How much wattage per outlet?

[cvicisso]

Well that is certainly very bad news.  Crap.

beeph - what boards do you have rigs running on successfully?

[Swishercutter]

K, before I comment...I am not an IT guy, I am an electronics tech...so from a hardware troubleshooting standpoint this is what I see:

1)Probably not the vid cards...unless slot 1 is damaged on the mobo.
2)Probably not the RAM...unless its in the incorrect slot.
3)Not the HDD/CD/DVD

so whats left:
1)BIOS...Did u do a full CMOS reset?
2) Processor...Bent pin?
3)Mobo...complete failure or something causing a short (or an open to some power connector)
4) PSU...Check all voltages with a multimeter under load.

Other than that you have switched out everything else, right?

Swishercutter - thanks.  In answer to your questions...

1) I did reset the CMOS originally, but haven't try to do it again in a while.  I'll give it a shot.  Then I'll have to reset the boot sequence, set the time, etc, right?
2) I took the CPU out and it looked fine (but I'm obviously no expert)
3) OMG.  Please - not this one!  
4) I'll try this, but this is a pretty high-end PSU (Sparkle 1250W 80+ Gold), and I unplugged all 'extra' cords and just left mobo power and two dedicated PCIe leads connected.

Be sure to shut off the PSU switch during the CMOS reset...not saying thats the problem...just what I had to do with my MSI boards.  We have had ours "hang" at install and had to do a CMOS reset even after doing one...sometimes there are glitches.

If the CPU had a bent pin you would see it...they stand out...it would have to be bent flat to the bottom of the processor to get the chip in far enough to get the heatsink on (had to fix an older athlon 64 of a friends because he did this, can be tricky...be sure to use a static strap)

I had the PSU last because MOBO failure would probably be it.

On my older MSI board I had to play with some BIOS features to get it stable (especially with the GSkill Ripjaws ram, it requires 1.6-1.65V sometimes)

[jfourmo]

We're running 2 machines per outlet. I used a KilloWatt to measure amps, 5.35. So that's 2 per 20amp circuit to stay below 16 amps We ran 7 additional circuits into the room :p

[Swishercutter]

We're running 2 machines per outlet. I used a KilloWatt to measure amps, 5.35. So that's 2 per 20amp circuit to stay below 16 amps We ran 7 additional circuits into the room :p

Be sure to switch the breakers on and off with something plugged into each outlet to see which ones are on the same breaker...sometimes they switch around which "leg" is feeding it. 

If you are running more than 4 rigs I recommend a 240v line with its own breaker...cuts the current in half...just be sure to either use special 240v plugs so you never accidentally plug in something that should be 120v. (You can also make 120v plugins off the 240v sub-panel if you run the 3 wire with the neutral..be sure to use your grounds...breakers/fuses save equipment...grounds are there to save lives).

[Capitan]

I'm losing it.

I reseated the DDR3 chip, removed two of the three GPUs and still get the same screen.  In fact, I went out and bought a DVD drive and installed it - just to be sure... I threw in an old hard drive on a SATA controller and tried to install Ubuntu from CD/DVD.  EXACT same screen. I'll start another thread for help, but here's what the screen looks like (looks the same whether trying to install from DVD or run from USB):



Help will be rewarded.

What is generating the output in that screenshot? I've never seen anything like that, but my guess is that it's from some kind of linux trying to boot up? Is it from a boot disk?

What happens if you boot without any hard drives, cdrom/dvd, or USB drives hooked up to the machine. Do you see the POST screen (where the bios lists the CPU and ram amount, or it flashes a BIOS splash screen with some graphics from the motherboard maker). Are you able to enter the BIOS when booting?

[cvicisso]

What is generating the output in that screenshot? I've never seen anything like that, but my guess is that it's from some kind of linux trying to boot up? Is it from a boot disk?

Yep - that's what I get when trying to boot Ubuntu from either a USB or a DVD.

