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My Abit AT7 is acting up!

UnkAsn93

UnkAsn93

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Joined
May 13, 2008
Messages
445 (0.07/day)
Location
My house.
System Specs
System Name Mediocre
Processor AMD Athlon 64 3500+ @ 2.32GHz
Motherboard ECS RD480-A939
Cooling Stock AMD
Memory 512MB DDR400
Video Card(s) Nvidia GeForce4 MX4000 (going to get 2 3850's and crossfire soon)
Storage 160GB WD
Display(s) 20" Widescreen
Case Generic
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Powmax 450watt
Software XP Pro
Please help!

My Abit AT7 is acting strange. It'll POST and everything, but it won't detect a keyboard. (It's all USB, and I tried my keyboard in all 6 USB ports on the mobo). My keyboard light's won't even flash when I power my machine up.

I checked, and there are 2 bulging caps around the top 2 USB ports, and 7 more bulging caps around other parts of the board. Could this be the reason for it not working? It was working before, and the caps have always been like this. Now, all of a sudden, it doesn't work anymore.

Could these caps also be the reason why some of the USB ports don't even work...period?

Thanks! :pimp:
 
does the keyboard works in other computers?
ps: welcome to the forums :)
 
pt said:
does the keyboard works in other computers?
ps: welcome to the forums :)
Click to expand...

Yep, the keyboard is good, I was just using it in my other computer.

Thanks, and I feel welcome here :)
 
do u have any usb/ps2 adapter to try if it works with it?
or another usb keyboard to try

35099.jpg
 
Caps as in Capacitors? Popped ones are not good obviously, idk much about them but my guess is if they are popping then the board is dieing. Thats why I only buy Solid Cap boards now.

Might wanna fill out your system specs in the user cp. Also welcome :)
 
pt said:
do u have any usb/ps2 adapter to try if it works with it?
or another usb keyboard to try
Click to expand...

My keyboard is PS/2 but I'm on a PS/2 to USB adapter. This adapter works, because it was also hooked up with my keyboard on my other machine ;)

I don't have any more keyboards. =\
 
ShadowFold said:
Caps as in Capacitors? Popped ones are not good obviously, idk much about them but my guess is if they are popping then the board is dieing. Thats why I only buy Solid Cap boards now.
Click to expand...

Yes. They're not fully popped yet, but they're bulging pretty good.
 
One more note: The motherboard has no PS/2 ports in it.
 
TomCat44 said:
Yes. They're not fully popped yet, but they're bulging pretty good.
Click to expand...

Im pretty sure dead caps = dead board. But like I said im not 100% sure. I think that board is Socket A right? Thats pretty old..
 
Bulging caps sounds bad. The board is probably on it's way out. Any good at soldering? lol.
 
It's old, but it's only a file server, and I can't have this downtime.
 
If it's just the USB ports acting up right now, can you just ssh into it?
 
Wile E said:
Bulging caps sounds bad. The board is probably on it's way out. Any good at soldering? lol.
Click to expand...

Nope. I burned the PCB in 2 boards trying to solder caps in them. One was a gateway board (Junky MSI) and a Asus TUW-AM HP Proprietary board. I can't murder this board like I did the other 2.
 
TomCat44 said:
ssh?
Click to expand...
Sorry, meant VNC. ssh is command line, and used mostly in Linux, although there are versions for Windows. VNC is remote control software.

This is RealVNC: http://www.realvnc.com/

There are other free alternatives as well, probably some with more features than VNC.

Remote Desktop is another option.

Or, lastly, you could probably buy a cheap PCI USB card.
 
I could do that (get a USB PCI card).

One of my major problems is, it won't boot without a keyboard. I can't install any software (such as the RealVNC you just pointed me to), or Remote Desktop. (IIRC, I disabled it).
 
does other usb stuff u plug in (pens, mouses, etc) don't light up aswell?
 
pt said:
does other usb stuff u plug in (pens, mouses, etc) don't light up aswell?
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the mouse I had would light up, but not do anything else. Sometimes, it would cause the board NOT to POST, and I'd have to remove the mouse just to get it to POST again. And every once in a while, it would POST with the mouse in it. This is the weirdest motherboard I've had that's all USB.
 
Well, many USB cards are plug-n-play. As long as your BIOS is PnP, it should be recognized right away.
 
..and if my BIOS isn't PnP, what will I have to do to get it installed?
 
Wile E said:
That, I can't help you with. lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815106505

For the less than $13 it costs to get one, it might be worth a shot.

The only other suggestion I can think of, is to try to find another used AT7.
Click to expand...

That would suck if it didn't work PnP lol.

I'm going to order that card you just linked me to when I get paid.

I've been thinking of that all day now, getting another AT7. If the USB card works, then I won't have to worry about another board though :)
 
TomCat44 said:
That would suck if it didn't work PnP lol.

I'm going to order that card you just linked me to when I get paid.

I've been thinking of that all day now, getting another AT7. If the USB card works, then I won't have to worry about another board though :)
Click to expand...

If caps are bulging, you'll have to worry about getting another board sooner or later anyway. It's on it's way out. The USB card is just a suggestion to get you running for now.
 
Wile E said:
If caps are bulging, you'll have to worry about getting another board sooner or later anyway. It's on it's way out. The USB card is just a suggestion to get you running for now.
Click to expand...

That's true. But I'm under the assumption that the bad caps are what is causing the USB to not function correctly. But if I can get another 2 or so months out of this board (without replacing the caps), I'll be one happy camper :)(If it does die, I'll do another attempt at replacing caps just to see what'll happen)
 
Well, if it's only 2 months or so, I'd be willing to bet it holds out.
 
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