# Abnormal: CPU / Chipset error



## Emit R Detsaw (Aug 26, 2010)

Ok, I've seen this error on several forums, but most are older. Probably will just turn out to be a DOA mobo, but thought I would ask the experts if they had any thoughts or suggestions. First the Build:

CASE - Rosewill|CRUISER
MoBo - Biostar TA880GB+
PSU - Rosewill 750 watt
CPU - AMD|PH II X4 955BE 3.2G AM3
Video - OnBoard ATI Radeon HD 4250 and Video Card ATI Radeon HD5770 1GB w/CrossFireX 
RAM - 8GB DDR3 1600 (4 x 2GB chips)
OS - Win7 64 (not yet installed)
Hard Drive - 640G|WD 7K 16M Cache (new) plus 120 GB HD from existing machine
Sound - OnBoard Realtek ALC892 6 channel

This is the second "from scratch" build I have done and have done a number of upgrades but this is the first problem I have had like this. On the first power on the case fans came on, but there was no signal to the monitor and no beeps (yes I have the little board speaker plugged in). So naturally I thought it might be the add-on video card. So I removed it and rebooted the machine. Same results. I remembered that this MoBo has onboard LEDs that give you some error information. The power LEDs indicated that the MoBo had power, but that it has an "Abnormal: CPU / Chipset error". I tried several different things from different RAM configurations to unpluging everything, checking pins, and reseating everything. Even reset the CMOS. Still same results. 

The case fans spin up, the video card fan spins up, the hard drives are spinning, and the DVD/CDRom is spinning. But the CPU fan is not spinning. The CPU power cable is connected. The network connector blinks. But no lights to the keyboard and the mouse only lights if you are plugging it in new with the computer under power but it's only a brief second of light.


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

You can try bench testing the PC to rule out a case short.

How to Bench Test Your System


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Seeing a Rosewill PSU always brings up a red flag. They are basically junk. 
I would also suggest doing a bench test.
Is the RAM on the Mobo's compatibility list? Lower quality Mobo's can be selective about RAM compatibility.

Remove everything from the case.
Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! It can actually conduct electricity! 
Install the CPU and heat sink. 
Install 1 stick of RAM.
Install the video card and attach the power supply connection(s) to the card if your card needs it.
Connect the monitor to the video card.
Connect the power supply to the motherboard with both the 24pin main ATX Power connection and the separate 4 or 8 pin power connection.
Connect power to the power supply.
Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard. Consult your motherboard manual to find which two pins connect to your case's power switch. Then touch both pins with a screwdriver to complete the circuit and boot the system.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. Then assemble the parts into the case and try again. If the system now fails to boot, you have a short in the case and need to recheck your motherboard standoffs.

If the system does not boot after this process, then you most likely have a faulty component. You'll need to swap parts, start with the power supply, until you determine what is defective.


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## Emit R Detsaw (Aug 26, 2010)

UPDATE:

Well, was at the trouble shooting this morning. Still No Joy, but have additional information that I hope will help. First Thanks Guys for the testing steps. I did the Bench Test in the link that was done by linderman as well as the steps Tyree laid out. Here is where I am at.

From the Bench Test steps:
1) Does the CPU fan spin at start-up ? No, but (but explained below)

2) are there any LED lights that are lit on the motherboard when the PSU is connected with the power active in the PSU ? Yes. There are 2 sets of LED lights on this mobo. The 3 indicating power, PH1_D1 ~ PH3_D3 Power Status Indicators are on. LED_D1 LED_D2 are off. According to the mobo manual this indicates a CPU/Chipset error.

3) does the video card fan spin ? Yes, but I ran the Bench Test with and without the video card - same results.

4) when the power is active to the system on the bench does the monitor show a yellow or green stand-by light (next to the monitor power button) The monitor stays in Stand-By mode. Never a flicker that it got any signal sent to it. The Keyboard and Mouse also never have any flicker of lights or life.

In the Testing, I tried firing up the mobo without any RAM and got the exact same results. Never did I get any beeps from the speaker. I tried the test with 1 stick of RAM, same results as 0, and the same results with 4 sticks. The RAM is on the mobo's compatibility list at their website. 

My old system is 6 years old so very little I can try with parts from that computer, but I did figure out a way to get the CPU fan to spin. It took some creativeness. I tried to use the PSU from my old system. It is an OKIA 500w PSU, but it only has a 20 pin main connector. In using that PSU only, the CPU fan spun up, but only 1 Power Status Indicator LED lights came on, and nothing to the monitor, keyboard, or mouse, plus the LED_D1 LED_D2 were still off. So the next test was with the OKIA PSU 20 pin hooked up, and the Rosewill PSU supplying voltage to the 21-24 pins. With both PSUs the CPU fan would spin, the 3 Power Status LEDs would light, but still nothing to the monitor, keyboard, or mouse, plus the LED_D1 LED_D2 were still off. So even with the CPU running, and the RAM installed, I still am not getting any life, but still getting the Abnormal Chipset/CPU indication by the on-board LEDs.


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## Emit R Detsaw (Aug 26, 2010)

FYI - MTF

MoBo manufacture said it sounds like a bad mobo. I am doing a RMA with New Egg, will update this when new mobo arrives to give status.


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## Emit R Detsaw (Aug 26, 2010)

Problem solved. New build complete and up and running. Thought I would share a couple things on it. First, the mobo was bad. Got the RMA and NewEgg was great on replacing it. Got the new board and did like suggested - Bench Test/Build. There are 2 advantages to this. 1 is finding if you have any bad parts, but second, you can see the mobo components and jumpers easier outside the case. It was because of this increased visibility that I discovered a problem with the manual.

Note the orientation of the JCMOS pin number 1 in the manual. The orientation shows that pin 1 is closest to the main power connector.








Yet the overview photo earlier in the manual showed just the opposite. Using a flashlight I could see that they were nice enough to put a 3 on the mobo next to the pin closest to the main power connector. 








Got to make sure that jumper is set right or you won't get a good system start. Not good on BioStar having it shown wrong next to the steps where you actually check and reset the CMOS. Will be notifying them of the manual error.

This thread can be marked resolved. Thanks everyone.


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