MSI K8N Neo2 MB Problem

[stevep1968]

Hi All

First post here so please forgive for any inadequacies in this post.

My brother and I built a AMD based PC a few years back and it has been working fine for 18 months or so. It has a AMD socket 939 Athlon with a Gig of Ram on a MSI K8N Neo2 MB.

A few weeks back I had the bright idea of adding a spare hard disk that I had knocking about. Being a newcommer to the inside of a PC I could not work out the jumper settings and eventually gave up.

I put the case back together and plugged in the PC power cord and the fans and internal power came on imediatley - i.e. the MB did not post or boot at all! I have tried all the obvious things like checking all the connections etc and I still get the same thing - power as soon as the power cord is connected to the PSU without touching the on / off button.

I have also used the MB Jumper to clear the COM setting and still no joy.

Whats next? Is it the MB or the PSU?

I cant seem to find any sign of this MB for sale anymore so if it is the MB whats the best replacement for this model? I remember that the Processor that I have requiers a specific type of MB not just the socket 939 (we tried to use an Abit (3rd Eye type I think) originally and although it was a 939 it would not post as I think mine is a 'winchester 939' and has a slightly different 'struture'?!?!

I would be gratefull for all / any help as my brother (who is a bit of an IT wiz is now based in Canada and so cant help me)

Regards
Steve

 

[lokkers]

It may or may not be the same thing, but I had two MSI Neo2s die on me in exactly the same way (e.g. fans and HDD powered up, but no output/POST). I gave up on the boards after that and brought a DFI NF4, which proved infinitely more reliable.

Any socket 939 board should be fine - what you will need to watch out for is that you'll need an AGP (NF3) board, rather than a PCI-E NF4 board, as IIRC the Neo2 was NF3/AGP not PCI-E.

 

[Reality|Bites]

Did you mess around with the existing HDD's jumper when trying to install the other HDD then forget to change it back to its original position when you took it back out?

The symptoms you describe lead me to believe so.

 

[lokkers]

Did you mess around with the existing HDD's jumper when trying to install the other HDD then forget to change it back to its original position when you took it back out?

That shouldn't stop the machine from POSTing though.

Try unplugging everything except the CPU (and fan, obviously), RAM and GFX. These are the three things a machine requires to POST. It might also be worth taking the board out of the case and resting it on a non-conductive surface and trying that, just in case you are shorting the board inside the case.

Do you get any beeps from the board?

I have to say the symptoms sound like a dead board - I've seen this with my two Neo2's and a DFI Infinity before.

 

[stevep1968]

Thanks

I have tried the mb with everything unplugged except ram amd the cpu (inc fan) and I still get the same thing. No beebs - just power to the fans.

If this is a dead MB - has anyone got a recomendation to the best replacement - ideally with an AGP not a PCI Express?

The CPU is an AMD 64 3000+ Winchester.

Thanks

Steve