Project PC, I am a noob.

[Horizon]

Well the parts came today:

Asus A7V333-RAID KT333 Socket A ATX w/ Audio/1394

Antec SX1040B SOHO File Server w/ 400W PSU (Black)

AMD Athlon MP 1800+ 1.533GHz Socket A CPU (Retail)

Sound Blaster Audigy X-Gamer SB0090X (Retail)

Leadtek WinFast A250 TD GeForce4 Ti4400 128MB DDR w/ TV-Out (Retail)

Kingston 512MB DDR SDRAM 64Mx64 PC266 2.5V Unbuffered DIMM

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Full Version (OEM/1pk)


I made a small mistake when ordering and got an Athalon MP (multiple processor). I was told that it didn't matter and would run as if it where an XP.

As instructed I started with the mobo first. CPU and heatsink went in like a breeze, the pictures on the 'QuickInstall' pamphlet that the components come with make this even easier. The Kingston RAM clipped in very nicely, no complaints there either. One thing, it does not show where the fan leads from the heatsink should plug to on the mobo. I gave it my best guess, I know bad idea. There has only one connection on the thing I could find that woudl fit, I put it in there.

Devices where a little tougher. It was hard making them fit the Antec SOHO 1040 case, especially the CD ROM drives. Seems like the Floppy is too far back in the case too, looks very odd. Here's where I get confused. IDE cables. I found the floppy connection on the mobo, and poped in the smaller IDE cable. My 20 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM HD was a little more of a challenge. I put it in the very first IDE connection point (there are 2 IDE slots on the mobo and 2 'Promise RAID' slots.) I look at an IDE cables and I see I------I---I each dark line is a connection. I used the very first and last on both the HD and CD-ROM. I don't know if this is correct.

Now, bear with me please, I am no tech - I am a grip at best. I look at this jumble of wires coming from the PSU. What goes to what I am thinking. I started with the two exhaust fans at the back of the case. Found a couple of cables that would connect with them and plugged them in. Next I went for the AXP plug to the mobo, *snap* ok thats in nice - good job. Well now there is a mess of wire everywhere. I didn't know what to plug to what so I started searching for power connections to the HD and CD. I found two but they are piggy backed off the exhaust fans. What the hell plug them in. I see that I need power for the floppy and find the plug for that, its in - ok going good.

Now, I have the IDE and power setup, I think. I then proceed to attach the LED Power/Monitor, Power Switch, Speaker leads to the mobo.

The only thing I can think of next is a place to plug my monitor in. I took out the GF4 and slid it into the AGP slot, very nice fit. I didn't see anythign that needed to be plugs some place so I lft it about like that.

Now I go to turn it on.

Turns on, fans kick over and start blowin. I didn't have the monitor plugged in (I don't know why) so I am not seeing anything. One thing I did notice was that the heatsink fan on the processor was not turning at all. Damn I thought. I remembered that if it doesn't work I could damage the chip so I shut the system off.

Thats about where I stand right now. A little tired, very frustrated, and kinda hungry.

A couple more things, the green mobo light will come on when I power up, so I know the AXP connection is good. Things I did not play with: jumpers, and switches. I didn't know what to set them for so I thought bes to leave them alone. (I tried reading the manual but it references to things that it thinks I should know that I don't and is very confusing for a lacky like myself.)

I am going to keep trying, maybe get some sleep tonigth but will be cracking at it all afternoon tommorrow. Hope I can get it to work.



~Taylor

 

[dhlucke]

STOP! Don't do anything else until a couple of us can give you some advice! You were right to turn the PC if the fan wasn't working.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[Horizon]

I think I may cry if there is somthing wrong with one of the parts. No seriously.


~Taylor

 

[dhlucke]

1. I don't own your motherboard so I can only give you general suggestions with respect to it. The CPU Fan should be plugged into a 3 pin connecter labled Fan 1 or CPU fan. It should be relatively close to the CPU socket. Don't turn the computer on until you resolve where exactly this plug is. I tried finding a close up picture of your mobo, but ASUS didn't have one.

2. I have that case and it's big. I ended up putting my two drives in the bottom 2 slots since my ide cables couldn't reach any farther. Looked weird for a minute. I'm fine with it now. I don't have a floppy drive so I can't help you there.

3. |-----I---I
The IDE cables should be plugged into the motherboard with the | connector. The other two that are close to each other are where the drives are to be connected. Are you setting up RAID? If not, just plug them into the normal IDE connectors. Your hard drive should be set as Master with the jumpers and should be plugged into the IDE connector labled Primary. I don't know how many CD-rom drives you have, but start by putting them on the Secondary IDE connector. The one on the end is the master, then one on the second connector is the Slave.

