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Not having much luck with recent kit from Scan....first PSU was DOA and now my AsRock A780GM-LE/128M motherboard appears to be faulty
Installed CPU, RAM and Cooler, HDD and optiocal drive with my Corsair HX620 PSU - fire it up and all fans spin, network port has lights on it, can hear disks spin up but no video. Tried both DVI and D-sub and no video from either. Tried different cable, different monitor no joy.
I guess the on-board graphics are defective unless I'm missing something?
Anyone know if the onboard VGA only works with certain CPUs?I'm running an AMD triple core.
Okay tried my ATI 4770 PCI-E card and no joy either. Card works fine in my other machine.
Any chance this could be a RAM issue?
Edit: :surrender: Damn RAM not compatible with the motherboard.
This is the RAM I got:
http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?ProductId=29888
On the chip say CM2X2048-8500C5C
This is what they say will work:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory/A780GM-LE128M.pdf
Closest is CM2X2048-8500C5D
Now need to decide whether to get new mobo or new RAM!!! Mobo seems cheaper as I have 2X2GB of the RAM already
That may mean that they haven't tested the RAM, and not that it won't work with your mobo. Have you tried leaving only one stick of RAM in (either one)?
And do you not get video at all, or can you go into BIOS?
Hi - I have two 2Gb memmory modules and I tested each one individually in each RAM slot
No VGA out put at all so can't even get into the BIOS
Tried a PCI-E ATI4770 card and no VGA at all
Very frustrating
Fans and disks all spin up okay
It could be that the BIOS needs to be updated on the motherboard.
Possibly but its a catch 22 - I need some RAM that will work before I can update the BIOS so that the RAM I have may work.
Actually I'm not sure a BIOS update will fix it. I finally realised the issue after careful perusal of the Motherboard manual and it states that only certain 1066Mhz DDR2 RAm will work and to check the AsRock website for compatible RAM. So they know they only support some 1066RAM.
I guess the easiest thing would be to get some 800Mhz RAM. The other annoying thing is that I have to remove the cooler to change the RAM as it (Xigmatech S1283) overhangs the RAM slots with only millimetres between RAM and cooler
Try plugging a pc speaker and see if you're getting a bleep code on power on.
Its got a little speaker that came with the case plugged in. Not a beep out of that though. That's what unnerved me a bit. The manual also has no mention of beep codes and what they mean.
No beep at all in my experience can mean a dodgy CPU unless the speaker is faulty.
You would expect to get beeps for faulty RAM, graphics problem etc though but if the CPU is dead there would not be any beeps.
HTH.
Oh dear - just ordered some more RAM as its been more than seven days since I got the first lot of RAM in Scan woudn't take the old RAM back
I hope its not the CPU though - don't you need the CPU to work to get all the mobo connected fans to work?
I will change the speaker when I get home and check. If its the CPU then I can always send the RAM I ordered today back I guess
The fans will spin up even without a CPU present.
A CPU in working order is required to get the POST screen up. Same as RAM.
Hmm. Okay will eliminate RAM tomorrow evening and then RMA the CPU.
I seem to remember a thing about motherboards with onboard graphics from way back, the Pentium 3 days and before so it might not even be the case now and probably isn't but have you tried just one stick of RAM in the closest DIMM slot to the CPU as years ago RAM was required in the slot nearest the CPU in order to get a POST screen, for some reason.
I have two sticks of RAM, and two RAM slots - I tried all Six combinations, Each stick on its own in each slot and the two sticks together
Would recommend RMA'ing everything you've bought from Scan back together in a job lot if they'll let you do it.
Leaves you less open to being mucked around with not found faulty fees in my experience.
Well, I'm getting some more RAM delivered today (from Novatech as Scan doesn't have any RAM that is on the Qualified Vendor List for that motherboard). If I still don't get any VGA then I will RMA the motherboard, CPU and RAM I got from Scan.
Okay, new RAM had absolutely no effect. Must be the CPU or motherboard.
