My motherboard went belly up. These things happen, and are expected. But, there are some days when I want to throw computers through a window.
First, the original motherboard toasted it's USB controller (so it seems). No matter what combination (or lack) of devices were plugged in, or where, the box refused to recognize anything. It would also sometimes halt the boot process before the operating system was called. (failed POST). So, that motherboard is toast and needed replacement. Luckily, I found out today that it is less than a year old, so I can still get warranty work on it. That's a "tomorrow" thing though.
A dead motherboard is a disappointing thing, but not the end of the world.
Today I went and picked up a new motherboard that would do what I need. I opted for the Asus M2N-E. It has the specs I need - AM2 socket, PCI-E, 800 MHz memory, onboard network and audio, and an nVidia chipset that I know is supported under Linux. Unfortunately this is where the frustrations kicked into high gear.
Installing the motherboard went pretty much as expected. Made sure the platform was clear of any unneeded screws or posts, mounted the MB to the case, connected the power connectors, hooked up the front panel wires, inserted the video card, put the RAM in, moved the CPU from the old box (making sure the arrows were lined up properly), and hooked up the hard drives. And then attach all the components - monitor, keyboard, mouse, network, etc. All set - time for a power on test.
Hmmm, that's odd. Power LED lights up. CPU and case fans start up. I can hear the drives spinning up. Then that's it. No video. No beep codes. No lights on the keyboard. Ok, so I have something not quite right. First stop is to reverse the speaker connector and see what beep codes I'm getting. Power down, make the change, power up. Nothing. Same behavior as before. Odd. Ok, remove/disconnect everything excpet the CPU, the speaker, and the power switch. Nothing. No beep codes, just spinning fans. At least I know the power switch is working.
So I tried a bunch of different combinations. All with the exact same results. The only conclusion I can come up with is that I messed something up, OR I have a DOA motherboard. So much for getting any work done tonight. The frustration levels have now peaked rather high and I'm irritated. Of course, all this pans out just in time for the vendor of the Motherboard to close up for the day. So I can't do any more on this until tomorrow.
When this sort of thing comes up ( and they always will ), I contact a buddy of mine, Gustin, for a second opinion. I'm reasonably confident that if I can stump Gustin, or he arrives at the same conclusion I have, then chances are any tech who looks at the box will also be stumped or decide the same thing. Both Gustin and I are not new at tech support - we've both done it for years. Admittedly I have moved more into software development in the past few years, and am not quite up to snuff with all the tech. But I'm comfortable enough to do troubleshooting and build my own boxes from scratch. So while I know there is a possibility that I may have messed up, I also know that possibility is smaller than the culprit being faulty hardware (in this case). If I'm wrong, then I'll swallow my pride and say so. But I seem to have a good track record in these things. I use Gustin as my "voice of reason" to double check if I've missed anything obvious I could try. (it's fair though - he uses me the same way... )
Tomorrow then, I take in the box and Motherboard. (and the old one that we know is damaged as well...) At the very least the techs can tell me if I've connected things right. At the worst, they'll confirm the dead motherboard and exchange it. But I can't afford to leave the box with them for a few days to fix on their own time. I need this in place so that I can get some work done.
One good thing about this, and the recent troubles (see my last couple of posts) - when it rains it pours. So once I get this resolved, I should have my fill of the bad luck for the next year. Mark your calendars - if we're lucky, I won't need to vent like this until next January.