4. The wires from the PSU are a bit much. The reason for this is because there are connectors both for P4 systems and AMD systems. For you, just use the 3 pin connectors that power up your hard drives, cd-rom drives, and case fans. The other connectors you will use is for the floppy, and lastly for the power of the motherboard. Try to keep this tidy by using them all on the same wire and then the next wire. Then rubberband up all the excess and tuck it away. Piggybacking off the case fans is ok, but not necessary.

5. When you try using the computer again, hook the monitor up to the videocard which should be the only card in your system.

6. After you get the computer working in this stripped down version install windows and setup your bios. If you're a newbie just make sure your bios is set to 133/133 so that your FSB is correct. That's the most important thing with respect to basic performance. Check the manual since it should explain that.

7. Then start installing the other components like the soundcard, modem, etc one at a time.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[Horizon]

Roger that.

I have the fan leads in the right spot - it just doesn't turn on. =(

How infuriating.


~Taylor

 

[Horizon]

*EDIT*

Had it in the wrong place. Sheesh.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Horizon on 04/05/02 03:28 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Horizon]

Well I got it to boot up to the BIOS.

In defalt it has everything set to:

Prim Master: Auto
Prim Slave: Auto
Sec Master: Auto
Sec Slave: Auto

So when I leave the BIOS is says, 'Detecting IDE devices...' It will do that for about 20 seconds, and then tell me 'No Array Defined' & 'Please select boot device'. IN that list are all my devices 'WDC WD20SBA (My 20gig Western Digital HD), Sony CD ROM, 3.5 Floppy, SCSI Device (Dunno what that is, don't care).

So I am wondering if the dang thing can tell it is a WDC WD20SBA then why doesn't it Auto Configure? I tried manualy configing the HD to no avail, gives me the same thing as having it under Auto.

Stuck now, the manual doesn't say anything about configing an array that I can find. I will keep looking/trying.


~Taylor

 

[dhlucke]

Look in the manual and make sure you don't have the hard drive hooked up to the promise controller.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[Horizon]

HD most definately not in the Promise Controler.

If I skip over to Boot section of BIOS I have FLoppy/HD/CD - even if I move the HD up in the order I still get the error.

~Taylor


~Taylor

 

[Horizon]

Well I figured out that the thing is perma set on Prim Slave and that the Prim Master (boot) drive fails everytime because it can't find a dang drive. Now how the heck do I set my Prim Slave to the Prim Master?!


~Taylor

 

[dhlucke]

Make sure that the Hard Drive is set to Master (jumpers) and is plugged into the Primary controller on the motherboard.

Do you only have a Sony CD-Rom? Just set it to Master (using the jumpers on the back) and plug it into the Secondary controller on the motherboard using another cable. If you don't have one you can set it to slave and put it on the Primary controller along with the Hard drive.

Double checking the cable: I----I--I

The first one (left to right) is the one that goes into the motherboard, the second one is the slave , and the last one is the master.

Make sure your hard drive power connecter is connected nice and snug.

Your bios boot sequence looks good.

I'm going to go to sleep. Good luck.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[dhlucke]

If the Hard Drive is set to Slave, it can be changed by moving a jumper on the back of the hard drive. There should be a little diagram showing the position of the jumper for the desired setting. You can find it on the web or in the manual alternatively.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[Horizon]

I pulled the HD and changed the JUmpers to Master, shows as master now.

When I boot up I look at the post screen and it shows me my PM as the HD, then it shoots directly to what I like to call 'screen of the devil' which reading 'Detecting IDE Drives'.

Once at this screen it will try to detect for a while then tell me, 'No Array Defined' I hit Cntrl-F to go the the 'FastTRack' builder and it says No disk could be found make sure the power and data cables are secure.

What a load. I know they are secure they are reading positive everytime I boot.

At this point I just don't know what eles to do other than some obscure BIOS setting that I may have wrong. I have followed the Manual all the way through, but there is only a short section on my prob.

Sheesh and I am so close.


~Taylor

 

[AMD_Flinkster]

the first detection process is of the motherboard IDE controller, if u can find your HD as the primary master there thats fine. the second detection is for the promise raid controller and its normal u dont see anything.

Set the bios to boot from CD , and put the XP CD in and install windows.

