New Build problems HELP PLEASE

[InevitableTruth]

OK here is what i have:
Asus k8v se deluxe
AMD athlon 64 3000+
1G PNY pc3200 ddr ram
radeon 9225 256m Card

I finally got the system to boot to bios and i'm using the default settings. When I place the windows xp home disc in and reboot, I boot from CD (yes i have the cd rom set as 1st boot priority) and it goes to a blue screen that says setup on top and at the bottom says copying neccessary files. After this is takes me to a new screen(still blue) and asks me if I want to continue installing xp or repair the current version. (I am using a IDE 20g hard drive that was pulled from my other system.) well since the HDD will not boot up to windows and gives me the dreaded reboot runaround, I figured i would just go ahead and install new copy of xp. But when i select "enter" as an option it goes to yet another blue screen that simply says windows setup in the top left and "please wait" in the bottom left. After that the cd drive slows and the system stalls untill i restart.

also i have to press F7 when it asks me for storage drivers to bypass the aspi error. (no need for these drivers since i'm not running sata or raid). this is not the problem, however i figured i'd include this as well.

Once again all looks good untill I try installing widows xp and the system stalls/freezes at the "please wait " setup screen after i have pressed "enter" to continue with windows installation. KEEP IN MIND I am NOT speaking about the "Blue" screen that tells how much longer the setup takes. this screen is before that in what appears to be a DOS-like format.
I have called ASUS tech support and two different people advised me to rma the board..which i have a feeling WILL NOT HELP since everything else is working ok.
I have already pulled the motherboard out and got it ready to RMA but i really don't want to wait 10+ days for that process just to get the same results.
ANY suggestions???

[rjfvillarosa]

How many sticks of ram have you got installed in the board?
Have you attempted to "zero fill" the harddrive first?

[InevitableTruth]

Just one 1G stick.. and this is my first pc built so i'm not sure how to zero fill. Also I have tried using another HDD and same EXACT thing happens each time.

[rjfvillarosa]

Originally Posted by InevitableTruth KEEP IN MIND I am NOT speaking about the "Blue" screen that tells how much longer the setup takes. this screen is before that in what appears to be a DOS-like format.

Is this screen a darker shade of blue with all the text in white at the top of the screen only? the same as the screen that told when to press F7?

[InevitableTruth]

Yes i believe we are talking about the same screen. The screen looks very basic and is NOT the "pretty" blue screen that tells you what step the process is on (while showing you the features of XP) and how much longer(in minutes) setup has.
the screen i get stuck on only says 2 things. Windows setup in top left and "please wait" in bottom left. the whole middle of the screen is blue.

It isn't an error screen if that's what ur asking

[rjfvillarosa]

At this time I would either try a different stick of ram or download memtest86 and test your ram.
you can download memtest here http://www.memtest.org/

Originally Posted by InevitableTruth Just one 1G stick.. and this is my first pc built so i'm not sure how to zero fill. Also I have tried using another HDD and same EXACT thing happens each time.

Another thing you could do is download and create a bootable diagnostics CD called the ultimateboot cd, this cd contains memtest and various harddrive diagnostic that you can use to "zero fill" or low level format the harddrive. Basically a zero fill means excatly that, it fills the drive with zero's over writting any data on the drive effectively returning it to a just left the factory state.
Do you have a CD burner on the machine you are using at the moment? does the burning software have the ability to create an ISO file? (bootable cd)
The ultimate boot CD www.ultimatebootcd.com

[InevitableTruth]

I am already on my secong stick of ram... the first stick i tried wasn't compatible and the motherboard wouldn't even start to bios. gave me a post error saying "system failed due to cpu overclocking" so i bought a PNY stick and all seems to be going well except for that freeze. i figured if it was the ram, then i wouldn't be able to get as far as i have....

[rjfvillarosa]

A smaller stick may help, for some reason Windows gets confused during an install if there is too much ram, but this is usually when you have two sticks and removing one can solve the problem, have you got a smaller stick of compatible ram?

