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First Build Problem when turned on
- Thread starter Hactar
- Start date
Why does it seem like the RAM takes an unneccesary amount of force to get it? One end of the stick goes in alright, but the other, im pushing down pretty hard and it wont go in! Also, are the locking levers that hold the RAM in supposed to clamp down automatically when its fully inserted?
Yes, it takes a little force. the clips should lock in place when you push it down enough.
I don't understand some computer parts either. They are very fragile, but they expect you to put a tremendous amount of force down to install it.
Keep up the good work.
I don't understand some computer parts either. They are very fragile, but they expect you to put a tremendous amount of force down to install it.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks Shmuckety. I got them in eventually.
Anyways, So now I have the video card in too, that was really easy to get in. So, I'm doing the wiring and it looks like a giant mess. I'm pretty sure I've got everything hooked up right; I've got the SATA power connector to my drive, and the drive is plugged into the SATA1 port on the mobo (no raid for me), each of the case fans is has one of the 4 pin molex connectors plugged into it, and everything else that needs power has one. Except for this little plug, I think its supposed to go to the fan in the PSU, but I'm not sure if I should plug it into one of the "chassis fan 1" connectors on the mobo. Pic:
Also, theres the 4 pic "ATX12V" plug on the mobo that I'm supposed to use. It came with a short wire with the atx12v connector at one end and an 8 hole, but only 4 pin, connector on the other. Since there was only one plug from the PSU that fit that, i plugged it into that, even though the plug from the PSU had 4 extra pins that didnt connect to anything. I just want to make sure that its the right connection.
Pic: (the 8hole plug is in the foreground, you can see it connects to the mobo as the 4 pin atx12v)
Finally, the extra antec fan that i bought for the side of the case (custom modded already!! re: i drilled screw holes in the side ) has a 4 pin molex connector, AND a 3 pin connector as well. Do i need to plug both into the mobo/PSU or just one of those connectors? Because I know the mobo has connections for stuff like "chassis fan 2 and 3".
Pic:
Anyways, So now I have the video card in too, that was really easy to get in. So, I'm doing the wiring and it looks like a giant mess. I'm pretty sure I've got everything hooked up right; I've got the SATA power connector to my drive, and the drive is plugged into the SATA1 port on the mobo (no raid for me), each of the case fans is has one of the 4 pin molex connectors plugged into it, and everything else that needs power has one. Except for this little plug, I think its supposed to go to the fan in the PSU, but I'm not sure if I should plug it into one of the "chassis fan 1" connectors on the mobo. Pic:
Also, theres the 4 pic "ATX12V" plug on the mobo that I'm supposed to use. It came with a short wire with the atx12v connector at one end and an 8 hole, but only 4 pin, connector on the other. Since there was only one plug from the PSU that fit that, i plugged it into that, even though the plug from the PSU had 4 extra pins that didnt connect to anything. I just want to make sure that its the right connection.
Pic: (the 8hole plug is in the foreground, you can see it connects to the mobo as the 4 pin atx12v)
Finally, the extra antec fan that i bought for the side of the case (custom modded already!!
re: i drilled screw holes in the side ) has a 4 pin molex connector, AND a 3 pin connector as well. Do i need to plug both into the mobo/PSU or just one of those connectors? Because I know the mobo has connections for stuff like "chassis fan 2 and 3".Pic:
In the first pic you have a connector with 1 blue wire. If that is from the PSU, it is a fan speed monitor. You don't have to plug it in and if you want to I'm not sure where it goes on your board. Not in a fan connector.
Third pic I'm pretty sure either the one small one or the big one and the small one (with one wire) have to be plugged in.
Third pic I'm pretty sure either the one small one or the big one and the small one (with one wire) have to be plugged in.
Alright, I'll just leave that brown connector alone. There is a plug on the mobo thats labeled "power fan" so maybe thats it. I'll check the mobo manual again.
In the third pic, only the small one with 1 wire and the big 4 pic connector are NOT connected. That third small connector is actually connected to the wire going to the fan. Sorry, i should have been a little clearer about that.
