POST: slam dunk! ...So now what? (DOH!)

[Birdy]

Specs:
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CASE: Cooler Master CAC-TO5 ATX / PSU: Thermaltake TR2 430W
MOBO: ASUS A8N-E / CPU: Athlon 64x2 4200+
HDD: Seagate 250Gb 7200rpm SATA 150 / RAM: 2x1Gb 128MX64 DDR PC3200
OPTICAL: NEC CD-RW/DVD-RW COMBO / GPU: PNY Quadro FX 1400 PCIe 128Mb
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I followed the therad: "Having problems with a new build? Try this." and worked out a few issues. (powering-up outside the case was a godsend! solved ALL my problems...THANKS HAL, et. al.!!) Seems my mobo was shorting out to the case somehow. Got all my wiring issues solved (...and NEATLY wired now)
Powered up, and POSTed no sweat.

Now what? <- (kinda moronic question, eh?)
Should I just accept all the BIOS settings and go ahead and install the OS (XP pro/sp2), or must I format the HD first? How do I know? I'd like to partition it in 2: C:\ for OS & Applications and E:\ for Data. (FDD is on the way UPS, FWIW: $8.00 (meh, why not) <-(will wait till all hardware is in-n-done.)
A second HDD will be added in the future, for backup of data.

On another note: The 6pin PCIe connector from my PSU is ~lonely~ 'cause it has nowhere to plug into the MoBo.
Is it just something to tuck away... not necessicary?

I do have other questions... but it's been a long day, and I'm whipped.

Will check back manana when I can think straight!
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Did I mention that you guys ROCK!? I couldn't have gotten this rig this far without you. THANK YOU!
(can't find emoticon for :KISS:

[blue60007]

I take it there is no where on that card to plug the PCI-E power connector in? Otherwise just tuck it above the optical or somewhere.

Personally I'd wait for the floppy...just in case.

[Birdy]

Originally Posted by blue60007 I take it there is no where on that card to plug the PCI-E power connector in? Otherwise just tuck it above the optical or somewhere.

Nope. I've searched. There is a 'gold-toothed-plug' (male) on the top edge of the video card about 3/4" long. Looks like it may fit the PCIe 1x slot....if you stick the card in upside down...which I will not attempt. I have no idea what's up with that.

Originally Posted by blue60007 Personally I'd wait for the floppy...just in case.

That's my thinking too. I have a day for research.

[jayb1234]

There is a 'gold-toothed-plug' (male) on the top edge of the video card about 3/4" long

That is the connector for the SLI bridge.

Don't worry about it.

[Birdy]

Thanks jayb1234. Thought it might be something like that.

Ok, so I power up and get this:
Diskette Drive A : 1.44M, 3.5 in.
Pri. Master Disk : DVD-RW , ATA 33
Pri. Slave Disk : None
Sec. Master Disk : None
Sec. Slave Disk : None

First SATA. Master Disk : LBA,SATA 1, 250Gb
DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

Hmmmm.... seems good, but lets check the BIOS:
MAIN MENU:
Looks ok here, but for
HDD smart monitoring [Disabled] ADVANCED MENU:
Cool n' quiet [Disabled]
PCIPnP [No]
USB Configuration [Enabled] (all of em)
Overclock Profile [Auto]
BOOT MENU:
Boot Device Priority
1st boot device: [removable]
2nd boot device: [Hard Disk]
3rd boot device: [CD ROM]
Boot up floppy seek [disabled]

Seems to me I'm good to go. As I understand things, I need to get any drivers ready (on floppy) like SATA. Are there any others that I'll need?
Then I'm ready to pop in the XP disk and it will ask me install drivers if it needs them, and then to partition and format my hard drive.
Once I get to this point, I think I'll be fine. I haven't changed any BIOS settings, but I know I can change them at a later time. I just want to make sure I don't miss anything important before I go to install the OS.

TIA for the help

[BigRed CC Dually]

I made the optical the boot drive when I first started and put the XP disk in it and away she went. I later went back into the bios to reset the HDD as the boot drive after the OS was installed. XP will format the HDD, it took almost 2 hours (110 minutes) to do my 250Gb SATA II WD HDD.

If you are not installing a RAID setup then you should not need to install drivers for the SATA as the board has SATA native to it. I didn't have to install them with an ASUS A8N323-SLI Deluxe, which is similar to the A8N-E.

[Birdy]

Thank you for that input Rick.

[bailey]

don't forgrt to install the drivers for the motherboard as soon as xp is all loaded.

[BigRed CC Dually]

bailey is correct, the motherboard drivers will enable the on-board sound, eathernet connection, etc. I would also install and enable a good anti virus program such as AVG before even connecting to the Internet for the first time. Also the first time you do go on line download the latest definitions for the anti virus software you are using and right after that download the latest patches for the operating system you are using.

[Birdy]

Originally Posted by bailey don't forgrt to install the drivers for the motherboard as soon as xp is all loaded.

Yes, thank you. Got OS loaded last nite. Will install drivers and utilities this evening.

Originally Posted by BigRed CC Dually I would also install and enable a good anti virus program such as AVG before even connecting to the Internet for the first time. Also the first time you do go on line download the latest definitions for the anti virus software you are using and right after that download the latest patches for the operating system you are using.

Agreed! Have been using AVG for quite a while on my old PC. It's ready and waiting to go. ...along with Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, various spyware/malware utilities...

I also gotta take a looksee at the video card CD. There may be stuff there I'm wanting. Anything else I may be missing?