Problems when IDE drive(s) plugged in

[DVelosky]

Have bulit a couple of PC's in my day, but this one really stumps me. New build and can boot to splash screen and BIOS with no drives plugged in. Can boot to floppy. However, if I plug in either of of my WD 120's, I can't even get a video signal to my monitor. Have tried either/or/both on the HD's, have swapped cables, have pulled drive from another machine, have swapped jumpers on drives; same results. Anyone have an idea on this?

Motherboard Asus A8V
AMD64 4000+
1 GB corsair

[pam123]

What is your power supply and can you swap in another.
A flaky motherboard is also a possibility but I'd check the power supply first.

[KilluminatiStyle]

I've come across a few boards that really didn't like certain jumper configurations and would cause the same problem... no video. Sounds weird but sometimes weird stuff happens. Anyway, I know you've said you tried different jumper configs but try every different combination you can and start with only 1 drive.

Set to master on primary IDE

Set to slave on primary IDE

Set to cable select on primary IDE

and then the same on Secondary.


Another thing. You said this was a new build... did you happen to flash the BIOS right away? I ask cause some boards act flakey if you flash and don't clear the CMOS with the jumper right after.

Just a few suggestions..

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by KilluminatiStyle ... did you happen to flash the BIOS right away? I ask cause some boards act flakey if you flash and don't clear the CMOS with the jumper right after.

Flashing the bios is only necessary if the cpu isn't properly recognized after initial installation. Don't want folks to think they should worry about updating a bios before the new pc is running.

[KilluminatiStyle]

Originally Posted by Panama Red Flashing the bios is only necessary if the cpu isn't properly recognized after initial installation. Don't want folks to think they should worry about updating a bios before the new pc is running.

I understand this Red and I wasn't recommending that he flash the bios. Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I was just asking if he did already flash the bios because alot of boards need to have the CMOS cleared with the jumper after a BIOS flash in order for it to function properly... my board definately doesn't like to be flashed and used without have been cleared first.

[DVelosky]

In order of appearance:

The power supply is a 350 watt Antec Smart Power. It's part of a brand new case purchased for this build. I don't have another handy. The motherboard is also brand new, I'm in the process of contacting Monarch (the vender), but I had no luck over the weekend.

I have tried all of the HD jumper and connection scenarios, same results. I have not flashed the BIOS. I have snooped in the BIOS, but altered no settings. Since all this stuff is new, I'm not hot on getting too radical with the cures as it is all under warranty, unless of course I blow something up.

Thanks for all the suggestions and keep em coming. I'd like to chalk this one up as a victory, but I'll send it back in a heartbeat if it's a flakey mobo.

[piasabird]

Helps to know the kind of motherboard. Especially what chipset it is. If it is Asus go to the Asus website and download the manual in PDF Form.

I would start with the process in the manual to Clear the BIOS, which sets everything back to factory defaults. Some motherboards want you to remove the battery to do this and some dont. So you have to have the manual for the motherboard.

It is sometimes advisable to try CS or Cable Select jumper on your IDE Hard Drive.

[glc]

WD hard drives cannot be jumpered to master if there is no slave drive present on the cable. CS and 80 wire is the recommended method.