DFI 939 DR Expert problems... What a surpise!!!

Imagine that! More DFI Expert problems!!! woot!!!!!

Back in the day, i bought one of those infamous DFI 939 Venus boards, witch i regret ever getting rid of. Last week i had an opportunity to pickup a DFI Expert (essentially the same thing minus the solid caps) here on OCN!!

So....

The specs...

DFI Expert motherboard
naked 3200+ w/stock cooler
256mb hynix 3200 / 512mb kingston 2700
200gb maxtor sata hdd
400w "dynex" PSU 14amp 12v rail, no 8pin.
PATA dvd burner


The issues....

I only have a 400w PSU. It is a solid PSU, i have used it to power higher end core 2 builds. The issue is that this PSU i have for this board, only has a 4 pin CPU plug, not the 8 pin. I am not really sure if i NEED the 8 pin, so i tried out the 4 pin in the side it plugs in on, to see if it works... Still inconclusive at this point if this is the issue...

Another problem, (what a surprise ) is the whole ram compatibility issue that this board just has to begin with. DDR1 is getting harder and harder to find for a reasonable price, and all i have laying around is a Budget stick of kinston 512mb 333 and a budget hynix 256mb 400 stick... None of witch want to work in this board. These are known working and reliable sticks i have been using for over a year as testers...

So,

PSU isn't cutting the mustard, or the ram just doesn't work. Could be one or the other, or both. I don't really know what to do at this point other than to get a new PSU, and/or better ram.

The board will not post. The 4 red debug lights all light up when i first power on the board, and all 4 stay lit for about 1 second, then it goes to 3 lights for another 1 second, then goes back to 4 red lights for a millisecond, then the board turns off...

i have cleared the cmos regularly through out my process of elimination.

Back when DFI-street was still around, i was all over that site and people said that it sometimes takes over night for the cmos to fully get reset. Any truth behind this?? i would like to think not... But who knows??

I am going to guess that it's a ram issue. But it could be the PSU...



Advice?? logical next step??

ok, so i need to give more details on the situation...

I have a 7600GT and a 200gb maxtor sata drive with this setup. basic DVD-ROM also...

I was digging around in my extra parts room, aka a 8x6 closet full of computer crap. and found a 1gb kit (512 x 2) of some strange no name ram its PC2700 that i had in a old 754 rig that I'll try out and see what happens...

I do agree with the whole power supply issue. That is on the list of things to get for sure!!

I do have a 9600GT that I really want to put in this thing but i think my PSU would bit the dust if i did that... thats why i have the 7600GT in it...

I'll keep you all posted with getting this thing to boot...

EDIT:

Alright, so i think i have the ram situation figured out, because i get further along in the boot. I get those 4 red lights down to just one light, then the PC turns off. My guess is that the board really wants a decent PSU.

Back in the day when i had one of these boards right when they came out, i had a 600w Ennermax PSU that would not work with this board period! I later found out through DFI-street, and talking with both DFI and Ennermax, that there was a situation going on called "switch back". This issue had a lot to do with the fact that this board was just a hair out of spec (beyond spec) than the "standard" whatever was going on with PSU's...

So, my next question is, what PSU will """"""""FOR SURE"""""""" work with this board??

I also have a 1gb kit of Giel ONE multi spec in the mail that i know works in this board... So in about a week I'll have nice ram for this thing. All i need now is a nice PSU!!

yeah i hope it helps... lol... I'll try and find one of those PSU's on that list, but if i cant i think a nice 80+ efficient PSU should do the job...

I'll refer to those links when i get my crazy ram in the mail... and get a decent PSU for this board...