AOpen P5TC-TS User Manual

Appendix B

Troubleshooting

In case you encounter any of the troubles listed below, follow the procedures
accordingly to resolve the problem. If the first corrective action listed did not
work, then try the next one.

Important: Make sure that you have tried listed
procedures in this appendix before you call your
distributor.

Tip: There are many useful information in our
homepage, such as jumper settings, latest BIOS,
drivers, and more FAQs. Visit our homepage to
see if there is answer of your problem.

Taiwan http://www.aopen.com.tw
USA http://www.aopen-usa.com
http://www.aopenamerica.com
Europe http://www.aopen.nl

No display

1. Check all jumper settings according to section 2.2 "Jumpers". Make sure
that you have set the proper jumpers especially those for CPU frequency,
core and IO voltage select functions. Ask your CPU dealer for the correct
CPU specifications.

2. Check the power cord or power switch of your system. The simple way to
identify power failure is to check the CPU fan and the power supply fan. If
these are not working, then the power is down.

3. Turn off the power and remove all add-on cards, connectors and SIMMs
from your mainboard. Then reinstall the VGA card and two SIMMs. Turn
on the power again. If you can see the POST (power-on-self-test) screen,

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Troubleshooting

the problem is your add-on cards or peripheral. try to reinstall the add-on
cards one by one to find out which card is causing the problem.

4. Check the monitor and VGA cable. Press the <Num Lock> key to
enable/disable the Num Lock function. If the Num Lock LED works
properly, this indicates that your CPU, SIMM and BIOS bootup sequence
are properly functioning. The problem may be caused by your VGA or
monitor.

Unstable system or HDD, HDD with bad sector. System
sometimes hangs or auto reboots.

1. Check all jumper settings according to section 2.2 "Jumpers". Make sure
that you have set the proper jumpers especially those for CPU frequency,
core and IO voltage select functions. Ask your CPU dealer for correct CPU
specification. The remarked CPU is very popular in the market, we
recommend that you use a Box CPU, i.e., CPU sold in package with
warranty card inside.

2. Check if your SIMM has less than 24 chips. Refer to section 2.4
"Configuring the System Memory" for details.

3. Set DRAM timing to 70ns and disable all enhanced chipset features in
BIOS. The default BIOS timing is 60ns for better performance. If you are
using an old SIMM or a remarked SIMM, you may need to manually slow
down the DRAM timing and disable the chipset features. Refer to chapter 3
"Chipset Features Setup" for details.

4. Disable the power management and USB functions. Some add-on cards,
drivers or applications may not be compatible with these functions.

5. Disable the external cache (2nd level cache) in chapter 3 "Advanced CMOS
Setup" (AMI) or "BIOS Features Setup" (AWARD). If the system works fine,
your cache module or onboard PBSRAM may be malfunction.

6. Enter BIOS and set the HDD "Block" and "32-bit" mode parameters to OFF.
Refer to Chapter 3 "Standard CMOS Setup" (AMI) or "Integrated
Peripherals" (AWARD) for details. Also, if possible set HDD PIO mode 2 or
3 to a slower transfer speed.

7. Turn off the power and remove all add-on cards, connectors and SIMMs
from your mainboard. Then reinstall the VGA card, two SIMMs and connect
only one hard disk to the end-most connector of the IDE cable. The IDE
cable length must not exceed 46cm (18inches), refer to section 2.3
"Connectors". If the system functions properly, reinstall the add-on cards
one by one. This will help you find out which card or device is causing the
problem. Be sure to connect the 2nd IDE device (HDD/CD-ROM) to the
primary channel slave mode.

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