A8N32-SLI not seeing PCI slots?

NoGeekNoGeek
edited May 2006 in Hardware
New build ... A8N32-SLI with 2GB Corsair twinx2048-3500LLPRO, Athlon64 4000+ San Diego, PCP&C 510 SLI, twin WD 320 GB HDDs in SATA RAID1, single BFG 7900GT OC, and Plextor 716A SATA.

This mobo refuses to see anything in the 3 PCI slots (actually 2 slots... slot 1 is too close to the PCIE). This whole build was to go wireless in my bedroom, but cannot get it to recognize and install any cards in the PCI slots. Trying to install a Belkin Pre-N wireless. Got another 1 in another PC that works fine, and even tried swapping the card and adapter into this PC. Nothing. And BTW, I've even replaced the mobo, re-installed WinXP-pro, SP2, and updated bios to 1103.

I'm guessing BIOS settings???? PnP is "off" for WinXP, all IRQ's set to PCI, etc. but don't know what else to try.

Any direction is most appreciated !!! Thanks!
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Comments

  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited April 2006
    Strange....Usually PCI (& PCIe) is just plug and play.

    Make sure you dont have a motherboard mount or pin shorting out the mobo beneath the slots
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    Thanks! But, after this being the 2nd mobo install with the same results, I wouldn't know how else to check. All 9 screws are mounted on the standoffs, and I made sure not to snug them down too tight. :-(

    I still think it's some little BIOS setting that I've got wrong, but after going through it about 100 times, I just don't know what it could be. Something either enabled or disabled that should be the other way......
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    And also, I was told to have PnP "disabled" for WinXP, but "on" for previous Win versions. True????
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    Gotta ask the obvious here....

    Have you checked your device manager and see if the devices are showing up as unknown or anything?

    From what I have read you're trying to install a Belkin NIC... is that all? It could be the NIC itself. Try some other PCI device and see if that works.
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    Thanks! Yes, I've checked...nothing shows in Device Mgr. I installed a known good card from another PC, and same deal... nothing. When trying to install drivers for the card, I get to a point where it says "Install the card". I do, and click OK. It comes right back with "Install the card". Finally give up and click Next, and the software/drivers go in, but of course that's the end of it.

    This would be a sweet machine, if I could get it wireless and put where I want it to be ...in my bedroom away from the kids ;-)
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    Are you overclocked? If not, try resetting the CMOS and taking the battery out of the CMOS for 15 minutes.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    Have you tried with the board out of the case and just laying on top of the motherboard box? Then make sure the video card and any caed you install hangs off the side of the box. This will either eliminate or confirm a grounded board.
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    RWB wrote:
    Are you overclocked? If not, try resetting the CMOS and taking the battery out of the CMOS for 15 minutes.

    Nope, stock settings. CMOS has been cleared and reset. Think I may try the next suggestion... take the mobo right out of the case. Maybe put it back in with fiber washers between the board and standoffs, even if that doesn't fix it.
    :banghead:
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    mtgoat wrote:
    Have you tried with the board out of the case and just laying on top of the motherboard box? Then make sure the video card and any caed you install hangs off the side of the box. This will either eliminate or confirm a grounded board.

    That's my next effort. Of course the cables are bundled up 'short', but it's still easier than re-mounting a CPU and cooler ;)

    Thanks!
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited April 2006
    Hi NoGeek,
    First the good news: I don't think you're alone in this issue, I have a similar problem. The bad news...I haven't found a way to fix it either :).
    It's been really strange, the PCI>PCMCIA adapter is detected by windows, but when I try to plug in the PCMCIA card itself, absolutely nothing happens.
    The same sort of thing was happening with my Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty...The red F on the card was lighting up, so it had some power getting to it, but nothing was registering in Windows.
    I wasn't sure whether there was enough power getting to the cards or what. To be honest I'm at a complete loss now.

    To complicate the situation even more...my X-Fi now works, all of a sudden.
    However, the Pre-N card still refuses to play ball.

    Any luck with your board?
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    Thanks for the "encouragement"! ;-)

    No progress yet, since I travel for work and only get to "play" on weekends.

    The mobo is currently 'out', sitting beside a package of fiber washers. I'm also thinking that perhaps the lead 'tails' under the mobo are a tad long, and maybe touching the case despite the standoffs?? Haven't yet tried MTGoat's suggestion to actually fire it up while out of the case. That'll be Sat AM.

