New MB/build, need monitor/ vidcard help

[Demento19]

This is my first pc build, so bear with me.

I just installed an ASUS A8V Deluxe MB w/ an Athlon 64 processor, and when i boot the computer, all lights, temp displays, fans and drives seem to go on, except the monitor doesnt pick up an signal from the pc. I didnt look at the Monitor plug (The monitor port on the MB is a male port! ive never seen a female monitor plug!?) when i bought the mb, as i was planning on running my monitor on a Radeon 9600 128mb Se AGP. The MB manual says only a 1.5v AGP vidcard can be run, and the gold plug shown in the manual for a 1.5v looks different from the gold plug on my card.

In order to make sure my problem wasnt just with the video card, i took my dads Radeon 9200 PCI and plugged it in, thinking a PCI card would solve the problems. The monitor still did not get a signal. I then tested a second monitor, on both the AGP and PCI cards, to make sure it wasnt my monitor that was the problem. So my question is what is going wrong, ive tested both vid card and the monitors, and im lost as to what the problem is.

Aother quick question.
Im using a 80gb HD from an older computer, since i need all the data still in the HD. Will having data on the HD from the start cause problems? AND, since i had XP installed on the computer that had the HD, will that OS automatically transfer onto this new pc? This is my first build, so i know very little.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. If you need any other specs or info to diagnose, ill be HAPPY to provide it. You can also email me witha reply if you choose.

[Cricket]

Follow the troubleshooting steps outlined in this thread. You must remove the motherboard from the case when doing this...you're trying to determine if the motherboard is shorting/grounding out to the case somewhere.

Let us know what happens.

Cricket

[Demento19]

Hehe, thanks. Unfortunately, ive done something only a noobie would do, not search the forums. While waiting for a reply, i found the other links like mine that were directed to your link. Im gonna go do that and ill be back. Ill try running both the AGP and PCI cards.

[Demento19]

I love you guys.

Ok, turns out for 1, i had the speaker installed backwards. 2, i had the RAM in the wrong spot of 4. Both video cards worked.

Now when i first put in the mounting screwholes ( their name escapes me), i put them in the 9 needed holes, as well as 4 spots underneath the metal below the CPU, thinking it wud help prevent the mobo from cracking/bending.

So now should i remove those 4 unneeded mounting screws, then run the mobo again without anything attached?

Btw, i love you guys.

[freakitchen]

Thats a whole lotta love

Definitely remove the extra mounting posts. Any where they're not needed will likely cause the motherboard to ground and cease to boot. Installed correctly, with all the screw holes used, the board should not bend excessively.

Then run the board, with the CPU, RAM, and Video Card attached. You should reach the 'disk boot failure' part of the bios, as the board has nothing to boot from. Then continue!

Freakitchen

[Demento19]

Yea, well you saved me from hours of agonizing pain and frustration, and that calls for love.

This is my first build, again, so when can i connect the cd-roms? after the boot failure dialouge? Id like to get away from the Mb manual as much as possible and get human advice.

[freakitchen]

Yea, well you saved me from hours of agonizing pain and frustration, and that calls for love.

Who'se complaining?

This is my first build, again, so when can i connect the cd-roms? after the boot failure dialouge? Id like to get away from the Mb manual as much as possible and get human advice.

After you boot sucessfully with the basics installed, then go ahead and connect your optical drives and hard drives. At this point, boot up again, go into the 'standard cmos settings' in BIOS and check that it's found all your devices (you may have to press enter to auto-detect each one).

Oh yeah, then change the boot order so that CD-Rom boots before your HD.

Then stick the Windows CD in the drive, and 'save and exit'. Your comp will boot from the CD after the press of a key, and you're away!

Freakitchen

[Demento19]

Ok, and that kinda takes it back to the old 2nd question, will it run with the XP i had on my old PC (If XP is in/on that hard drive).?

[Cricket]

You gotta do a WinXP Repair Install.

Cricket

[Demento19]

Ok, when i boot with the HDD attached, it boots into windows, and asks for me to register/activate windows. DO i do that? Im just concerned about the settings of the mobo... wont they be incorrect because they will be the settings from the old one? Ah, im lost.

[freakitchen]

Did you do the repair? If so, windows will have picked up your hardware changes. You'll have to activate windows every time you re-install it, it allows MS to keep a record of how many times a particular key has been used. If you activate more than 3 times, youll have to ring MS to confirm you've only got the OS installed on the one system. No problems doing this if you own it!

