Hello everyone, I recently built my first system, and am having some problems with it. I posted the other day, and got some great advice, yet im still stumped(this is my first time buildign a computer). hardware stats: amd athlon processor 512 ddr ram ati radeon 9200 award bios biostar mb now, when i turn it on, a few things seem to go wrong, which is making me think mobo failure, however i wish to verify. first, the keyboard/mouse/and monitor, gets no signal, and the computer just emits a long beep(which would indicate bad memory). ok fine, but the other thing which is happening is that my cd drive keeps spinning, and my hled stays on. I thought my ide cable was backwards, so i made sure the blue end was in the mobo, and the hard drive(master) got the other end, and the cd got the middle connetor(slave). still got the same errors, and i even flipped the connectors, connecting the hard drive to the middle, and the cdrom to the end. Being that these two things seem to keep malfunctioning(the ram error, and hard drive error), is this good evidence to tpoint towards a bad mobo, or *gulp* a bad cdrom/ram/hard drive? Thank you for your time and review.

You could have a bad mobo, ram, cpu or all of the above..but your comment is along the right track "first, the keyboard/mouse/and monitor, gets no signal, and the computer just emits a long beep(which would indicate bad memory)" I just built a system last week that did same thing sometimes..it booted ok than windows needed reboot and that' when I couldn't get more than a long beep; CD and HD were spinning tho The problem turned out to be the ram even though I just got it an hour earlier and the store installed it for "warranty" purposes..

Proper connection for the drives is to have the jumpers on your HD set for master and CD for slave. Blue end = MB, Other end = HD, CD = middle. Make sure the cable is inserted into the primary IDE channel. If you are not seeing anything on the screen, that has nothing to do with your drives. Unplug power> Disconnect all drives and cables from MB> Remove MB> Lay case on side> Place MB on non-conductive material on top of counter and reseat 1 stick of memory> reseat video card> clear CMOS with MB jumper(see manual)> Place MB on non-conductive material on case> Re-connect all case to MB connections> Re-connect power> try to boot. If no video, then either bad memory, video card or MB. If you can borrow other memory & video card, try switching out one at a time. Still no go RMA MB. AwardBIOS Error Messages When a personal computer is first turned on, the BIOS tests and configures various components to ensure that they are operating correctly. This operation is called POST (power-on self test). If the BIOS detects any problems during this testing phase, it will attempt to continue to start the computer. However, if the problems are severe, the BIOS may be forced to halt the system. When an error is detected, the BIOS program will: Display the error to the screen, if possible. Generate a POST beep code using the computer's internal speaker if it cannot access the display adaptor. Provide a POST code output that can be read using a special hardware tool. Beep Codes The only AwardBIOS beep code indicates that a video error has occurred and the BIOS cannot initialize the video screen to display any additional information. This beep code consists of a single long beep followed by two short beeps. Any other beeps are probably a RAM (Random Access Memory) problems. Screen Error Messages The following messages are examples of messages including errors detected by the BIOS during POST and a description of what they mean and/or what you may do to correct the error. BIOS ROM checksum error - System halted The checksum of the BIOS code in the BIOS chip is incorrect, indicating the BIOS code may have become corrupt. Contact your system dealer to replace the BIOS. CMOS battery failed The CMOS battery is no longer functional. Contact your system dealer for a replacement battery. CMOS checksum error - Defaults loaded Checksum of CMOS is incorrect, so the system loads the default equipment configuration. A checksum error may indicate that CMOS has become corrupt. This error may have been caused by a weak battery. Check the battery and replace if necessary. CPU at nnnn Displays the running speed of the CPU. Display switch is set incorrectly The display switch on the motherboard can be set to either monochrome or color. This message indicates the switch is set to a different setting than indicated in Setup. Determine which setting is correct, and then either turn off the system and change the jumper, or enter Setup and change the VIDEO selection. Press ESC to skip memory test The user may press Esc to skip the full memory test. Floppy disk(s) fail Cannot find or initialize the floppy drive controller or the drive. Make sure the controller is installed correctly. If no floppy drives are installed, be sure the Diskette Drive selection in Setup is set to NONE or AUTO. HARD DISK initializing Please wait a moment Some hard drives require extra time to initialize. HARD DISK INSTALL FAILURE Cannot find or initialize the hard drive controller or the drive. Make sure the controller is installed correctly. If no hard drives are installed, be sure the Hard Drive selection in Setup is set to NONE. Hard disk(s) diagnosis fail The system may run specific disk diagnostic routines. This message appears if one or more hard disks return an error when the diagnostics run. Keyboard error or no keyboard present Cannot initialize the keyboard. Make sure the keyboard is attached correctly and no keys are pressed during POST. To purposely configure the system without a keyboard, set the error halt condition in Setup to HALT ON ALL, BUT KEYBOARD. The BIOS then ignores the missing keyboard during POST. Keyboard is locked out - Unlock the key This message usually indicates that one or more keys have been pressed during the keyboard tests. Be sure no objects are resting on the keyboard. Memory Test: This message displays during a full memory test, counting down the memory areas being tested. Memory test fail If POST detects an error during memory testing, additional information appears giving specifics about the type and location of the memory error. Override enabled - Defaults loaded If the system cannot boot using the current CMOS configuration, the BIOS can override the current configuration with a set of BIOS defaults designed for the most stable, minimal-performance system operations. Press TAB to show POST screen System OEMs may replace the Phoenix Technologies' AwardBIOS POST display with their own proprietary display. Including this message in the OEM display permits the operator to switch between the OEM display and the default POST display. Primary master hard disk fail POST detects an error in the primary master IDE hard drive. Primary slave hard disk fail POST detects an error in the secondary master IDE hard drive. Resuming from disk, Press TAB to show POST screen Phoenix Technologies offers a save-to-disk feature for notebook computers. This message may appear when the operator re-starts the system after a save-to-disk shut-down. See the Press Tab & message above for a description of this feature. Secondary master hard disk fail POST detects an error in the primary slave IDE hard drive. Secondary slave hard disk fail POST detects an error in the secondary slave IDE hard drive.