    I've heard that the Belkin cards can be touchy... sometimes firing up a couple of hours after install. But I took a working one (same exact card) out of another PC (MSI mobo) and put it in this one... nada. When I put it back where it came from, it fires up like it never left. I even tried an old DLink card that has a power LED, just to see if it would light the light or be 'recognized'.... nope.

    Now I'm guessing something to do with the power management in the mobo??? (or the above 'shorting'.) I forget the sequence, but somewhere in there I even plugged in the EZPlug to add juice if your SLI cards don't have their own power. No difference. :bawling:

    More on Saturday!







    FatalSaviour wrote:
    Hi NoGeek,
    First the good news: I don't think you're alone in this issue, I have a similar problem. The bad news...I haven't found a way to fix it either :).
    It's been really strange, the PCI>PCMCIA adapter is detected by windows, but when I try to plug in the PCMCIA card itself, absolutely nothing happens.
    The same sort of thing was happening with my Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty...The red F on the card was lighting up, so it had some power getting to it, but nothing was registering in Windows.
    I wasn't sure whether there was enough power getting to the cards or what. To be honest I'm at a complete loss now.

    To complicate the situation even more...my X-Fi now works, all of a sudden.
    However, the Pre-N card still refuses to play ball.

    Any luck with your board?
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited April 2006
    Just to elaborate a little, I've also tried another PCI>PCMCIA adapter that is identical to the Belkin one, but that I bought for a different purpose in 2003.
    Again, Windows detects the adapter, but will not play nicely with either the Belkin card, a generic wireless card, or indeed a PCMCIA USB+Firewire adapter that I had lying around. I know the Belkin card itself is fine, and both adapters work in different PCs, so it is something to do with the board, I just have no idea what!
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    FatalSaviour wrote:
    Just to elaborate a little, I've also tried another PCI>PCMCIA adapter that is identical to the Belkin one, but that I bought for a different purpose in 2003.
    Again, Windows detects the adapter, but will not play nicely with either the Belkin card, a generic wireless card, or indeed a PCMCIA USB+Firewire adapter that I had lying around. I know the Belkin card itself is fine, and both adapters work in different PCs, so it is something to do with the board, I just have no idea what!

    Trying again tomorrow. Last Sat, I managed to lose vid signal . :rant: ...is that progress? Now, I'm hearing that we need the latest BIOS for sure, and also to try setting PnP to "Yes" despite MS's advice re:WinXP.

    Onward and upward!
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited April 2006
    Oh dear, sorry to hear about the video signal...Have you managed to get it back, did you fiddle about with the display adapter settings in BIOS and all it needs is a quick reset?
    I'm running the latest BIOS (If that's still 1103 anyway, and my PnP has always been set to Yes...Where's MS's advice on this please?

    Anyway, hope you at least get your Video back.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited April 2006
    something is very wrong here. AFAIK, no mobo has the option to turn "off" the pci slots all together. many have a "disable unused pci slots" but even if this option is checked in the BIOS, installing a card in a slot overrides this option.

    I would just go with default BIOS values untill things get sorted out. turn off pc, unplug it, remove all pci cards, clear the CMOS, and then restart. enter BIOS, there should be a option for "load optimized defaults." select it and restart again.

    if you have a DMM (digital multimeter) you can very carefully test your pci slots while the mobo is on.

    after reading this below..i have a few questions...
    NoGeek wrote:
    Thanks! Yes, I've checked...nothing shows in Device Mgr. I installed a known good card from another PC, and same deal... nothing. When trying to install drivers for the card, I get to a point where it says "Install the card". I do, and click OK. It comes right back with "Install the card". Finally give up and click Next, and the software/drivers go in, but of course that's the end of it....

    usually when installing hardware i install the hardware first, and then the drivers. that is unless it specifically tells you to do it the other way in the instructions. even if you screw up the order of software/hardware, you can usually get things working...what do your instructions say?

    second, it kinda sounds like you tried to install the pci card when your pc was on. i hope this isn't the case b/c that would explain why your pci slots don't work--you shorted them out! did you install the pci card with the system powered on?

    let us know...
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited April 2006
    Hey ryko. Thanks for the input. I didn't mean that he might have turned off his PCI slots completely, but may have changed the display priority (PCI>PCIE2>PCIE1 or something like that... I can't comment too much on NoGeek's video problems, but agree with the resetting CMOS etc to see if that fixes it.

