3
3 7200 8mb cache IDE disks
2 Dvd-rs (Pioneer 105 and Nec 4550a)
Cpu, Opty 146 running at 2800 (280*10 with HT at 3x)
Cooler is the A64 FreezerPro with AS5. Max load is 41'c, ide 33. I know the dual core runs hotter but yours appears a lot hotter ??
Bios is the one it shipped with - 1009.

I worried about my PSU and my memory but without need by the look of it. From the info' you have given I can't offer any concrete advice - but if it were me I'd be looking to RMA the board as it appears you have rulled out drivers, the PSU (if it runs 64bit fine) and the memory. It might be worthwhile trying your CPU in another board though as it could be the problem or part of it.

Hope you get it sorted
mj
Click to expand...


I cant really help you m8 as I don't use Pata on my setup on SATA. I have two dual dvd burners and have had no such problem with the NV drivers. Looking at your setup though I would invest in a more powerfull (good brand) PSU as running 3 HD's + 2 burners, an OC'd opty and a high end GPU is gonna put a lot of strain on a 430w psu.
 
w3bbo said:
I cant really help you m8 as I don't use Pata on my setup on SATA. I have two dual dvd burners and have had no such problem with the NV drivers. Looking at your setup though I would invest in a more powerfull (good brand) PSU as running 3 HD's + 2 burners, an OC'd opty and a high end GPU is gonna put a lot of strain on a 430w psu.
Click to expand...

I thought Antec were good :D

Power isn't an issue as I can see it, I've burned 2 disks at once using diskjuggler whilst doing a Prime test and the volts hardly flinched.

I have found this though - only the NEC is having a problem. Cache buffer fluctuations, constant IDE led - the Pioneer doesn't suffer the same. I have tried both as master and slave - and also as masters with my boot HD plugged into the IDE card.

So something is going on with the NEC and the a8n32 that wasn't going on last saturday when it was plugged into the i865 board. Maybe the drive is failing - but single layer burns are fine, and verify correctly. My inkling is that there's some compatability issue but how do I go about fixing that :confused:

I will try the NEC in my IDE card tonight - though I'm not sure the card supports dvd-rw (it should but the box only says cd-r). If it works ok there I will re-jig the setup. If not I guess the drive is on the way out.

cheers
mj
 
I have managed to fix all the BSODs and rebooting problem. It's not the PSU, Memory ... or anything for that matter it's actually the flipping Bios. I downgraded from 1103 to 0703 and reinstalled Windows, not a single BSOD, no keyboard lock-up or rebooting of any sort. I'm so happy now :p
The problem I'm fairly sure was caused by incompatibility or conflict issue between the board's ACPI and Power Management of Windows.
So if you have this board and plan to install Windows XP Pro 32, don't ever think about installing 1103.
Cheers guys for the replies. ;)
 
I am running XP Pro 32 with service pack 2 & bios 1103 and i ain't had any problems at all.
 
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toucam said:
I have managed to fix all the BSODs and rebooting problem. It's not the PSU, Memory ... or anything for that matter it's actually the flipping Bios. I downgraded from 1103 to 0703 and reinstalled Windows, not a single BSOD, no keyboard lock-up or rebooting of any sort. I'm so happy now :p
The problem I'm fairly sure was caused by incompatibility or conflict issue between the board's ACPI and Power Management of Windows.
So if you have this board and plan to install Windows XP Pro 32, don't ever think about installing 1103.
Cheers guys for the replies. ;)
Click to expand...


Good to hear you have a working setup :D

But - I've got got 1103 on my rig and it has been fine. Maybe your Bios had been corrupted? If it doesn't work with 1103 at all - ie you try reflashing and run into the same difficulties, I'd still RMA it as something is amiss.

I just wish I could work out if my NEC writer is gubbed or if it is a problem with the IDE2 , or a compatability issue :confused: Other than that I am very happy with this board.

mj
 
I'm now totally confused. Upgraded my bios again to 1103 and expected loads of blue screen erros but nothing happened, the board works flawlessly. I'm starting to like this board a little bit more after all those hours trying to make it work! I can't explain why, can it be Windows installation as this time I installed normal Windows XP Pro, not the Corp one?
Try to use the support CD, flash your bios to 0703 then install Windows again to see what happens, then upgrade it to 1103, that's what I did.
OCUK offered to exchange a different motherboard, still thinking whether I should get the Abit AN8-32X. What do you guys think, stick with A8N32? :o
 
mj3zero said:
I thought Antec were good :D

Power isn't an issue as I can see it, I've burned 2 disks at once using diskjuggler whilst doing a Prime test and the volts hardly flinched.

I have found this though - only the NEC is having a problem. Cache buffer fluctuations, constant IDE led - the Pioneer doesn't suffer the same. I have tried both as master and slave - and also as masters with my boot HD plugged into the IDE card.

So something is going on with the NEC and the a8n32 that wasn't going on last saturday when it was plugged into the i865 board. Maybe the drive is failing - but single layer burns are fine, and verify correctly. My inkling is that there's some compatability issue but how do I go about fixing that :confused:

I will try the NEC in my IDE card tonight - though I'm not sure the card supports dvd-rw (it should but the box only says cd-r). If it works ok there I will re-jig the setup. If not I guess the drive is on the way out.

cheers
mj
Click to expand...

The antecs are good PSU's, Q-tec are not. Have you tried updating the drives firmware?
 
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