No Visuals on First Boot up...

[h4lt]

Hello all, I have just completed my first build with the help of an expert and so I plugged everything in and turned it on....

Everything seemed to be working fine (fans,HD,Cd burner,fan on vid card,LED's), but I didn't have any picture on my screen...and there were no beeps either...

So I checked and rechecked everything, and I tried to put one stick on RAM in at a time and still nothing...

The person who helped me put it together seems to think its still the RAM, and I am sending it back on Mon., but before I do is their anything else that it could be?

Because I don't think that both the sticks could have been bad....

[Cricket]

Having problems with a new build? Try this. (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=12753)

Did you install the standoffs in the motherboard mounting tray before you installed the motherboard?

:) Cricket

[h4lt]

Having problems with a new build? Try this. (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=12753)

Did you install the standoffs in the motherboard mounting tray before you installed the motherboard?

:) Cricket

yes sir

[blue60007]

Did you try what is detailed in the link Cricket posted?

[h4lt]

Did you try what is detailed in the link Cricket posted?

Guess what it worked!!!!!!!!
I followed it to the T and my BIOS screen came up, but my question is where do I go from here?

The funny thing was I tried 1 stick and it didn't work so I tried the other and it worked, and then I put them both in and it still worked!!!!

Any input on what to do from here?

[flanzig1]

If the system boots out of the case, you need to double check the position of the standoffs so that ONLY the mounting holes have standoffs(not all holes in a motherboard are mounting holes, check the mobo manual for mounting hole locations).

[h4lt]

Ok well I reinstalled everything back in my case and power it up and it still worked.....

Then I set the BIOS so it runs on the CDROM on first boot so I could install Windows...so I restarted...

It began to install windows and everything was going fine until it gave me this error...

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/08haltj/DSCF2357.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/08haltj/DSCF2354.jpg

So it said a bunch of stuff about my HD...so I messed with the plugs a bit and still did the same thing...and it does recognize my HD on the BIOS as well 2...

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you,
h4lt

(O and my MOBO gave me a debug code of FF)

[Cricket]

Go back into the BIOS and see if the boot sector antivirus is enabled or not. If it is, disable it.

You might also want to install Windows with just 1 stick of RAM installed.

:) Cricket

[h4lt]

I cant seem to find an antivirus option in my BIOS...is there one in every BIOS?

Here is my MOBO manual...
http://us.dfi.com.tw/Upload/Manual/922106292.pdf

[h4lt]

Well I kinda figured my HD was bad because of the error it gave me...so tomorrow i am gunna call Newegg and get a new HD and RAM because i had 1 stick that was bad...

[LeftyAce]

Before you go through returning that stuff, download the Ultimate Boot CD (www.ultimatebootcd.com ) and run the diagnostic software for your HDD, and rum Memtest86+ with both sticks of ram in to test the ram.

[h4lt]

Before you go through returning that stuff, download the Ultimate Boot CD (www.ultimatebootcd.com ) and run the diagnostic software for your HDD, and rum Memtest86+ with both sticks of ram in to test the ram.

I am sorry Lefty, but I am quite the noob....umm could you be a little more specific about what you want me to do...Do you want me to download the Ultimate Boot CD and burn it to a disk then use that to boot up my PC?

[LeftyAce]

No worries.
Download the ultimate boot cd .iso file, and burn it onto a cd. you'll have to use nero if you've got it, because windows will NOT do this properly by itself. If you don't have a burning program, download DeepBurner; the free version will burn .iso files just fine.

Boot off the CD (You have to set your CD drive to be the first boot device in the BIOS) and select "Harddrive Tools" in the menu. (They may have changed the wording a bit, but it should be self-explanatory). Pick the diagnostics for your harddrive manufacturer and do a full scan.

The ram diagnostics are under "Motherboard Tools" on the UBCD, and you want to run memtest86+.

[h4lt]

Well I ordered a new HD and new RAM and its still giving me the same error...guess i should have listened to lefty...

Anyways what else could it be other than RAM and HD...because they are both working fine now?

This is the error it gave me....http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/08haltj/DSCF2357.jpg

And this is my MOBO manual...http://us.dfi.com.tw/Upload/Manual/922106292.pdf

Any help would be greatly appreciated...I am about to just take it to a computer store...

[LeftyAce]

Ok, until we get this sorted out, please keep the motherboard out of the case. Once we have windows installed and working, then install all the parts in the box. Just to be sure that any issues we have aren't related to motherboard installation.

So you now have new ram and a new harddrive, correct? And both are recognized in the bios?

Is that a SATA harddrive?

Before we go any further, can you post a full list of your parts?

[h4lt]

Thanks for being so willing to help lefty...

Yes it is a SATA HD and yes both the RAM and HD are currently recognized in the BIOS...

Here are my parts...

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156063

MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136014

Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103774

OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116059

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817371002

DVDROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106073

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098

HD
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

Vid Card
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204450360&loc=101&pageFormat=20&rs=1&#cReviews

[h4lt]

Ok, until we get this sorted out, please keep the motherboard out of the case. Once we have windows installed and working, then install all the parts in the box. Just to be sure that any issues we have aren't related to motherboard installation.

Well I tried this and still got the same result....what shall I try next?

[LeftyAce]

One last thing to rule out a harddrive formatting issue. Boot the UBCD, and run Dariks Boot and Nuke. Then try installing windows. If that doesn't work, and the harddrive and ram diagnostics are clean, I would begin to suspect your motherboard.

If what I've suggested doesn't work, you might consider taking your issue over to www.diy-street.com They're almost entirely dedicated to DFI motherboards, which can be a little picky.
How much time do you have on your newegg 30 day return policy?

[h4lt]

Hey Lefty thanx for all your help but I got it workin and the its installing Windows as we speak...

I took everything out of the case and it still gave me the same error...so I decided to try to plug in the SATA cables in a different spot of the MOBO and it worked...if that makes any sense lol:) :) :)

[LeftyAce]

Ooooooooh k. Sounds like you've got a dead SATA port. You can either decide you're never going to need that port, or you can contact DFI for a replacement motherboard.