Help resurrecting my Sage server..

[osx-addict]

Ok.. Let's see.. (and Thanks guys for the insight!)..

Unfortunately I do not have any spares (CPU, PSU, RAM).. The system is currently about as unplugged as it gets -- there are no cards plugged into any of the PCI slots, hard drives have been disconnected -- I could drop by my local Fry's and get a replacement PSU and just jury rig it outside the case to plugin to the MB and see if windows boots once again.. One thing I've not yet tried is to find out whether it is related to heating up -- the system has been disconnected for close to 12 hours now and unplugged from the wall.. I was thinking that when I get home this evening I will try it once more to see if that plays any role in the equation.. Obviously if I buy a new PSU and plug it in I don't want to see it working and leading me astray -- only to show up a few hours later after the heat has settled in...

If it matters, I've got an Antec 520W bronze rated PSU -- don't recall the exact model though.. I did find this nice page on some of their past issues -- not implying I've actually got a PSU issue -- that's yet to be determined.

I'll try tonight to see if I can find a setting in the ASUS bios that will display PSU voltages. Ok .. did a quickie search and it appears to (which is what I recalled) .. Below is a sample screen from their UEFI BIOS from another similar board :
1337639610QTs93ffYMf_3_1_l.gif


Or the more detailed view here:
1337639610QTs93ffYMf_3_30_l.gif

Anyway.. I'll post an update once I can play with things again.. I guess I'll see about dropping by the local Fry's store in MB and get a 2nd PSU.. Outside of getting a Bronze + unit any suggestions on what to look for or it doesn't really matter that much?

[Skirge01]

We have Dell computers at work and the 7B issue pops up if the SATA mode is incorrect for the drive/OS. For example, if I try booting an OS or CD which expects ATA mode versus AHCI, I'll get that 7B error. A quick change of the mode and the error goes away. Since you flashed the BIOS, your settings may have reverted to the wrong mode.

[osx-addict]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

We have Dell computers at work and the 7B issue pops up if the SATA mode is incorrect for the drive/OS. For example, if I try booting an OS or CD which expects ATA mode versus AHCI, I'll get that 7B error. A quick change of the mode and the error goes away. Since you flashed the BIOS, your settings may have reverted to the wrong mode.

Hmm.. Does that happen when the system tries to use the SATA ports? That might make sense kinda sorta.. In the primary case though when I have the drives connected, I get to the windows XP part asking if I want to boot in safe-mode -- would the problem show up before that or right after? In my case my system will reboot right after that once it has the Windows XP logo up for perhaps 1-2 seconds..

IF it should be one thing or another, what should the SATA mode be for an XP (or W7) installation? Should it be AHCI or IDE? I'm thinking IDE at least for XP..

By the way.. I found this on another site-- interesting #7 :

7. Update the drivers for your hard drive controller. If the drivers to your hard drive controller are outdated, incorrect, or corrupted then the STOP 0x0000007B error will likely occur.

Note: If the STOP 0x0000007B error occurs during the Windows setup process and you suspect that the reason is driver related, be sure to install the latest hard drive controller driver from the manufacturer for use during the installation of the operating system.

Note: This is a likely solution if the second hexadecimal number after the STOP code is 0xC0000034.

8. Change the SATA mode in BIOS to IDE mode. Disabling some of the advanced features of SATA drives in BIOS could stop the STOP 0x0000007B error from showing up, especially if you're seeing it in Windows XP or during a Windows XP installation.

Note: Depending on your BIOS make and version, SATA mode may be referred to as AHCI mode and IDE mode may be referred to as either Legacy, ATA, or Compatibility Mode.

Note: While not a common solution, you may also want to try the reverse - see if IDE mode is selected in BIOS and if so change it to AHCI, especially if you see the STOP 0x0000007B error in Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista.

[panteragstk]

I would remove the motherboard from the case and test it. It could be short between the board and the standoff in the case. I've had it happen a few times.

[osx-addict]

When you say 'test it', do you mean by putting power on it and go from there -- while it sits on a non-conductive table?

[macsupergeek]

If the system was fine and then the wife asked why the system was down, either PSU must have faulted causing a reboot or SSD tripped up. I doubt its RAM or MB, because you would more than likely bluescreen at boot instead of getting to the windows screen, and if you weren't having halts and freezes before this all happened. . . If the PSU went down and now you don't have enough juice to get going again, I doubt that, but you should be able to volt test that. The only other thing I would guess is the SSD, mine went down and I had to replace it, same type of symptoms, boot loop and Windows 7 disk wouldn't install as HD wasnt being recognized fully as something that could take data, like it was locked or something.

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by osx-addict

Hmm.. Does that happen when the system tries to use the SATA ports? That might make sense kinda sorta.. In the primary case though when I have the drives connected, I get to the windows XP part asking if I want to boot in safe-mode -- would the problem show up before that or right after? In my case my system will reboot right after that once it has the Windows XP logo up for perhaps 1-2 seconds..

