Help with my new build please

[CrysisComa]

ok as far as i know i put everything together correctly. then because the motherboard has no onboard video i put my nVIDIA 9400gt in it. but for some reason when i power the computer on everything turns on but the computer isnt recognizing the monitor. the monitor just stays the way it is. and i cant get it to show anything. please help, this is my first build

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130265&cm_re=msi_motherboard-_-13-130-265-_-Product


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130390&cm_re=evga_9400_gt-_-14-130-390-_-Product


just tell me if you need to see the rest of the parts

 

[tecmo34]

Please review and complete the checklist provide to the below thread. It will help pin point your issue.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[CrysisComa]

Please review and complete the checklist provide to the below thread. It will help pin point your issue.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-video-problems

ok i checked this and to the best of my knowledge i did everything correctly. the only thing i can possibly think of is the Power LED that goes from the case to the Mobo has 3 holes, while the motherboard only supplies 2 of those gold pin things sticking out for that LED.

also does anyone know what a connector from the case thats called AC'97? because its attached to the audio connector, but im not sure if its suppose to plug in anywhere


is it possible because this board is Ati/Amd it doesnt support a Nvidia card? or because the Pci-e x16 slot is facing a certain way i had to install the card upside down? its still in the slot correctly but could it being upside down have something to do with it?

 

[CrysisComa]

ok i think i may have found the problem.

this is my CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=amd_phenom_ii_x4_955-_-19-103-808-_-Product

however on the Msi website

http://eu.msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpu2&prod_no=1856&maincat_no=1

my mobo supports Phenom II 955 but with a model number of
HDZ955FBGMBOX

but the board supports Phenoms with a model number of
HDZ955FBK4DGI
HDX955FBK4DGI
HDX955FBK4DGM

could this be the problem?

 

[tecmo34]

Yes... if you BIOS don't support the CPU, the system may not boot at all (some manufacturers setup it so that it'll boot as an unsupported CPU and down clock it).

I would recommend trying to flash your BIOS to the latest version using a support AMD chip (an older chip you might have)

The AC'97 connector is for MOBO's that don't support HD audio...

 

[CrysisComa]

Yes... if you BIOS don't support the CPU, the system may not boot at all (some manufacturers setup it so that it'll boot as an unsupported CPU and down clock it).

I would recommend trying to flash your BIOS to the latest version using a support AMD chip (an older chip you might have)

The AC'97 connector is for MOBO's that don't support HD audio...

thanks, i have an old Am2 dual core. can i use that? also what do you mean by not boot at all? because the computer DOES turn on. the Cpu lights are on, which from the motherboard manual means the CPU is at full power. so should i just take my old Am2 CPU and try that?

 

[MadAdmiral]

Yes, the old AM2 CPU will work in the board.

 

[CrysisComa]

Yes, the old AM2 CPU will work in the board.

thanks, and now how do i flash my Bios to the latest version? do i need internet connection on the new build? do i need to install an OS?

 

[MadAdmiral]

Your motherboard's manual should have more details on how to flash the BIOS. You'll probably need a connection on another PC and a USB flash drive. You shouldn't need an OS installed.

 

[tecmo34]

also what do you mean by not boot at all? because the computer DOES turn on. the Cpu lights are on, which from the motherboard manual means the CPU is at full power. so should i just take my old Am2 CPU and try that?

What I mean is you won't be able to see or get into the BIOS, which is what is considered the boot process up through the OS logging process.


Here is a link to your required BIOS and MadAdmiral is correct about reviewing your MOBO manual. http://eu.msi.com/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=bios&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1856

 

[CrysisComa]

What I mean is you won't be able to see or get into the BIOS, which is what is considered the boot process up through the OS logging process.


