[mythtv-users] Myth experiences with Zotac ION + ATOM mobo

[Tom Lichti]

On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Brian Wood<beww at beww.org> wrote:
> On Saturday 06 June 2009 11:08:55 Tom Lichti wrote:
>> On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Tom Lichti<redpepperracing at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> > On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 12:29 PM, Andrew Burgess<aab at cichlid.com> wrote:
>> >> On 06/06/2009 09:07:48 AM, Mike Perkins wrote:
>> >>> Tom Lichti wrote:
>> >>> > On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 9:14 AM, John Drescher<drescherjm at gmail.com>
>> >>>
>> >>> wrote:
>> >>> >>> I got my board yesterday, but it doesn't seem to recognize the
>> >>> >>> Kingston RAM I have for it, any idea if it needs something
>> >>>
>> >>> specific? I
>> >>>
>> >>> >>> can't find any documentation that suggests there could be issues
>> >>>
>> >>> with
>> >>>
>> >>> >>> RAM. I am going to return the RAM this morning and try something
>> >>> >>> different.
>> >>
>> >> I once had a mb that got the ram voltage wrong (it undervolted). Did
>> >> you try manual dimm BIOS settings that match the dimm specs?
>> >
>> > It doesn't come up to the BIOS, it shuts down before that.
>> >
>> > Tom
>>
>> Tried a different power supply, same problem.
>
> Well that would seem to eliminate one problem (though it's not unheard of to
> have 2 bad supplies). Have you checked the rating on the second supply to
> make sure you're not overloading it?
>
> So we have to look at what's different between running your board without RAM
> and with it.
>
> Obviously you will draw more current with the RAM installed. The board will
> have circuitry to determine what voltage the memory wants, and create that
> voltage from the main supply (in this case 19 volts).
>
> So the voltage regulating circuitry on your board might be bad, or the RAM
> itself might be defective. It's unlikely you have two bad DIMMs, since you
> tried them one at a time and they both caused the problem.
>
> This assumes you are using the correct RAM for the board.
>
> It boils down to bad RAM, or a bad board. The only relatively simply way to
> find out is by substitution, though that's certainly inconvenient.
>
> If you have a milliammeter you can put in series with the 19V supply you might
> be able to tell if the board is drawing excessive current, causing the
> shutdown of the supply, or of the on-board regulators.
>
> I guess your only other option at this point is to talk to the
> manufacturer/vendor.

I've tried 4 different sticks of RAM with the same outcome, the first
pair was "Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (1GB x 2) 800MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL5
Unbuffered DIMM (Kit of 2)", the second is "A-Data DDR2 800 240pin 2GB
Kit (2x1GB) Unbuffered-DIMM Non-ECC Memory (w/ Heatsink)", I can't
believe they are all bad, so it seems the only other issue could be
the power supply or the board itself. I've tried two different power
supplies with the same results as well, I can only point my finger at
the board itself. It's a shame, since I was really excited to try this
thing out!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have contacted both the vendor and
the manufacturer, I don't expect to hear anything before EOD Monday
from them, though.

Tom