m8530f desktop PC with a m2n78-la mobo will not start

[timf343]

Another correction to that Ebay link, the second I posted is DDR3, which is a different motherboard.  Why oh why do they use the exact same part numbers?  Anyway, looks like neither of the links I posted is DDR2.  In fact, I checked every such motherboard on Ebay, and every one of them is DDR3.  No wonder HP won't support it, the DDR2 model is hard to find.

Seems like it's just time to abandon all hope.  Thanks alot HP.

[charlyjack]

The location of the power supply gives almost a straight shot at the motherboard so if you c/o the PS with one that intakes from the rear and vents directly into the machine that should provide some cooling to the whole MoBo.  Of course that assumes the PS discharge does not increase the heat.  I read somewhere the Corsair 450w I purchased at the beginning of this does just that but I am not sure since I purchased the PS based upon my belief that it failed rather than how it vented.  I guess I should have thought about it since I may be changing the airflow in the computer especially since the OEM PS probably vents out the back.   I still have not installed the new PS I guess I just need to bite the bullet and get busy but the problem with this MoBo just disgusts me.  I bought all of this upgrade stuff, ie added RAM, larger HD new PS all to bring what I thought was a fairly decent budget computer up to snuff.  Now I need to do this upgrade work on what appears to be a substandard machine and I hate to waste my time as well as my money.  With this problem with the MoBo I just do not feel that I can depend on this machine now.

[chasecreek]

I asked that question and the tech said that the disks would not work with a motherboard they did not supply. I do not know if there is any way around this but I would love to be able to do this. I really want to fix this thing and I can't believe they do not offer any discount to the people that purchased the defective merchandise. How far up has this issue reached? We need to at least get above the tech level somehow.

[charlyjack]

I replaced the power supply in my hp m8530f and it started right up.  Now the question how do I protect my motherboard now that I know it may have a design defect?  I would appreciate any help on this.  I had bought a 2d hard drive for internal installation prior to the power supply failure (matching 750 gig) and I was going to install a 2d CD drive which I had from another machine.  I am seriously rethinking installing additional hardware.  I bought an exterior 2port eSATA connection and I think I will use a Thermaltake eSATA "toaster" and I have a ATA exterior adapter which I could use for anything else and just set it up if/when I need it.  With an exterior power source I would only be increasing the burden on the system by what it takes to run the data through it.  I hope that everything is OK with my MoBo and it is not just giving its last Hurrah.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.  Chuck

[paydaysomeday]

Just for everyones info I had the same issue on my desktop and there is a workaround for the recovery disk not working because the MOBO is not tatooed by HP ... I followed the instructions on the website below and it got me past the code purple error. Hope this helps

http://www.question-defense.com/2010/07/24/hpcompaq-system-configuration-error-code-purple-windows-v...

[A1C-James]

Hello

My name is James and I am a certified computer bench technician. I have been trouble shooting some of the problems occuring within the stock model of the M9517c with the 5.10 bios on the M2N78-LA (Violet) MOBO.

1.) Are you getting no video or everything just freezes or black screen?

This is most likely because the Northbridge chipset is overheating. Hp will always try and cut costs where they can as a corperation so they decided to have asus attach an inaccurate heatsink to chipset. Had this have been an intel chip set then it would be ok. However, this chipset is the Nvidia 9100 and that means ALOT OF HEAT! Heat causes instability especially in relation to memory/chipset/CPU since they are connected by the system bus. When the chipset (BUS CONTROLLER) falls out of sync you as the user see this instability as these symptoms; No Video; Freezes under pressure "such as bootup or video games".

*SOLUTION

I have tested this and it works perfectly. Buy a 1.5" or so 12V fan and power adapter to connect to the 4 pin (White End) or make a connector yourself. then ziptie it to the clips of the heatsink on the chipset so the airflow is blowing directly onto the chipset. I would strongly reccommend you clear some working room in the chassis by removing the videocard, accessory header cables, and harddrive manafold.

*Does the computer power up but nothing happens? Black screen (no-signal)? The computer no longer makes that beep sound when you press power?