What happens if you boot without any hard drives, cdrom/dvd, or USB drives hooked up to the machine. Do you see the POST screen (where the bios lists the CPU and ram amount, or it flashes a BIOS splash screen with some graphics from the motherboard maker). Are you able to enter the BIOS when booting?

Yes, and yes.  Here's the first screen with the board maker logo...


I can get to the BIOS screen by the normal means of holding delete during startup:


If I don't hit 'delete' and let it proceed with startup, I get this screen next:


If there's no boot device installed, I get this:


And if I have the bootable USB or DVD inserted during boot, I get the standard 'USB Ubuntu' (or whatever) screen I see right before the black/white text screen posted earlier:

[Swishercutter]

What is generating the output in that screenshot? I've never seen anything like that, but my guess is that it's from some kind of linux trying to boot up? Is it from a boot disk?

Yep - that's what I get when trying to boot Ubuntu from either a USB or a DVD.

What happens if you boot without any hard drives, cdrom/dvd, or USB drives hooked up to the machine. Do you see the POST screen (where the bios lists the CPU and ram amount, or it flashes a BIOS splash screen with some graphics from the motherboard maker). Are you able to enter the BIOS when booting?

Yes, and yes.  Here's the first screen with the board maker logo...


I can get to the BIOS screen by the normal means of holding delete during startup:


If I don't hit 'delete' and let it proceed with startup, I get this screen next:


If there's no boot device installed, I get this:


And if I have the bootable USB or DVD inserted during boot, I get the standard 'USB Ubuntu' (or whatever) screen I see right before the black/white text screen posted earlier:

The 2.2tb infinity is so you can run drives over 2.2tb...turn it off in bios...set your primary boot device...if it is getting to bios I doubt the MOBO is bad (I had a bad MSI mobo that I had to rma and it did nothing on boot...just black screen).

I could be wrong but it appears to not be loading from your flash drive.

[cvicisso]

The 2.2tb infinity is so you can run drives over 2.2tb...turn it off in bios...set your primary boot device...if it is getting to bios I doubt the MOBO is bad (I had a bad MSI mobo that I had to rma and it did nothing on boot...just black screen).

I could be wrong but it appears to not be loading from your flash drive.

I had already turned it off and resequenced the boot sequence (USB is first now).  Still get these screens.

[cvicisso]

That last purplish screen tells me that it is trying to boot Ubuntu - so it is seeing the USB.  Something else is going on...

[Swishercutter]

That last purplish screen tells me that it is trying to boot Ubuntu - so it is seeing the USB.  Something else is going on...

Bad/incorrect data on the usb stick/hdd.

[cvicisso]

Maybe, but it works on all of my other computers, and I've tried 4 different USB sticks and about 4 different versions of Linux.

[Swishercutter]

Maybe, but it works on all of my other computers, and I've tried 4 different USB sticks and about 4 different versions of Linux.

Run Memtest?  Honestly, I am out of my element when it gets past hardware...I'm fairly new to OS.  Maybe try switching everything from that MOBO to another MOBO to see if it works...if so then you know it was the MOBO.

[cvicisso]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.   

I ran out to Best Buy before they closed to pick up a mobo... they didn't have any.  I'm reading this as 'fate.' 

I found an old Win XP (SP2) CD laying around.  My wife also has Vista on her laptop, so I'm sure I've got the backup DVD somewhere.  Plus, my netbook runs Win 7 (but it didn't come with a CD since it doesn't have an optical drive).   

This rig only has 1GB of ram (and it was FIFTY friggin' dollars  for 1GB of DDR3 at Best Buy (I'm in the mood to get this thing running tonight rather than waiting even longer for a $15 1GB mem stick to arrive in the mail), so I'm leaning away from Vista (plus, I - like the rest of the world - hate Vista).  The Radeon driver CD says it'll work on XP...

Since I only have one spare monitor currently, I guess I'll have to start out with just one GPU (right?).  I'll figure out the dummy plug and Crossfire stuff later... I just need to get this thing mining...