I am going to RMA the RAM, CPU and motherboard together and see what Scan testing can come up with.
I suppose the lack of beeps should have been a warning that perhaps it was not just the memory. system speaker tested on other machine so its not that.
No beeps in my experience is a dead CPU but it could be the motherboard I suppose but I expect you will find it to be the CPU.
Yeah when stuff doesn't work its a pain buying via the interweb
The plot thickens - my CPU will only work in this motherboard with the latest BIOS. Will check when I get home but I'm almost certain said mobo will not have latest BIOS installed.
Which means I will need to get a cheap CPU so I can flash the BIOS. Getting this 'cheap' board is proving more expensive than getting a decent one to begin with!!
An alternative to buying a new CPU is if possible remove the BIOS chip and send it to a company (that will obviously cost) and get them to flash it for you. Somebody on this or another forum might have a CPU compatible with the BIOS and motherboard version you have and could flash the BIOS for you for postage? perhaps? worth a shot IMO.
I used to buy cheap motherboards such as PC Chips and ECS but I did get a lot of trouble with the older PC Chips socket A boards but I spent so long on forums related to them that I learned lots about fixing the problems they had such as graphics cards that would only work stable if you lowered the AGP rate to 1/2x etc and not liking any generic RAM or a PSU that was under 180W on the 3.3v and 5v rail iirc..a long time ago mind. Now I only buy Asus, Abit and Gigabyte mobos and rarely have issues with the boards themselves.
As to the motherboard shipping with the latest BIOS - depends on factors such as when the latest BIOS was released, probably recently due to the changes in CPU core etc and how long it was in a warehouse before you bought it. I find it unlikely that it has a BIOS that is even more recent than the original tbh but you never know.
Keep us posted on how you get on as it is very intersting.
Good luck
Well, well. the BIOS revision as stated on the sticker on the motherboard should support the CPU so its RMA time first thing tomorrow a.m. Sending board and CPU back. Will try and get them to take memory as well so they can test the package.
Scan charge separately for each item if you send it back and its not faulty. So if I send the mobo and the CPU back and only one is faulty I will get charged £20 for the item that is not faulty.
How great is that?
I know there are a lot of Scan fanbois here but I'm getting less enamoured with their attitude to post sales service.
Sorry, wouldn't have recommended them if they'd have said that to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by kmac
When I spoke to them they said that provided one single item was faulty, I wouldn't be charged for any of it. Mind you, they mucked everything up during that saga if I remember rightly, so maybe they were trying to reconcile.
By comparison, last time I had problems with a PC component, Linitx said they would test everything together for free, even though I'd only bought the motherboard from them.
Now that's great customer service. Actually it wasn't even the fact that I might be charged £20, it was the whole confrontational aggressive attitude that the guy I spoke to had. I feel I have gone the extra mile to establish that there is a fault by even buying additional memory to discount that. His attitude was if you bought the goods you should know if something is faulty or not. Part of the problem is that the motherboard and CPU are on separate invoices. However, hey were both ordered on the same day so I can't see why it is a major issue. And this is after spending circa £2000 at Scan over the last few (3) months.Quote:
Originally Posted by snootyjim
That is pants.
Last time I was in this situation I dreaded he whole returns business, but Scan dealt with it very well.
I returned CPU, motherboard and RAM (all one invoice though) and they diagnosed CPU as faulty.
The returned goods failed again after 5 minutes of use. I asked the tech support guy at Scan if they would have tested the board by leaving it in the BIOS for about 10 mins, as that would point the the motherboard eating a CPU within 15 minutes. At that point he agreed to replace motherboard and CPU.
I don't see how returning each item in turn helps anybody.
Unless this is what that installation insurance is about, that always sounded like a racket to me :(
Okay, I have finally ascertained that my motherboard is faulty. I did this by getting a new motherboard and a new CPU and new RAM. The original RAM I got from Scan, one stick is also faulty.
