PC wont post please help

[blaze777]

I just decided to put together a new PC here are the components...

MB: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
RAM: 2 gig Corsair Memory
Video Card: e-GeForce 7800 GT
HD: Western Digital Caviar 150 gig's
Power Supply: Antec 550 watts

These are the basics, and are the only things I've installed thus far. I am getting the green light on the mobo but the PC will not power on. I have checked and rechecked everything. I plugged in the ATX 12v, EATXPWR, and EZ_Plug. Also, the Vid card and HD are plugged in. The darn thing will not post. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[mdd1963]

Drop back to a single stick in an approved slot, remove pwr and ide/sata cables from all drives, ensure cpu has no bent pins and is securely locked down, ensure cpu fan plugged into correct header, clear CMOS, and try again....

(Also, dbl check that no mb standoffs are in incorrect positions beneath mainboard!)

You might also try completely removing the video card jsut to eliminate it from the " power on/fans spinning" equation....

 

[BoneEM]

check all wiring, unplug all cdroms hard drives, use one stick of memory ddr dual channel can be a pain if sticks are slightly diff, check for bios update for support on athlon x2 procesors.

 

[captaincharisma]

is it just me or is this the third post in as many days about this. this might sound stupid but i managed it. have you connected the wire from the power swithc to the mobo correct. i managed to connect the wrong way round which confused me a bit. most mobo manuals tell you where to put it but not which way round.

you might be smarter than me though and already know which way round its supoosed to go.

well unless the power connecters changed on mobos in the past few years (which they probly did) but if you put the connectors on wrong wouldn't that damage the mobo?

 

[Lan]

No. The power switch is just that, a switch. It doesn't matter which way the power flows through the switch, the power flow will be interupted anyway as the switch is designed to do. As long as it is on the proper pins on the MoBo, I've been able to flip it around with no issues on every board I've tried it on.

 

[blaze777]

Well, I've tried everything including trying to boot the system with no peripherals at all. Yes, I am sure I connected the power switch in the correct location i even played with it and put it in backwards to make sure. I'm at a loss right now! I am going to return my power supply and try a different brand to see if that mght be the problem. Since I can't even get a spin out of the fan I am thinking that could be the problem.

 

[shadowduck]

Before you return your PSU check to make sure you didnt improperly install standoffs which will short out the motherboard. Make sure there are only standoffs (the gold things) where you have screws. This is actually an common mistake to make, and other parts are replaced needlessly when this is actually the problem.

 

[blaze777]

I'm glad I returned the PSU before I read your post because it was in fact the PSU.

But to answer your question, I had checked those before hand and they were set in the same place.

I am pretty pumped right now. I am going to try and load windows in just a moment. I'll keep everyone posted! Thanks for all the help.

 

[blaze777]

Okay guys I have a new problem now. That is, when I try to install windows I get the following error...

"STOP: 0x000000A5 (Parameter1, Parameter2, Parameter3, Parameter4)
The ACPI Bios in this system is not fully compliant to the specification. Please read the Readme.txt for possible workarounds, or contact your system vendor for an updated bios.

The bios in this system is not fully ACPI compliant. Please contact your system vendor for an updated bios. If you are unable to obtain an updated bios or the latest bios supplied by your vendor is not ACPI compliant, you can turn off ACPI mode during text mode setup. To do this, simply press the F7 key when you are prompted to install storage drivers. The system will not notify you that the F7 key was pressed--it will silently disable ACPI and allow you to continue your installation."

I tried the solution offered by Microsoft by pressing F7. This seemed to work in that I was able to install windows. But now I am crashing every time windows trys to start normally.

I think it's a bit strange that I would have to bypass the ACPI controller since my mobo is new and up to date with all of the latest bells and whistles.

Thanks

 

[Lan]

Have you updated to the latest BIOS for your MoBo?

 

[blaze777]

The short answer is no. I have only been able to get into windows once in regular mode. At that point I installed the 4- in 1 drivers hoping that would help fix the problems. I have not gotten into windows since in normal mode.

That said, do you really think it's an updated bios issue? My mobo is pretty new so I imagine the bios would have any bios information necessary.

 

[mdd1963]

Are you booting from an old WinXP install from a hard drive that was previously in another system, or a freshly partitioned/formatted drive?

