Building my computer today...

[Clowd]

Hey...

I've been using this computer for like 4 years now (with upgrades along the way, of course) and I finally decided I really, really needed something new.

So I ordered the following:

ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Motherboard(Link)
AMD Athlon 64 3700+(Link)
OCZ Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) (Link)

And a 320 GB WD harddrive, and a DVD burner, and whatnot... and I'll be using my 6800 GT for now.

I haven't built a computer since I built this years ago... I'm sure I'll be able to do the physical build with no problems, but once I get it all set up and running, I have to update the bios and install all the drivers and whatnot? This is where I'm going to get messed up.. I don't remember having to do anything(other than basic drivers, video, sound, etc) like that when I built this...

Any advice would be appreciated.

[doctorgonzo]

After you assemble anything, first you will install Windows. Then, once Windows is installed, you install the motherboard drivers. They should be on the CD that came with your motherboard. Then you can install the video drivers. You shouldn't need to update the BIOS unless you have to do so to support your processor or some other problem comes up.

[Clowd]

Hey, I'm putting together the PC right now... got a quick question. There are these little red circle things in the bag with the gold rods and the screws, to mount the motherboard... they look kind of like shiny sandpaper. What are these for?

[Cricket]

Those are fibre washers that go between the screw head and the motherboard to prevent short circuits...they're not necessary.

Cricket

[Clowd]

Alright, so I put everything together...

When I turn the PC on, everything seems to come on normally(CPU, fans, etc etc) but nothing happens. screen is blank (although it probably should be ???) dvd rom won't function (no light, tray won't eject, etc) HD light stays on permanently, HD doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Didn't get any motherboard beeps or anything like that.

[Clowd]

I just switched the cable around on the HD and DVD drives.. I put the end of the cable on the HD and the middle connector on the DVD... now I get this unending annoying BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP ...

edit:

Repeating (endless loop) - Memory error - Check for improperly seated or missing memory.


Interesting. I didn't get the beep till I rearanged the IDE cabling...

[rspassey]

Check your motherboard manaul to see what the beep means - there should be a beep code area. What PSU are you using? Perhaps it isn't powerful enough.

How long does everything run for? If it is a very very short time then the motherboard could be shorting with the case - if so, then you have to try Assembling outside the case

[kosova]

Originally Posted by Clowd I just switched the cable around on the HD and DVD drives.. I put the end of the cable on the HD and the middle connector on the DVD... now I get this unending annoying BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP ... edit: Repeating (endless loop) - Memory error - Check for improperly seated or missing memory. Interesting. I didn't get the beep till I rearanged the IDE cabling...

Check the keys on the Ram sticks with the mobo DIMM's, make sure you put them the right way. Also has anything burned up or have you started to get a burning smell? If not then you should be good

[Louds3]

also check to make sure that you have your RAM seated in the correct slots. If you are using two sticks, try booting with one just to see if you can get it up and running, if it works then try the other.

steve

[Clowd]

Nah no burning or anything.. the case stays on as long as I allow it to.

No beep code section in the manual. I'm checking the website.

[kosova]

Clowd have you put all of your comp together now? If your not getting the beep it means there is something wrong, like your computer is not passing the POST test (Power on Self Test). Make sure everything is connected, every cable is connected correctly, the heatsink and fan are installed properlly. The 24-pin connector is inserted, also that the RAM is installed correctly (just unlock the latches, then push at the RAM stick until the latches close by themselves).
Like Louds said, try one stick at the time.

[Clowd]

its a 20 pin connector. Everything appears to be installed correctly.

I reinstalled the ram, no beep this time. computer just turns on and nothing happens after that. Still can't operate DVD-rom, and the HD light stays on indefinitely

[kosova]

Ok by this I assume your HDD is IDE, not Serial ATA.

I just switched the cable around on the HD and DVD drives.. I put the end of the cable on the HD and the middle connector on the DVD...

The HDD should have on the back a jumper, mine is white. Either Master, Slave or CS (Cable Select). Also check this for the DVD. This could solve that light problem.

Also are you sure that the IDE ribbon cable is inserted correctly in the motherboard? Is it 40 wires or 80?

