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General discussion

Chaintech VNF3-250 won't power up

Aug 20, 2004 6:34AM PDT

I've stripped it down to the bare essentials as is often prescribed.
Chaintech NF3-250
Athlon 64 3000
Heatsink and fan
Power supply 450W
front panel switcher

I know it's getting some power cause I can hear the high-pitch tone from the electricity. And I think I have the front panel connected correctly because the LED has a faint glow to it. Also when I press the power button the board makes a click sound then a long quiet beep when I hold the button. But alas it won't power up. I think I managed to clear the CMOS but there's no way to tell for sure. so, any ideas?

Discussion is locked

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Not sure that I understand the beep
Aug 20, 2004 8:04AM PDT

when holding the power switch in Hold it in for 4 or 5 seconds and the system will shut down. Only takes a momentary contact to have the turn on logic activate.

The case speaker is connected, Yes???

Try putting in a stick of memory.

Did this system work at one time, or is it just getting assembled??? Wondering if it would normally beep.

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Re: Not sure that I understand the beep
Aug 20, 2004 11:55AM PDT

when holding the power switch in Hold it in for 4 or 5 seconds and the system will shut down. Only takes a momentary contact to have the turn on logic activate.
I don't need to shut it down, but thanks for the advice anyway.

The case speaker is connected, Yes???
Haven't gotten around to attaching any speakers.

Try putting in a stick of memory.
1 gig in there

Did this system work at one time, or is it just getting assembled??? Wondering if it would normally beep.
It's mostly the same except the motherboard, processor, and power supply are new.

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You missed my point. In your original
Aug 20, 2004 1:18PM PDT

post you stated that if you hold the power button depressed you get a long beep. I was simply pointing out that you shouldn't hold it depressed if you are trying to turn the system on because it will shut down again if you hold the button depressed. Counterproductive.

In your initial post you said it was stripped and didn't list the memory. Now you say that there was a Gig in there. What else is different than you first told us???

Obviously if the mobo is new and the BIOS is a mobo item, knowing whether the prior mobo beeped is a moot point. LOL

Is it a new power supply? must be an ATX 12V for that mobo 2.01 spec or later to get the 4 pin 12volt power connector for CPU power.

Part of your post seems to imply that you have put this new mobo into an old case. If so, are you sure that a hex standoff that doesn't line up with the mounting holes of the new mobo, and should have been removed, isn't shorting the mobo out???????? Try mounting the mobo on a large sheet of carboard to fully isolate it from the mounting plate.

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Re: You missed my point. In your original
Aug 20, 2004 1:47PM PDT

"post you stated that if you hold the power button depressed you get a long beep. I was simply pointing out that you shouldn't hold it depressed if you are trying to turn the system on because it will shut down again if you hold the button depressed. Counterproductive."

It's not like I was always holding the button down.

"In your initial post you said it was stripped and didn't list the memory. Now you say that there was a Gig in there. What else is different than you first told us???"

Sometimes I tried it in the case with everything connected, and sometimes I tried it stripped down to the bare essentials

O"bviously if the mobo is new and the BIOS is a mobo item, knowing whether the prior mobo beeped is a moot point. LOL"

Why are you telling me?

"Is it a new power supply? must be an ATX 12V for that mobo 2.01 spec or later to get the 4 pin 12volt power connector for CPU power."

You mean they still make PSUs without it?

"Part of your post seems to imply that you have put this new mobo into an old case. If so, are you sure that a hex standoff that doesn't line up with the mounting holes of the new mobo, and should have been removed, isn't shorting the mobo out????????"

But it aligns prefectly

"Try mounting the mobo on a large sheet of carboard to fully isolate it from the mounting plate."

done that.

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Last two ideas.
Aug 20, 2004 10:54PM PDT

1. the Reset switch is shorted so that the Master reset is always on.

2. Same result, the Power Go signal from the power supply is not releasing the master reset. I had a brand new Antec true power 430 about a month ago where all the voltages came up fine [checked with a DVM] the system wouldn't boot. The power go signal wasn't working [didn't change state to release the master reset to start the boot process]. [got a replacement via RMA and it worked fine]

Don't think I'll give any more ideas. You seem to resent it if I mention something that you already know. You COULD have been using an old power supply without the 12 volt connector, and yes you can still buy them.

Best wishes for solving your problem.

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Question about after "clearing the BIOS"?
Aug 20, 2004 8:08AM PDT

How did you do it??? Is the jumper now on the correct pins??? If the jumper is in the clear position the system will not run.

If you removed the battery, any chance that you took the tension out of the contact and are now making a poor contact on the batterry???

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Re: Question about after "clearing the BIOS"?
Aug 20, 2004 12:03PM PDT

Question about after "clearing the BIOS"?
How did you do it???
Actually I was trying to clear the CMOS, as described in the manual. Disconnect the power supply. Set the jumper at 2-3 for 5 seconds then back to default.

Is the jumper now on the correct pins??? If the jumper is in the clear position the system will not run.
Yes.

If you removed the battery, any chance that you took the tension out of the contact and are now making a poor contact on the batterry???
Even pressing on it will not help.