The BIOS and XP do not seem to recognize new PCI expansion cards when

HARDWARE, COMPONENTS AND SOFTWARE:

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 710
Revision: C2 Stepping
Speed: 2.6 Ghz
Socket AM2
Supported Voltage 1.5 v
External Clock 200 MHz
Max Speed 3700 MHz
Current Speed 2600 MHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103648

Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Product Name: M3N72-D
Version: 1.XX
http://reviews.cnet.com/motherboar [...] 14026.html

Power Supply: Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371004

BIOS
Vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Version: ASUS M3N72-D ACPI BIOS Revision 0603
BIOS Release Date: 12/09/2008
BIOS ROM Size: 1024 KBytes

RAM: 4 GB (XP reports only 3.5 GB but I read that this misreporting is expected for 32 bit machines)
Socket Designation DIMM_A1
Current Speed 800 MHz
Memory Type DDR2

Front Media Panel: Silverstone FP-34
http://www.silverstonetek.com/prod [...] p?pno=fp34

Vantec SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter 2.5"/3.5"/5.25"
http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/266

Windows XP with Service Pack 3

****************************
HISTORY:

The hardware-components listed above were purchased individually and assembled by me in August of 2009 with the help and direct supervision of a friend who works in IT and builds several computers per month.

****************************

The BIOS and XP do not seem to recognize new PCI expansion cards when they are installed. I installed three different Soundblaster cards (CT4830, SB0200 and an Audigy) and two identical SATA/RAID cards. BIOS had no listing for any of them, and XP didn't give me an "Add New Hardware" wizard during any of the trials. I realize now that the BIOS might not have recognized the Soundblasters because it is set to use the motherboard's on-board sound system, but I believe that XP should have noticed that new sound cards were there. The SATA/RAID cards (manufacturer is unknown) might have their own on-board BIOS but I believe that the presence of the cards should have been noticed by XP. All of the test-cards were installed into the same white PCI_2 slot, because the white PCI_1 slot is nearly covered by the fan & heatsink on the video card that is installed in the blue PCI Express 2.0 x16_1 slot above.

How do I force BIOS, XP, and the ASUS M3N72-D Motherboard to notice new PCI cards when they are installed?

Expect trouble getting soundblaster cards installed. What driver did you try and install?

I simply downloaded drivers for the three Soundblaster cards from the Internet. One came from Creative, and the other two came from driver websites and I don't recall which ones. To be honest, I am okay with using the onboard sound system. I only installed the Soundblaster cards to see if the new hardware would get noticed.