Anyone disagree with giving XP a try?

[jgraham]

Anyone disagree with giving XP a try?

This doesn't look like hardware (it's possible but most serious errors I'd expect a POST failure - this isn't one)
What this does look like is a kernel dying early on in the boot process.
Question.  Are you running the 32 bit or 64 bit Ubuntu?

Oh and I'm around tonight so PM me and we can exchange IM info and I can probably give you some help.

[chungenhung]

my circuit breaker is rated at 25amps.
How many amps will it be safe? I heard someone say 25 amp breaker doesn't mean it will handle 25amps continuously, rather, it means it can handle up to 25amps of instantaneous surge in power usage.

[Swishercutter]

my circuit breaker is rated at 25amps.
How many amps will it be safe? I heard someone say 25 amp breaker doesn't mean it will handle 25amps continuously, rather, it means it can handle up to 25amps of instantaneous surge in power usage.

Don't load more than 80% continuous...if your wiring is old I would go even less, or run new wire to a subpanel...better to spend a bit on safety as opposed to losing it all to fire.

[jgraham]

my circuit breaker is rated at 25amps.
How many amps will it be safe? I heard someone say 25 amp breaker doesn't mean it will handle 25amps continuously, rather, it means it can handle up to 25amps of instantaneous surge in power usage.

If by "safe" you mean "won't get tripped" then generally the I^n rating should be for continuous use.  I'll assume that you've got at least 14awg on that circuit to be "safe" in the "won't burn my house down" sense of the term. ;-)

Edit: To be on the safe side I'd go with #12 or #10 wire

[cvicisso]

This doesn't look like hardware (it's possible but most serious errors I'd expect a POST failure - this isn't one)
What this does look like is a kernel dying early on in the boot process.
Question.  Are you running the 32 bit or 64 bit Ubuntu?

Oh and I'm around tonight so PM me and we can exchange IM info and I can probably give you some help.

Thanks - I've already started the XP install (and it's working fine so far), so let's wait and see how that goes.  I REALLY wish Linux/Ubuntu were easier to use!  I would love a Windows alternative, but Linux is just too damned hard and Mac is too damned 'easy?' (meaning it won't let you do anything for yourself - it does everything for you).  Maybe Win 7 is the answer after all... 

[jgraham]

Thanks - I've already started the XP install (and it's working fine so far), so let's wait and see how that goes.  I REALLY wish Linux/Ubuntu were easier to use!  I would love a Windows alternative, but Linux is just too damned hard and Mac is too damned 'easy?' (meaning it won't let you do anything for yourself - it does everything for you).  Maybe Win 7 is the answer after all... 

Nothing wrong with Win7.  I'm using it right now but all my big-iron is Gentoo Linux (that's for folk who think Ubuntu is too easy ;-) ). I've never done mining with windows but I've heard it loads the CPU which for a dedicated box probably isn't a problem.  I only use OSX for iPhone development and that's only because Apple won't let you do it on anything else.

Anyway the likely case is the Kernel was failing when it was starting up.   Which means something like the kernel was compiled for a different architecture or some kernel option needed to be turned off.

J.

[cvicisso]

Update: almost there...

Win XP installed without a hitch and is running like a champ.     I guess there should be some sort of warning about trying to use MSI mobos with Ubuntu.

Last (I hope) hurdle - GUIminer can't find an OpenCL device.  I ran the Catalyst Control Center and ensured all the latest drivers were installed, rebooted a few times, and sure enough - I can see OpenGL but no OpenCL (BTW - I have no idea what any of that means!).  So, I'm searching for a OpenCL fix - but feel like I'm a LOT closer to opening the mine for operations than I was last night! 

BTW - I have the ball-and-chain... I mean 'boss'  out buying 68 Ohm resistors so that I can build some dummy VGA plugs and get the other two 6950s installed.

Any ideas on the OpenCL fix are very (very!) welcome.  I still don't have any BTCs (obviously) to reward with, but I feel now that it's just a matter of time...