Computer Gurus I Too Need Your Help (Asus P4TE) (1 Viewer)

[Kevin_Graham]

After installing all the new parts the computer won't boot up properly. The lights on the CD-RW and DVD-ROM blink alternately. Outside of that theres no response, no effort to read any of the drives, including the hard drive. I've tried changing the IDE plugs at the mobo in both primary and secondary slots and it didn't make a difference. I need your expert help before I smoke my new computer!

ASUS P4TE

P4 1.6

512 RIMM

Barracuda 60GB

TDK CD-RW

DVD-ROM

SB Live!

 

[Jon_R]

If you've never built a pc before this can be a real bummer. Its often not that bad, and usually you will find the error, or at least fix it. Sometimes you put it back together and it just works, don't ask questions just go with it.

So here is what I do in that situation. Take it all back apart, you can leave the drives hooked up, just disconnect all the ide cables from the mobo. Next unplug all the cards, except video. Now check your ram, RIMMS I am not familiar with. Make sure the ram is seated properly. Give it a try.

Check to see that the cpu fan comes on, you don't want to burn anything up. Next see if the monitor comes on. OFten times accompanied by a beep. If nothing happens, you know its not your other cards so now you have narrowed it down. If it boots up, great, hook up the drives and retry. Continue this way until it is rebuilt. Sometimes things don't get seated just right, or you might have the mobo in there a little crooked and a pin or so of one of the cards isn't lining up just right. I've personally seen this.

Once, when I was working on this girls computer at college she was watching me and then all of a suddent things went blank. The system wouldn't turn on and I thought I really screwed it up. She freaked out (I really hated it when they watched me fix stuff.) So anyway, I play it all cool and say, oh that can happen. I just need to adjust this inside here. Of course, I had no idea what the hell happened. I put it back together and it booted. I didn't ask any questions.

If possible, try testing w/ known good components. If you have an older computer try the video card from that. I'd suggest the same thing w/ the RAM, but RIMMS are different.

Oh, and if you are totally new to this, double check your motherboard connections. Always start at the lowest level and work up when trying to fix a problem of this nature.

Lemme know how this goes.

Jon

 

[Eric Samonte]

Not to make things look bad for Jon but this is actually what I'm scared will happen if I try and build one myself. Though I have from time to time pulled things out, put things in my PC, I have yet to fiddle with the MOBO that much. The best I've done on it is mess with jumper switches to overclock this thing.

Now my question is...is there a site where we can get like a "dummies" guide to building a PC? I know u can buy a book but then again, why spend for a book when u can get the info free online? Besides, the price of the book can very well go towards...say another stick of RAM?

 

[Brett DiMichele]

From a hardware standpoint, building a PC is common sense.
You just have to make sure that you use all the right parts.
The Jumopers and Bios settings is where you can spend some
time to get everything configured correctly. I agree with
Jon, I would tear it back down and start over taking my time
to make sure every card, every connector and every jumper
is set right.
You will get it...

 

[Kevin_Graham]

I re-installed everything making sure all the connections are tight. Unfortunately nothing has improved. All the fans are operating and a green light on the mobo is on but it never boots up. When I purchased the pieces locally I asked about settings on the mobo but I was told I could change all the settings in the bios instead. Guess I better look into changing those settings on the mobo.

 

[Wes T]

Just to make sure, connect only your hard drive. Make sure the jumper is set to Master. Also, it should be connected to the last connector on your IDE cable. Also, your typical IDE cable will have a single connector on the end that plugs into the mobo, and two connectors on the end that connects to the drive. The connector on the end is for master and the other one is for slave. It is usually always better to use the master or slave setting with a jumper on the drive instead of relying on cable select. If you are using rounded cables, try using the flat cables that came with your drive and see if that helps. That is everything I know to try. Good Luck.

 

[Pete Mazz]

Some ideas:

If you're using the Auto detect mode on the MB, try setting it manually. The manual shows all the settings.

Also, with this MB, if you've got 2 256 MB mem chips, you have to use 1 256 and 1 dummy chip in each bank.

Pete

 

[Kevin_Graham]

Thanks everyone for your comments. After re-installing everything and getting the same results I've decided to try changing the settings manually. This will definitely be a challenge for me.

Pete - I did install the memory as you suggested. I guess it's time to study the settings chapter of my mobo manual.

 

[brentl]

Before all else try

Resetting the Cmos using the jumper(see board documentation)

Just mentioning something nobody else mentioned!

R U getting any beeps??

Brent L

 

[Kevin_Graham]

Cmos? Wasn't Cmos the Apes god in Planet of the Apes? I have no idea what Cmos is so I looked in my mobo documentation and there was no mention of it.