Anyways, I'm trying to optimize the wiring in my case to get the best airflow. I've ended up just kind of stuffing most of the extra stuff under the bay at the top where my DVD drive is, since I'm not going to put any more drives in there for a while. I have a fan on the side, too, and I'm having that blow air into the case so that the air going in is close to equal with the air being blown out. Total, theres 1 80mm fan in the front for intake, 1 80mm fan on the side for intake (blows air onto video card), 1 120mm fan in the rear for output, and then theres the PSU fan which looks like its an 80mm that is also output. So i think i should have pretty good airflow. Heres a pic of my amazing wiring job so far.
Oh, also, theres a little 4 pin connector on my video card that I'm not sure whats supposed to plug into it. A fan maybe? I dunno. Heres another pic:
In the third pic, only the small one with 1 wire and the big 4 pic connector are NOT connected. That third small connector is actually connected to the wire going to the fan. Sorry, i should have been a little clearer about that.
Anyways, I'm trying to optimize the wiring in my case to get the best airflow. I've ended up just kind of stuffing most of the extra stuff under the bay at the top where my DVD drive is, since I'm not going to put any more drives in there for a while. I have a fan on the side, too, and I'm having that blow air into the case so that the air going in is close to equal with the air being blown out. Total, theres 1 80mm fan in the front for intake, 1 80mm fan on the side for intake (blows air onto video card), 1 120mm fan in the rear for output, and then theres the PSU fan which looks like its an 80mm that is also output. So i think i should have pretty good airflow. Heres a pic of my amazing
wiring job so far.
Oh, also, theres a little 4 pin connector on my video card that I'm not sure whats supposed to plug into it. A fan maybe? I dunno. Heres another pic:
"In the third pic, only the small one with 1 wire and the big 4 pic connector are NOT connected. That third small connector is actually connected to the wire going to the fan. Sorry, i should have been a little clearer about that. "
The ones not connected are extra, in case you don't have a 3 pin plug to use for the fan.
Don't worry about the video card connector. They reuse the boards, its most likely for a different model with another fan or whatever.
The ones not connected are extra, in case you don't have a 3 pin plug to use for the fan.
Don't worry about the video card connector. They reuse the boards, its most likely for a different model with another fan or whatever.
Mkay cool. I guess that leaves just the wiring to finish and then I can power it up....
Quick questions before I start doing that:
- If I'm not using RAID, and I have the HD plugged into the non-raid SATA1 port on the mobo, do I need to install SATA drivers? One of the guides online said I didn't. Right here, the dialog/quiz near the bottom: http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/SATA.html
-Also, I don't really know anything about BIOS. How do i get into it? Do i have to go through it before i can install my OS? And, what if it doesn't recognize the CPU's full power, how do i change that? (i remember it saying something about changing the bus speed i think, if the bios sees it as being a lower mhz than what it really is)
-Do i have to configure stuff like fan speed in BIOS?
and finally: Whats the order in which i should start turning things on? (like monitor, then PSU, then computer)
Edit - I looked through the manual to the PSU, and it says that the little brown connector is the for the fan monitor. So, I plugged that into the socket labeled pwr_fan
Quick questions before I start doing that:
- If I'm not using RAID, and I have the HD plugged into the non-raid SATA1 port on the mobo, do I need to install SATA drivers? One of the guides online said I didn't. Right here, the dialog/quiz near the bottom: http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/SATA.html
-Also, I don't really know anything about BIOS. How do i get into it? Do i have to go through it before i can install my OS? And, what if it doesn't recognize the CPU's full power, how do i change that? (i remember it saying something about changing the bus speed i think, if the bios sees it as being a lower mhz than what it really is)
-Do i have to configure stuff like fan speed in BIOS?
and finally: Whats the order in which i should start turning things on? (like monitor, then PSU, then computer)
Edit - I looked through the manual to the PSU, and it says that the little brown connector is the for the fan monitor. So, I plugged that into the socket labeled pwr_fan
Alright, well, I turned it on, and all the fans work, the computer starts up and emits a long beep, followed by 2 or 3 short beeps. Nothing is shown on the monitor. I can't tell if the HD is working or not because I can't hear it, and the light doesn't turn on at the front panel, so maybe it is working but the LED cable isnt connected correctly. Can someone offer some help?
