emachines - rebuild, problem with OS

[mjcntn]

Hello all,

Im part way through building, or rather, rebuilding my computer for the first time. The BYOPC walkthrough was a huge help, but what i have run into is not specifically covered.

Reason for rebuild: My emachinnes computer's Power Supply went crazy, and toasted the motherboard/CPU. Rather than buing new, i thought i could use the working parts and case, and replace the innards. We were able to retrieve important data from the Hard drive, however, i had to take the HD to a computer tech due to the proprietary OS installed. The emachines OS and restore disks will only work with an the original configuration (as i understand).

Problems im facing: Everything seems to work right, up until the boot sequence. I can access the bios and make changes. Everything seems set to go, but when i boot up, i get the emachines... safe mode/SM networking, last known working, or normal windows startup as options.

In my CD rom i have a windows XP setup disc (not the emachines restore disc... btw, have tried it, no help), however, it skips right to the boot options for the HD.

What i am stuck at; Im not sure if the problem is with the proprietary OS installed on the HD (causing it to limit my boot options... potentially forcing the emachines restore disc as the only reformatting option), or, if i just dont have the CD Rom set right.


The cables are set correctly. CD rom is set as the first boot option, ahead of floppy, and with HD 3rd. I also thought it might be due to the fact that it is the emachines CD rom, and somehow preventing me... so i tried a second CD rom drive to test, with no change in boot sequence.


Long post made short... any chance that this is cause by emachine proprietary hardware/software, or, am i missing something with the CD rom installation/boot sequence.

Im also wondering, would an fdisk type startup from floppy drive work for win xp, and if so, any suggestions/instructions.


Thanks so much for any and all oppinions. I look forward to reading your response!

- Mike

[Panama Red]

Do you get a message on a black screen to "Press any key to boot from CD......"? If you miss that, it will go directly to the hard drive.

[mjcntn]

not that i can see.

I tried a few time, the only option i get is del for bios config.

After writing the original post i feel more and more that it must be something with the CD rom setup... anything i might be missing for the install. What should i look for in the bios screen (in general)?

thanks for the quick post!

[Panama Red]

Just to verify the CD jumpering. If you're using a 40 wire ide cable (the most common for cd connection), set the jumpers to Master and Slave. If you're using an 80 wire ide cable, jumper the drives to Cable Select. 80 wire cables have a blue connector that connects to the mobo.

[mjcntn]

I can't see it being the jumper settings. Ive tried both already, and with the two CD roms.

Could the CD rom drive be unseen by the bios config screen, even though it is properly connected?

The Bios config for shows;
------------------------
Standard CMOS Features

>ide channel 0 Master [Maxtor 2f040lo]
>ide channel 0 Slave [None]
>ide channel 1 Master [None]
>ide channel 1 slave [None]
>ide channel 2 Master [None]
>ide channel 3 Master [None]

Drive A [1.44m, 3.5"]
Drive B [None]
floppy 3 mode support [disabled]

halt on [all , but keyboard]

-----------------------


All that any help? Im just concerned because no where do i see my CD rom drive.

[Panama Red]

You have a problem with the CD drive. Do you have another you can try? It's either the drive or the cable.

[mjcntn]

yes, both another drive, and cable. The Cd rom should be listed in the IDE list then?

[Panama Red]

Yes, it should. Any drive connected to the ide's, whether hard drive or an optical, should show up in the bios. Have you tried connecting the CD drive to a different IDE connector?

[mjcntn]

thanks for all your help by the way!

We seem to be getting places now.

On the motherboard, there are only two IDE connections... IDE1 (green) and IDE2 (white). The HD is plugged into IDE1, and the CD roms are being plugged into IDE2.

One other thing. What about the CD_in connector. DOes that need to be plugged in, or should i be trying to start without it?

[Panama Red]

Not sure what the CD_in connector is. Where is it located? The other IDE connectors showing in your bios description must be SATA connectors, ide 2 Master and ide 3 Master.

[mjcntn]

CD in cable, connects CD rom audio out. A 4 pin connector
__
_[ ]_
[______]


And yes, the 2 and 3 are likely for sata connections, there is room for two on the MB.

Just to know where to look, what drive should the CD rom show up as... IDE Channel 1 Master... right?

[Panama Red]

No need for that cable on CD_in. That's for audio connection and isn't necessary on today's pc's. Yes, IDE Channel 1 Master is where it should show up. Try this. Connect the hard drive cable to ide 1 instead of IDE 0 and see if it shows up in the bios. That will verify that the ide channel is good or bad.

