I suppose the best place to start would be the message I'm being given when I power my computer on. If I don't choose to enter BIOS (by pressing the Delete key, I believe -- not entirely sure if I'm in the BIOS or in some sort of setup, as this setup screen doesn't mention Biostar, the motherboard's manufacturer, anywhere, although I can set the memory frequency, CPU settings, and all the like in this "setup" screen), I'm brought to a black screen with the words:
"Reboot and select proper boot device
or Insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key"
I'm guessing this means the computer is either asking me to boot using a hard drive with an existing operating system, or it's asking for an operating system from a DVD or other media-related device. Trouble is, my computer won't detect Windows 7 when I place it into the optical drive, although the drive itself "whirrs" as if it's successfully reading the disc (maybe it's not; I don't really know).
Also, my BIOS seems to be all 8-bit, contrary to the slick, 3D-ish, hardware-accelerated look of the BIOS in the motherboard's quick installation guide. Don't know what the deal is there.
Here's what I have plugged in:
SATA / serial ATA for both the hard drive and the optical drive; HDD's serial ATA is plugged into SATA 1, and the optical drive's is in SATA 2.
The 24-pin power to the motherboard, of course. It didn't satisfyingly "snap" into the socket, though -- it took quite a bit of force to just get it in snugly.
The CPU fan.
The 4-pin CPU power.
The front umbilical cords (reset, power, all that; seems to be working fine, as the reset switch works, the blue power LED functions, the computer powers on immediately after I press the button...)
The front-port USB connectors.
If it helps, I'm noticing a six-pin connector in the back of my hard drive, although I have SATA / serial ATA plugged into it. Is this six-pin cable supposed to be important?
Beyond that, everything feels snug and proper, really; the SATA cables are firm, the serial ATA cables all snapped into place, the system fans and CPU fan both work, the computer seems to recognize both sticks of RAM, my CPU, my hard drive, and my optical drive... I'm perplexed, really.
It might be worth mentioning that my optical drive is over five years old, and that for the past ~year and a half, it's been sitting outside in my old computer case (enduring sub-zero temperatures at one extreme and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, plus humidity, on the other). I suppose it's also worth mentioning that I'm attempting to use illegitimate Windows 7 discs (three; all burned at different speeds; all from an existing, extremely reputable torrent provider -- at least, reputable as far as pirates are concerned. One was burned at x8, one at x12, and one at x16; and they were burned using a fairly modern optical drive).
Oh, and I'm not using the serial ATA included in my case's front umbilicals for anything; I'm using separate serial ATAs for both my hard drive and optical drive, which both, to reiterate, are plugged into SATA ports.
So, have I missed something regarding what needs to be connected? Should I clear my CMOS? I'm pretty much in the dark. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.
"Reboot and select proper boot device
or Insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key"
I'm guessing this means the computer is either asking me to boot using a hard drive with an existing operating system, or it's asking for an operating system from a DVD or other media-related device. Trouble is, my computer won't detect Windows 7 when I place it into the optical drive, although the drive itself "whirrs" as if it's successfully reading the disc (maybe it's not; I don't really know).
Also, my BIOS seems to be all 8-bit, contrary to the slick, 3D-ish, hardware-accelerated look of the BIOS in the motherboard's quick installation guide. Don't know what the deal is there.
Here's what I have plugged in:
SATA / serial ATA for both the hard drive and the optical drive; HDD's serial ATA is plugged into SATA 1, and the optical drive's is in SATA 2.
The 24-pin power to the motherboard, of course. It didn't satisfyingly "snap" into the socket, though -- it took quite a bit of force to just get it in snugly.
The CPU fan.
The 4-pin CPU power.
The front umbilical cords (reset, power, all that; seems to be working fine, as the reset switch works, the blue power LED functions, the computer powers on immediately after I press the button...)
The front-port USB connectors.
If it helps, I'm noticing a six-pin connector in the back of my hard drive, although I have SATA / serial ATA plugged into it. Is this six-pin cable supposed to be important?
Beyond that, everything feels snug and proper, really; the SATA cables are firm, the serial ATA cables all snapped into place, the system fans and CPU fan both work, the computer seems to recognize both sticks of RAM, my CPU, my hard drive, and my optical drive... I'm perplexed, really.
It might be worth mentioning that my optical drive is over five years old, and that for the past ~year and a half, it's been sitting outside in my old computer case (enduring sub-zero temperatures at one extreme and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, plus humidity, on the other). I suppose it's also worth mentioning that I'm attempting to use illegitimate Windows 7 discs (three; all burned at different speeds; all from an existing, extremely reputable torrent provider -- at least, reputable as far as pirates are concerned. One was burned at x8, one at x12, and one at x16; and they were burned using a fairly modern optical drive).
Oh, and I'm not using the serial ATA included in my case's front umbilicals for anything; I'm using separate serial ATAs for both my hard drive and optical drive, which both, to reiterate, are plugged into SATA ports.
So, have I missed something regarding what needs to be connected? Should I clear my CMOS? I'm pretty much in the dark. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.
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