Edit:

I found this link, it's very helpful. It t'was to me when I was building my rig. Link

[Louds3]

you never listed what kind of powersupply are you using (unless i missed that). Is it ATX 2.0?

steve

[Clowd]

Yes, it's the one that came with the case, it's a "Turbolink swtiching power supply"

it's 420 watts.

edit: also, once I turn the computer on, the power switch nor reset button works (power button works to turn the computer on, but not off again.) They are both connected correctly.

[Cricket]

Turbolink? Those aren't very good. I would replace it with something better.

Did you plug in both power connectors to the motherboard?

Are you 100% positive that the power and reset connectors are on the right pins?

Cricket

[Clowd]

Im probably going to get a new one, I just wanted to get the system up and running for now. I figure it should be good enough to install windows.

I'm pretty sure they are on the right pins, but I'm messing around with them right now.

Both power connectors on the motherboard? There's one 20 pin connector... ?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Clowd Both power connectors on the motherboard? There's one 20 pin connector... ?

There's also a square 4 pin connector near the 20 pin connector, along the edge of the motherboard.

Cricket

[Clowd]

haha ok now I'm getting somewhere (sorry for my noobishness.)

Now the powerswitch works.. and no HD led now. But the HD and DVD drives still don't seem to be functioning.

[Louds3]

Originally Posted by Clowd haha ok now I'm getting somewhere (sorry for my noobishness.) Now the powerswitch works.. and no HD led now. But the HD and DVD drives still don't seem to be functioning.

everyone was a noob once, that's the beauty of pcmech, no snobby responses! But I must say you should go through your motherboard book very thoroughly, as it may really help solve some "obvious" things, it helped me a ton when I did my first build about a month ago.

Is the bios recognizing the hard drive? If you only have one hard drive and one CD drive they should be on seperate channels, both as the "master." And to be Captain Obvious, make sure they both have a 4 pin molex power connector plugged in! Definitely upgrade that power supply soon, you don't wanna run the risk of all the problems a shoddy one can cause, there's several models in the $40-50 range that are solid units.


steve

[Clowd]

Hey guys,

I got it all set up and everything last night, I installed windows.. but I can't get any network connectivity. At first, whenever I plugged the modem in(I tried the ethernet on the motherboard, and direct USB from the modem) the cpu usage would shoot up to 100% and stay there permanently. I worked that out by reinstalling the lan drivers for the motherboard. Now when I plug in the ethernet cable, it tries to get an IP, but fails. It says "limited or no connectivity"

I went through all the settings and made sure they were right.. still no go..

I can't ping 127.0.0.1 (Request timed out) or anything outside (same, request timed out)

[nicolaus corelius]

try installing a separate ethernet card.

[glc]

Are ALL drivers installed from the motherboard CD? If you have a cable modem, did you shut the power off it for 15 minutes to reset the MAC address? (You may have to call the ISP and give them the MAC address of your ethernet adapter) Are there any flagged devices in device manager?

[Clowd]

lol, the cable I was using is bad.

I'm posting this from my new computer... it's so amazingly fast, I'm blown away.

Now to install everything.

Thanks everyone.

[maddad ®]

OMG ..i can't belive it ... i just got a buzz from reading this post
It was reading like a desaster movie with a happy ending .

I have yet to go thru all of this and im sceard ..

You guys realy know your stuff well done


Clowd glad it all worked out for you man , post some pic's of your new rig so we enjoy it with you

Maddad

[Clowd]

Haha goodluck man, it's really not bad.. I just made a couple of stupid oversights. I'll get some pictures up soon.

Anyway, one last problem... I installed a couple games (Dark Age of Camelot, and half life) and they both have some problems. The game doesn't seem to ... well, I can't really think of how to word it, but basically, if I'm ingame, and I click near the top of screen, the game minimizes (I keep my taskbar at the top, by the way.) and you can also see the network icon flickering ingame.

Also, the mouse doesnt point correctly. By this I mean if my cursor is in one spot, and I click... it will actually click a few inches up from where the cursor is pointing. This is only in games.

I thought it was video drivers, so I upgraded.. same problem. This happens in directx and opengl alike.

[Louds3]

Did you install drivers for your mouse and keyboard? You don't always need to but for mine (microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard) there are drivers and I installed them. Not sure if this will help but worth a shot.

steve