Need help on newly finished build.

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VinceAK04

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This is my first build. I am having problems with installing software I guess. Here are the specs:

ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS MOBO

E6300 CPU

ASUS DVD-R

500W PSU

NVIDIA 7900GS

WD 160GB HD

When I turned on the computer everything seemed to start up fine. It gave me the option to go to setup or display bios. I tried to put in my OS but it didn't do anything, I'm not sure what to do. I can go in the setup and go through everything but I dont' know how to boot my cd. Please help, and thanks in advance.

Vince
 
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kshipper

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Yeah. Ya' need to get intot he BIOS setup (usually Delete key or F2 Key at startup). Once in there, poke around and look for a spot called Boot order. Set your CD/DVD first. Make sure you save on exit and reboot with the Windows CD in the drive. Watch the screen and press a key on your keyboard to tell it to Boot from the CD. If you don't do that at the right time then your computer will just try to boot from the hard drive and it will complain that it can't find a bootable drive. It all seems pretty confusing at first, but after you build a few systems you will get used to the procedure.
 
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VinceAK04

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Okay, I changed the boot order and it started the windows setup. It finished a portion and wanted to restart, but after restarting a message came up and said "disk read error". I tried to reboot and the same message popped up. After that I decided to go to repair instead of setup and did a chkdsk. It ended up saying " there are one or more unrecoverable problems on your hard disk". Any suggestions?
 
Mondoman

Mondoman

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How are your drives connected? I believe this MB only has a single IDE/PATA header (like most newer MBs), and you don't want to mix optical and hard drives on the same IDE/PATA cable, so at most one of your optical and hard drives should be IDE/PATA, with the rest all SATA.
 
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VinceAK04

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The hard drive is connected with a sata cable and the optical is using the ide/pata, but the power connections are connected together.
 
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kshipper

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Well disk read error is not good. The best way to verify that hard drive is ok at this stage of the game is to go to the hard drive manufacturers website and locate a 'drive fitness utiltiy' If its a Seagate it's called 'Seatools' if it's a Maxtor it's called 'Maxblaster' ...what you do then is you set the Boot in Bios to be a floppy drive and you put the program on a floppy drive (You have to use a good work computer to make the floppy) then you boot to that floppy and do a drive fitness test. If it tests bad then it needs to be changed.
 
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VinceAK04

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Its model no. is ISO-500. I got it from compusa. compusa's generic psu... 500w. tried switching the connection for the HD to the one that was being used by one of my fans. still says the volume has one or more unrecoverable problems. could it be the hard drive?
 
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VinceAK04

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SATA Hard Drives
320 GB, 300 MB/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM

MB ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus 755

I think I may have found a problem :) I don't think these are compatible and that is what i'm using. Can anyone back me up on that? I bought a different mobo to begin with and that HD was for that mobo and a amd cpu. i replaced the cpu and mobo for the ones i have now and forgot to return the hd thinking it would be compatible.
 
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kshipper

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OK If you don't have a floppy drive you can swap the hard drive for the one you know that works. However...a floppy drive can be robbed from any old system and hooked up. This is one of those rare times it can be handy. Some systems allow you to boot from a Flash Drive. That's another way to run the hard drive diagnostics.

You mention that the Asus motherboard and your SATA hard drive are not compatible. Did you find that information on the Asus website? You don't mention the manufacturer of your hard drive. For the hard drive to be incompatible would be pretty rare, but not impossible.
 
cutthroat

cutthroat

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Does your HDD show up in the BIOS? It also needs to be in the boot order as well. Should be (not set in stone):

1. Floppy
2. DVD
3. HDD

The HDD must be formatted, I'm not sure if you can get to the section of Windows setup where you can format and partition drives without a formatted drive in the first place.

The first time you boot from CD it copies the setup files, then it reboots, then you shouldn't touch anything and it should search for current versions on Windows on you installed HDD's, then give you the option to format, partition and install windows on a HDD of your choice.
 
madmurph

madmurph

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If he changed the first boot device to cd/dvd, he may have inadvertanly eliminated the HD in the boot sequence entirely. Once it goes through the sequence you describe -- boot from CD; copy files and partition HD, install windows; re-boot; finish installation -- upon the next reboot, the OP would (should) have to go back into BIOS and set the RAID device as the first boot device (or at least make sure it is listed in the sequence). The OP should also make sure the RAID controller is enabled in BIOS, or it won't find the drive at all. It's not HDD or HD-0.
 
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VinceAK04

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Thanks for all the help guys. I got it working now. I just finished installing windows xp pro on to it, but it won't let me change from the lowest resolution and I can't connect to the internet. When i plugged in the ethernet, instead of it lighting up green it lights up red where it connects. Does that make sense to you, thats the best way I can explain it. I think the mobo came with a cd that had drivers on it but I misplaced it and can't find it. Can anyone give me advice?
 
cutthroat

cutthroat

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Do you have a network card you can put in it that XP will likely have drivers for? Otherwise you're gonna need to download the motherboard drivers on another PC and burn them to CD.
 
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VinceAK04

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I was looking at downloading the drivers onto a cd. I'm not sure what to do though. I went to ASUS's website and found the area to dl them but there wasn't anything for network drivers there. There was audio, utilities, and manual. Those were my options.
 
Mondoman

Mondoman

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Thanks for all the help guys. I got it working now. I just finished installing windows xp pro on to it, but it won't let me change from the lowest resolution and I can't connect to the internet. When i plugged in the ethernet, instead of it lighting up green it lights up red where it connects. Does that make sense to you, thats the best way I can explain it. I think the mobo came with a cd that had drivers on it but I misplaced it and can't find it. Can anyone give me advice?
Click to expand...

With all due respect, how do you KNOW you "got it working now"? Did you run the WD disk diagnostics to verify that your hard drive is working correctly, or did you use a new hard drive instead?

As for your ethernet issue, some use red LEDs, some use green LEDs, some use yellow LEDs; my guess is that the LED is just lighting up to verify that the physical link (cable) is properly connected. The reason you can't use the ethernet port (or some other hardware functions) is that you haven't yet installed the various drivers for your MB hardware.

Your MB manufacturer's website should have the various drivers available for download. Be sure to download only the correct drivers for your MB, and be sure to install them in the correct order. Your MB manual (also available for download from the maker's web site if you've lost your copy) should have instructions on how to go about installing the drivers. If you can't figure out the correct order from the manual, find out the correct order (e.g. from the MB maker's tech support) before installing them.
Since you seem to be in a bit over your head here, you might also try getting help from a friend who knows this stuff or hiring someone for an hour or two to help you setup the system properly.

PS - With a fairly high-end video card such as yours, buying a bottom-end PS like the CompUSA one is often a false economy. You should consider getting a decent-quality PS for $75 or so on sale.
 
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VinceAK04

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Yeah I got a new HD. I'm going to get a new PSU tomorrow. Thanks for the tip. I ran seatools and the diagnostics said passed so i figured it worked.
 
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