E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

[NTU]

Hi! I'm new here, this is my first post so easy fellas on the new guy.

I have a GIGABYTE MA785GM-US2H rev 3.3 My board died 3 days ago, I powered it on hundreds of times, cleared CMOS (took battery out and used alligator clips as well since this board doesn't have jumpers) and still nothing.

The blue lights on the case don't light up and after popping in an old PCI POST card, I got 2 different codes over the 20 reboots.

I've been swapping power supplies and the codes were "E" and "0" and yes, these are single digits, not 01, 10, or E0, 1E etc.

I was wondering... It probably won't help much but what the heck; does anybody know what E or 0 means? This basically says that the chipset itself isn't even initialized this early on, right? Or could this mean that the CPU is 100% broken (or both?) Btw, the first and only code is either "E" or "0" it doesn't ever change once one of the codes show up.

[wazza300]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

does it mention anything about what the codes are in the mb manual?

[NTU]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

Not a single code in the manual, and the AMI POST code list(s) online, random BIOS sites and also official AMI pdf files doesn't really help as they are all two digit codes. I guess if it's just a plain 0, you're in real trouble.. :/

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

Those codes would most likely be tied to the PCI Post card anyway, so you'd probably need to know the cards codes not the board.

You have a 3 year warranty, if you are not sure how old the board is you can check here on the RMA page, it shows you how to check with the serial number on the board (Usually on 24 power pin, or could be on bottom of LAN ports)
RMA

This board does have dual BIOS, so you may be able to save it by manually kicking in the dual BIOS with your power supply and your case power on button. See the end of post # two here for how to do that, it's tricky to time it just right, so definitely try it a bunch of times if you don't have any luck at first.

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/27576-bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide.html

[NTU]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

I don't understand step 2 due to improper grammar:

2. Press and hold the case Power On swtich, then while still holding turn on the power supply from the switch on the rear.

Do you mean press and hold the power on BUTTON on the case? Usually you FLIP a switch, not hold a switch down, because it usually won't automatically spring back up again.

Perhaps something like this? 2. Press and hold the Power button on the front of the case, then while still holding the button down, turn on the power supply by flipping the switch in the rear.

Step 3 is also very confusing..

I'm not being a grammar nazi or being sarcastic, I'm just confused is all. I do appreciate your help.

edit:

It's easier to just say bridge pins 4 and 7 on the Macronix MX25L8005 (if your flash device is this) This seems a more efficient way of doing so:

http://www.coreboot.org/GIGABYTE_GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

What you linked bypasses the MAIN BIOS, causing the board to boot from the backup BIOS, that does not always kick in recovery but it would allow you to boot to the OS if the backup BIOS is working properly and there isn't other issues stopping the board from booting .

I agree, I should probably word that differently or more clearly at least


For #2.

Press and hold the case Power On switch, then while still holding turn on the power supply from the switch on the rear.

Yes I mean press and hold the case power on button, every computer case I have ever owned has a button you press to switch the board on/off (With an internal spring so it springs back up again as you mentioned). The process involves your case power on/off button, which you'd hold down, and your power supply button which is a on/off switch that you can only set on or off. So you press and hold the case (Motherboard) power on button, so you are holding down the switch that generally would pop back up when released, we want it held down for this process in step #2. Then switch the power supply to an ON state, while still holding the case/board power switch down. So yes, it could be worded many ways, and from your re-written example it sounds the same to me too (So you got the gist of step 2)

For #3

Still holding the case power on switch, the board will start, once it does release the case power on switch and shut off the power supply via the switch on the read of the unit. (Do the latter two parts as quickly as you can once the board starts)

This is continuing from step #2, you still have the case/board power on button held down. As the board starts you release the case/board power on switch and simultaneously switch off the power supply via the button on the rear of the power supply.

It's a tricky process to time out just right, until you do it a few times and get the hang of it, so that also makes it hard to write down and explain, so I hope this helps! If you have anymore questions on how to do this let me know, I'd be happy to try and explain it to you in a different way (But it'll still probably sound the same, since it's not a 1, 2, 3 step process, it has a mind of it's own).

