m8530f desktop PC with a m2n78-la mother board doesn't see my drives

[Farrowz]

Update on the Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H.

I have installed and am running with this new MoBo.  Works like a champ.  2 things to consider:

1]  The stock fan on the p6320y (AMD Phenom II x4 840) runs faster (thus loud).  I am replacing it with a PWM quiet fan.

2] The chassy connector (power switch, led and hdd activity) does NOT fit the mobo.  The mobo has the standard chassy header; whereas the M2N78-LA is a custom.  Fortunatly I had an old case.  I took the connectors from that case and with a small screwdriver poped the pins out of the custom connector.

Everything is working great.  Wife is happy 🙂

Comments on the new mobo:

- The north bridge has a BIG heatsink. 

- The mobo also has a southbridge (not available on the m2n78-la)

- The mobo fits perfect.  

I am happy with my choice and @protivakid I didn't even have to wait 24hrs to get the mobo (which would have arrived today if I went that route).  For $80 - not a bad choice.

[protivakid]

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@Farrowz wrote:

Update on the Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H.

I have installed and am running with this new MoBo.  Works like a champ.  2 things to consider:

1]  The stock fan on the p6320y (AMD Phenom II x4 840) runs faster (thus loud).  I am replacing it with a PWM quiet fan.

2] The chassy connector (power switch, led and hdd activity) does NOT fit the mobo.  The mobo has the standard chassy header; whereas the M2N78-LA is a custom.  Fortunatly I had an old case.  I took the connectors from that case and with a small screwdriver poped the pins out of the custom connector.

Everything is working great.  Wife is happy 🙂

Comments on the new mobo:

- The north bridge has a BIG heatsink. 

- The mobo also has a southbridge (not available on the m2n78-la)

- The mobo fits perfect.  

@I am happy with my choice and @protivakid I didn't even have to wait 24hrs to get the mobo (which would have arrived today if I went that route).  For $80 - not a bad choice.

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@two possibly helpful comments @Farrowz:

1. With the mobo I got there is an option in the BIOS to change the fan settings from "performance" to "quiet" as well as regulate the speed of the fan depending on various CPU temps. Not sure if your mobo has those but this made the current fan A LOT quieter not constantly being on 100%. I still plan to run Prime95 & HWMonitor though for an hour or so to make sure the cpu will not overheat.

2. For the connector I used a safety pin to pop the "latch" and pull each pin out and from there was able to "rearrange" them in the correct order for the new MOBO which worked perfectly. For the power light though I did find out that if you plug the pins in the proper way the light is amber, while if you reverse pos & neg the light will be blue like it was previously w/ the old MOBO. Sounds like you got it working though, great news either way 🙂 !

[ckhanal]

I talked to HP invent and they asked me 199+tax to fix it (replace the mother board).. will give 3 months warranty.. I am still scared if it goes again after 3 months then..? any suggestion?

[Farrowz]

I went the route of replacing the mobo myself.  my time is worth more than the 2+ weeks waiting for them to do their thing.  I got a mobo for $80 (see my earlier posts).  

HP finally called me back and admitted that they have experienced problems with the m2n78-la mobo.  They would have replaced my mobo (but I had already done it myself).

Make sure if you go the HP route that they are not going to stick another m2n78-la mobo into your PC.  You'll end up right where you started in a few months with a busted mobo!!!

While you all have your boxes open and scratching your heads - check your HDD.  If it is a WD Carviar Green - consider replacing it as well.  These have a high failure rate.  If you can afford it get WD Carviar Black (although HDD are 200% premium right now).

[Farrowz]

My GA-880GM-UD2H

Installed and running.  I did replace the stock CPU fan with a quite PWM fan.  Makes a huge difference since this mobo drives the stock fan at 2800+ rpm (loud)

Note here the beefy north bridge heatsink.

[wyocwboy]

Hi I also have a m8530f HP Desk Top, I turned it off and it never came back on, It came with 350 Watt PSU I've upgraded this machine to 7 GB, Windows 7 home Premium,and a bigger Graphic Card and a Blue Ray Player, it ran fine for quit a long time,1 Year 1/2. First thing i done was went and Bought a 500 Watt PSU Installed it it Powered Up and Stayed Powered up,My DVD and Blue Ray Drives would only open and Close,I never got my Monitor to power up NOTHING Tried to run a DVD NOTHING. So all i had going on was my Power would  STAY ON ,but thats It. ANYONE got a Solution? Oh my CPU was ALSO Very Dirty lioke the Post Above.I did Clean it, But Still Nothing .Except my my PC would Stay Powered up. Is it Possible i got a Connection wrongly Connected to something inside?  Please Help Here.

[wyocwboy]

OH I forgot I also have NO Power to my Key Board or Mouse

[Reagan78757]

I bought twin m8530fs about two and a half years ago. I have been delighted with them up until about two months ago. One of them would not boot and gave the h2 error message. I still had one up and functioning, so I was okay. I tried all kinds of repairs on the dead one to fix it. In the end after much research, trial and error. I have discovered that the issue is in the need for a bios update. If you did not update your bios, then it would fail. I had my HP update set to automatic and it would always download updates but could not install them. I ignored the problem because everything was working and I was busy. The end result is that I did not get the update and the bios does not recognize the hd. The solution is supposed to be to flash the bios. Good luck with that, because I  have tried every method that I can find, following the instructions to the T, but I never was able to do it. Before you spend a lot of money on something else you might want to double check the the HP website to make sure you have all of the updates done on your bios. The solution to fix the HP update program where it will download automatically is to set the properties on the file to "run as administrator". No more problems after that. Your updates will install.  I am searching for a replacement board. The defective bios chip is in the Asus motherboard M2N78LA/ also known as a Pegatron. Good luck to all.

[protivakid]

@Reagan78757
Updating the bios has nothing to do with this problem. If you read the earlier pages, the problem is the design of the board. The sata controller chip easily overheats. After years of this the chip finally gives out. When it does your only option is to buy a new board. If it has not yet done so then consider mounting a small heatsink on it.
Source: I am a ComTIA A+ certified technician & have a bachelors degree in Computer Science.

@wyocwboy
Try running on only a single stick of ran and if that does not work put that stick in another slot and try. Make sure the PSU is hooked up properly in both connections of the motherboard. If you are using an pci / pciexpress video card try the onboard video, if you are using onboard video and have a spare video card put that in and try it. Try powering up the computer without the hard drive & optical drive connected. Try taking out the cmos battery and unplugging the power cord for several hours then put the battery back in and try powering it back on. If there is a jumper on the board to clear the cmos try that. If all else fails you may need a new motherboard.

[wyocwboy]

Hi Protivakid:  Thanks for your Input and Advice,I'll try what you said. Hopefully it powers up after ! Ya Know i think i  fogot 1 -Plug on the Mother Board,I remember connectiong the 4 wire Square Plug but ,nothing else on the Mother Board. I have many extra connectors left. Where else would a second connection be,maybe i over looked it?   Thanks