Help with current system build.

J

Jitsu

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 5, 2004
Messages
280
Hey guys, I'm currently on my first Intel build ever. I'm having quite the time putting it together tho, maybe one of you can shed some light on the situation. I'll try and provide as much info as possible.

I purchased my system in stages, and tried putting it together in stages, when I failed I purchased another part.

First try at new system... NEW: Mobo (nvidia ftw series), processor (q6600), case, powersupply (ocz 600w). OLD: graphic card (7800gtoc), ram (some old samsung a friend gave me).
::::: This system did not work correctly. That mobo didnt want to read my windows ME disk that I use for fdisk. This build never could get the graphic drivers installed without reverting to 4bit color. I thought it was corruption between the nvidia chipset and the nvidia graphic drivers.

I got a new grahpic card (gtx 260)... installed that.... new drivers.... same... cant get past 4bit color in windows.... it just reverts to 4bit with drivers installed.

So I go buy a new mobo (gigabyte ultra durable series)... this mobo is a lot nicer then that evga one... I Like it, had the system running last night.... everything other driver installed perfect, it was on the internet, etc.... but I was still reverted to 4bit color when I installed the new nvidia drivers.

A friend said try to install monitor drivers (dell 2005fpw).. I couldn't successfully get them installed.

This morning, I wake up... think ... HEY let me try my old ram off my system, it might be newer then what my friend gave me.. thats the only part that I didnt purchase brand new.

That ram didnt fit, never got into the board... ddr 1 or some shit... idk... but when I installed that ram the internet cablle was still pluged in, along with mouse keybard and monitor.... i did unplug power.

NOW SYSTEM WONT POST.

I think I messed something up when I tried to switch the ram with the internet cable still plugged in..... possible?

System now just turns on for 10 seconds, never pops anything up on monitor and reboots.... repeat... 10 seconds later reboot.. no post.

Help please.
 
Read the basic troubleshooting guide and post back with results
 
Jitsu said:
That ram didnt fit, never got into the board... ddr 1 or some shit... idk... but when I installed that ram the internet cablle was still pluged in, along with mouse keybard and monitor.... i did unplug power.

NOW SYSTEM WONT POST.
Click to expand...

You board does not take DDR1, if it doesn't go in, don't force it because it's not meant to go in.
 
I realized that the amd (ddr1) would not fit... so I didn't force it or damage the board by roughing it up a bit... im just worried if taking out a chip when internet cable was in will affect anything. thats the only reason I can think why it wont post this morning and was fine all last night
 
I checked the troubleshooting guide. Everything seems to be connected properly and all of that jazz.... but system wont post and wont stay on for more then 10 seconds, then reboots.

I'm going to try with new ram later tonight, but I dont think that will make it post.

This makes me mad because i was on the internet on the computer last night.

Heres the rundown of how and why I think which parts are bad/good...

PSU: Fine, blue fan lights up. Has run this system before for a while.
CPU: Fine, dont know why this would go bad....
RAM: Possibly the culprit, but friend says it runs fine and he had it in a stable intel system at the beginning of this year. We're going to try new ram.
MOBO: IDK, this thing was running perfect last night, I just had a graphic driver error, possibly no monitor drivers available - couldnt get them installed,.... dell wanted me to manually install and I couldnt find the location. so I never got monitor drivers installed.

Went to bed. Woke up, took out ram chip - other ram didnt fit - put old ram back in - now system wont post. Now computer wont stay on for more then 10 seconds then reboots, and never posts.

I cant remember that I changed anything late last night that would have made it not post.

Graphic card: Good, but I did staticlly shock it once loud enough to hear... I'm going to try this on my amd system later tonight I think.
Monitor: dell 2005fpw with no drivers....
 
System wont beep with ram in. LEDs/fans come on for ten seconds, no beeps... reboot... rinse and repeat.

I pull out a ram chip so theres no ram and the computer behaves the exact same way, no beeps just a reboot
 
I removed the battery on my new gigabyte "ultra durable" series mobo and got the system to post.

Monitor drivers installed.

When I run my grapic card without drivers everything runs fine.
Install graphic drivers, automatic 4bit color, cant get around it.
 
Jitsu said:
I removed the battery on my new gigabyte "ultra durable" series mobo and got the system to post.

Monitor drivers installed.

When I run my grapic card without drivers everything runs fine.
Install graphic drivers, automatic 4bit color, cant get around it.
Click to expand...

I have tried two mobos... two graphic cards... 3 sets of ram.... same graphic errors every time.. 4bit color
 
I'll try that when I try to install vista.

Ive been installing windows xp home
 
Did you change any BIOS settings?
It sounds like a driver problem to me. Does it do this in XP?
 
Did not change bios settings. Its gotta be the nvidia graphic drivers.... for two different series of cards.

Yeah, xp is what I have tried everything with.
 
How is everyone else running nvidia graphic drivers without these problems?

Could it be I have a weak power supply?
 
Update.