[InevitableTruth]

nope..and i've already almost doubled what i originally spent on the system just trying to get it to run right... but i'm starting to get irritated because the only sort of help i seem to be getting in any forum has to do with buying new hardware. It makes me wish i had bought a pre-built pc becuase i have nearly $500 tied up in the system now, and nearly $250 of that is from following others' advice on "buy this, buy that.."
Don't get me wrong, i appreciate any help, but my funds aren't unlimited.

[rjfvillarosa]

There are two things I would do now in your situation, first I would download the ultimateboot cd, create the ISO and carry out some basic ram, cpu and motherboard tests, the other thing I would do is consider a BIOS update.
Here is a link to the BIOS update for your board http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us the information is a little sketchy but it does say new cpu support, research the BIOS update thoroughly and consider a BIOS update.

[InevitableTruth]

OK, i have been reading about how to update the bios but it's still not very clear on how to do this.. I have heard that flashing the bios will not work and asus technician told me that updating the bios can wait till windows is installed, I do have the cd that the mobo came with , can i update the bios with that cd? or do i save the updates from asus.com onto a floppy?

[rjfvillarosa]

The BIOS update is done in a DOS environment and it shouldn't make any difference whether Windows is installed or not.
You have to download the flash file to the computer you are using now, then either copy the contents to a floppy or "unpack" them to a floppy, check to see if the download includes a flash utility, you may need to download that seperately but all the information will be on the download page.

[InevitableTruth]

alright, tonight i am probably going to pull out all my stuff again and re-install the mobo/components (for the 3rd time) and see if i can't get it to work. will give more info tomorrow, all i know is that i have yet to see someone sucessfully flash-update the bios for this specific mobo. I guess if something goes wrong, at least i already have RMA authorization....

[rjfvillarosa]

In this thread http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409 it deals with the problem of a new build not starting, usually it applies to the fact that the motherboard is shorting to the case and the machine will not start at all, I know this is not the case with your problem, but, it also spells out about how to build with the minimum amount of components so as to reduce the possibility that an add on is causing the problem.
If you know that other people have not cured problems with that board by doing a BIOS flash then maybe wait and see if someone else has a suggestion for you, I understand your frustration believe me, I build machines for a living and I have lost count of the number of machines that just will not run for no explicable reason.

[InevitableTruth]

well, still no luck.. i must not have done it right becuase when i put the floppy in, nothing changed, no options to update or anything.... I also tried changing ram slots last night as well as trying my other HDD again. I played with the bios settings and changed anything that looked even remotely associated with my issue, still no avail. I think i'm going to RMA the board and wait for replacement. I swear if I have the sam probs, i'm gonna sell this MOBO and get new/diff one, because all the other components are brand new. I'm holding off on formatting the HDD because the one i'm using is the main from my other system, and since i cannot get this one working, I have put it back in my HP so i can surf and stuff, If i format it and it still doesn't work, then i will have to re-install windows again from my HP just to get back onliine.... I'm thinking about getting a new HDD from compUSA then just returning it if it don't work, rather than reformatting the one i have

[rjfvillarosa]

Be carefull with that harddrive from your HP, if it contains a hidden recovery partrition that is accessed using a recovery disk to reinstall Windows, you may not be able to reinstall Windows if you damage the hidden recovery partition in any way.

[klick81]

i had this exact same problem on a system i built back about 3-4 years ago. i was using a soyo mb with p4 2.0ghz. i ended up updating the bios and all worked fine. my pc was built when xp was still new/wasnt ou,t cant remember, so i used 98se for awhile and then attempted to upgrade to xp and thats when i noticed the problem. it would go through setup up until the part where it said "please wait..." and then it just kept on waiting and waiting, and a few minutes later the cd drive spun down, and eventually stopped responding. downloaded the bios update and after updating that xp install went through without a hitch... try the bios update, if its fries something, then you have the rma, if not.. xp install should work.

[InevitableTruth]

I'm still having problems getting the bios updated... this is what i have done... I went to asus.com(from my roommates comp) and downloaded the .exe update file and saved that to the floppy disk i have(after I unzipped it) then after rebooting the system nothing happened.. did i do something wrong? how will i know if the bios updates?

