First build complete - need help to get up and running!

[paul441]

Hi - I just built my first PC. It is for my wife to use for school work (word processing and spreadsheets) as well as for internet browsing and email. No games or heavy processing tasks. The system config is as follows:

Foxconn Micro-ATX Motherboard (K7S741MG-6L) with onboard sound, video and LAN, and ISO 300 Watt Switching Power Supply (ISO-400 4)

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/produc...me=K7S741MG-6L

CORSAIR Value Select DDR-DIMM 512MB (VS512MB400 PC3200)

http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/valueselect.html

AMD Sempron 2500+ (Socket A) 1.75 Ghz 333 MHz System Bus (Retail Version)

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/default.aspx

Western Digital Caviar EIDE 80 GB Hard Drives (WD800BB) (OEM Version)

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/pro...10&Language=en

LG 16X Super-Multi Internal DVD Writer (GSA-4167B) (OEM Version)

http://us.lge.com/Product/proddetail.jhtml?qs=pr|computer||search|0000020206|1000000736|0000000202|0000000002|4|5|1|10

Fresh OEM version of Windows XP Home Edition

When I power-on, the motherboard beeps intermittantly for about 2-3 minutes but it shows a display (Winfast) and offers "Press TAB to show post screen. DEL to enter SETUP". After a minute or so the display switches to show the Processor, Memory Test, Primary Master and Secondary Master drives. Then, after a minute or two I get a "Primary master hard disk fail" message and the beeps stop. At that point, if I press DEL I can go into BIOS/CMOS setup and make changes. Upon exit from BIOS, I restart with the Windows XP Home disk in the DVD drive, press F1 and it starts the Windows XP install. It doesn't get very far when it shuts down right around when asked to select a partition to install.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Paul

[GaryRouth]

Hi paul441


Check in your motherboard manual's troubleshooting section for the error-beep-codes for your board. There should be some guidance there.

With the power off and the system unplugged, I'd double-check all the cables, reseat the memory modules, and unplug the hard drive. Then I'd leave the case open, and start the system just long enough to enter Bios Setup - and go through each setting with the motherboard manual in hand. Also check that the cpu and system fans are spinning properly. You can usually check the system temps and power supply voltages in a Bios Setup menu such as "Hardware Monitor" or "PC Health" or similiar.

Once all the Bios settings check out OK - shut the system down, unplug, and reconnect the hard drive. Then try to boot the system with a hard drive diagnostic for your drive (you can get the DataLifeGuard tools either from a CD that came with the drive, or from the Western digital website). You might also run a diagnostic for the memory ( http://www.memtest86.org ).

This are the first few steps (there are others) - see if these help.
. . . Gary