What you linked on shorting bypasses the MAIN BIOS, causing the board to boot from the backup BIOS, that does not always kick in dual BIOS recovery, but it would allow you to boot to the OS if the backup BIOS is working properly and there isn't other issues stopping the board from booting .

If you short anything on your board, BE SURE it's the MAIN BIOS and not the backup. If you short the backup BIOS and the main is corrupted, but backup is fine, the board will be unable to recover and thus would be a brick unless you have an eprom flasher or soldered in a new main BIOS chip. I normally try to help users recover in other ways, such as the PSU method, before giving them information about shorting boards because if not done correctly that can kill the board outright, and or could also possibly shock or kill someone if they short the wrong thing or do not protect themselves from the electric going through the board while it is on. I have not shocked myself via shorting BIOS chips, so I'm not sure how bad it hurts, if it does at all.

Additional info and tips on that can be found here, please do not bump the thread below (Thanks!) If you have any questions on shorting or need help with any steps feel free to send me a PM anytime!

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/33904-how-fix-dead-dual-bios-motherboard-if-flashing-failed.html

[NTU]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

Hey, Just figured I'd come back to report.

The board was actually fine, the CPU miraculously died. Here's the story:

Computer doesn't POST or anything, completely dead.

Send board back to GIGABYTE after zapping the circuits all around the chipset, USB controllers, etc and running 12volts down the 3volt lines, and really killing it, making sure that by the time it reaches GIGABYTE, they definitely won't be able to fix it. I coat the top of the USB connectors with a yellow highlighter so I'll be able to tell if they actually DID replace the chipset and other various parts on the board (I don't know how cheap GIGABYTE likes to play)

Buy 50 dollar BIOSTAR motherboard (A780L) a few days after sending the MA785GM-US2H back -> A780L :: Motherboard :: BIOSTAR

Put in the Phenom II X3 720 BE CPU in. Nothing. No POST, absolutely nothing, and still no word from GIGABYTE.

Contact AMD to request RMA. Next day, send Phenom II X3 720 BE CPU back to AMD. GIGABYTE yet to respond back.

I get an email from AMD saying they received it. Still no word from GIGABYTE.

3 days go by and I receive my brand-new Phenom II X3 720 BE CPU.

The next day, GIGABYTE tells me "Your product has been received and has finished testing." <- Very uninformative answer.

5 days later I get my motherboard back from GIGABYTE, and it's brand new, and I'm using it now. I will be returning my BIOSTAR board back to TigerDirect.

AMD was much faster than GIGABYTE by at least a week, and I sent my CPU in 5 or 6 days after sending back my motherboard to GIGABYTE. GIGABYTE is so slow for warranty claims and I'll never buy another GIGABYTE board ever again. They take centuries compared to AMD. I've heard nothing but great stories from ASUS, and I like their boards too.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: E and 0 POST codes .. Dead board

Thanks for the update!

So you purposefully fried the board worse that it already was, and then sent it back, got a new replacement, and are still upset??? If so, why are you still mad? Just because Gigabyte took longer than AMD for RMA?

If so, that's no reason to be upset, normal time is 2 weeks sometimes three if they are busy, and if you got it in less than that you should be thankful!

And honestly, I'm not being biased either, Gigabyte actually has some of the better RMA stories out there. I mean less horror stories, as all companies have those, but Gigabyte seems to always do RMA's in a reasonable time, sometimes even replacing user damaged boards such as trashed CPU socket, for free. I've heard plenty of Asus horror stories, XFX, EVGA, AMD, Sapphire, ect, but yes also Gigabyte ones too but those are mostly in the past and seem to be far less than other companies.

I think your RMA was handled in a timely manner, and quite nicely too since they just sent you a new board instead of a fixed or refurbished one. So you should be happy, no reason to feel like you do when you posted that.

I know, not everyone can be pleased every time, but I really do think your RMA went over very smoothly and you should feel good about it (Sorry you do not)!