The system wont post. When turned on all the lights on the power supply and mobo will come on, but the system will not post... it reboots after 10 seconds of running.

System in question:
- GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
- ocz game x stream power supply
- EVGA GTX 260 nvida card
- 170gb raptor HDD
- Q6600
- various types of ram that all work... using 1 stick @1gb at a time, for now.

...... Help?
 
Self- Rebooting issues that ive seen usually have to do with the power source, Also, Have you checked the CPU and heatsink fan? It might be overheating. Is it a New Build? , the heatsink might not be seated properly.
 
New build. 90 percent new parts....

HSF is seated properly

and yes, there was a harddrive connected...
 
I have another power supply but its about 4 years old and does not have the 8 pin connector for the cpu and also I cannot get it to connect to my graphic card... so I cant test an old power supply... I guess I could try to get a volt meter on this power supply to see if thats the problem...

Any suggestions?
 
from the sticky: Basic Troubleshooting Guide...

enginurd said:
/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
This is basic troubleshooting if your system has never POSTed (as in, you just put it together); Though, it may be helpful to others whose system no longer POSTs...
If you have both the 20/24 pin main ATX connector plugged in, AND the 4-Pin (or 8-pin) ATX12V P4 CPU connector plugged in, then the board should boot fine (unless it requires more power connectors from the PSU). First, try clearing the CMOS w/ the proper jumper or button.

The next thing you could do is test the PSU. Jump start it (on the main atx connector, short the green wire with any black wire, using a paperclip), and see if it stays on. If not, then its probably a faulty PSU. If it works then you can proceed with the suggestions below. ***NOTE: The paperclip trick is a simple test for those that do not have PSU testers, multimeters, nor a spare PSU to test with. It is not a 100% conclusive test of the PSU.

How to test with a multimeter @ BFG

Setup everything outside of the case, with the mobo on top of its cardboard box. Plug in only the essentials:
- PSU (namely: main 20/24-pin ATX connector and 4-pin ATX12V P4 CPU Connector; The 4-pin should work in the 8-pin EPS12v plugs, too)
- CPU w/ HSF
- Single stick of ram
- Videocard if there is no onboard video (along with its power connector, if it has one)
- System speaker/buzzer (your board may have an on-board tweeter/buzzer/speaker)
- Monitor & Keyboard

Reset/Clear the CMOS by following the instructions in your mobo manual.

* Use a screwdriver if your board doesnt have an onboard power switch. Jump the two power switch leads to turn the power on.

If it won't post, try different RAM slots. If it still won't post, pull out the ram (so no ram in the system) and listen for error beeps. If none, pull the vidcard and listen for error beeps. If none, re-seat the CPU and HSF, then try again. Report back with results if you're still having issues.
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
Click to expand...

Could you get the board to beep at all?
What are the specs of the RAM you're currently using? timings, voltage, speed, etc?
 
I can not get the board to beep at all.

This is really strange because I booted up and was on the internet on this exact same system, but then I shut it off for a few days because I could not get past installing the video drivers and then getting 4bit color only....

So I go to turn it on to mess with it again a few days later and I cant get it to beep or post...

I'm using some kingston and samsung ram that I got from a friend, who had the ram running in a system earlier this year. We even took his ddr1 from his intel system and brought that over - still would not beep.

I remove the cmos battery for a minute or two, and the board still does not beep.
 
Update: I pull the graphic card, boot the system - 0 beeps but the system does stay on.... it does not shut down after 10 seconds.

I remember I did statically shock my graphic card loud enough to hear once.....

Should I rma my card?
 
Jitsu said:
...
I'm using some kingston and samsung ram that I got from a friend, who had the ram running in a system earlier this year. We even took his ddr1 from his intel system and brought that over - still would not beep.
...
Click to expand...

Thats nice. However, you did not answer my question about the make/model and speed of the RAM. Please answer this question. Saying you tried multiple RAM sticks does not help if we do not know at least the speed of each stick, but more importantly the make/model, unless you know the voltage rating of each stick.

Also, Core2 boards do not accept DDR1. If you were able to stuff DDR1 RAM into the slots of the UD3R board, then that board is probably toast, or at least the DIMM slots are.

Jitsu said:
Update: I pull the graphic card, boot the system - 0 beeps but the system does stay on.... it does not shut down after 10 seconds.

I remember I did statically shock my graphic card loud enough to hear once.....

Should I rma my card?
Click to expand...

Did you have RAM in the system when you tried this? If so, pull the RAM and see if it beeps. You do have a system speaker connected, right?

Try your vidcard in another system and see if it works.

When you re-seated the CPU/HSF, did you notice the thermal compound coverage? Was it good? or was it not spread out, as if it wasn't seated properly?

If you do not hear any POST error beeps without RAM nor Videocard, and there is a system speaker plugged in properly, then your board most likely needs to be replaced.
 
enginurd said:
Thats nice. However, you did not answer my question about the make/model and speed of the RAM. Please answer this question. Saying you tried multiple RAM sticks does not help if we do not know at least the speed of each stick, but more importantly the make/model, unless you know the voltage rating of each stick.

