new build problems

[paJAMbla]

Here's what I have:

Intel D875pbz skt 478 motherboard (Used)
P2.8ghz cpu (norhwood) (Used)
Crucial 2x1gb DDR 400 184 pin ram
WD 160gb SATA HD
Lite-on SATA DVD rom
Nvidia 6800gs AGP (used)

There seems to be several problems. It turns on, MB light on, all fans come on, first screen shows my video card, next screen shows Intel logo, etc, then the post(?) screen flashes really fast.

What I've caught is that my memory is recognized appropriately. At the bottom it says keyboard error. I do not see the keyboard light up in any way. I have plugged it in the back usb port, front usb port and with an adapter the ps2 port. Nothing...same message.

I hit F2, which is the command to bios on this board, and nothing. Ultimately a screen comes on telling me to put in a boot disk, etc. When I do....nothing. I have tried over and over and I can't get into bios.

I do NOT hear the HD or DVD rom at all. I have checked all connections to make sure they are indeed connected and seated properly. I should mention that the used psu I'm using works fine but has no SATA connectors. I have used molex-to-SATA adapters to connect to my HD and DVD.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[paJAMbla]

Okay...somehow the XP disk booted up and is on the "welcome to setup" window. I cannot get a keyboard to be recognized. Two different keyboards on every connection. Put a little usb hub in one port and it lit up. My laser mouse is on. Why wouldn't the keyboard be working?

[LeftyAce]

Do you have access to a 'real' PS/2 keyboard? I'd try that first. You need a keyboard to get into the BIOS, and from there you should be able to fix the boot order.


*EDIT* Ok, it's booting. Get a ps/2 keyboard; it's possible the BIOS isn't happy booting w/a USB device.

[paJAMbla]

Well....it got to XP one time. Now nothing. Not even a window telling me to put in a bootable disk. Just a black screen.

[LeftyAce]

Have you tried this: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

Do you have a PS/2 keyboard? I'd be interested in eliminating the kb as a possible problem causer. Some older BIOSes don't like dealing with USB during POST.

If you don't have one, cheap ones are easy to find at retail places. A no-name KB would be fine.

[paJAMbla]

thanks lefty. I'll try and find a ps2 keyboard. I wonder why it would actually get to XP setup one time and now it won't get there. I will say that I've booted over and over to read the very fast post window and it doesn't even say what key to hit to go to bios. I just read it in the manual and it doesn't work.

[LeftyAce]

I wonder why it would actually get to XP setup one time and now it won't get there.

I'd try the out-of-case build I linked to above, if you haven't already.

[paJAMbla]

checked and you were right Lefty! For some reason it didn't want to recognize USB keyboard. Weird things are happening but I got into bios.

[LeftyAce]

Ok, can you now load XP? If not, it's gotta come out of the case.

[paJAMbla]

Yes...I got XP loaded. But I'm having problems with drivers. I have the Nvidia 6800gs AGP installed and when I tried to load drivers from the XFX disk, I get an error message that says: "...could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your hardware. Setup will now exit." Obviously windows didn't recognize it and load the drivers automatically but it does show up on the first screen when I boot up the computer.

I also got an error message when I put in the motherboard disk (Intel d875pbz). It would not allow me to open it to install drivers. First error window says, "internal error. Process time out". Next message says: "unknown error."

This has the driver for my LAN network connection, right? Can't access the internet to get latest drivers on anything. But that doesn't answer why I can't access the XFX video card driver--even though it may be outdated.

My ethernet and video controllers have a yellow question mark next to them in the device manager.

[LeftyAce]

So the windows 'found new hardware wizard' can't find the drivers on the cds?

If the CDs have an autorun menu, install the drivers through that. Otherwise, see if you can find the driver installers on the cd and just run them. I've had some issues with the windows automatic thingey not finding drivers on cd before....

[paJAMbla]

No. Nothing comes up about found new hardware....just these error messages and won't allow me to go further. The Intel disk won't work at all and the XFX disk goes to the options but when I click on "drivers" it gives me this error message about not being compatible with my hardware. It should be compatible...I don't get it.

[LeftyAce]

Hmm. Can you download the drivers from XFX and Intel? (Using another computer, of course). That'll also give you the latest drivers, as opposed to whatever's on the cds.