680i LT strange boot up problems...

[jake1981sp]

A few people seem to be having a similar problem to me, but as mine differs slightly I though I'd start a new thread...

I finished putting my new pc together - 680i LT with Core Duo 2 E8400 processor, 2GB Corsair DDR2 6400 RAM, XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog edition graphics card.

Connected it all up, turned on - Posted fine. I went into BIOS to check things over, and saved. At this point, the monitor went blank. I turned off and restarted - power came on, fans started, lights on, but nothing on the monitor. I tried this a few times, before giving up.

Came back to it about an hour later. Turned on and it Posted fine. Went into BIOS, saved... then same thing - nothing on monitor, even after restarting.

At this point I tried swapping RAM modules about, checked power connections etc. No change. I switched the CMOS jumper, but without effect.

I left it again, came back and... guess what? It posted first time.

So, PC will post fine first time, but then monitor loses signal. If I leave it for a bit, it will post again, but won't go any further. From the successful posts, I know that the board is recognising the E8400 - reports all the correct specs.

When power is on but PC is off I have blue and yellow LEDs on on the board - when PC is switched on, a green one comes on too. Not sure if that's significant.

The only other thing I noticed - the second time it posted, a message came up at the bottom saying it was operating in 'safe mode' This didn't come up the third time is posted.

I've just pulled out the CMOS battery, but if that doesn't have an effect when I try it later, I'm out of ideas. Any suggestions?

[jake1981sp]

Just an extra piece of info - put CMOS battery back in after a few hours. It posted as expected and I noticed the message 'CMOS Checksum error'.

Tested the battery ouit of the board and it doesn't seem flat -should I try and update bios?

[werty316]

Do you have the BIOS updated to the newest version? Make sure you updated the BIOS to P07 which you can download here: http://www.xfxsupportb.co.uk/680LTXFXP07.zip

[jake1981sp]

Hi werty316 - thanks for the reply. No, I haven't updated yet, though I do have the P07 iso burnt to a CD ready to go. I was a bit wary of updating the BIOS when I was having these other problems, but if it should fix the issue I'll give it a go.

[werty316]

Well you should update to the P07 BIOS since it updates updates the Wolfdale microcode and you are running a E8400 CPU which is a Wolfdale chip.

[jake1981sp]

Okay - will do. I'll report back on how it goes. Thanks again for the advice.

[jake1981sp]

Okay, BIOS update seemed to go smoothly, but upon hitting F1 to continue it displayed the same symptom - no output on monitor. I've pulled the CMOS battery out as it suggests in the sticky at the top of the forum, and hopefully that'll sort it out...

[jake1981sp]

Fingers crossed, it seems to have worked. Posted and I went into BIOS and set time. Was checking voltages and it suddenly turned off. A bit alarming, but I turned on again and it posted straightaway and when I went into the BIOS it had retained the correct date/time. So as long as it doesn't keep turning off without warning, it should be okay... :)

[werty316]

What power supply are you using?

[jake1981sp]

It's a 700W psu from Arctic power - should be more than enough to power what I've have in there.

[Santino11447]

The 680i doesn't support the Wolfdale chip. You'll have to upgrade to a 780i
to use a Wolfdale or Yorkfield.

Sorry, I just read on another forum that the XFX 680i does support the Wolfdale chip with a bios upgrade,
but not the Yorkfield.

[jake1981sp]

Hi Santino - I've read several threads in other forums that says it does. Are you sure? The E8400 is correctly identified in the POST and BIOS with all the correct settings. It even posted before the BIOS update, albeit reluctantly (see start of thread).

[jake1981sp]

Ah good - I thought so. Thanks for the clarification.

[Santino11447]

Hi Santino - I've read several threads in other forums that says it does. Are you sure? The E8400 is correctly identified in the POST and BIOS with all the correct settings. It even posted before the BIOS update, albeit reluctantly (see start of thread).

I looked all over the XFX site and didn't find anything that confirmed that the 680i supported Wolfdale. I did a google and someone in another forum said he called XFX and they said it would support Wolfdale with a bios update.

Did you try and update the bios like werty said?

At any rate, XFX support should post a confirmation and help you solve your problem soon.

[jake1981sp]

Yep, I updated the BIOS last night to p07 and so far it seems like it's cured the problem. Thanks for checking :)

[Santino11447]

Glad to hear that the bios solved the problem. Now you can finish your mission.

[Boragt]

Hey,
I've got an xfx 680i LT mainboard with the new e8400.
Update P07 is done.

What is very strange is that my bios monitor says 77°c cpu temperature.
When my vista boots up I check my Temperatures with the new nvidia monitor and there cpu temp is 27°c.
everest says also 77°c


So I guess there still are compatibillity problems.
So I've put my e4300 cpu back.

Does anybody have the same problem or some advies???

Thanks alot

[Splat]

Hey,
I've got an xfx 680i LT mainboard with the new e8400.
Update P07 is done.

What is very strange is that my bios monitor says 77°c cpu temperature.
When my vista boots up I check my Temperatures with the new nvidia monitor and there cpu temp is 27°c.
everest says also 77°c


So I guess there still are compatibillity problems.
So I've put my e4300 cpu back.

Does anybody have the same problem or some advies???

Thanks alot

That sounds to me like the 77 degrees is in Fahrenheit, not Celsius. If that's the case, you've got nothing to worry about it.