Friends newly built PC gets BSOD and doesn't boot back up, any help?

[csquared587]

I asked the ASUS board on here too as I wasnt sure which area this should go.

My sisters boyfriend just built his PC and it got a BSOD after a few days. He said it wont boot, he just gets a screen that says,

" Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key."

I'm trying to help him over the phone, but its hard without me being there to look at it. His mobo is an

Asus M4A79xTD Evo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

I was going to tell him to reset his bios, but he said he didn't see it anywhere on the bios screen. He then said his boot sequence had his cd-rom at first priority and his HDD last. I told him to switch that but when he tried to boot they said it was telling him Primary IDE master is not detected.

Any suggestions?

 

[g048989h]

He should be able to jump the bios from the motherboard. have him read his MB manual, it will show him where bios reset is. He may have to move a jumper over one pin, then move it back. The details will be in the MB book.
Have him double check his HDD connections. He needs to really unplug them, then reconnect them and be 100% sure they snap in tightly. Sounds to me like the boot drive is acting up, atleast that is where I would start. There is a trouble shooting guide on this site that covers almost everything he should check. Find that and send it to him. Post back the results of the bios reset and the connection inspection.

 

[csquared587]

He just plugged hit HDD into a different slot and got the same results. He said it was in there tight.

 

[g048989h]

Tight at bth ends? I assume so but have to be sure. Did he clear his Cmos?
Was he doing and OC'ing, changing clocks on his ram?
I am pretty sure he has a HDD issue. Where his HDD is in the boot sequence shouldnt stop it from booting. In my experience the error message points to HDD not communicating. Have him totally unplug the SATA data cable from both the HDD and the MB, then reconnect. If it still fails have him try an new data cable. I know that sounds simple, but it has happened where a bad connection or bad data cable has driven guys nuts trying everything else first.
Does the HDD spin when he starts the PC? I should have asked that already. He should be able to hear it running, feel some vibration/heat from the drive. If not, then look at the power, have him check the connection, then switch the SATA power lead to another.

 

[csquared587]

Nah, no OCing. I told him it is most likely an HDD issue and MS told him the same thing. He says he was downloading a game from steam when he got his BSOD.


Both sides are said to be tight(hard to really tell with me being 4 hours away ) I'm getting the model of the HDD now to see if hes got it hooked up to his mobo the right way. Ill ask about the noise/heat when I hear back from him.

 

[g048989h]

Dont discount the data cable being bad either. It has happened before and could be a very simple fix.
Good Luck