On 25 Oct 2003 16:04:23 -0700
(porpoise) wrote:

Hi all.

Recently, my Leadtek GF4 Ti4200 64MB stopped working. Whereas it used
to work fine in my Shuttle PC (the Nforce2 based SN41G2), recently
when I removed the card (to clean dust off the heatsink fan) and put
it back in, the Shuttle motherboard's 'AGP Protection LED' went on.

After reading the manual, I found that this LED lights when the
motherboard thinks you have a older 3.3V card in its 1.5V-only AGP
slot -- it won't let you power up the machine in that state. Puzzled,
I put it in another Nforce2 motherboard. Same thing: AGP protection
LED on, no POST. Interestingly, the LED on that other mobo stayed on
_even after the card was removed_. That other motherboard now works
with its original card, but the LED remains on. I dont know if that's
relevant, but it's odd.

Now, I know that my Shuttle motherboard and its AGP are fine because

1) I can run the Shuttle perfectly with the onboard video, and

2) Another Gainward GF4 Ti4200 works in the same AGP slot.

Coincidentally, I bought this card EXACTLY one year ago, on October
25th. This means that the warranty seems to have run out, and my email
to Leadtek support has gone unanswered for 2 or 3 days.

Does anyone have ANY clue whatsoever about this? What went wrong, and
is there anything at all I can do to fix it?

Any suggestions appreciated!

First, make sure it's seated properly. If that's not the problem then
there are several possibilities. Check the connector on the card
carefully in a good light and make sure that nothing is wrapped around
it (little piece of paper, piece of tape, that sort of thing)
that might be preventing good contact. Also look in the connector on
the motherboard for the same thing. If that's not it, look the board
over very carefully with a good light and preferably a magnifier and
make sure that there aren't any little wire clippings or the like
short-circuiting two traces together. If that's not it then look for a
missing piece--wires are there but not the part that they went into or
solder is there but whatever it held down is gone, that sort of thing.
If that's it then you need to find out what the part was and replace it.
If that's not it then odds are that you managed to zap (damage with
static electricity) the board, in which case it's probably beyond
economical repair.



--
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--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)