 

[Eric Samonte]

CMOS is something that comes up when u hit del on startup...has bunch of stuff there..like slave, master drive whatever...

 

[Kevin_Graham]

After a lot of research I discovered that this mobo/cpu combination requires that the jumpers must first be set manually. After booting up, the bios must then be flashed to the latest driver(?). Then the jumpers can be set back to auto-detect. I set the jumpers and finally it booted up. Now I get a message that says 'Press a key to reboot'. Huh? So I pressed a key and it did not reboot. Do I boot from my floppy now and flash the bios or is there something else I need to do? This has been a pain in the neck but the final results will be worthwhile! I've learned that this mobo/cpu is capable of some very stable overclocking! Just in time for Jedi Outcast!

 

[AllenD]

Eric,
Kamusta na?!
I'm a complete novice and I've never seen the inside of a computer until I decided to build an HTPC myself. I used the net to search for articles also and I've since built three PCs that run rock solid, so I'll testify that you can build a PC by just reading a few articles.
The first article I ever read was Xcel's "Best In Class" hardware list for HTPC. If I remember correctly, you asked about HTPCs a while back so I thought I'd bring up this gem of a post. At first the post was all Greek to me. But the more I read it, the more it made sense on how to choose hardware. I ultimately learned how to choose hardware through Xcel's (AKA Wayne R. Gerdes) post.
The next thing I found on the net was Anandtech which happens to be one of the leading sites for PC users and builders alike. You can search for articles on hardware, reviews, or general info at Anandtech's Search Page. I typed in "building" AND "computer" on the search fields, checked Storage and System and found these two documents: "How to Build a Computer" and "How to Build a Computer Part 2 - The Boot Up." If you know how to choose hardware you'll only need Part 2. It is honestly very simple to build your own machine and quite rewarding. Email me if you have any further questions.
EDIT: I almost forgot. Check out Tom's Hardware, too for more info.

 

[AllenD]

Kevin,
Having any luck? I'm not familiar with RIMMs either so I can't help you in that department, and I'm also guessing you meant DIMM. How far are you into the build? How do you boot, through a boot disk with CD-ROM support? Is your Barracuda a bare drive?
Hopefully you can finish your build soon since I'm anxious to hear how quiet your 60GB Barracuda is. I want to add one to my HTPC for HD recording. Email me if it's more convenient.

 

[socrates maroudis]

I hope that you have things working by now. If not then here are some suggestions.

1. Leave your computer alone and read the manual that came with your motherboard. It contains a wealth of information that will help you if you run into anymore problems.

2. Install the minimum components necessary for powering up your computer. This would be your CPU, RAM memory, video card and monitor. Don't forget to put the heat sink and fan on the CPU. If you have multiple sticks of RAM only put 1 in the motherboard for now. The less components that you have in the motherboard, the easier it is to troubleshoot if there is a problem.

3. Press the power button on your computer. You should see the video card type flash on the screen. Then the computer will run a memory scan and count the amount of memory. You will then see a message that says, "Hit DEL to enter setup." Go ahead and press the DEL button and a new screen will appear. If you pressed DEL too late and nothing happened then restart the computer and press DEL as soon as you see the above message.

4. Once you are at the BIOS screen it is a good indication that all the components presently in the motherboard are working OK. You can take out your motherboard manual and make sure that CPU and system clock are set properly and that you have the right multiple setting for your CPU. I can't be more specific than that because I am unfamiliar with your motherboard/CPU setup. The motherboard manual should tell you what to look for when first starting up your computer.

5. Now you can start adding components one at a time. First add the rest of your RAM one stick at a time. Then add your CD-Rom and after that your hard drive. Once again you can go into the BIOS to make sure that they were recognized properly.

6. Now you can install the OS of your choice on your hard drive. That is a whole other beast that I won't go into. If you successfully install your OS, then you can add the rest of your components one at a time: sound card, network interface card, DVD-ROM, etc.

I hope this helped you some. The most important things to do are to read the motherboard manual and install components one at a time. The web sites AllenD suggested are great and is where I looked when I started building. Please e-mail me if you have any trouble.

 

[Kevin_Graham]

I found some time last night to work on this again and discovered that everything was setup properly. I wasn't seeing my system settings at the beginning because my monitor takes a while to wake up from it's sleep mode. With 3 case fans, 2 psu fans, 1 cpu fan, and 1 video card fan this thing is loud! I might have to look into some quietter fans for a future upgrade. Now it's time to install all the software again. Thanks everyone for your assistance!