    With regards to the PCI card problem at least, NoGeek is not the only one with problems. There seems to be an inherent flaw somewhere in the A8N32, as the Belkin Pre-N card doesn't work in my board either. I've spoken to the Asus reps, but they've come up with nothing either as of yet.
    Installation instructions have been followed to the T, besides, both of us have tried the Pre-N cards in other PCs and they work fine in those.
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    ryko wrote:
    something is very wrong here. AFAIK, no mobo has the option to turn "off" the pci slots all together. many have a "disable unused pci slots" but even if this option is checked in the BIOS, installing a card in a slot overrides this option.

    I would just go with default BIOS values untill things get sorted out. turn off pc, unplug it, remove all pci cards, clear the CMOS, and then restart. enter BIOS, there should be a option for "load optimized defaults." select it and restart again.

    if you have a DMM (digital multimeter) you can very carefully test your pci slots while the mobo is on.

    after reading this below..i have a few questions...

    usually when installing hardware i install the hardware first, and then the drivers. that is unless it specifically tells you to do it the other way in the instructions. even if you screw up the order of software/hardware, you can usually get things working...what do your instructions say?

    second, it kinda sounds like you tried to install the pci card when your pc was on. i hope this isn't the case b/c that would explain why your pci slots don't work--you shorted them out! did you install the pci card with the system powered on?

    I've had

    let us know...

    I appreciate your taking the time to answer! :-) Checking wherever else I might find answers, there seem to be plenty of folks having assorted "opportunities" with this mobo. My email to ASUS support was quickly replied to "Nothing in BIOS to control PCI slots... must be bad mobo." OK, so this is the 2nd mobo from an entirely different place... same thing!

    Done exactly per Belkin instructions... turn off PC, install adapter into PCI slot, re-boot, install software from CD, at which point the Installer says "Insert CARD now." (PCMCIA into PCI adapter) It keeps on saying "Insert card now" ... since it can't "see" it!

    I'm guessing that it will turn out to be a VERY specific sequence of BIOS update, Win install, update chipset drivers, etc, etc. I just need to find out what that specific sequence is :confused:

    Here's a snip from another forum, although there they are talking about the NB/SB/frequencies getting re-set at any BIOS clearing or flashing...

    [Almost any fresh-to-market product has some imperfections which are eventually get corrected by the manufacturer in the new revisions or firmware updates. The A8N320SLI Deluxe mainboard didn’t make an exception.]

    I only get to "play" with it on weekends due to work travel. Tomorrow's a NEW day! We'll see!
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    Another quote from the ABXZone forum, not about this particular issue. [Have you flashed the bios? The 1009 bios is absolutely horrible and it can only help to go to 1103.]

    My display priority (from memory) only reverses from PCIE1> to PCIE2>, and I've never changed it, knowing that there is no card in PCIE2.

    Sorry, but I can't remember where I saw the MS suggestion about WinXP set PnP to "No", all previous ver's "Yes". Search on "ASUS forum" and you'll see what I mean ;-) I've been to most of them! I spend more time searching and reading than with the hardware itself.
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited April 2006
    Some of the older BIOSes are worse, but for reasons unrelated to the PCI issue. Have you tried resetting the CMOS to restore your VGA problems anyway? I know it sucks, but if you get the VGA working, you may have to do what I did, and just buy a USB stick for now (or swap the board for the wireless version) if you want this board with a working wireless adapter :(.
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited April 2006
    FatalSaviour wrote:
    Some of the older BIOSes are worse, but for reasons unrelated to the PCI issue. Have you tried resetting the CMOS to restore your VGA problems anyway? I know it sucks, but if you get the VGA working, you may have to do what I did, and just buy a USB stick for now (or swap the board for the wireless version) if you want this board with a working wireless adapter :(.

    Not yet. Last weekend when I lost the vid, that was "it"... lawns to mow, etc, etc. After my red-eye lands tomorrow AM, I'll be starting over for about the 12th time. Re-set CMOS, SATA, RAID 1, see if Win will boot, update Drivers, etc, etc, etc......:eek3:
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited May 2006
    OK, the vid going away was a "Doh!!!!" The constant movement of plugging and unplugging at the mobo had loosened the cable at the back of the monitor. (sheepish grin)

    I switched back to the original mobo, re-installed WinXP, SP2 from CD, BIOS to 1103. Updated drivers, vid is still on the legacy PCI card, so I don't think that the slots are dead. Network connections shows the onboard LAN, which works fine.

