klanbo

Envoi, I have some reassuring news. The AN8 fatal1ty board I sent back to the supplier was tested as faulty, so it was the board after all. As I said, I now have the SLI version and am having problems with that as well. I've managed to get this one up and running, but it's not stable. The problem seems to be with the memory slots. I ran Memtest (Microsofts RAM testing software) and on the advanced testing mode it fails when using DIMMS 1 + 2. I swapped to using DIMMS 3 + 4 and it passed all tests (left it running all night). I managed to install Windows after formatting the hard drive on another PC (which removes the temporary setup files from previous installations, as this appeared to be the cause of the PC hanging before the blue setup screen), upping the memory voltage from 2.6 to 2.75, changing the memory CAS timings from 2.5 - 3 and setting the DRAM command rate to 2T. Windows XP is installed, but the systems is still unstable. I know it's the board again as I've tested everything else. This probably won't interest anyone with the AN8 ultra board, but with the SLI board, the system won't boot with the SLI switch key inserted in normal mode either (Non SLI mode, one card). It just hangs on post code 04. I have to take it out for it to work. Seems like nothing works as it should. Abit's slogan is "Your reliable partner", but the only 3 faulty boards I've ever had are all from Abit. Maybe it's just bad luck. I'd really like the board if it worked, but not sure if I want to waste more time and money getting another Abit AN8 Fatal1ty, perhaps it will be 3rd time lucky, or maybe the ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe is the better option..... Has anyone heard anything about a faulty batch of AN8 Fatal1ty boards???? SLI and Ultra versions.......Can anyone shed some light on this???? Thanks in advance...

That's a shame, but how does it have anything to do with the original post. Is anyone having problems with the Abit AN8 Fatal1ty???

Hi Envoi, Not sure if you managed to resolve this problem yet. I'm having EXACTLY the same issue of not being able to load Windows, or not even get past the point where the blue Windows setup screen appears. I also ordered an all new system, Abit Fatal1ty AN8, Athlon64 3000 CPU (Venice core), Gigabyte 6600GT graphics card, Maxtor Diamondmax 10 200GB SATA hard drive, 1 GB (2 X 512) Corsair XMS 3200 pro memory. The first time I booted up, Windows managed to install XP until the "14 minutes to go" point, but it decided to hang and I had to reboot. After that, its behaviour has been a bit random. I’ve built loads of PCs in the past, so know where problems are likely to be. I tried using different RAM, hard drive (non-SATA), graphics card (non PCI-express), even the CD-ROM drive, but no luck. I flashed the BIOS to the AN8-13 version…no change. So I decided to order a new CPU, A64 3200+ this time, again with the new Venice core and also a new 400watt PSU (24 pin ATX2). Again, still didn't work. I have also tried different cables, floppy drive, unplugging any unnecessary components, but with no affect. At that point, I had changed every component apart from the Motherboard, so I assumed the problem must be there. I ordered a replacement motherboard, and have now sent the first one back to the supplier (Dabs.com). I decided to go for the AN8 Fatal1ty SLI version this time. The new board was delivered yesterday, so I got it all put back together with the new MoBo….and guess what??? ARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!! Still has the same problem. I couldn’t believe it. This new SLI board came with the latest AN8-13 BIOS, which fully supports the A64 E3 Venice core CPUs, so should be no problem there. My next step will be to format the hard drive/s in another PC and see if that makes a difference. I still think it must be the motherboard, but what are the odds of getting 2 faulty boards?? I wish I’d have gone for the Asus A8N SLI or the Gigabyte GA-K8N-XP SLI instead. Any thoughts??