Gigabyte MB's Suck
After returning home, I decided among a list of things to get done, to build a computer.
My primary intentions were to build a sff (small form factor) computer that had dvr capabilities to act as a sort of TiVo. I had a program lined up, GB-PVR which is capable of scheduling and recording shows online, in addition to a full compliment of plugins ranging from a music jukebox to an instant messenger. More on that later. First however, I need to talk about the problems I have continued to have with the MB I purchased for this endeavor, the Gigabyte GA-K8N51-GMF9. I have never had so much difficulty with a computer.
My first attempt was in an Antec Aria case. I dove in and got an AMD chip this time, the +3500 chip clocked at 2.2 ghz and put in all the trimmings in a box so small I couldn't see through when it was all put together. Boot up was fine... my install of win2k and fedora core and ubuntu also (besides the fact that the nforce 430 south bridge audio was undetectable with the 4.20 kernel. I then went ahead to install the PEG, a PCI-express 6800 card. After shutting down the PS and installing the card, I restart and the bios doesn't post... no beep, nothing on the screen, just the fans starting and the HDD's spinning.
I took it all apart, just about through the whole thing through the window, took it down to the bare essentials of CPU, Ram, and MB... still nothing. Called mwave and RMA'd for a new motherboard. In the meantime, I had a crazy idea that it might have been the case, as the PSU was only 300 watts, and any PCI-express card recommends 350 (poor planning on my part) so I went ahead and purchased another case, the Aspire X-QPACK with a 420 watt PSU. Mwave sent back a new motherboard and I put it all together in the Aspire case. Put it all together... same problem. I check the online forums, as I should have done after the first time and find there is a problem with the Bios associated with the reset switch. I have found that when the PSU is switched off from the back, it inevitably will fail to post on the next boot.
The solution to this problem, in at least my case has been:
1. Hold down reset button
2. Power on system
3. Hold power to shut down
4. Release reset button
5. Power on system again
6. Hear posting beep, bios should work from this point.
I hope this will help at least a few people in the future, either that or I hope Gigbyte will learn to incorporate the bios better.