For this problem would have to occur everysingle time you powerup for it to describe your problem. This means your computer is not Posting as indicated by the beep sound you hear when under normal circumstances would announce to say everything is ok. This is most likely to occur if your M9517c came with 8GB of memory and you updated your BIOS to 5.22.

SOLUTION 1

I am willing to bet you just updated your BIOs right? if no then look at solution 2. So it turns out that the 5.22 BIOS does not support the stock memory provided at 8GB. whether or not it will support 8GB memory at all? I dont know but probably not. Unfortunatly your going to have to settle with just using 2 modules in DIMM slots 1 and 2 or try to reflash back to 5.10 or another previous version. This motherboard has different generations which support different Bios's so make sure you get the correct one to the motherboard you have should you choose to reflash.

SOLUTION 2

If this is not happening because of those reasons then pull all connections off the board except the processor and 1 module of ram. secondly reset bios from the jumper connects at the bottom right of the board (besure to lookup how to do this right to avoid damage). then power up and then trial and error the left over components to see what the defective device is.

----Further Information

This is the reason why buying OEM computers is a bad IDEA! If you buy one you get absolutly no real support! Do they have a higher BIOS then 5.22? I dont know because they sure make it difficult to find. It is not likely it does exist because all they probably did was take a previous BIOS and modify it as a hotpatch.

Cant Install Windows 7? But Windows Vista and XP are ok?

Well this is simply because HP and all other OEM's will stick it to you by embedding a 4bit code into the bios that determines if it is either SLIC 1.0; SLIC 2.0; or SLIC 2.1 which represent windows xp (1.0) windows vista (2.0) and win7 (2.1), which allows them to install their OEM operating system on your computer. If your Bios has SLIC 2.0 for instance, You may have difficulties installing your OEM since me and you both know you pirated it since its not working. That is happening because the OEM you have says it is compatable with "Lenovo" for an example.

SOLUTION

With out trying to cross any lines directly here as I see it as you own the computer anyways, I dont want to get into details but you are looking for information regarding HEX, ACPI, and SLIC via google or any other search engine.

I posted this INFO since there was 7 pages of people buying new motherboards and facerolling there keyboards. Hp uses ASUS motherboards But you got no support for maintaince or very little period. All in all you can buy the parts yourself and get pretty much a 1 to lifetime warrenty on everything with lots of support and you will actually learn something about the computer you operate. 

James.

[A1C-James]

It is the MOBO. that is that... everything described here is because basic users dont have the expertise to trouble shoot hardware. If they did they would not have bought the HP in the first place but rather built one themselves with prober ASUSTEK support.

[timf343]

Here is a DDR2 version available if anyone here needs to replace their M2N78-LA.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250765993701

[CHITOWN_TECH1]

ANOTHER BITES THE DUST!

HP p6000 --- 6142p

HP 8047685567

THE NVIDIA HEAT SINK IS THE PROBLEM THAT MAKES YOUR SATA CONTROLLER GIVE OUT. I CAN'T SEEMED TO FIND THE AM2 MOTHERBOARD REPLACEMENT VERSION ANYWHERE. I MAY TRY GIGABYTE'S GA-MA785GM-US2H MOTHERBOARD AS A FINAL RESOLVE. SEEMS LIKE THE BEST OPTION.

THIS IS CLEARLY A MFG. DEFECT AND I STRONGLY AGREE A MB RECALL SHOULD BE MADE BY HP. THIS IS A BLATEN COVER-UP AND I WILL SUGGEST WE ALL FORM A LAWSUIT. I WILL BE ADVISING MY CLIENT TO SEEK LEGAL REPRESENTATION OVER THIS ISSUE.

IT IS TIME THESE LARGE CORPORATIONS STOP SELLING THIS CRAP TO BECOME RICH AND IGNORE THE CUSTOMERS. STOP SELLING US OUT TO CHINA AND INDIA!

I WILL NO LONGER BE RECOMMENDING HP/COMPAQ...DELL, MSI, SONY

ARE YOU LISTING MR. CEO?