Motherboard problems ?

[dosh]

Hi my pc crashed tonight, it is a packard bell imedia 1502, the motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-8IMLNF.

The pc turned itself off, usually when booted, the power light is blue, but now it is flashing amber, there is a beeping sound, and also a flashing amber light is lighting up on the motherboard, the pc is not booting at all but the fan is turning.

Is my motherboard dead or could it be the processor or even the power supply not running properly.

I have searched for the motherboard, but can't find the exact model anywhere, if I fitted a different motherboard would I need to install a fresh version of windows as he it was preloaded, and could anybody recommend a suitable replacement
Regards
Darren

[Celia]

If the motherboard is beeping it isn't your PSU.

Is the CPU fan running?
How many beeps, long or short?
Does it warble or is it a continuous beeping?

[dosh]

Hi the cpu fan is running, and when I said beeps, it is probably more like a clicking, thanks for your reply
Darren

[Celia]

OK, I'm looking at a GA-8SIMLH (Rev 2.x). In all likelihood it's similar to one of these boards. If you can take a look at the specifications and give me the full specs of your system that would help confirm it. Also how old is the PC?

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=1741

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2303&ProductName=GA-8SIMLH

What exactly were you doing before the PC crashed?

Where exactly is this flashing light situated on the board? Is it next to the switch connectors at bottom of the board?

Describe exactly what happens step by step when you boot up. Is the PSU fan working? Do you get a single beep as it boots(the POST signal)?

And as your OS was pre-loaded when you got it, in all likelihood it's tied to your motherboard BIOS, which means if all you have are recovery discs, then you will probably need a new OS if you change the motherbaord.

[dosh]

Hi again
The specifications I have to hand for my pc are

Motherboard Columbia vp (GA-8SIML-NF7)
type uATX motherboard

CPU

Intel Celeron D model 340 2.93 GHZ

HDD Seagate Alpine BP series
160 GB UDMA 7200

If you need the bus speeds or anything else I will try to find them.

I was browsing the internet when it just shut down, although something strange happened the other night as well, when I was browsing the net, then it shut down but the screen stayed on with nothing but vertical lines on the screen.

All fans seem to be running I will try to check after I have posted this message, as I am using the power lead on this tower.

On start up nothing at all seems to be happening apart from the fan cuts in, and the amber light flashes on the motherboard, and also where the blue power light should be, that flashes amber as well, as well as the clicking sound.

It dosn't seem to even be reaching the bios set up.

Thanks
Darren

[dosh]

Sorry yes the OS was preloaded on the system, no discs came with the pc, for reloading the system you have to hold a button down when booting F11 i think off the top of my head.

The flashing amber light on the motherboard is on the top right corner of the board above the connectors for the drives

Thanks again
Darren

[Celia]

OK, remove the connections to your drives (make a note of where each one goes), remove any PCI cards except the video card and try booting.

If you can't boot, remove the videocard and try again... make a note of any beep signals you may get.

If you still can't boot remove the memory cards and try again... make a note of any beep signals you may get.

If you get any beep signals after doing any of these then report it here without going on to the next step.

If you still can't boot, then it's down to the motherboard or cpu.

Let me know the results.

[dosh]

Hi tried all you suggested, still nothing apart from the flashing amber lights and the clicking, sounds bad

Thanks
Darren

[Celia]

Well at this point unless you have another rig you can test the cpu on or another 478 cpu to try on the board, you can't tell for certain which one is at fault, although I'm inclined towards the cpu rather than the motherboard. Looks like you're going to have to replace them. I'm sorry I can't help you any further.

[dosh]

Thanks for all your help, I have been trailing through a few forums to see if other users have had the same problem, and it looks like quite a few people have had, unfortunately no one has reposted to say what the actual cure was.
Thanks again for your time
Darren

[dosh]

I have tried another cpu socket 478, same problems so looks like it is the board thanks for your help, hopefully I can fit a new board without to much hairloss.

Thanks again for your help
Regards
Darren

[dosh]

Success, it was the motherboard, I have fitted a Asrock GE Pro-M2, it booted straight away after a re-registration process with windows.

Not too much hair loss either.

Thanks
Darren

[jobo]

Success, it was the motherboard, I have fitted a Asrock GE Pro-M2, it booted straight away after a re-registration process with windows.

Not too much hair loss either.

Thanks
Darren

Hi Dosh (& Celia)
I'm a Motherboard Newbie and I have a Packard Bell I-media 1502, which - I think - has a Columbia VP (GA-8SIML-NF7) MoBo with exactly the same symptoms - I've unplugged/removed everything & still the clicking/beeping & flashing lights. :(

From this & other forums I'm working on the principle it is the motherboard.

Question - how do I find out (easliy) what alternative boards will work with the original kit (including cpu ) ??

I'd like to do a straight swap - is the Asrock GE Pro-M2 a 'simple' fit ??

Thanks.

[Tom]

The replacement motherboard needs to accept the same type of RAM, have the same graphics card slot (if you have a dedicated graphics card), take the same socket type processors and be of a suitable form factor to fit in the case. As it's a Packard Bell I'm guessing it will be a micro ATX motherboard.