I just built my PC, everything is connected correctly. When I turn it on, all the fans start up and the speaker emits 1 long beep and 2 short beeps. Nothing shows on the monitor. Heres the specs:
A8N-SLI Deluxe
Corsair XMS 1gb
Sapphire X800
Maxtor SATA 7200rpm 8mb cache
Lite-On 16x DVD drive
Enermax Whisper 2 PSU (550w)
I may have connected the HD LED plugs the wrong way, because they don't light up on the front panel, unless the HD isn't supposed to activate that early in the boot process. I also can't hear if its spinning or not. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be the mobo, since i double checked all the connections for the video card, ram, ect. Can someone please help me out?
Edit - I just remembered to plug in my headphones, and the mobo said "system failed VGA test"....so what should i do? I though the video card was properly seated but I'm not sure now, nor am I sure of the correct way. I just inserted it into the slot and it fit fine. Theres a small lever next to the PCI-E slot but it doesnt seem to move or anything.
A8N-SLI Deluxe
Corsair XMS 1gb
Sapphire X800
Maxtor SATA 7200rpm 8mb cache
Lite-On 16x DVD drive
Enermax Whisper 2 PSU (550w)
I may have connected the HD LED plugs the wrong way, because they don't light up on the front panel, unless the HD isn't supposed to activate that early in the boot process. I also can't hear if its spinning or not. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be the mobo, since i double checked all the connections for the video card, ram, ect. Can someone please help me out?
Edit - I just remembered to plug in my headphones, and the mobo said "system failed VGA test"....so what should i do? I though the video card was properly seated but I'm not sure now, nor am I sure of the correct way. I just inserted it into the slot and it fit fine. Theres a small lever next to the PCI-E slot but it doesnt seem to move or anything.
Hactar said:
CMOS checksum errors
Explanation: A checksum is computed as an error-detecting code, to protect the BIOS settings stored in the CMOS memory. Each time the system is booted this number is recomputed and checked against the stored value. If they do not match, an error message is generated to tell you that the CMOS memory contents may have been corrupted and therefore some settings may be wrong. BIOSes react in different ways to encountering this sort of error. Some will warn the user and then continue on with whatever settings were in the CMOS. Others will assume that the settings that were in the CMOS were corrupted and will load default values stored in the BIOS chip "for safety reasons". The error message will indicate which your system is doing. Yours is doing the later.
Diagnosis: The most common cause of checksum errors in CMOS is a battery that is losing power. Viruses can also affect CMOS settings, and motherboard problems can also affect the stored values.
Recommendation: You should make sure that all of the BIOS settings in the system are correct, by rebooting the system, going into BIOS setup and double-checking all the values. Use the "Fail-Safe" setting if unsure about your proper settings.
sorry papa
Anyways, I got the checksum error to go away, but now I'm left with a few more problems.
I unplugged my cable modem, then turned off my comp, and plugged the ethernet cord into one of the jacks on the back. I waited about a minute, then turned on the modem and my computer. It still won't connect to the internet and I don't know why. When I was setting up THIS computer im using now, as soon as I connected the ethernet cable it worked. It seems like the mobo doesn't see the cable being plugged in.
- Most importantly, it still boots into BIOS when i turn it on and asks me to create a RAID driver.It also goes directly to this screen and doesn't show the screen with all my computers info on it. I bypass this by pressing escape and it boots into windows. Now, I don't know why it does this. I don't want a RAID array or anything, how can i make it stop doing this?
- My HDD LED doesn't light up. I think i might have the connectors mixed up.
Anyways, I got the checksum error to go away, but now I'm left with a few more problems.
I unplugged my cable modem, then turned off my comp, and plugged the ethernet cord into one of the jacks on the back. I waited about a minute, then turned on the modem and my computer. It still won't connect to the internet and I don't know why. When I was setting up THIS computer im using now, as soon as I connected the ethernet cable it worked. It seems like the mobo doesn't see the cable being plugged in.
- Most importantly, it still boots into BIOS when i turn it on and asks me to create a RAID driver.It also goes directly to this screen and doesn't show the screen with all my computers info on it. I bypass this by pressing escape and it boots into windows. Now, I don't know why it does this. I don't want a RAID array or anything, how can i make it stop doing this?
- My HDD LED doesn't light up. I think i might have the connectors mixed up.