New build issues.. Please help!

D

dissonance

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 16, 2005
Messages
281
First of all, here's the system:

AMD 64 3200+ Venice
Epox 9NDA3J
Leadtek 6800nu (was unlocked on old system, haven't unlocked on this one yet)
1x1gb Patriot 2-3-2 RAM (soon to be 2x1gb)
Maxtor 200gb SATA hard drive with 16mb cache
Lite-On DVDRW
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case
Enermax Noisetaker 420watt

1) I have trouble powering this on sometimes. I'll hit the power button and I'll get a short burst of fan movement and then nothing. Pushing the on button again does nothing. Typically I have to turn the psu off and wait. Then if I'm lucky it starts. Once it starts I have no problems and restarts appear to work fine. What could be causing this? I keep my computer on nearly 24/7 but this is just annoying. When I had XP turn my system off the psu fan continued to spin which is supposedly normal for this psu however my mb diagnostic lights also stayed lit and the psu fans didn't go off after several minutes.

2) Windows XP has recognized my 200gb SATA drive as 127gb. I saw this while installing the operating system but thought it would work out. It still shows the hd as 127 gb. Again, annoying.

So here's how I went about installing it. The mb is a 20-pin with a 4 pin next to it. So my psu came with a 24 pin so I took the extra 4 off and plugged in the 20. The extra 4 off the 24 is not being used. Then I took a 4 pin 12v rail which looked about identical to that 4 pin off the 24 and put that in the 4 pin slot on the mb. That's how the instructions on the psu seemed to direct me.

When installing Windows XP I didn't F6 or anything. In my bios it recognizes the SATA drive and properly identifies it as 200gb. Windows XP install recognizes the drive but sees it as 127gb. Also after I got into Windows it has one of those "Safely Remove Hardware" icons in my system tray. I click it and it lists my hard drive... Perhaps I was supposed to install some SATA drivers either with F6 while putting on Windows or afterwards? I found this file but it doesn't list my mb.
http://www.epox.com/usa/article.asp?ID=1752&showsupportlinks=YES

I have the dvdrw in the IDE 0 first spot. HD is in SATA first spot. Boot priority is hd, dvd, floppy.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks for any help.
 
I had a similiar issue with the computer I built my sister - same case as you and that ended up being the issue.

After troubleshooting everything on the main board and checking my connections it ended up being a problem with the case. Restarts worked fine because I didn't have to press the power button - the power on for a restart is not keyed through the power button on the front panel. So restarts weren't an issue - it was getting the pc to power on by pressing the power button. Thought maybe the problem, then, was with the power button and the quality of the connection. I checked into that and found that the Power wire was firm on the motherboard, but was slightly pulled out from the back of the front panel of the case. Managed to get to the Power Switch lead to the front panel and put it in place and that solved the problem.

It got pulled loose, I think, when I took the side panel (behind the mobo tray) off - caught the wire slightly which I had run outside the drive cage to hide the wires and just pulled it a little bit.

You could try checking that - it was a power connectivity with mine. Sometimes the connection would hold, but most of the time I'd get a flicker of LEDs on my fans and slight fan movement. Then nothing.
 
I removed that panel and it looked like everything was connected good. I'm still having trouble getting it to turn on. Once it does it's fine. Fans just spin and LEDs lightup for a split second and then nothing...
 
Had an identical issue with the same board. And then the board in my sig I bought to replace it. Turned out to be a powersupply issue.

Here is the full thread:
http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31119


Is the powersupply you are using fairly old? *EDIT* n/m I see its a 24 pin unit.


Check all the standoffs in the case, make sure it isnt grounding out on something intermittantly.
 
Aaron_ATX said:
Had an identical issue with the same board. And then the board in my sig I bought to replace it. Turned out to be a powersupply issue.

Here is the full thread:
http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31119


Is the powersupply you are using fairly old? *EDIT* n/m I see its a 24 pin unit.


Check all the standoffs in the case, make sure it isnt grounding out on something intermittantly.
Click to expand...

Wow thanks for that thread! So far I have been able to power up everytime if I do what was suggested in that thread; Hold the power button in while turning on the psu. Very odd I would have to do that but it starts my system. And yeah, a new psu. Just got it yesterday. Thanks again man.

Does anyone have suggestions for the SATA issue?
 
There isnt an easy answer for the harddrive issue. Windows 2k and XP do not support drives larger than 127gigs unless you have a install disk that has the most up-to-date service packs. Even so I believe there is a bit of registry tweaking that needs to be done in order to have a partition over 127 gigs. Nothing major, but the problem is it has to be done after the install of the OS is completed.

An alternative workaround: When you install the OS and it asks you about partitioning the drive, create a small partition just to install the OS, and leave a little room for the future...i'd go with like 20 gigs. Once the install is complete it will appear that you only have a 20 gig drive, but you can make the required updates/reg tweaks, and then partition/format the remaining 180 gigs of the drive to install games/programs whuddevah.
 
Ah it worked, thanks. XP is recognizing the 200gb. Only issue I see now is that I still have that 'remove hardware' icon in my sys tray. This makes me think my hd needs a driver or something but I can't find one.

Basically this is how I installed the drive... Stuck it in new system as main drive, booted XP from disc, it recognized it as 137gb, I formatted it, and put OS on. Then I used that utility you linked to enable larger sizes in Windows. Partition Magic then let me join the two. I never did F6 or installed anything other than stuff off the mb cd.
 
I didn't need to install any drivers on my pc (abit mobo, win xp) it detected it all fine & no other issues...so not sure... but...

Checked out the maxtor support page & found this:

Where can I find software drivers for my hard drive?

Question
I am looking for new or updated software drivers for my hard drive. Where can I locate these drivers? Does Maxtor supply these drivers for my hard disk drive?

Answer
Maxtor does not supply software drivers for SATA, ATA or SCSI hard drives. Hard drives do not require specific device drivers. However, separate software drivers are normally required for third party PCI cards or for a motherboard’s embedded hard disk interface. These are the components that manage the transfer of information between the operating system and the hard drive. If you are trying to obtain updated controller or motherboard device drivers, you will need to contact the respective motherboard, system, or controller manufacturer.

Note: The CD-ROM and/or the floppy diskette that is included with the Maxtor retail kit does not contain disk drivers. However the MaxBlast Plus II CD-ROM does contain drivers for the Maxtor ATA/133 PCI card.

To obtain replacement or updated drivers for the Maxtor (Promise) ATA PCI card please visit the Product Support Download Page.

For information on where to obtain Ultra ATA or UDMA drivers for your system or motherboard please Click Here.



Could be a red herring though.
 
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