hmm..how bad is static electricity? I mean, i know it can wipe out components in a heartbeat, but how often does this happen, and what are the parameters for putting oneself in that situation?? The basics i think were, ground yourself by touching metal object connected to the floor, staty away from carpeted places and stuff similar to that. That being said, i believe i goofed. :-\ At first, when i assembled everythying, i did in my kitchen, on a wood table, on a wood floor. cool. BUTTTT, when i was done in there, and bought it back to my room, which is carpeted, when i would want to go back inside the case, i wouldnt take it out to the kitchen, bc its a pain in the ass. Also, I would sit on my bed and f around w/ some of the componenets. Ok, so tell me, did i totally f--- up?? should i be banned from building computers for life? and just stick to ps2 and programming?? Or should i just do a 'note to self': "If you touch cpu components while on a carpeted , or otherwise potentially static electricty rich area, grab nearest blunt object, preferablly weighing 5 lbs or more(as long as not a cpu component) and repeatedly smack self in the head" thanx again guys

Wow...I didn't bother to read thru OtheHill's entire post, but there's a lot of info there. His 1st paragraph is basically what I was gonna suggest, but without removing the mobo from the case. Try firing up your system with minimum hardware...that is, only the mobo, CPU, one stick of RAM, video card & keyboard...nothing else. Remove all cards & disconnect the floppy & all IDE devices. Also double check any jumper settings on the mobo (if there are any) & the case wiring as well (power switch, reset, LEDs, etc). If it boots up, get into the BIOS & tweak your settings as necessary...make sure to save before you exit. Then shutdown & start adding things, one or two at a time...reboot & see if all is well. Don't put everything back in at once, you may find yourself back in the same boat if you do... I suspect bad RAM...