IF it should be one thing or another, what should the SATA mode be for an XP (or W7) installation? Should it be AHCI or IDE? I'm thinking IDE at least for XP..

By the way.. I found this on another site-- interesting #7 :

It will show up exactly as you're describing. The Windows logo and safe mode menus are apparently loaded before the OS takes over the boot process from the BIOS. As soon as Windows loads its own SATA drivers, it loses access to the drive because it is in the wrong mode and it pops up that 7B error.

Most likely, you want the IDE BIOS setting for XP. From what I've read, XP only has basic AHCI support, so that's the most likely choice. However, if IDE gives you the 7B error, then try the AHCI setting.

[osx-addict]

I forgot to mention -- In the BIOS using the flash tool to burn the new BIOS, they have a quasi-usable file viewer tool to find your BIOS image on whatever drives the system sees.. Interestingly enough I was able to poke around not only on the SSD w/o issue but also on the 2nd drive that is used to store all of the SAGE data... So, at least, on the surface the SSD isn't completely fried or anything..

Anyway, I'll try checking the BIOS settings for the drive and see where that takes me and perhaps snarf up a spare PS on the way home to try that out as well..

macsupergeek - This system was built this past march from scratch and has only been power cycled 2-3 times since then -- otherwise it runs 24x7 working as my Sage server and also monitoring security cameras.. I've been extremely happy with it until now.. I'm kinda leaning towards a PSU issue after thinking about things -- since I ran the memory test and after some period of time the screen started getting wonky as shown in the pics yesterday -- obviously the memory test was not doing anything with the SATA stuff -- so either I'm getting some MB to case interference (seems unlikely) or a PSU.. (or MB of course)

[osx-addict]

Ok.. Bought another PSU at Fry's (Enermax NAXN 80+ bronze - $67+tax)... While the voltages are better than the old Antec one it had no effect on the issue.. I tried the SATA IDE/AHCi setting in bios and it made no difference (it was AHCI btw)..

Here's a pic of the system with the alternate PSU in place :
photo.JPG

Here's one showing the alternate PSU's power output care of the UEFI BIOS -- notice how rock-solid the 12V is! :
photo-3.JPG

I guess it's either RMA time with ASUS or if Microcenter will swap it directly -- I suspect they wont as it's been ~7 months.. I wonder if ASUS will need a copy of the receipt -- not sure if I've got it handy.. I might just buy a replacement mobo as I suspect a replacement may take a while -- any comments on this?

P.S. If I've got to replace the mobo with a new one -- any suggestions? Any replacement would need to take an Intel i5 2500K CPU..

Hmm.. Been reading up on Asus RMA policy -- sounds like IF I can get an RMA number I might be out a board for months possibly.. Ouch! Had I known this I would not have bought an asus board.. Gotta find an alternative now... Gonna be an expensive weekend!!

[RedR]

Not to kick a dead horse but...
Disconnect the SSD and trying booting the XP install CD. If it doesnt crash like before then let it just sit awhile sitting at one point in the install process. If the screen doesn't go all wonky, try..

Originally Posted by RedR

Move the main OS drive to another machine and run whatever SSD utility to test the drive. Else HDTune (or similar program) and check the drives health and check for errors via a full scan.

If you do not have another machine to test the SSD in, at least you have something to talk to ASUS about vs just getting an RMA number.
Or even see if you can find any info on that SSD w/ that motherboard if ASUS doesnt know. Perhaps a firmware problem on the SSD? Is there an update for it? What does the update address?

The odd behavior you saw from the wonky screen might suggest an over heat problem. What is your system temps when you boot, what is it after running awhile? Make sure you are getting good airflow from your case and CPU fans and your CPU coolers heatsync isnt caked w/ dirt.
All a bit of effort, tho it may be worth it if, avoiding a 4-6 week down time via an RMA.

[osx-addict]

Thanks for the suggestions -- unfortunately I've got no drives plugged in via the SATA at all -- none.. All external connections are removed -- the system has the bare minium 4Gb of RAM and that's it -- no PCI cards no drives, no nothing -- still makes no difference with the XP installation media -- still crashes in exactly the same way with the error 7B screen as shown earlier.. I even tried changing the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE -- no difference either. I've swapped everything I can outside of the processor (don't have a spare and not planning on buying one either)..

Probably planning on getting an Intel board -- hopefully a better choice..and then sell this board once I get the replacement -- whenever that might be..

[Skirge01]

Throw a big house fan at the side of it and re-run memtest to see if it fails. That should eliminate a heat problem. If that turns out to not be the issue, then I'd be looking at either the RAM or the mobo as the failure point. Really, the only way to test that theory is to put the RAM into another computer and see if it fails memtest again. Got any friends with a compatible mobo?