Any mystery devised by mortal mind can be solved therewith

 

[AMD_Man]

Well, this isn't exactly one of your questions, but there is a bright side to getting an Athlon MP. AFAIK, they come multiplier unlock so you can easily overclock them if you have decent cooling.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[SEB]

Now, bear with me please, I am no tech - I am a grip at best

Just a quick one, if you dont know much about computer, why dint you pay someone to install it all for you??? But i guess if youre trying to learn thats a good thing, but it could be expensive if something goes majorly wrong. And the MP processor is a bit better build than the XP, so it wanst a big mistake.

<font color=blue><b>BAD ASS BOYS OVERCLOCK BAD ASS TOYS</b></font color=blue>

 

[rcj187]

Once at this screen it will try to detect for a while then tell me, 'No Array Defined' I hit Cntrl-F to go the the 'FastTRack' builder and it says No disk could be found make sure the power and data cables are secure.

sounds like its expecting to see a raid array connected.. check through ur bios and disable the raid function for now if u arent using it - u may have to move a jumper on the motherboard to disable raid..

how do you set a laser printer to stun?

 

[cellbiogeek]

Have you formatted the HD with FDisk or something on the windows boot floppy or CD?

 

[Horizon]

HI guys, back from work and ready to get cracking at the ole PC again.

As to why I under took this project, well I want to learn about my system. I also like the feeling of accomplishment when I do it myself - and belive me I had considered just taking it to the comp store and letting them handle it. =)

I also am pretty sure it is a RAID thingy going off, seeing as how it says:

MBFastTrack1339(tm) 'Lite' BIOS Version 2.00.1.23
(c) 1995-2001 Prmoise Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Scanning IDE drives ... ... ... ... ... ...

*blink* No Array Defined! *blink*

Press ESC to continue boot.
Press Cntrl+F7 to Go to Builder.

If I hit ESC then I get kicked to a screen where I can choose my HD and it will boot normaly. If I choose Cntrl+F7 then it shoots me to a screen saying 'No Hard drives found, please check power and data cables.'

I will look in the manual on how to disable my RAID.

I will get back to you on how it goes


~Taylor

 

[Horizon]

Just a couple of jumpers later, and my problems are gone. =)


~Taylor

 

[khha4113]

The mobo has a jumper setting for Promise controller is RAID or Ultra ATA133. Make sure you set it as ATA if you don't have RAID.

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[dhlucke]

Glad you got it going. Wish I knew about the jumper last night!

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[Horizon]

Well there are still more problems if anyone is willing to listen.

I decided I install my SB Audigy Gamer next. I would have just gone ahead and use the onboard sound but I have a Altec Lansig Speaker system with Front and Rear settings so I needed the card.

In any case there is a jumper on the case that will turn off the onboard sound. I went ahead and connected that. Well I get no sound. I put in the new Audigy and booted just dandy, I get to Windows XP and it says there are already devices in use for sound and it will cause problems.

I don't know how to get rid of the mobo devices in Windows XP.

Also, magor pain in the ass - I can't install the silly Ethernet Card that I just bought today. It is a Linksys 10/100 LAN Card.

Everytime Windows XP boots it tells me that there was an error while trying to install the drivers, and that 'The data is imvalid'.

I go into my hardware profile and there it sits 'Ethernet Card' with a big yellow exclamation point next to it - taunting me. Everytime I try to load drivers the thing gives me the same error, 'The data is invalid'.

I have tried changing the PC slot to no avail.

I know this should prolly go into Software but what the heck, I already have anice thread going about my incompetence.


~Taylor

 

[Raystonn]

Unless you have a reason not to do so, I would suggest reinstalling Windows after ensuring all jumpers and dipswitches are correct and plugging all your cards into the motherboard. Plugging hardware in one card at a time is something you do when not using plug and play hardware, when the chipset is buggy, or when you expect to have problems with a certain card.

It sounds to me like you just installed Windows, so rather than spending time to figure out how to uninstall various drivers cleanly, it might be more efficient to simply reinstall from scratch. (If you do this, make sure you delete the partition and create a new one.)

-Raystonn


= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my employer. =

 

[Horizon]

Raystonn,

Everything in the comp is new, and this is the first install this HD has ever seen.

The problem is, I cant get Win XP to do a damn thing I want. For example, I don't know how to uninstall the 'Legacy Audio Device' which I belive is my onboard sound device. I didn't put this on the PC, and even if I did reinstall I would have to uninstall these devices again.

As of right now the sound is less important than the Ethernet Card. Win XP offers absolutely no explanation as to why it will nto install other than - 'The data was invalid'. What data? Why is it invalid? How do I fix invalid data in the Hardware Setup Wizard?

Everything on my machine is tight as far as connections go, I made sure of that last night.

I am just having aproblem getting all these devices installed on a fresh copy of Windows XP because it seems to be so damn incompatable with everything.


~Taylor