If there was an old install, and your BIOS is defaulted to loading from "HDD", you might get such errors, as few systems will boot cleanly off of an old install but a new/different mobo...

Set BIOS to boot from WInXP CD, change the boot order....; you can then either delete/recreate partition, or try a repair install, copying over the previous installation, if applicable....

You might also try clearing the CMOS (reset BIOS to factory defaults) with the required jumper/switch as applicable on your board....

You can also check Asus website to confirm your BIOS version includes X2/4800+ dual core support, but I'd also suspect it would as well, as those boards came out after dual cores I think...

Edit----

ALso, does that mb have an integrated SATA RAID controller? You might be able to skip a lot of issues (RAID 0/1/5 controller drivers via F6 key to install SATA drivers before WInXP will boot) by loading thru a semi-normal/non-raid contr port SATA port, if you are even using a SATA drive...

 

[mdd1963]

Accckkkkk!

Is it too late for you to RMA the video card, and tell them you instead want a 7900GT for $299? (25-30% faster than 7800GT, and newly released a few days ago!)

(Tell them it freezes intermittently or sumthin'!)

 

[blaze777]

Are you booting from an old WinXP install from a hard drive that was previously in another system, or a freshly partitioned/formatted drive?

If there was an old install, and your BIOS is defaulted to loading from "HDD", you might get such errors, as few systems will boot cleanly off of an old install but a new/different mobo...

Set BIOS to boot from WInXP CD, change the boot order....; you can then either delete/recreate partition, or try a repair install, copying over the previous installation, if applicable....

You might also try clearing the CMOS (reset BIOS to factory defaults) with the required jumper/switch as applicable on your board....

You can also check Asus website to confirm your BIOS version includes X2/4800+ dual core support, but I'd also suspect it would as well, as those boards came out after dual cores I think...

Edit----

ALso, does that mb have an integrated SATA RAID controller? You might be able to skip a lot of issues (RAID 0/1/5 controller drivers via F6 key to install SATA drivers before WInXP will boot) by loading thru a semi-normal/non-raid contr port SATA port, if you are even using a SATA drive...

I am going to try clearing the CMOS when I get home. Hopefully that will help. Yes the mobo does have integrated SATA RAID controller. WOUld hitting F6 help even if I am not setting up a RAID array???

Wow, I really missed on the hole vid card thing, I will contact NewEgg to see about a possible RMA. Thanks for the tip there.

 

[blaze777]

I just cleared the CMOS and that seemed to help. I will have to wait until windows is fully installed to determine if it actually worked. Thanks for the tip, I am making progress.

Now I remember why I hadn't built a system myself in over 2 years!

 

[mdd1963]

"WOUld hitting F6 help even if I am not setting up a RAID array??? "

I believe so, unless loading from a native/"normal" SATA port, that many users have to resort to F6 to install drivers for their integrated raid controller...

 

[Lan]

"WOUld hitting F6 help even if I am not setting up a RAID array??? "

I believe so, unless loading from a native/"normal" SATA port, that many users have to resort to F6 to install drivers for their integrated raid controller...

Yes, but only if you are installing a RAID array. You don't need to do this for just one or two plain SATA drives.

 

[shadowduck]

"WOUld hitting F6 help even if I am not setting up a RAID array??? "

I believe so, unless loading from a native/"normal" SATA port, that many users have to resort to F6 to install drivers for their integrated raid controller...

Yes, but only if you are installing a RAID array. You don't need to do this for just one or two plain SATA drives.

Depends on the motherboard. I have an Asus A8V Del board and have to use F6 even tho I only have one SATA drive. Otherwise Windows Setup cannot find my hard drive.

 

[Lan]

"WOUld hitting F6 help even if I am not setting up a RAID array??? "

I believe so, unless loading from a native/"normal" SATA port, that many users have to resort to F6 to install drivers for their integrated raid controller...

Yes, but only if you are installing a RAID array. You don't need to do this for just one or two plain SATA drives.

Depends on the motherboard. I have an Asus A8V Del board and have to use F6 even tho I only have one SATA drive. Otherwise Windows Setup cannot find my hard drive.


Hmm...Intresting. I didn't know that. Now I know I'll never buy an Asus board.