Freakitchen

[Demento19]

Ok, i cant seem to figure out how to get the Cd ROm to boot before the other things. Under my setup menu, or boot order menu, the only two things are the 1st floppy drive, and a "PM - WDC". How do I get the HDD or Cd roms to come up?

And i dont have a WIndows XP only disk. Its on an e-machines restore disk.

Am i able to just buy a new WIndows XP, and keep all my HDD data? or parts of it?

[glc]

If it booted into Windows, just activate it. No need for the repair install.

[Demento19]

GRRR.... i accidently deleted the response i had... bah.

Now the only problem is i cant connect to the internet. On my last pc, i had it hardwired into a router, and no installation was needed for the pc to have internet. Now, when i plug that cable into my new MB/pc, i have no connection whatsoever, so i cant get XP authorized. And when i call the service rep/machine, they say the code generated by my pc isnt valid and etc.

How can i get the internet connection to work, and, when the pc is booting up, how can i get into DOS? Or am i only able to access DOS from the "Run" dialouge?

[glc]

You need to install the chipset and onboard component drivers with the motherboard support CD.

I'm not surprised the activation keycode won't work - you have an eMachine OEM load which is only licensed for use on the eMachine it shipped with. You need to buy a new copy of XP and try using Magical Jellybean to change the key to the one that comes with your new copy of XP. If that doesn't work either, you are looking at a reinstall.

There is no DOS in XP, only a command shell. What do you need to do that requires DOS?

[Demento19]

Originally Posted by glc You need to install the chipset and onboard component drivers with the motherboard support CD.

OK, between multiple sources its now a fact i have to spend 200$ on XP.... why the hell is it so expensive.. grr.

How do i install from the MB cd? In the bios, both my cd drives come up, and no matter what my boot order, i cant get the CD to get picked up.

But by a mistake, i can get a firefox window up, and can acess E:\ (where the disk is) from there. I tried saving and running the bios update file from there, but after saving and opening it, the black window prompt came up, then disappeared and nothing happened.

Im just lost because i cant really do anything in the way of getting a CD or floppy read, because if i exit the bios setup, XP automatically boots up.

Im going to go buy XP soon, so i need a reply asap if it turns out i can buy the upgrade version or something money-saving.

[glc]

The motherboard CD is not bootable. You install the drivers in Windows. WHY are you trying to update the bios, and ESPECIALLY why in Windows using a BROWSER? That's dangerous! Time to read instructions, I believe.

You can buy an unrestricted one machine OEM version of XP Home for about 90 bucks.

[Demento19]

Well i finally got XP in, using my emachines disk. I dont know why, but everything seems fine. I then installed all the drivers for the motherboard components, AGP card, etc. So now everything seems to be running nicely.

But im now worried if the memory i have is creating a bottleneck, and robbing my new cpu/mobo of power.

I have a 512 stick, kingston i believe, 3200+. My mobo can run two dual-channel setups (4 slots), so im wondering if memory is the slowest thing on my pc right now. If so, id like to spend <100 on new memory.

Asus a8v dlx mobo athlon 64
AMD Athlon 64 CPU 3200+ Socket939 (2.0ghz under System Props)
512mb RAM, single DDR DIMM
80gb HD, normally around 60gb full.


Once again, thanks a TON to everyone who helped. I Wouldnt have been able to get it working without this forum. Great Job.

[jfk]

I'd say yes that the memory is now you're limiter. You can get a gig of Corsair value ram (2X512k) for about $90 at Newegg.

[Demento19]

Alright thanks. I bought everything else for my new pc at newegg, and im pretty impressed with prices/delivery speed.

Can u tell meabout the 2-2-3-1 numbers? As well as CAS latency? I know they stand for speeds of 4 different things, but are all the numbers better if they are higher?

If this thread needs to be moved to the Memory/CPU forum, go ahead (not that u need my permission) and move it. Ill rename the thread if needed

[Demento19]

Bump. But im also wondering if i can use the 2x512 Corsair memory DIMMS as duals, as well as my single 512 stick i have? To have 1.5 gigs?

[glc]

Why not just buy an identical module as what you have now? That's the cheapest way to do it, total 1 gig in dual channel.

[Demento19]

Eh.. well that would be easier... but i think i bought it for around 70-80$. If i could buy the Corsair 1gb, and then use the 512 too, that would be 1.5 gb and cheaper for the amount...

[glc]

A single 512 is not going to be that expensive now. Take advantage of dual channel operation.