I managed to get a decent motherboard ( Asus M3A78-T, 790GX board with 128mb Sideport memory) for £46. Fired up first time with the Scan CPU as well as the new CPU. Using this board I tested the memory I have and the board wouldn't fire up when one particular stick of memory was inserted. I tried it in different slots to no avail.
So without the help of award winning customer service, I have sorted this out for myself. Just need to RMA board and memory now.
Nice one... I did a similar thing recently with my HTPC, with the added benefit that I've now almost got enough parts to start a new PC build :p
Glad you got it fixed but sounds like a lot of hassle you went through to say the least.
From no beep it really did sound like it was a bad CPU but now I will remember that it could also be a motherboard fault causing the speaker not to give off any beep code in future, this is very useful.
Me too, but now PCs outnumber residents in our home so another one is going to get me evicted by she who must be obeyed.
I was in the same boat, so this provided a sneaky opportunity to get a load of PC components into the house... and well, if you've got them, why not use them? :pQuote:
Originally Posted by kmac
Besides, I've said that she can use this one whilst she's at uni, so I think that's convinced her :)
I'm sure a suitable purchase from Hotel Chocolat would get you out of that one ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by kmac
AAARGH after finally ascertaining that my motherboard and RAM is faulty and returning to Scan, they are refusing to pay my return postage as I didn't use their "free" pick up service.
Problem is you have to wait around for someone to pick the goods up. Not only that, if goods turn out to be not faulty you pay: £15+VAT collection fee, £10 testing fee and £10 redelivery fee so nearly £40.
I sent goods for less than what Scan would have charged to collect them. They are faulty. Scan won't pay for postage - shame on them for crap customer service. Who votes for those awards anyway. Really unhappy customer here!!!!
From about a week ago in the Scan forums: "We don't pay for time wasted sitting at home because we'll collect from any location."
Presumably in Bolton everybody works a 9 to 5 job in an office where the receptionist is happy to hand over packages to couriers ;)
I can understand your frustration (I have read both this and the other thread) but please think (twice) before you post anything potentially defammatory. Thanks
Yeah your right, thanks for editing
I am bringing this up here as Scan has closed my thread in their support section without answering my question:
1) Where in their terms does it state that if you don't use the "free" collection service you cannot claim return postage for faulty items?
2) Even if it does state it - is it fair as you are inconvenienced by having to wait around for a collection?
I'm repeating this here, as peterb deleted it from the other thread which was closed by Scan.Quote:
Originally Posted by kmac
If the goods were faulty you are legally entitled to have the return postage costs refunded, provided they are reasonable. You do not have to accept Scan's free collection service and, as I said in the other thread before my comments were deleted, I can quite understand your reasons for declining it.
I have to say I'm extremely surprised and disappointed by Scan's attitude - I've never had a problem with them personally, but this kind of thing really does make me think long and hard about recommending them to other people. :(
I can understand your frustration as I have had a similar problem, but with OcUK.
I bought a case from them - a £16 akasa genesis and it had a faulty power button - no joke. I connected the reset button the pwr header and it worked spot on but with the power button connected to pwr header it would turn off within 5 seconds all the time. At first I thought it was a short but outside the case it worked fine when I shorted the pwr header with a screw driver to power it up so that ruled a short out then I started thinking what else it could be as I tested another power supply with it. It did power up with this PSU too but the same happened - it would switch off within 5 seconds everytime.
I had to pay to send it back and they say it was damaged in transit but I had packaged it how it came to me and then they said they cannot test it with the damage - the damage was to the side pannels, surely they could have taken the front of the case or something and tested the power button on a motherboard! they also tried to get me to pay for them to send it back but I said to them scrap it and eventually I got my money back - both postage and case so I bought a better one.
Still very annoying as this PC was for a customer. The same components in the new case have been working spot on for 4 months now and it hasn't even crashed (W7 64bit)
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrash
I am aware of the legal position and probably so are they. However due to the amounts involved they are quite confident no one will take it further. Shame on them.