# pci card problem

## slaterson

i have a gentoo box that i'm having a hardware issue with (not related to gentoo, but i'm not sure where else to ask this).

the box is maxed out hardware wise.  i've got a gigabyte 8pe800 motherboard with an nvidia video card (agp) and 5 pci cards: a 1 gigabit nic, a 100 mbit nic, a 2 channel ata controller (in addition to the on board controller), and 2 RME digi96/8 pad sound cards.  the computer will not boot with both of the soundcards inserted, however it will boot with _either_ of them inserted (just not both, so both cards are good).

i've tried moving the cards around to different slots with no luck.

what causes this?  is it poor motherboard design?  will a new motherboard (i'm looking at a supermicro board) help this situation?

any help is appreciated.  i'm willing to spend some money on a new motherboard, but i'd like to make sure it's going to solve my problem before ordering one.

thanks,

slate

----------

## Emmef

 *Quote:*   

> the computer will not boot with both of the soundcards inserted, however it will boot with _either_ of them inserted (just not both, so both cards are good). 

 

What happens when you turn on the computer? Do you get to a LILO/Grub prompt? Or past there? Or do you not get that far? Do you get a POST error, with beeps from the computer? If so, what kind of beeps and how many?

----------

## slaterson

when i turn on the computer, the power supply fan spins up for about 3-5 seconds and then shutsdown.  further, the computer can not be turned 'on' again until the cord is pulled from the wall and then re-inserted.  no post, no on-screen information what so ever.

thanks,

slate

----------

## Emmef

Hmm, that is weird. I can't help you here...anyone else?

----------

## slaterson

 *Emmef wrote:*   

> Hmm, that is weird. I can't help you here...anyone else?

 

i picked up a new motherboard, i'll be able to give it a try this weekend to see if it helps.  i went with an intel board, as i've heard they are rock solid stable, even if they aren't the quickest.  i went with the d865gbf, hopefully it addresses my issue.

thanks for the replies,

slate

----------

## NeddySeagoon

slaterson,

That sounds like PSU overload. Along the lines of it cannot supply the switch on surge.

I would expect you can remove any card (or HDD) from the box and it will start.

Its very unlikely to be a motherboard issue.

----------

## Cintra

Gut feel tells me you might need a new psu too..

Snap!

----------

## pjp

Moved from Other Things Gentoo

----------

## slaterson

 *Cintra wrote:*   

> Gut feel tells me you might need a new psu too..

 

i'm a little concerned i may need a new psu also.  however, i did try removing all cards from the board except the video card and the sound card.  the computer would boot sometimes, but not others.  the current state of the machine is all cards in (4 pci + 1 agp) and its running fine.  when i had all the cards out, i tried moving the sound card to different slots and it booted in some slots but not others.  very odd, since i could put a different card in the same slot and it came up fine.

----------

## slaterson

i put the new motherboard (intel d865gbf) in today and the system boots up perfectly.  so, looks like it was the motherboard alone.  glad i don't need to spend the cash on a new psu, at least not yet.  :Smile: 

thanks,

slate

----------

## Cintra

Good for you  :Smile:  Strange though.. I wonder what on the old mobo caused your problems.

----------

## slaterson

i think i may have spoken too soon.  i experienced the same problem shortly after putting the motherboard in, however the mobo was worth the money and effort spent.

the problem pesists when the system is 'hot'.  i.e., after it has been running for a while (for a couple hours, the machine actually sits behind the tv and is never shutdown except for maintenance).  if the machine is allowed to cool, even for just 10-15 minutes, it starts up just fine.  with the old mobo, this was not the case, it just refused to work.

so, i think i still need to upgrade to a higher wattage psu, i have 420 watts now, i think i will be getting a 680 in the coming weeks.  the machine is dreadfully loaded down with components.

thanks,

slate

----------

## NeddySeagoon

slaterson,

A 420W PSU sounds more than adequate is the load is distrubuted properly.

To work that out I would need a full list of part numbers for wvweything in your box, so I can look up the data sheet.

It now sounds like a thermal problem. Is it most likely to happen wheile you are compiling or dong another CPU intensive task ?

Can it be prevented by operating the PC with the case open ?

Yes answers are pointers to cooling problems.

----------

## slaterson

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> A 420W PSU sounds more than adequate is the load is distrubuted properly.
> 
> To work that out I would need a full list of part numbers for wvweything in your box, so I can look up the data sheet.
> 
> It now sounds like a thermal problem. Is it most likely to happen wheile you are compiling or dong another CPU intensive task ?
> ...

 

neddy,

here's an inventory of hardware in the box.  also, i haven't tried running the box with the case open, as i'm not experiencing any overheating during operation.  the only problem is when the machine has been turned off and is immediately turned back on.  i only power it down when i'm upgrading/adding hardware and _rarely_ reboot (once every 100 days or so, if that).

hardware inventory:

7 ide hard drives (4 are in a raid 5 array)

2 rme digi96/8 pad soundcards

1 gigabit nic

1 GeForce4 MX 440 AGP 8x

1 promise ide controller (in addition to the on board controller)

1 420 watt thermal take sure power psu

1 pentium 4 2.4 ghz cpu

1 gigabyte of memory

it's all packed into a supermicro full tower case

i think thats it.  i have a huge copper/aluminum heatsink and fan on the cpu and another case fan a few inches above the cpu/heatsink/fan combo.  the air circulation in the box could probably be better.

thanks,

slate

----------

