D975XBX2 doesn't see cooling fans

[gara56]

I recently decided to go from the D975XBX to XBX2 and ran into a problem. Each board had the latest BIOS, Intel Desktop Control Center (IDCC) and Intel Desktop Utilities s(IDU) oftware. When I used the XBX, both IDCC and IDU gave me accurate idea of how fast my cooling fans going. The board found the fans (and the CPU fan) that were connected to the motherboard. When I swapped out the motherboard, everything went well until I checked the IDCC and IDU. The board only picked up the CPU fan. In fact the other three fans (connected to the Motherboard) didn't register or show that they were working. One of the fans also seemed to be barely running. When I trying to have the software redetect the fans, only the CPU fan was visible. The other three didn't even register even though they were running. When I put the XBX back in--everything went back to normal. The software registered the CPU fan and the other three without any problems. I don't know if it's the board or new BIOS. I had high hopes for this board.

[T-Shirt]

It seems there are alot of complaints about that MB's features not working well, or working with the Intel Desktop Control Center (IDCC) and Intel Desktop Utilities s(IDU) software.
Unknown if it requires some BIOS change, the chipset isn't working , or the sofeware doesn't work with that combo.
Best bet is to check with their tech support to see if this is a known problem or an overlooked setting

[gara56]

Just got off the phone with tech support and they suggested I removed the CMOS for a few minutes and then go back to the BIOS setup and reset the default settings on the board. I'll probably give it a shot this weekend since I'll have to removed my D975XBX board to connect the XBX2. I also plan to remove the Intel Desktop Control Center (IDCC) and Intel Desktop Utilities s(IDU) software. I also believe the IDCC software for the XBX2 is a newer version (V. 2.2) which isn't compatible with the XBX.

Really hope it works.

[gara56]

Well--I finally decided to pull out the D975XBX and reinstall my XBX2 to see if Intel's suggested fix would make my three fans (minus CPU fan) visible when I use the Intel Desktop Utility (IDU) version 3.0.10.15. All the fans were visibile when I was using the XBX board. I've pretty much given up on the Intel Desktop Control Center (IDCC), because it showed the same fan status as the IDU software. All the fans have a three wire connection except the CPU fan which has four. I tried removing the CMOS for about 20 minutes and tried rebooting my machine. I also went back into the BIOS to disable the secondary SATA, because I was getting tired of seeing the Marvell status screen during system startup. That change removed the status screen. AS far as the fans go--the XBX2 continue to not register them in the IDU. When I went to the IDU options to have the software fan them again, it only displayed the CPU fan status. What I can't understand is why does the IDU show all the fans when I'm using the XBX but doesn't with the XBX2? Obviously many people either don't have this problem or don't use the IDU to track CPU/Case temps or fan RPMs to make sure the fans are functioning. Could this have been left out of the BIOS that supports the XBX2? It seems the XBX and XBX2 use different BIOS software as well. Is this something Intel left out of XBX2 because of the board's hardware management feature? The board advertises the capability of providing four fan sensing inputs used to monitor fan activity. Obviously this board has problems seeing the fans but doesn't have problems providing the required power for them to work. Has anyone been able to get the IDU to see all the fans when they are connected directly to the XBX2? Guess, I'll have to call Intel again to tell them that their suggested fix didn't work.

[progrip]

I also have a xbx2 and I do not get readings on my 4 case fans, but I do get one on my cpu fan (zalman 9700led (3 pin)).

my setup:

d975xbx2
e6400 c2d OC'd to 2.4ghz
corsair 2x1gb ddr2 800 xms2
antec 500w earthwatts psu
seagate 300gb sata2
pioneer dvd burner 111d
ATI radeon x1650 pro
antec p180 case

I have 3 antec tricool fans (included in case) connected, along with one antec tricool led dbb connected to the 3 pin fan headers. None are detected in XP (I'm on vista 64 ult. right now, IDCC or IDU aren't compatible yet, so I can't check).

[gara56]

I also have a xbx2 and I do not get readings on my 4 case fans, but I do get one on my cpu fan (zalman 9700led (3 pin)).

my setup:

d975xbx2
e6400 c2d OC'd to 2.4ghz
corsair 2x1gb ddr2 800 xms2
antec 500w earthwatts psu
seagate 300gb sata2
pioneer dvd burner 111d
ATI radeon x1650 pro
antec p180 case

I have 3 antec tricool fans (included in case) connected, along with one antec tricool led dbb connected to the 3 pin fan headers. None are detected in XP (I'm on vista 64 ult. right now, IDCC or IDU aren't compatible yet, so I can't check).

I did a little experiment by moving my CPU cooling fan to another fan connector on the board. I then used the IDU to try and redetect the fan..would you believe it--the other connector actually found the CPU fan. I had all my other fans disconnected while I was doing this test. I then reconnected another fan to the motherboard and went through the redect process. The board picked up the second fan. I did this with the remaining fans and now I have them all back--visible on the IDU and IDCC. I think my problem was that I was using the Lian Li fan controller/monitor as well so I wasn't picking up the activity of the fans. The reason why I know is that I tried reconnecting my fans (minus the CPU fan) to the Lian Li controller/monitor and I started losing them again. That's strange because I didn't have the problem with my D975XBX. I guess I could always go back to the Lian Li unit if/when I upgrade to VISTA. That would make up for my not having a VISTA compatible program like IDU/IDCC. I just bough my full version of VISTA but am going to wait a little longer until ZoneAlarm comes out with their new version for VISTA.

Glenn

[progrip]

Heh. I would try that but I'm too lazy to open up my case and do it.

[gara56]

I know what you mean. I had a little extra motivation since my motherboard was still under the 30 day return policy. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have a bad motherboard.