New Build - HANGING AT POST - HELP PLEASE

[ren]

Ok, I've built a new pc... the components are

Full ATX Case
350W FSP PSU
Asus P5LD2 Motherboard
Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz - LGA775
PQI PC4300 1 GB DDR2 (2 x 512)
30 GB IDE HDD w/ WinXP Pro
2 Optical Drives
PCI-E XFX Geforce 6600GT

This is what I get... it starts up and the ASUS screen comes up and it says to press DEL to enter setup or TAB to see POST log. I try this and the keyboard does not respond. So I restart the system and this time hold down the DEL key while it powers up. It brings me to this screen that says (i'm quoting exactly):

American Megatrends
www.ami.com

AMI BIOS (c) 2005 American Megatrends, Inc.
ASUS P5LD2 ACPI BIOS Revision 0603
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00 GHz
Speed: 3.00 GHz
Press F8 for BBS POPUP
PC2-4300 Single Channel Mode
Checking NVRAM...
Initializing USB Controllers...



(c) American Megatrends, Inc.

That's all that happens. It seems to hang after the "Initializing USB Controllers..." What could this mean? Any help would be appreciated!

[glc]

Do you have any USB devices plugged in other than a keyboard and/or a mouse? If so, remove them. Disconnect any internal USB cables to motherboard headers too. Your ram is not in the correct slots for dual channel operation. If that hard drive has XP already on it from another system, it will not boot into Windows, it will bluescreen when you get it that far. Is that FSP PSU a 24 pin ATX 2.0 unit?

[ren]

no, in fact, my keyboard and mouse are PS/2 devices. Would that make a difference? I think I unplugged all the internal usb devices.

this ram setup seems to be the only way it works. when putting them into alternating slots, i get no display, but putting them in this way gets me to this point. is dual channel configuration the same on DDR2 as DDR? Yes, the FSP PSU is a 24-pin PSU.

[KatoPC]

Do you have the memory installedin slots 1 and 3 for dual channel on Asus website let's say it would be the yellow banks?

[ren]

No, they're in the ones next to each other(black and gold). When I try putting them in the gold and gold, i get no display. It seems hard to fully seat the 240 pin RAM for some reason, it's very picky.

[KatoPC]

That is single channel mode. Gold/Gold Black/Black are your dual channels. Try using just 1 stick of memory, then boot see if that helps if not replace memory with other stick. Reboot Does the BIOS see the HD and both stick of memory?

[ren]

i think i've solved the problem. the ram must've not been good/compatible. i tried a micron ddr2 pc3200, and it worked fine.

the one i had in it was ddr2 533MHz unbuffered non-ecc(which is "compatible" with the motherboard), but on the "approved list" of ram they have in the instruction book, that model number is not listed.

will newegg let me return this ram and get a different brand/model number, or does it have to be identical?

now i have a new problem. it does not "detect" the hdd or cdrom drive. but when i go in the bios, it is listed in there. would this be the windows problem yall were talking about?

i'm going to try reinstalling it in this machine. what i had done before was install it in another one so that when i got everything in, i could just hook everything up and be ready to go. i didn't realize xp had this technicality until now. go figure, it's microsoft. thanks for the help so far, though!

[glc]

They will allow you to return it for exchange if it's defective, but if it's only a compatibility issue they will probably charge you a restocking fee.

May I exchange my RMA'd item for a different product?
No. We do not exchange RMA items for different items. We will only replace an RMA'd item with a different unit of the same item. If the warranty period for a refund has not yet expired, you can request an RMA Refund (subject to 15% restocking fee), order a new item, and we'll refund your original purchase after we receive your returned product.

When and why are restocking fees applied? How much is deducted when a return is subject to a restocking fee?
There is a restocking fee of 15% on all returns for refund (RMA Refund), unless waived by a Customer Support Agent. We charge this 15% restocking fee for all returns for refund to encourage customers to purchase products they intend to keep. We offer RMA Replacement without any restocking fee to support customers who have received a defective product. For CPU and Memory refunds, any restocking fee we use will be a reflection on current market value for the same cpu item. Newegg.com does not support attempts to profit from CPU and Memory price fluctuations.

[ren]

Thanks, guys. I ended up just going to Best Buy (I needed the RAM soon) and getting some ddr2 533mhz (2 x 512) for about 90 bucks. It was on sale, so I just bought it. It works fine, and in fact, I'm typing this on my new computer! I got an RMA number from NewEgg, and I'm going to just get my refund for it. I know there is a 15% restocking fee (about 10 bucks), but I guess I'll just take a small loss. I just got in a good deal of money from college scholarships anyway . Thanks again!