DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

[bigbeark]

Last time I booted this board it worked but the 1st ram slot did not work.

After a couple of years storage, when I attempt to boot I get the continuous beeping sound. I can't find a manual to download, but I am assuming this has the award BIOS. A search suggests that this is the Ram failing to be recognized.

There is no sign of bulging caps or damage to the board.

Do I assume that the memory controller has died?

I have tried various tested working Ram, and always the continuous beep, no matter which slots are used.

Will test the CPU ASAP, but the fact I'm getting the beeps means that it's a ram problem.

Any experience or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[piernov]

Re: DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

Most commonly this will be a bad contact in the RAM slot. Make sure to clean thoroughly with contact cleaner, double check you RAM sticks and the contacts are in good conditions and compatible.
Memory controller is inside CPU so you can also clean CPU socket and make sure CPU is in good conditions as well.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

i've seen plenty of these boards on junkbay. the problem is that i see 99% of them come with kzg caps which are failure prone. for some reason, dfi luvs using kzg and or kzj caps on these boards which are their primary reason for failure. caps can fail without bulging and kzg/kzj fail while sitting unused and unpowered which is what u experienced.

also check your power supply. a failing psu can also exacerbate issues with failing caps on the board.

[momaka]

Re: DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

Concur with the two posts above me.

Tried re-seating all hardware first (CPU, RAM, etc.) several times, as that tends to "clean" the contacts good enough most of the time. If issue persists, indeed check for bad caps as Chaos suggested above - especially if you have United Chemicon KZG or KZJ, as they do indeed can go bad when sitting on the shelf (and in general, they are just not good and can fail with use too.)

[bigbeark]

Re: DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

Yes, this board is loaded with KZG and KZJ. I will remove and replace them and report back. Thanks for the heads up.

[bartx]

Re: DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

I'd like to add some words from me. I have 4 of those boards with such issue. One hangs on DFI logo, but on other three two lower RAM slots are not working. Of course it had been tested with dozen cpus and RAM, I also switched a bios chips between them.

I've found an opinion, that it might be causes by broken balls below the socket. One board lost two RAM slots right after I used a cooler with the spring mount. I decided to unsolder one socket and bought two pieces of 939 sockets on eBay, but looks like they don't have them or they don't ship it, because there is no contact with sell.

Anybody know any reliable source of 939 sockets? Or maybe I should try the reflow instead the replacement?

[momaka]

Re: DFI Lanparty NF4 939 Problem

Anybody know any reliable source of 939 sockets? Or maybe I should try the reflow instead the replacement?

You can try reflowing the socket. Just make sure you don't gunk it up with too much flux. Otherwise, that will make the contacts in it even worse.

As for replacement 939 sockets... eBay doesn't have them? I know they still did a year or two ago when I searched there. I have an Abit AT8-32X that looks like it needs a socket replacement.