first build, keyboard ..etc problem

[gbear]

hello all,
I did get my first system put together, but I boot it and i get the screen that says what drives it detects, ide channel master: detected that one fine, correctly says no slave on that channel, memory is tested also and tells the right ddr speed.
I am having a problem where, it gets to the "hit f8 for configuration, f9 for setup, f1 to continue, or del to (go into bios i think), however I tried 4 different keyboards and nothing happens, the keyboard is in the correct port but none of the keys do anything, almost like it isn't connecting and it tries telling me also basically that the cpu has been updated but not saved and it does nothing. since the keyboards did nothing. what could be the problem or problems?
if it helps, i have a biostar p4m800-m7 board, intel celeron d chip, soni cdr burner(which is detected fine), and western digital harddrive
oh yes, and a generic 10$ keyboard i picked up from walmart, not to mention a dell or compaq keyboard didn't work either
matt
p.s I'm thinking this shouldnt take me 2 weeks to build

[Kareeser]

I'm guessing that you're trying with a PS/2 Keyboard. Although it probably won't help, is there a USB keyboard you could use?

Also, why does the computer require you to press F1 to continue? Does it explicitly mention a "Keyboard error"?

[gbear]

Originally Posted by Kareeser I'm guessing that you're trying with a PS/2 Keyboard. Although it probably won't help, is there a USB keyboard you could use? Also, why does the computer require you to press F1 to continue? Does it explicitly mention a "Keyboard error"?

I am using a ps/2 keyboard, i have no usb keyboards around here, and the f1 thing, i have no idea, i am not getting a keyboard error though.

[Staren]

Does your keyboard have an "F-Lock" key by chance? A lot of newer mulimedia keyboards have alternete functions for the function keys and you have to hit f-lock for the f1-f12 keys to work.

[gbear]

hmm i would wonder though why the other 3 keyboards i have tried without the f-lock thing, didnt work even
maybe older ones are computer specific or something, i don't know..at least i'm thinking the board isn't dead since the video works

[Staren]

Originally Posted by gbear hmm i would wonder though why the other 3 keyboards i have tried without the f-lock thing, didnt work even maybe older ones are computer specific or something, i don't know..at least i'm thinking the board isn't dead since the video works

Sadly for you, no keyboards arn't brand spacific. A keyboard is a keyboard. You might be looking at a bad PS/2 port.

[thefultonhow]

Ddi you reboot in between trying the keyboards? Are you sure you're plugging into the keyboard port and not the mouse port?

[gbear]

oh yay! suppose this means a new board

[thefultonhow]

If you have been plugging the keyboards into the right port and rebooting in between, then don't forget that the board has a warranty on it.

[gbear]

well i just tried this again, i got the basic idea of the error and where it is "fail"ing, it says something about a floppy failure(i have no floppies in the system) and then it tells me before i get that f1/f8/f9/del thing, cpu ratio changed and it tells me to go into cmos and change it and be sure to save..well, i cant do that because of the kbd problem but why would it be telling me the cpu ratio changed?, i was trying to build a budget system, but apparently i got a garbage board or cpu?
and at random times or boots, the monitor goes blank which is really lovely and if i hit the reset switch, a red light comes on, even half the times i reboot. I didnt think building one could be too teribly hard
I'm almost thinking of completely switching brands on the next board and saying to heck with biostar, of course i don't want to make a rash decission that biostar would be bad and to stay away from them until i know for sure.

[glc]

Biostar per se is not a bad manufacturer, but that one you chose is pretty shabby - it has a Via chipset and is actually made by PC Chips/ECS. If you want a good inexpensive Socket 775 board with onboard video and an AGP slot for an upgrade, look at the Asus P5P800-VM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131008

[gbear]

well, thanks all on the problem answers. I am wondering now, will putting the floppy back in make any difference, i mean for example, if it couldnt find the drive it locked up or would it go farther?
i.e would it freeze the whole system and keyboard wouldnt even work, or would the bios "suck it up" and go on?
i know some failures arent good and some just try to find if things are there or not

[gbear]

ok I have been trying to figure this beast out again and now what happened is really weird.
I put the floppy in since it was failing, well the thing still said it failed, but the keyboard let me go into setup with the delet key but, and this is weird(part 1), there was no cursor, i couldnt type or move around or anything, like the port for the keyboard shorted out so..being the light for the floppy was on constantly, i checked cables and power for the drives and they were right so..i turned on the comp again, well, this time nothing about any of the drives or ide channels or anything was mentioned, they keyboard didnt work and I know some message before this one, said the board was (not his words, but crappy) and gave me an idea to try/a board to get so..is something majorly being overlooked or is this board trashier than i first thought?
oh by the way, the video if i didnt mention before, randomly causes the monitor to be blank
i'm just wondering why they keyboard worked to hit the delete key the first time to go into setup but then died again. if this is the board problem, i'm not even going to get an rma, i'm going to file it in the closet or file 13 which ever is closer

[gbear]

well, I am going to start the process of elimination in a day or so, start with no drives connected, see if i can get into anything, e.g see if the kbd works, if it does, add the next one, reboot, and so on until it wont let me do anything, i'm thinking, assuming this board is not garbage wich i'm trying to think its not but maybe im kidding myself too. anyway im thinking there might be a irq conflict, is that still possible like it used to be? e.g my cdrom is detected fine but the hd i have on ide channel 2(master), is not detected, it says channel 2 master none, slave none

[glc]

If the floppy drive light is on constantly, the cable is reversed. It's also possible your hard/optical drive cables are not oriented correctly if they are not keyed, or you have the wrong end in the motherboard if they are 80 wire. You may also have the drives jumpered incorrectly for the cable type. Western Digital drives cannot be jumpered master if there is no slave present - you should be using cable select and a correctly oriented 80 wire cable.

[gbear]

Just wanted to let all of you know, i finally got it!
I switched the cables on the drives, took me about 15 minutes to realize when something in bios isn't highlighted, you can just tab, god i felt like a moron!lol
anyway the only thing now is i get the press f1 every time i boot but thats nothin, i know what its wanting at least, but i don't think the bios is still reporting something right, maybe it is and im freaking out because the heatsinc doesn't seem hot, but the temp in bios says (i think it got down to 72 C) that couldnt be right hardly could it?i'm almost thinking it meant F not C but then again i know processors get hot but good grief! thats almost the boiling point, 72/80C
anyway it works perfectly other than the f1 thing
so thanks to all of you for "putting up with my stupidity/moronicness

[thefultonhow]

That is pretty hot. Are you sure the heatsink is properly mounted?

[gbear]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow That is pretty hot. Are you sure the heatsink is properly mounted?

hmm i thought that was kind of hot too but the heatsinc isn't getting hot so im wondering if i did get the heatsinc not right but after messing inside it maybe i should make sure its down on the chip tight, i mean i pressed down a little firmly but i didn't want to risk cracking the board either but then too, this heatsinc is the round kind that has those stupid push in things and they don't really match up ..e.g, when the one pops in, the one on the other side comes loose. so...must i push this really hard when i remount it i.e, muscleman/show it who's boss kind of force or is this not a "full strength" thing, wonder if the max of 15 min it was on or however long to install windows, hurt it any or if it would be a gonner processor already

[thefultonhow]

If that's an LGA775 processor, yeah, those heatsinks are hard to mount. Don't worry about the processor dying though -- it will simply slow itself down if it gets too hot.

[glc]

You have to snap each post in, then twist it 90 degrees clockwise to lock it - then move on to the next post. Don't do this with the board in the case, the backside has to be supported or the flexing may crack the board.