Thanks for looking at this thread, please can you read all the details below (I know its long) this problem is driving me insane!

I have an Abit AN7 mobo, with an athonxp 2600+ cpu, 1gb of kingston Ram, an nVidia 6200 and 360Gb of maxtor drives.

My system was running fine for a year with the same setup, then one day i came in and the computer had black screened, and it continued to do so every time i booted just before the windows logon screen. So i reformated and everything was ok, until i installed the graphics card. On reboot after installing the VGA the computer started running really really slowly. I tried another VGA but the same thing happened.

So i decided that it would probably be a mobo problem, so purchased another Abit An7 (off ebay). I literally took out my mobo, put on my cpu and northbridge heatsink and plugged it back in. I tried to clear the cmos, nothing... i tried to boot up.. nothing. The hex number on the mobo stays at "90" - Award bios taking over, but nothing happens!

I changed bios chips to my old working one from my other mobo but same thing happened. This is the weird part. I took all the components off the mobo including the cpu, and managed to clear the cmos, and also get to the post screen. I then added VGA, and Ram and keyboard and still managed to boot up.
I then added the ethernet cable, my Hard drives, a USB mouse and a USB card. When i tried to boot up again, the same thing happened, nothing happened and the hex number was stuck on "90".. I cant clear the cmos or anything.

So what the hell is going on? could something else eg cpu be causing all these problems, i know that all my components are working as i have been using them with the old mobo.
I have tried:
Changing the bios chip
Replacing the battery
Changing VGA

Can you not add a new mobo to a system that already has installed hardware on xp? will i need to reformat and start again.
The post code literally goes from 83 to 90 and then gets stuck.

Please help, this is the second motherboard that has caused me grief.

Thanks in advance

"I then added the ethernet cable, my Hard drives, a USB mouse and a USB card."

Disconnect them.
Connect one at a time, rebooting between each to work out which one is causing the problem.

I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.

The hard drives are causing the problem. According to my friend, as i didnt reformat before replacing the mobos my XP copy thinks that i am installing it on loads of computers.
It therefore has locked all access to my hard drives, talk about fair use!

I will have to get another mobo unless anyone else can think of nething.

Think that's bad? Wait till you see Vista's Fair Use.

You're gonna cry.

Larry

Today seems like a good day to chew through the restraints.

"my XP copy thinks that i am installing it on loads of computers. It therefore has locked all access to my hard drives..."

That's freakin ridiculous! I suggest you don't take any more advice from your friend. He knows less than you do...lol

The key to computer repair is the ability to troubleshoot. Reformatting is NOT troubleshooting. Replacing a motherboard because you 'think' it's the problem is not troubleshooting.

"I literally took out my mobo, put on my cpu and northbridge heatsink and plugged it back in."

Did you benchtest the board? I'll bet you didn't. You should ALWAYS benchtest a board before installing it in a case. And why did you change the NB heatsink?

"The hex number on the mobo stays at "90" - Award bios taking over..."

From the ABIT website:

"In some cases, 90 means Power On Sequence (PONSEQ), which enables the hardware monitor & Fan EQ. Generally, hanging at 90 means a failed overclock.

If the system fails during the Power On Sequence (PONSEQ), the system would also force a Power Off Sequence (FPOFSEQ).

Thus, if users encounter this issue, please also report the post code before 90 if possible. This will help us to quickly determine the cause of the problem."

http://abit-usa.com/products/mb/faq...

http://fae.abit.com.tw/eng/faq/note...

"I changed bios chips to my old working one from my other mobo but same thing happened"

I don't know why you would change the BIOS chip or the motherboard for that matter?

"This is the weird part. I took all the components off the mobo including the cpu, and managed to clear the cmos, and also get to the post screen. I then added VGA, and Ram and keyboard and still managed to boot up."

Not weird at all & it should have been a clue. You were 'troubleshooting' & didn't even know it. The system booted without this stuff connected, but then 'stuck' when it was reconnected...therefore something you connected is causing the problem.

"So what the hell is going on? could something else eg cpu be causing all these problems, i know that all my components are working as i have been using them with the old mobo."

You cannot say all your components were working with your old board because you were having probs with your old board...now you're having the same probs with your new board. That in itself should tell you that the board is not at fault & never was!

Like I said...troubleshooting is the key to computer repair. You reformatted (probably needlessly) & replaced what was probably a good board without taking the time to find out what the real problem is.

Remove all cards but video. Disconnect all external devices except keyboard & monitor. Disconnect all drives (HDD, optical, floppy). Try to boot up & access the BIOS. If you can...run thru all your settings & make sure they're correct.

I don't know which version of the 2600+ you have, but make sure the CPU & RAM run at 1:1. In other words, if you have the 133MHz(266FSB) version, run the RAM at 133MHz(DDR266), even if it's PC3200. If it's a 333FSB CPU, run the RAM at DDR333. Lock the AGP at 66MHz. Disable all Spread Spectrum settings. Set the AGP Aperture size to 128MB. Set the Initial Display 1st to AGP. Disable SATA if you're not using it. Check your temp readings. If all is well, save & reboot. Make sure the POST screen comes up...if it does, shutdwon & reconnect one component at a time & see if it will boot again. I suggest you start with the HDD.......

Jam - excellent reply. I wouldn't have done better myself - due to the length necessary.

I've got nothing better to do until ECW at 10pm...lol

Thanks for the reply Jam, I kinda believed my friend as he is a PC techy, however has strong views on the windows fair use.

I agree I am a little hasty with decisions but do not know enough to locate the problem every time. I will have to learn more bout this benchtesting :)

I have, however solved the problem to a certain extent. As I found earlier and you suggested, I was able to get to the post screen with everything connected apart from the HDD's. As soon as i booted up with the hdd's connected i could not even get to the post screen, nor were there any beeps from the components or anything. It seemed (and was backed by my friend) that my copy of windows had locked down the system. Why? Because according to him I had used 2 different mobos for the same windows copy and according to their useage policy this is not allowed. This information is stored in the bios chip so I thought that i could solve this with a different bios chip - sadly not... the info is writted to about 60 chips all over the board (apparently)

I was told a new mobo and hdd would solve the problem (friend again). But unplugging the hdd with windows on it and plugging in an old one with no OS installed - i managed to get to the post screen and beyond. I installed windows on it and added the other hdd to get all the data off.

I then formatted the old messed up xp and am reinstalling windows as we speak. Whats weird now is that I cant seem to able able to run both HDD's from the same IDE port, it only recognizes one.
Both are recognized if i run them off separate IDE ports...

However I can deal with this compared to my dire situation a few hours a go. Thanks for teaching me the importance of troubleshooting and be assured my friend will have little influence on my future actions :)

Just to update you, I was able to install my VGA with this setup without the comp going into slow motion.

Thanks for all your help