Old Shuttle XPC Resurrection for Retro Gaming - Not Going to Plan...

[Starwolf]

I decided to dust off my old Shuttle XPC Chassis that has been in the cupboard for the past decade or so and turn it into a Retro Gaming machine. It's a Shuttle SX58H7, which I bought back in 2009 to run Windows 7 when it was launched. The components other than the barebones were later sold to fund a new machine, but the barebones machine got stuffed in the back of a cupboard.

I have been busy on eBay and Amazon, and re-equipped it very cheaply with the following:

• Intel i7-930 Quad-Core CPU @2.8GHz
• 4 x 4Gb PC3-10600 DIMMs
• Crucial BX500 480GB SSD (New)
• Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6950 Graphics Card 2GB

Now that I have put it all together, it doesn't boot. When switched on the fan starts off at low speed for a few seconds, and then ramps to full speed, but nothing is displayed on the monitor - it is unable to detect a video signal.

I have tried resetting the CMOS (I can't remember what components it had before anyhow), and for good measure I have replaced the CMOS battery.

Planned further testing:

• I will reseat the CPU and add fresh paste. I may order a replacement CPU from eBay to try (it only cost £5).
• I will reduce RAM to a single DIMM and check each one in turn, on the off chance that one of the sticks I have is duff.
• I've ordered a basic video card for a few quid off eBay, on the off-chance that the card I have is causing the issue.

Does anybody have any suggestions for what the symptoms might mean, and additional troubleshooting I should do?

Cheers.

 

[Starwolf]

Has the MB got a header for one of the those little piezo speaker thingies?

No sign of a speaker header - which is a surprise.

Does your 6950 have dual bios switch?

No dual bios switch either.

However, I have managed to get SOME life out of the machine. It starts with a single DIMM in Slot 1 (any of the 4 DIMMs work) and it reports 4088MB Total (strange not 4096MB!). Add a second DIMM, and it starts, but still only reports the same total. Adding further DIMMs causes it to fail to start. It's from the era of Triple Channel memory, but it will not boot if the appropriate 3 DIMM Slots are populated.

With a single DIMM, I can hit Del to enter BIOS. Sometimes it is fine there, other times, the display breaks up a bit (although you can still make out what it says). Booting from a USB Stick with Win10 Installation on it the screen is completely garbled. I am awaiting delivery of an alternative GFX card to try, but I am worried that the issue with memory sticks might indicate a motherboard issue.

 

[Starwolf]

Try changing the CMOS battery.

That was something I tried before posting here. It holds all the bios settings fine after that.

Have you got any other ram to try? Sounds like it’s either particularly fussy about ram or the motherboard has an issue.

Might also be worth checking Shuttles RAM comparability for the board and trying to get hold of some of the RAM they have confirmed as compatible.

Whilst I don't have any other DDR3 to try, this does seem like a possible explanation. Each of the 4 sticks that I have works okay on its own, but an additional one does not register, and more than 2 sticks causes it to fail to boot.
I have ordered up three 4GB sticks of Kingston memory from eBay - with the strikes and holiday, I'm not expecting to receive them for at least a week. If that fails, I have a list of tested memory sticks, but 13 years on, they may be hard to find on eBay.

Can try reseating the CPU also. Check there's no dust, or stuff in the pins. I had similar memory issues on an old Dell Precision once, which were miraculously resolved by removing/reinserting the CPU.

Hopefully is just a simple case of something needed reseating, or a couple bad ram sticks.
Any updated bios files on Shuttles site?

With a single memory module (any of the 4 I have), and a replacement graphics card, the machine now reliably boots with 4GB ram. I have even managed to install Windows 10 (64-bit) and have a fully working machine - albeit with only 4GB of memory.
If the Kingston memory does not help, I will update the bios to the latest version (needed for a later upgrade to an i7 Extreme Edition anyway), and reseat the CPU, but until the memory arrives I will continue with the working state that I have.

Thanks to all of the suggestions so far...

 

[Starwolf]

Can try reseating the CPU also. Check there's no dust, or stuff in the pins. I had similar memory issues on an old Dell Precision once, which were miraculously resolved by removing/reinserting the CPU.

Hopefully is just a simple case of something needed reseating, or a couple bad ram sticks.
Any updated bios files on Shuttles site?

I’ve had this on a desktop board with an i7 920. Weird amounts of RAM being reported etc. On that system I backed off the screws holding the heatsink to the board a bit and it then recognised more of the RAM. I reseated it and again did the heatsink screws up a little less tight.

On that system I suspect that the heatsink mount was making the board flex a little, enough for some of the pins responsible for one or two of the memory channels to not make proper contact.

I’m not sure what mounting system Shuttles of that era used but if it’s screws then loosen them a tad. Otherwise definitely reseat the CPU.

The Shuttle uses a copper block and heat pipe to a fan at the rear of the case - and it is held down by screws.

I have removed the CPU and reseated it, and the put the cooler back on, being careful not to over-tighten the screws, but unfortunately I get the same result, with only 4GB of memory being reported. Once the branded memory arrives, I will remove the CPU and clean things up, and try a bit of Dioxit on the DIMM slots too.

 

[Starwolf]

The Kingston memory that I ordered from eBay has arrived and I have installed it in the computer - and the good news is that it was recognised immediately, and the machine now boots with 12GB of DDR3 memory - and even better, the 3 x 4GB should operate in Triple Channel mode. Many thanks to all who provided advice along the way.