Here is a link to your required BIOS and MadAdmiral is correct about reviewing your MOBO manual. http://eu.msi.com/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=bios&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1856

ok i just almost had a heart attack. i was about to switch the CPU with my old one. so i tool out the new CPU, then looked at the bottom. 3 of the Pins were bent. so i managed to straighten out 2 but the third one broke. so i was freaking out when i stumbled on someone online saying that he broke a pin but it was a pin the CPU doesnt use. so with this hope in mind i reinstalled the new processor (keep in mind i had straitened out 2 of the pins)

now im getting a signal and when i start the computer it says "reboot and select proper boot device, or enter boot media and press any key" what do i do now? do i insert the disk that came with the motherboard? (i tried the OS disk) or could that Pin actually have done something that caused it to say that, and im still screwed?

 

[tecmo34]

Okay... it wasn't a BIOS issue... It was three bent pins..

You need to go into your BIOS and select to boot from your CD\DVD drive, install your OS disk and save and exit your BIOS. Your PC will reboot and ask do you want to boot from disk, you say Yes and you are off and running on the OS install.

I would highly recommend checking your performance once you get everything running to make sure the damage pin isn't effecting your performance. It you are booting, it shouldn't but it could effect how one core runs...

 

[CrysisComa]

Okay... it wasn't a BIOS issue... It was three bent pins..

You need to go into your BIOS and select to boot from your CD\DVD drive, install your OS disk and save and exit your BIOS. Your PC will reboot and ask do you want to boot from disk, you say Yes and you are off and running on the OS install.

I would highly recommend checking your performance once you get everything running to make sure the damage pin isn't effecting your performance. It you are booting, it shouldn't but it could effect how one core runs...

ok but how do i get to my bios? normally the screen should flash that tells me what key to press to get to it right? but that message is the first thing that pops up. just for the hek of it i tried doing Cntrl+Alt+Delete. and some colorful picture of the motherboard company and motherboard name came up. should i just try pressing all the F1 F2 F3 etc .keys?

 

[tecmo34]

Try pressing the Del once you restart the PC.

If that doesn't work, install your old CPU to rule out your CPU bring defective now.

What is your hard drive??

 

[CrysisComa]

Try pressing the Del once you restart the PC.

If that doesn't work, install your old CPU to rule out your CPU bring defective now.

What is your hard drive??

im using my old 250gb 7200rpm SATA hard drive from my old computer that i just took apart so that i can use the parts for this one, it has Windows Vista installed on it, but i want to install Windows 7. i wasnt sure wether i needed to format it before i put it in the new computer but i figured it would give me the option of formatting it (or format it automatically) when i installed Windows 7

 

[MadAdmiral]

I would reformat the drive before starting the install. If you have anything you want to keep on it, make sure to copy the files to another drive.

 

[tecmo34]

Have you go into your BIOS with your new or old CPU, so you can install Win7?? When you get it to boot from the CD\DVD, it will allow you to format your drive to clean your old system off.

 

[CrysisComa]

hey thanx everyone for your help so far, right now i just have to wait till my new Thermal Paste arrives because when i fixed the pins on my Cpu i had to remove it from the fan which of course ruined the thermal paste, so it should be here on Tuesday.

also if anyone by any chance knows where i can find a diagram of the Phenom II x4 955 that would help alot. im pritty sure my Cpu is fine, if i can find some kind of diagram of what each pin on the cpu does then i could know for certain if there is any damage because of the pin thats missing

 

[CrysisComa]

ok so i just got thermal paste, installed it on the new Cpu and started the computer, i went to the Bios and the CPU temp is around 40C, is that normal? so far the CPU seems fine but how exactly do i tell if the broken pin is affecting it? are there any performance tests i can run or anywhere i can go on the computer to see what speed the CPU is running at? (i checked the Bios and it says its running at the normal 3.2ghz)

 

[obsidian86]

http://cpuid.com/

 

[CrysisComa]

ok so i used that program and apparently my CPU is perfectly fine, which is weird considering i found another broken pin before i instaled it. so somehow it works perfectly with 2 broken pins. in any case thanks everyone for your help. i appreciate it

 

[CrysisComa]

Best answer selected by CrysisComa.