SK22 weird shutdown problem

[antwist]

Hi All,

Hope somebody can shed some light on my problem!

I'm having a few problems with some SK22G2's which my company has purchased. They aren't exactly high spec units, AMD Sempron 3000, 256Meg memory, using NVidia 7100GS PCI-E gfx card and XP Home. BIOS revision is REV N or later.

After about 1 hour the pc is powering itself down, which is due to the BIOS thinking the CPU is overheating. Quickly removing the fan & heatsink & feeling the processor reveals that it is barely warm.

I've tried re-greasing the cpu using the supplied sachet of grease, and also with some of the more expensive silver based compound, with the same results..

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Antwist.

[SHUTTLE - Eric Wang]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Are you able to power the system back up after the PC shuts itself down?
Could you also check inside the system and the board is clean from dust.

[antwist]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Hi Eric,

Once it has shut down, pressing the power button on the front of the case does not power the pc up.

The only way we can power up the system again is by unplugging the mains power cord, waiting 10 seconds to discharge residual power & then re-inserting power cord.

Most of the systems are virtually brand new (less than 1 month old) & are perfectly clean, although i have also blown any dust out using an air duster.

Initially the problem was helped by updating from the early Rev K BIOS to Rev N, but we are now getting problems even with the Rev N BIOS installed.

Best regards,

Antwist.

[MrRubbs]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Hi,
I've been searching for someone with similar problems, in the hope that someone has some answers!
We've recently purchased 90 of the SK22g20-Ltth00-21 PC's, and have a number that we've called blowers! Sometimes when you switch on the orange (left most) light on the front panel(HDD light) stays on, the bios screen never appears and the fan switches to high speed mode and stays on. If we are lucky we can disconnect the power cord, leave it for a minute, then reconnect the power cord and switch on-it occasionally works. We have reflashed all to the latest flash bios sk22s20t, and have tried all sorts of bios settings with no real measure of success!
The processor used is an athlon X2 3800, memory 1G DDR2, the same in every PC.
Please help as it's extremely frustrating for us and users alike.

Many Thanks!

Dave.

[MrRubbs]

[antwist]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Hi Dave,

Sounds pretty similar to what we are experiencing. (my company has orders for 1100 SK22's, and so far have taken delivery of about 400).

We have seen some of the faults that you report, and the best way we have found to get round them is to unplug any PATA / SATA devices, reset the BIOS via the small button at the rear of the case & load defaults. Also beware of any cards plugged into the PCI slot riding out of the slot, this causes the BIOS to lose its settings.


With regard to temperature problems, I have found a link on the AMD website that points to a error in the Sempron / Athlon / Turion range of processors. Check the link: http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...docs/33610.pdf

Specifially page 32. (Table on Page 11 shows which cpu range it refers to).

What I would like to know is, does the SK22 use the workaround suggested by AMD, or does it use HTC/STC??

Best regards,

Antwist.

[SHUTTLE - Eric Wang]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

As Antwist has pointed out, there's known issues with AMD CPUs,
so maybe you chould swap for another CPU and see if the problem is solved.

[antwist]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

The errata sheet indicates that it is a known issue with all processors in the NPT OFh family of processors.

I am trying to find out from AMD, whether they have fixed the problem, and if they have, which processor / speed grade it applies to.

I will post any answers when I have them.

Antwist.

[MrRubbs]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the info, it gives me another insight into the problem!
Eric could you check and find out which method is used to control shutdown, if Shuttle are using the potentially buggy(due to CPU) method, is it possible to escalate the problem at Shuttle so a new BIOS flash fixes the issue?
We do not have an alternative CPU to check out the theory. As far as I know all CPU's are of the type:-
Althlon X2's
AD03800IAA5CZ

But I would need to check to confirm that supposition.
So far we've had approx 10% that have exhibited the fault, and no easy way of checking how many may potentially be affected. I'd certainly hold off buying 1100 of them Antwist, until Eric can clarify the situation for us.
Many thanks for all your help,

Dave.

[SHUTTLE - Eric Wang]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

I can try check for you, but I think its highly unlikely that we will be able to
fix the CPU issue with an BIOS update. Don't suppose you could return those
AMD CPUs for a new batch?
Can you check with XPC tools or other softwares the temperatures on your faulty machines and also your working ones.
Let me check and get back to you on the BIOS update.

[MrRubbs]

[antwist]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

I'm not sure XPC Tools will show many differences between a good and bad pc, what I have found is that once Windows has actually loaded, the system is usually ok!

If a system is going to fail it usually does so at the BIOS screen, or even before it gets there.

fyi, AMD have now passed my question on which CPU's have been fixed (if any), to level 2 support. Hopefully I will have an answer soon.

[antwist]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Hi Guys,

I have had a response from AMD regarding the Rev F overheating processor problem, below is an extract from the email.

[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']"t[/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']he fix has been implemented on all revision G processors, those will be the processors with part numbers ending on DD (For example ADO5000IAA5DD). The fixed was not implemented on any rev F processors. This information can be found on the Revision Guide for AMD NPT Family 0Fh Processors, but only on the NDA version. Please make sure that you have the latest BIOS updates on the motherboard. That will usually fix any inaccurate temp readings."[/FONT]

This ties up with the problems we're experiencing, as all the faulty units have Rev F processors in them.

Changing to Rev G processors should solve the problem for our future products, but hopefully Shuttle can release an updated BIOS (using the alternative sensor mentioned in the AMD data sheet) which fixes the problem with our existing machines.

Hope this sorts your problem out as well MrRubbs!

Antwist.

[MrRubbs]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Hi Guys,

Many thanks for the update Antwist, I doubt very much that AMD would swap processors. Essentially they do work, the problem is possibly(awaiting confirmation from Eric), the method used to provide thermal protection. If that's the problem, it's sounds like AMD are of the opinion that it's a Flash BIOS update from the motherboard manufacturer that's required. I'm really hopeing it's that simple because we've had a few more Sk22's that have shown the same symptoms.
Any news Eric?

Best Regards,

Dave.

[SHUTTLE - Eric Wang]

Re: SK22 weird shutdown problem

Sorry guys for the late reply, was away the last few days.
Things have taken a little longer, i'm checking to see how
long it would take to get a BIOS update, as we do not
have a Rev F AMD CPU on hand.