    I truly believe that it's some sort of "This must be On in BIOS, and that must be Off." for this mobo to "see" this card. The question is What???? Thanks for your help!
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited May 2006
    NoGeek wrote:
    OK, the vid going away was a "Doh!!!!" The constant movement of plugging and unplugging at the mobo had loosened the cable at the back of the monitor. (sheepish grin)

    I switched back to the original mobo, re-installed WinXP, SP2 from CD, BIOS to 1103. Updated drivers, vid is still on the legacy PCI card, so I don't think that the slots are dead. Network connections shows the onboard LAN, which works fine.

    I truly believe that it's some sort of "This must be On in BIOS, and that must be Off." for this mobo to "see" this card. The question is What???? Thanks for your help!
    I've now heard that turning on the AI NOS will solve this. Sounds a bit strange that you have to turn on "OC", even tho you don't OC, to get a PCI slot and/or card to work. Will try it in the AM, when I get home, but the new Linksys card is also sitting there waiting .... that was another solution that I've seen.
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited May 2006
    Well, AI NOS didn't change a thing. BUT, the new Linksys card sure did! It fired right up and connected. Moved the rig to the bedroom, and am getting a clear strong signal. So, what's the problem????? :-)
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited May 2006
    NoGeek wrote:
    Well, AI NOS didn't change a thing. BUT, the new Linksys card sure did! It fired right up and connected. Moved the rig to the bedroom, and am getting a clear strong signal. So, what's the problem????? :-)
    Oooo you're not going to like this :D
    Try updating the Bios to 1205...among the release notes is "improved PCI [blah blah] compatability...
    Long story short... Belkin Pre-N card now works on my motherboard...try it...I hope you have the same success story.
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited May 2006
    What is annoying is that the release date of the BIOS is 28th April...yet I didn't see it up on the Asus servers till very recently.
    Would have saved me some aggro, and you some money...
    As I say, hope it works...
  • NoGeekNoGeek
    edited May 2006
    FatalSaviour wrote:
    What is annoying is that the release date of the BIOS is 28th April...yet I didn't see it up on the Asus servers till very recently.
    Would have saved me some aggro, and you some money...
    As I say, hope it works...

    It's pretty much how things go, right? :eek3: Needless to say, I haven't looked at the new BIOS. But this gives me another idea. The "replacement" mobo's sitting here, and I've got the Belkin card. Hmmm... a cpu, some memory, a case, a PSU, a couple of HDD's, and I could give this a "test". :thumbsup:

    I appreciate your support, and THANKS for the info! :cheers:
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited May 2006
    NoGeek wrote:
    It's pretty much how things go, right? :eek3: Needless to say, I haven't looked at the new BIOS. But this gives me another idea. The "replacement" mobo's sitting here, and I've got the Belkin card. Hmmm... a cpu, some memory, a case, a PSU, a couple of HDD's, and I could give this a "test". :thumbsup:

    I appreciate your support, and THANKS for the info! :cheers:
    No problem mate.
    Give the A8N32 a test with what components you have...it may not be the same problem that I had...(although unlikely it isn't...I just wish Asus had acknowledged there was an issue with the damn thing)...and provided all goes to plan, you should have a very nice system there :).

    Just to give you a heads up, I've been hammering my connection since I got the thing working and it's been 100% reliable since I posted my initial findings :).
  • madmatmadmat
    edited May 2006
    That's odd you're having these problems, I built a PC with that mobo back in December and it recognized the PCI soundcard first rattle out the can.
  • FatalSaviourFatalSaviour
    edited May 2006
    madmat wrote:
    That's odd you're having these problems, I built a PC with that mobo back in December and it recognized the PCI soundcard first rattle out the can.
    The motherboard's rather fickle with PCI cards, some people have problems with their X-Fi's, although this seems to have been fixed with the latest revision X-Fis, like mine. This BIOS doesn't help them with that so there are still some problems. As I say, it's not all PCI cards that are problematic, but the Belkin Pre-N card is one such example unfortunately.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited May 2006
    FatalSaviour wrote:
    The motherboard's rather fickle with PCI cards, some people have problems with their X-Fi's, although this seems to have been fixed with the latest revision X-Fis, like mine. This BIOS doesn't help them with that so there are still some problems. As I say, it's not all PCI cards that are problematic, but the Belkin Pre-N card is one such example unfortunately.

    Hmm...makes me wonder if it's something to do with the IRQ the card is set for.

    Edit: The PC I built was equipped with the X-Fi pro...
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