> SocketA board sticky topics and FAQs - please look here first <
Hello and welcome to the SocketA forum! If this is your first visit here, and this is the first place you have come to, well done! Many answers can be found here before posting your problem, so please take the time to search through first.If you haven't done so already, we recommend you read through the Forum Rules., and the Suggestions On Posting And Getting Better Answersstickies.
To keep the stickies area tidy, I have compiled the stickies for the SocketA chipset boards in this thread, and more can be added here later.
Basic Troubleshoting Guide Volume 1 by MSI USA
Trouble Shooting Guide V1.6a
K7N2 Delta2 Platinum BIOS Tests… solved intermittant reboot issues
***Starting your K7N2 Delta2 at default settings***
MSI ATX Mainboard Index
ati problem ,post vga card model and bios
K7N2G Sound Problem/question MCP2 Realtek AC'97 Audio
J*A*G'S *Updated* nForce Cooling Guide
Support for new Duron 1400, 1600, 1800 with 266Mhz FSB
Solution to stuck CPU Voltage on K7N2 Delta
Good Memory Choices for ALL K7N2 nF2 released boards
network problem? post hubs etc that do not work with onboard lan
nforce2 RAID FAQ
My chipset fan doesn't work any more!
[VIA] Support for new Duron 1400, 1600, 1800 with 266MHz FSB
[VIA] New CPU's on K7T266Pro2
[VIA] unofficial FAQ for KT4 series motherboards
KT6V Mac Address Fix Utility
Can't find Bluetooth driver/software for KT4 Ultra
How to clear the CMOS
If your front usb does NOT work with your board read this...
BIOS flashing - when, why & how
Is your problem caused by a weak PSU?
Choosing The Right Power Supply
nVidia Drivers
VIA Drivers
SiS drivers
I have correctly fitted my CPU but it is not running at its full speed
The default FSB (Front Side Bus) for the cpu has not been determined by the BIOS correctly. Simply enter your BIOS setup, and adjust the CPU FSB speed to the correct value for your processor (usually found in Frequency/Voltage Control menu) My CPU is advertised as 400FSB CPU, but I cannot set it this high in BIOS AMD use a "dual-pumped" FSB, which means that it operates at the clock speed in both directions. This is the value you need to set in the BIOS. So for example, for a 400FSB CPU, you need to set the FSB clock to 200mhz. I cannot set my DDR333 memory to 333mhz in the BIOS! Again, DDR (Dual Data Rate) memory speed is bi-directional, so the actual memory clock speed, like the CPU FSB clock speed, is half the DDR rate. So, for example, DDR333 memory needs to be set at 166mhz in BIOS I want to fit a 250gb HDD to my system. Will it work? Check your board's support page here (scroll down page until you see 'SocketA' listed. Look for the Test Report for Hard Disks. Once a board supports greater than 137gb, any size drive will work. If you see a size such as 160gb tested as OK, then you will be fine! I've just added a new hard drive to my system, it is recognised by BIOS, but Windows doesn't show it under My Computer? If the drive is brand new, then it is unpartitioned and unformatted, so it is unusable by Windows at present. Once it is partitioned and formatted, the drive/partitions will appear in My Computer.Right-click My Computer, select Manage from the menu, then the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) will appear. In the left-hand display, look for Storage and then select Disk Management. Now in the right-hand window, you'll see all the drives installed on your system, as well as all partitions contained on them. You should see your new drive here. Right-click and select a new partition. Once formatted, you can use your drive!
How do I overclock? Questions about overclocking should be directed to our Overclockers and Modding Forum. Asking for such help here only serves to confuse newcomers trying to get their systems to work correctly, plus you will get better help there.Topics started here asking about overclocking advice will be moved
I lost my CD that came with my board, and i want to install drivers. Where can i find them? Again, look on the MSI product support page and select your mobo. Failing that, for up-to-date drivers for your mobo and its on-board hardware, you could always look to the chipset manufacturer's website. I have a Mobile Athlon XP2400+, but the POST screen shows it as "Unknown Processor Type", and it only appears to be running at 600mhz? Not all desktop boards properly recognise the Mobile CPUs. They are designed for notebook computers, and have the added luxury of unlocked multiplier, which a notebook can use to dynamically adjust the CPU speed depending on load, to preserve battery power.The "Unknown Processor" ident is merely cosmetic. Once you set the multiplier and FSB in BIOS, the CPU will work as normal. Of course, as the multiplier is unlocked, you can set it to a specific value, which is why they are so popular with overclockers.
However, many mobos (notably any '-V' value branded) don't have full BIOS options, and usually don't allow setting a multiplier value. Therefore the board automatically uses the lowest multiplier (usually 6 x 100mhz = 600mhz). As you can't set any higher, these boards are of no use for Mobile CPUs, so you should replace the board, or use a proper desktop CPU.
Please note that desktop CPUs have locked multipliers, which means they cannot be altered. Usually changing the value in BIOS has no effect, so you should always leave the Multiplier set to AUTO.
I want to test out a CPU in my board, but it is fiddly messing about with the heatsink. Is it OK to run the CPU without the heatsink installed? No way. An old Pentium 100mhz might be happy without a heatsink, but they don't run as hot as modern CPUs. download and watch this video to see what happens...http://www12.tomshardware.com/images/thg_video_1_cpu_cooling.zip
whenever you remove the heatsink it is always best to clean off all the old paste from both the cpu surface and heatsink base, and reapply a fresh thin layer to cpu die surface
My CPU is running very hot / My system won't start up, or shuts down after a few seconds Check you have your heatsink mounted correctly, as per the following pictures:if you have removed your heatsink for any reason, you should always clean off old thermal paste from heatsink base, and from the CPU die surface (the little metal piece in the centre), and then reapply a fresh layer of new paste. A good thermal compound such as Arctic Silver 5 is recommended.
- How to apply Arctic Silver paste - same principles for all thermal compounds
- AMD Processors Installation Videos
- Socket A AMD Processor and Heatsink Installation Guide (.PDF file)
I'm thinking of buying some of this 1gb '128x4' high density RAM thats really cheap on Ebay...' Do a search of this forum for 128x4, and try and find a post where someone has successfully got this type of RAM working... if you can't be bothered searching, the answer would appear to be no. Better to not waste your time and get some proper 128x64 if you want 1gb sticks
- Suggestions on posting and getting better answers
- Is your problem caused by your PSU?
- D-Bracket codes explained
- IDE Setup Guide
- If you are having problems with USB ports, read this topic.
- Clear CMOS Guide
- How to ascertain your CPU type
- List of Athlon XP CPUs
- Test your memory with Memtest86
- How to contact MSI.
- BIOS flashing - why, when & how