Guide to assemble comp and get it running!

T

the_Ultimate

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
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Hey guys i just ordered my parts and should be gettin them in a couple of days!

in the mean time i wanna read a guide that tells u how to put together the parts and start it up. can u guys recommend me some guides that will tell me all that stuff??

thx for the help!
 
Not to be rude, but havent you ever played with legos when you were a kid?

Every peice has its specific place to go, you really cant mess it up.... Common sense prevails
 
Hye Papa-Ming the first guide is a great one, covers almost everything :D

0ldmx
 
I'm having trouble figuring out how one can know all the parts necessary to buy, but not knowing how they go together. Do you really not know or are you hesitant and just wanna be safe?
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
Not to be rude, but havent you ever played with legos when you were a kid?

Every peice has its specific place to go, you really cant mess it up.... Common sense prevails
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Yes I played with legos quite a bit. I am being very cautious though, being this an expensive investment and my first time. I'd rather be safe than sorry, for the most part :)
 
Hesitant.. never done before :)

Ok I just plugged everything in, but the computer wont boot up. I plugged in the power cord, turned on the PS, and hit the power button. It got power for about half a second (fans spun once) then turned off. The Motherboard has a little led on it with numbers that signifies why it didn't boot up, and it just flashed FF then turned off again. Hmm :(
 
Try re-seating your ram and also video card.

Check your connections once again.

Did it flash FF or Fully Functional first, or did it display some of the other diagnostic codes first? The mobo manual will have the codes, it's been awhile since I've run an Epox.

gl :)
 
Papa-Ming said:
Try re-seating your ram and also video card.

Check your connections once again.

Did it flash FF or Fully Functional first, or did it display some of the other diagnostic codes first? The mobo manual will have the codes, it's been awhile since I've run an Epox.

gl :)
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It flashed FF then just went off :confused:

Gona go check all the connections 2 times and reset the ram/vid card :)
 
I would take everything out and put it all back together again. If there was something installed incorrectly, you'll get it eventually.

Building a computer is like having sex for the first time. You kinda have to play around at first, but eventually you figure out what goes where. :D
 
NickN said:
I would take everything out and put it all back together again. If there was something installed incorrectly, you'll get it eventually.

Building a computer is like having sex for the first time. You kinda have to play around at first, but eventually you figure out what goes where. :D
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accordingly, keep it simple the first time: strip to the bare minimum:
1 ram stick
1 mobo
1 vid card
1 PSU
1 monitor

see if it posts. then add a hard drive. then your cd-rom. etc. etc...
 
Carnival Forces said:
accordingly, keep it simple the first time: strip to the bare minimum:
1 ram stick
1 mobo
1 vid card
1 PSU
1 monitor

see if it posts. then add a hard drive. then your cd-rom. etc. etc...
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Good Idea - I'll try that


One n00bie question real fast though - (this shows how out of it I am with computer technology) I bought 2 512mb DDR400 PC3200 sticks of ram from PQI (turbo version?) and its got a metal casing around the top part of the stick.. It appears to have hinges the ability to be removed... I'm assuming it stays on? :D


(ahh, 2am tiredness is grand lol)
 
Yeah, those are heatspreaders. They're just there so your RAM looks interesting. They're supposed to help keep it cooler too, but it's been tested and they don't make a damn difference.
 
NickN said:
Yeah, those are heatspreaders. They're just there so your RAM looks interesting. They're supposed to help keep it cooler too, but it's been tested and they don't make a damn difference.
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ahh I see.. pointless metal, woot!

I just unplugged the harddrive / CDROM and tried to run it.. same result :(
 
nghtfx said:
ahh I see.. pointless metal, woot!

I just unplugged the harddrive / CDROM and tried to run it.. same result :(
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Did you buy a cheap case that uses those brass standoffs to screw in the mobo? Sounds like a grounding issue to me. Try taking EVERything out of the case, take the foam'static bag the mobo came in out of th ebox, and set it on top. Assemble all of your parts out of the case, and then see if it works, if it works out of the case and not when its screwed in, then theres a pice of metal touching the mobo somewher eand youll need to screw the mobo into the case with the foam under it to keep the metal from touching, see if that works.
 
Dillusion said:
Did you buy a cheap case that uses those brass standoffs to screw in the mobo? Sounds like a grounding issue to me. Try taking EVERything out of the case, take the foam'static bag the mobo came in out of th ebox, and set it on top. Assemble all of your parts out of the case, and then see if it works, if it works out of the case and not when its screwed in, then theres a pice of metal touching the mobo somewher eand youll need to screw the mobo into the case with the foam under it to keep the metal from touching, see if that works.
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Every case I've seen has had those spacers to mount the motherboard on, and I screwed it in with the included screws and used those little foam/paperish "washers" between the screw itself and the motherboard.. could this be my problem? :eek:
 
No, it wouldn't be if the mobo holes lined-up with the stand-offs.

It's good that you used the washers. And if no additional mounts are in place underneath the mobo without a corresponding screw hole, then you're good in that department.

gl :)
 
Papa-Ming said:
No, it wouldn't be if the mobo holes lined-up with the stand-offs.

It's good that you used the washers. And if no additional mounts are in place underneath the mobo without a corresponding screw hole, then you're good in that department.

gl :)
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I made sure every mount corresponds to a hole, so I should be good in that department. I am taking the computer to a friend of my dad's computer store tomorrow, to see if he can figure out whats going on exactly. I've overlooked my wiring at least 10 times now, and I am pretty sure everything is where it should be. I feel defeated as a computer nerd.. lol :( well, ex-nerd, but relearning everything
 
nghtfx,

Did you resolve the wiring from the case to the mobo header. Or, power switch, power led, IDE led, so forth. you mentioned in the other post that the manual wasn't clear on that?

I just went back to read that other post.

Were you able to find a clear diagram of that and then connect properly?
 
Papa-Ming said:
nghtfx,

Did you resolve the wiring from the case to the mobo header. Or, power switch, power led, IDE led, so forth. you mentioned in the other post that the manual wasn't clear on that?

I just went back to read that other post.

Were you able to find a clear diagram of that and then connect properly?
Click to expand...


I plugged in the correct wires for the motherboard (the only two that would fit, so I know its right lol). With the power switch, and power LED, I have them correctly in the pins I believe. The only issue with that, I think is trivial.. the cord from the case says Power switch, and the pins are pwr_on.. same thing, right? :p Also, there is no cord from the case for the power led pins.. :confused:
 
Problem solved! woohoo. I am currently posting from my PC downstairs because mine doesn't have the internet yet :(

I took it to a computer shop today, and the guy there quickly figured out what the problem was. PSU? DOA. 1 of my 2 RAM sticks? DOA :mad:

I decided to skip the whole RMA with the case and get a powersupply for a good deal, and now the computer is up and running (But with 512mb of ram instead of 1gig :( ) PQI is going to get a call about returning the deceased stick to get a new one.


Thanks everyone for the help.. sorry for sounding like a noob the whole time :) Turns out I had all the right wiring the first time around, and I was just driving myself insane lol
 
i'm happy for you ; ) i know how it feels frsutrating enjoy your new pc, how about posting your specs for us now after al the hassle? ;p
 
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