Also, Core2 boards do not accept DDR1. If you were able to stuff DDR1 RAM into the slots of the UD3R board, then that board is probably toast, or at least the DIMM slots are.
Click to expand...
I'm confused about which is which... ddr1/2 for amd, ddr1/2 for intel... but I didnt force any ram into the slots... I realized my amd ram would not fit so I didnt try to force it in.

One type of ram that was used:
Samsung M378T6553CZ3-CD5 DDR2-533 512MB

* Mfr Part Number: M378T6553CZ3-CD5;M378T6553EZ3-CD5
* Type: DDR2
* Capacity: 512MB
* Speed: PC4200 533MHz
* Size & Bit: 64Mx64/64Mx8
* Pins: 240pin
* 8-chip
* Samsung Original Memory
I could not find the timings.



Did you have RAM in the system when you tried this? If so, pull the RAM and see if it beeps. You do have a system speaker connected, right?

Try your vidcard in another system and see if it works.

When you re-seated the CPU/HSF, did you notice the thermal compound coverage? Was it good? or was it not spread out, as if it wasn't seated properly?

If you do not hear any POST error beeps without RAM nor Videocard, and there is a system speaker plugged in properly, then your board most likely needs to be replaced.
Click to expand...

-I did have ram in the system when I pulled the video card.
-Trying video card in other system would be a hastle, but I think I can swing it.
-There was a bunch of thermal compound on there - AS5 + Whatever grease was already on there. Seated properly.
-About the speaker/Mobo/Beeps. I could have swore I already heard this motherboard beep once or twice while setting it up a few weeks ago. It did not come with an extra speaker and no where in the book talks about plugging a speaker in, I checked the whole thing. Pull out ram and graphic card, just HDD connected... no beep... does that 10 second shut down thingy.

I have another motherboard... Brand spankin new. Evga 750i ftw series.... I didnt like that one tho so I bought this one, and I also thought that mobo was the problem, but apparently its not
 
Jitsu said:
... System in question:
- GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
...
Click to expand...

Jitsu said:
...* Speed: PC4200 533MHz
Click to expand...

The UD3R does not support DDR2-533 -- the lowest it will take is DDR2-667. Try some DDR2-667 rated for 1.8v.

Jitsu said:
...-There was a bunch of thermal compound on there - AS5 + Whatever grease was already on there. Seated properly.
Click to expand...

You need to clean off the OLD thermal grease each time you remove the HSF. This will insure proper contact and seal out any air bubbles. Use 90+% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol and a coffee filter (or lint-free cloth). Re-apply AS5 using the instructions on the arcticsilver.com website.

Jitsu said:
... no where in the book talks about plugging a speaker in
Click to expand...

Apparently, your UD3R does not include an onboard system speaker. Page 27 of your motherboard manual (§11) F_PANEL (Front Panel Header)) shows you how to plug in the system speaker. The system speaker is usually attached to the case. The red/colored wire is usually positive, while the black wire is typically negative; pin20 is negative, so match them up properly. You didn't mention what case you have, so I don't know if it included a speaker or not. If not, grab one from another case or borrow one from a friend.

Jitsu said:
... just HDD connected...
Click to expand...

Disconnect the HDD and try it again. Only plug in the essentials. But first, get a system speaker.
 
Ok, tomorrow I will pop in a speaker... I think one came with my other mobo... its just a 3 pin connector, 1 inch wire and then a speaker.... I did check page 27 and I see where exactly to plug it in, didnt know it was gonna be on the front panel header.... I guess I forgot from my other builds.

I guess I need new ram too? I'll have to purchase that... so that will slow me down somewhat.

I also will clean off the thermal paste and re-seat.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction enginurd!
 
None of those other RAM sticks you tried were faster than DDR2-533?
 
No, I dont think any ram was faster then ddr2-533... except maybe the ram my friend brought over with his system.... but we still couldnt get shit to work.
 
Alright I swapped out the samsung ram for some other ram that I cant find what/how fast it is... but the system booted.

Now when it tires to boot I get a blue screen saying: Check for viruses on HDD. Remove newly installed harddrives or hdd controllers.... check your HDD to make sure it is properly configured and terminated.

I'll try to whipe this hdd with fdisk, see if that clears it up
 
Alright my vista install stopped at "expanding files: 43%"

Might be a bad disc...

I'm just afraid to install XP HOME 32 bit because that did not work before - driver mishaps with 4bit color.
 
I got windows vista, a good copy. It installed perfectly. Now I'm installing drivers.
 
alright, I just installed the vista drivers for my card and now everything is working peachy fine.

my tech friend said nividia didnt support xp anymore or some shit
 
Alright, heres the current problem

I usually disconnect my data harddrives when messing with the harddrive that my OS is on. So Only one hdd is connected when installing windows, etc....

Now I just plugged in two harddrives with info all on them, music, movies, etc... and windows is not reading them. they were only working with a windows xp computer... why wont vista read them?
 
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