P4 630 EM64T no POST problem

[TheHeadFL]

First of all, let me say that this is my first post to this forum. For the purposes of troubleshooting, I'll say that this isn't my first PC build by far so hopefully I haven't made any "noob" mistakes.

With that said, the system I just put together for a spare system (to run SQL 2005 and IIS for my development work) will not POST. I just get a video post (old GeForce 5200 AGP) and then a pause, then black screen, and then reboot and repeat.

The specs of the new system (everything was JUST purchased) is:

ECS 865PE-A7 Motherboard (Supporting EM64T w/ the current BIOS revisions, unsure of which revision I have-- more on that in a bit)
Intel Retail Boxed 630 EM64T processor
2 x Corsair PC3200 512MB modules in DIMM slots 1 and 3
Old eVGA GeForce 5200 AGP
500W ATX PSU (Can't remember the brand)

At the moment, that is *all* thats in the system. I installed the motherboard, CPU, memory, video card, power supply, and tried to fire it up.

I am simply getting the symptoms I am describing. Now, I have a feeling that my problem is that I have an older BIOS revision which does NOT support EM64T. I have no way to verify this though.

I do not *think* that I made any other errors, however I do not know what behavior to expect on the newer more modern motherboards. On the old stuff, if the CPU wasn't installed correctly, you wouldn't even get so much as a video BIOS post. But this is my first LGA775 cpu install, and as far as I was aware, I followed the instructions to the letter. Straight in lined up with the notches, not at any angle. It seemed to go in with no problems. Installed the heatsink, popped in the RAM sticks and video card, and off I went.

Is it possible that I botched the CPU installation and that could be causing this?

Is it even possible that a system would fail to post because of lack of EM64T BIOS support?

Is there any way to fix this short of getting a cheap Celeron or something, just to update my BIOS?

Thanks for your time,
-Ryan

 

[Hacp]

No I do not think that the system can fail if it lacks EM64T support. Isn't EM64T dormant?

Based on a little research, I don't think that chipset supports the Prescott.

Update: It looks like the chipset does support the prescott, however, the ECS board does not show prescott support. All it says is it supports pentium 4s which implies only northwood models. I would contact support from ECS and inquire about prescott support for that board. Report back.

 

[TheHeadFL]

If you look at their page for that particular board, there is a CPU compatibility list.

865PE-A7 rev 1.0. It reports support for all the way up to 3.6GHz. In fact, they specifically list in their BIOS updates that they enable EM64T support.

I only ask because I do not know the behavior that it is supposed to have when an EM64T BIOS is not present. According to the Intel retail box information, it says in bold print that an EM64T BIOS is required for even pure 32 bit operation, however I do not know if this means no POSTing even.

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWeb/Produc...3&LanID=0&DetailID=467&DetailName=CPU Support

 

[TheHeadFL]

By the way, against my better judgement I took the CPU/HSF off to inspect the contacts in the LGA array. They all appear in pristine condition. I reinstalled the CPU (and even managed to not destroy the thermal interface pad) and HSF. I really don't think I did anything wrong there.

 

[Hacp]

Ya it looks like you need a bios update for your board. Maybe you can call ECS up and ask for a BIOS chip.

 

[TheHeadFL]

Do companies actually do that? I've never run across this particular problem, I wonder what it costs.

 

[TheHeadFL]

Sent an email to ECS, we'll see.

 

[TheHeadFL]

Unbelievable, lol. I get back a response with a link to where I can download the BIOS.

 

[TheHeadFL]

I may end up buying a cheap celeron or something just to upgrade the stupid BIOS. Has anyone ever had a problem like this before I take the drastic step of doing that? I mean, have any of you heard of the symptoms I have been experiencing in relation to needing a BIOS update? I just don't know what behavior it is supposed to have if my BIOS is out of date for this processor.

I don't want to buy a Celeron to do this and find out I just had a bad stick of ram or motherboard.