[osx-addict]

I get the idea behind the RAM testing, but what about the reason why the locked & unchanged Windows XP installer can't EVER boot once the drivers are loaded -- getting the dreaded 7C error? It happens EVERY time.. Obviously it didn't happen when we first built the machine back in March.. and I realize I'm using this sole criteria as the test to whether the machine is functional or not -- it's not like the DVD can be changed.. Anyway, perhaps my thinking is flawed??

P.S. After the machine had been off & unplugged for ~18 hours I fired it back up and tried loading XP via the installer and it crashed in the same manner as before.. the mobo temp was <80F per the BIOS. Even when it was running the memory test I never saw the temps (at least one of them -- I don't recall which) ever above 130F or thereabouts.

[panteragstk]

Do you have a windows 7 dvd? Maybe grab a UBCD iso and see if that will load.

[osx-addict]

Yeah.. I've got an ISO somewhere (one of those cheap OEM ones) -- just don't have a valid license key.. I just finished chatting w/ Microcenter.. They told me to pester Asus directly -- BUT had I bought their extended warranty I would be dealing with them instead.. Doh!

When I buy the new board (yes, I've relegated myself to doing that -- I don't trust this one anymore) I will add the extended warranty to ensure I don't have to pester the mfg direct -- which seems to be painful most of the time

[Skirge01]

To be fair, you'd be surprised how quickly components can heat up during boot. You did check the capacitors on the mobo, right? Also, did you try reseating the CPU with fresh thermal paste?

[osx-addict]

Nope ... didn't try reseating the CPU -- got no thermal paste.. When I did build it I was using the Intel provided fan + paste.. I guess I should get some Artic silver..?

One more trip to Fry's I guess.. Anything else I should get while there? Also -- do I need to fully remove the old thermal paste before putting new stuff on? If so with what sort of 'cleaner'?

Edit : I read elsewhere that I can clean the old paste with alcohol and cotton swabs or just leave it and apply a VERY thin layer of new compound.

[panteragstk]

You can just wipe it off with anything that won't leave fibers behind. I just use a decent paper towel and it has worked just fine for many years. You can use alcohol, but be sure and let it dry all the way.

[RedR]

You can still use the win7 OEM ISO for testing, after all we're just trying to get it to hit the drive. Don't need the key for that I believe.
Also just as panteragstk suggested (I believe), try downloading a current Ubuntu ISO and see if they dies as well. The fact it dies in the same place each time is suggesting something. As mentioned earlier, SATA issue/config?

Originally Posted by osx-addict

When I buy the new board (yes, I've relegated myself to doing that -- I don't trust this one anymore) I will add the extended warranty to ensure I don't have to pester the mfg direct -- which seems to be painful most of the time

If you go the extended warranty route, ask them what does that actually give you. Ask what are the details of the process you'd be going through if your current motherboard had an extended warranty, and what they'd do for you vs you having to do yourself. And most importantly, what down time to expect. Fact is most places just play middle man for you, they still have to RMA the board, and often will not provide you with a temp board to cover your down time.

Chances are ASUS will give you a new/replacement board once they issue the RMA and ship it out the same day (often requiring a credit card, or "security deposit"). Find out what options you have from them to avoid down times. This includes microcenter and Frys, their process can vary depending on if its a component vs a printer or or whatever. Sadly more often than not its cheaper to buy a replacement board to tie you over waiting on the RMA vs buying an extended warranty.
The key is to exhaust your options before an RMA. I know its a PITA but avoiding 4-6 week down time can be worth it.

[osx-addict]

Originally Posted by RedR

...Sadly more often than not its cheaper to buy a replacement board to tie you over waiting on the RMA vs buying an extended warranty. The key is to exhaust your options before an RMA. I know its a PITA but avoiding 4-6 week down time can be worth it.

I agree completely! I think being without any sort of TV entertainment for 4-6 weeks or longer will not fly at our house..

I've decided to buy an Intel DH77EB board at Microcenter for $115 to cover me -- seems to get good reviews on Newegg and since I'm not going to do any overclocking I should be fine -- even though many dislike Intel boards for overclocking purposes and occasionally odd BIOS behavior/features.

Tonight I will try to reseat the CPU and re-do the paste to see if that has any effect.. If it does I'm not sure what that would mean -- however, if it does not have any effect I guess that would exonerate the CPU..

Damn.. Need to draw-up a fishbone diagram for all of this....

Regarding the extended warranty inquiry -- I like that idea -- definitely need to make sure I know what my $60 will get me -- if they're just going to act as the middleman then I can skip that -- however, if they'll just swap a bad board for a good one (perhaps a newer model depending on age/availability) that would be worth the $$ 9 times out of 10..