Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

[susuchai]

Hi,
a few days ago when I restarted my computer it gave me the message of "Main bios checksum error". I kinda ignored the message but the my computer still booted without a flaw. Yesterday when I rebooted my computer it gave me the same message again. This time it crashed at the "windows loading screen" (where you see a loading bar; sidenote: my OS is vista x64 if that matters).

Since it completely stopped, I force-turned it off. When I try to boot my computer again, it just turns on for one second, then it turns off, then it loops over and over again. (sidenote: it doesn't even give me a bios booting screen whatsoever; now it's just blank screen, and the computer turns on and off repeatedly)

I've tried searching for a solution online but I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Should I try replacing the battery on the board (since some threads say it might be because of the battery), or should I replace the motherboard (since I'm pretty sure the problem is with the motherboard; BIOS screen won't even load).

Please give me some advice.
Thanks

[wazza300]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

you can remove the battery for 30mins then put back in and try,it will reset or clear the cmos

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

you can remove the battery for 30mins then put back in and try,it will reset or clear the cmos

Thanks. I'll try that later and keep you guys updated my situation.

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

Hi,
I removed the battery and replaced it after a few hours. However it still does the same thing over and over again. I realized that one red LED flickers (and it's located at the place where it says "Voltage") when I turn it on. I was just wondering if this problem is cause by a weak battery or a broken power supply?

Sidenote: I believe I still have warranty on this motherboard. Do you think I should just send it back and it repaired?

[profJim]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

Check out the procedures in http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...tml#post301218 where you'll try booting with a minimal hardware setup.

Try clearing your cmos again when you perform steps 1 - 5.
Good luck.

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

Hi,
I'm gonna try doing those steps later, thanks. I'm also wondering if it's because I fried my motherboard or whatsoever.

[profJim]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

A corrupted bios does not mean that your drive is fried. There is a technique for fixing a bricked motherboard, but this should only be used as a last resort.
Unbricking a mobo can be tried when there are two bios chips on your mobo. You should NOT try this on your own, be patient.
Lsdmeasap is the one to best help you if this step is needed. He is away from the forum at the moment.
Using the minimalist boot approach with your motherboard removed from your case is your best chance at breaking the boot loop cycle.

[wazza300]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

do you have a spare psu to try? it could be that too

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

Hey guys,
So I tried booting the comp using minimal settings (only CPU + video card). It still resets after a second or so.

The main thing I discovered is that when I detach the ATX 8-pin power plug near the CPU, it won't power off after a second. And I recall that I tried overclocking my CPU when I first built the computer like 2 years ago (which was a failed attempt, but I got it to increase 0.0x hertz). I'm not sure if it's because of that.

I also tried pressing and holding onto the "Clear CMOS" switch on the back of the motherboard. It didn't really work.

So these are the things that I've tried so far..
- Removing battery and placing it after at least 30 minutes
- Unwiring unnecessary attachments and booting with minimal settings
- Attempted on clearing CMOS by holding the reset button on the back

I'll be heading back to home and fetch the user's manual and see if there's anything I can do.

[wazza300]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

thing is it needs the cpu power cables or else it will just light up the mb,could be bios issue if you were seeing warning msg's,could leave mb battery out overnight? its worth a try

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

thing is it needs the cpu power cables or else it will just light up the mb,could be bios issue if you were seeing warning msg's,could leave mb battery out overnight? its worth a try

Hi,

I kinda read the user's manual just now and figured out what those LEDs stand for. The one that lights up everytime before it reboots (the 1 second death loop) represents that the voltage usage for the south bridge is overloaded..

I guess I'm gonna try clearing the CMOS using the jumpers. Just a quick question, the user's manual told me to touch the jumpers with anything metallic, is that what I should do? and should I always keep the power off when I'm trying to do any changes to the motherboard?

[wazza300]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

yes turn off the pc and at the psu,then touch the two pins near the mb battery to clear the cmos,then power the pc back up

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

I tried clearing the CMOs with the jumpers but it still doesn't boot my computer properly. I also pulled out the CPU and see if that Southbridge-overload LED still turns on or not, and it still blinked even after pulling out the CPU (just powering up the motherboard with only 1 stick of ram). I also tried pulling out everything, including the battery, but the SB overload LED still went on.

I will also try grabbing my friend's PSU and see if its because of it. But does it matter if the PSU is a lower-watt PSU or a higher-watt PSU (since I'm just booting with minimal settings and testing to see if its because of the PSU)

I can kinda confirm that it's not a problem related to the graphics card/RAM/hard drives. Just out of curiosity, would this be because I fried my CPU/MB somehow?

[wazza300]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

i dont know,it could be that the mb has developed a fault,i would rma that first seeing youve tried everything else,then see what happens,if its not the mb then it can only leave the cpu

[susuchai]

Re: Gigabyte-EX58-Extreme Boot Error

i dont know,it could be that the mb has developed a fault,i would rma that first seeing youve tried everything else,then see what happens,if its not the mb then it can only leave the cpu

I'm not sure if there's still warranty on my MB though. And even if I do, I'd have to send it back to where I originally purchased it (which is, in Hong Kong), and that'd probably take me at least a few months before I get it back.

Would you think it'd be a good idea if I just purchase another MB and test if my other hardware work on it? Because I can probably just refund the MB after testing them.