[mjcntn]

__
_[ ]_
[_____]

hopefully this looks better... not needed anyway right, you probibly know what im talking about already

[Panama Red]

Yup, not needed

[mjcntn]

Well, this may be some progress... and maybe bad news.

When the HD is connected to IDE 2 on the mobo (and nothing is connected to IDE 1), no IDE devices are shown in the bios. Also, the windows startup prompts dont show either, if i boot past the bios menu.

Is it possible to use the CD rom drive as a slave for the sing IDE connection?

Also, to be clear... there is NO IDE 0 on the mobo (as far as i know), only IDE 1/2

[Panama Red]

Ide 0 should be the Primary IDE on the mobo label and IDE 1 should be Secondary IDE. Take the mobo out of the case and try the ideas in this thread.

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

If the secondary ide still doesn't show up, your mobo is defective.

[mjcntn]

again, maybe im just not looking in the right spot, or is it possible that there might be a difference bettwen boards?

There are only 2 IDE connections on the MOBO (plus 1 FDD), and they are clearly labled IDE1 and IDE2.
Also, the mobo manual instructs to install the HD to IDE1, and the CD rom to IDE2.

[Panama Red]

Ok, I believe ya. But one of them isn't working. And the bios is showing some weird numbers too. What brand is the mobo?

[mjcntn]

Gigabyte K8VT800M Ver.1 MicroATX Athlon/Sempron 64

full specs;

http://www.gigabyte.us/Motherboard/P...Rev%201.x).htm

What concerns you with the bios? would you like me to check/post anything else that might be found in there?

[Panama Red]

From your post above:

"Standard CMOS Features

>ide channel 0 Master [Maxtor 2f040lo]
>ide channel 0 Slave [None]
>ide channel 1 Master [None]
>ide channel 1 slave [None]
>ide channel 2 Master [None]
>ide channel 3 Master [None]"

Your Maxtor hard drive is showing on IDE 0 but you say the manual only shows IDE 1 and 2. But 2 and 3 in the bios are SATA connections. Maybe I'm confused (not the first time!) but things don't match up.

[mjcntn]

Ha, its all pretty confusing to me!

Ive been reading throught the suggested link, to build the PC outside the case and try powering it up. What would I be looking for... potentially, the CD drive would show up in the bios?

Through the first couple pages, suggestions are:

Make sure the mobo is not grounding on the case... How would i be able to tell, since i cant see between?

Removing the battery to reset the CMOS settings.... would that do anything positive in this situation, as the IDE 2 drive simply seem to not be picked up?

[Panama Red]

By removing the mobo and testing it outside the case, you remove the possibility of grounding to the case. Most often this happens when a metal/brass standoff is in the case and it contacts the bottom of the mobo rather than aligning with a mobo mounting hole. Make sure you don't have any extra standoffs that don't align with the mounting holes.

Resetting the CMOS is a possible idea too. But rather than pull the battery, check the manual for how to do it using the jumper. It's typically near the battery.

Just pull the mobo first and try the out of case test first. If you do a number of things all at once, you won't know if it helps or hinders or has no effect.

[mjcntn]

Okay, so, removing and testing out of case... i should have everything connected like it would be inside, and first try with the HD and CD rom connected to their proper ports.

Again, any chance of a workaround.... could i potentailly use the single IDE connection for both drives, or, whatabout getting a SATA hard drive and using the CD with IDE 1?

ha, getting desperate now i guess.

[mjcntn]

this might make a differnece.... the SATA connections on the MOBO are listed as SATA 0 and SATA1.

Could this all be cause by incorrect recognition. There really aren't very many jumpers on the mobo itself, to set anything manually. The cmos_clr jumper, and a few others for peripherials are all that are listed in the manual, and all that i can spot on the board.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by mjcntn Okay, so, removing and testing out of case... i should have everything connected like it would be inside, and first try with the HD and CD rom connected to their proper ports.

Yes

Originally Posted by mjcntn Again, any chance of a workaround.... could i potentailly use the single IDE connection for both drives, or, whatabout getting a SATA hard drive and using the CD with IDE 1? ha, getting desperate now i guess.

Yes, that's possible but why use a mobo with a defective ide channel, if that's what it is? Don't get ahead of yourself. Troubleshooting is try one thing at a time and evaluate the test.

[mjcntn]

Just to end the thread, and thank panama red, i have (hopefully) resolved the issue.

I tried to reset the cmos using the jumpers, tested, no change, and then finally, before rebuilding, i simply removed the battery and let drain. Success.

Everything shows up, and i am now installing SP2 (ouch?), i don't see what everyone has against sp2, other than how long it takes to Download.

Thanks again,

- mike