[klick81]

sorry, kinda skipped over last reply.. should be able to create a bootable floppy to boot to dos prompt with computer using now, then unpack these two things to it or another disk that you can pop in afterwards:

ftp://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/AFUDOS211.zip
ftp://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/s.../K8vsedx07.zip

once booted into dos from floppy, go to afudos directory on floppy and type:
afudos /oOLD_BIOS.001
afudos /iK8VSEDX.007

the first one saves a copy of the original bios just in case, the second upgrades the bios to the most current, non-beta bios version from the asus website. also make sure not to turn off/restart your system until you recieve the a:\ prompt again. otherwise you could fry the bios. but after it goes back to prompt, take out the floppy and reboot. see how far it goes without the xp install cd.. should go to "insert system disk" or similar. then insert winxp install cd and restart again. should work thats what did it for me

[rjfvillarosa]

Check the ASUS site to see if there is a "flash utility" you may need to download that and run it from the floppy before the BIOS update, the flash utility installs the BIOS update using the BIOS update .bin file you have just downloaded.



must learn to type faster.

[InevitableTruth]

Originally Posted by klick81 should be able to create a bootable floppy to boot to dos prompt with computer using now, then unpack these two things to it or another disk that you can pop in afterwards:

Sorry, i'm still learning, I have some basic computer component knowledge(i'm better at software/programs) but haven't used a floppy or even SEEN DOS in over 10 years.. so how exactly do i get to dos/make a floppy to boot to dos?

[rjfvillarosa]

Have you got a floppy installed in the new machine and your roommates machine?
You can download a 98 or ME boot disk here www.bootdisk.com and use it to boot up to a DOS like environment that will be enough to run the update floppies.

[InevitableTruth]

Yes.. ok it makes sense now.. I will have to try this tonight. Hopefully the updates will solve the problem.
thanks again for all the help so far..

[InevitableTruth]

ok... well after much ado, I have managed to create a cd boot disk loaded with the bios. I flashed the bios and everything seemed fine. I also noticed there was a totally different boot pic than before, so i'm sure it worked. however..it is STILL hanging in the same spot

[InevitableTruth]

..

[InevitableTruth]

I am leaning towards a full reformat of my hard drive, but i'm getting this http://img113.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ntitledtp8.png when i boot. so i know it is reading my hdd.

[klick81]

i found something for a different chipset, but maybe its the same the via chipset your mb uses..
are you using a usb mouse & keyboard?
if so try using (if you have one) a ps/2 keyboard and mouse during install, and also go into the settings (F12 or DEL when computer starts, should show a prompt) and look for a setting relating to "Legacy USB Support" and disable it. winxp machine doesnt need this .. and evidently doesnt like it with some chipsets. i'll keep looking see if i can find anything else.. surprised that the bios update didnt work..

[Cricket]

You're using a Quantum FireBall on that new computer?!? I'd forget about using something that old (and not so good) and just get a new SATA hard drive from Maxtor, Seagate or Western Digital.

Cricket

[klick81]

one more thing i just found from MS website, when you pop in the install cd and it boots into the blue text (dos like) screen and says "Press F6 if you have to install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver." press F7. this will install disable the acpi (advanced configuration and power interface). you won't see any visual confirmation for it once you press f7 though, so just have to try it. once xp installs you can always change this by using the update driver in device manager.

[InevitableTruth]

Originally Posted by klick81 one more thing i just found from MS website, when you pop in the install cd and it boots into the blue text (dos like) screen and says "Press F6 if you have to install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver." press F7. this will install disable the acpi (advanced configuration and power interface). you won't see any visual confirmation for it once you press f7 though, so just have to try it. once xp installs you can always change this by using the update driver in device manager.

Thanks, i have been pressing f7.. if i don't i get an acpi error that says my mobo bios is not fully acpi compliant. And also i do have a Maxtor Diamondmax 9 200G hdd that i've tried it on as well, still no luck.