troubleshoot new computer x.x

jepherz · Jul 12, 2008, 09:45 PM

I just bought some new parts for a computer. a new processor and mobo. Intel Q9450 and a Gigabyte EP35-DS3P motherboard. I borrowed a stick of ram and a PCI-E video card from my brother. The video came with his computer that he'd bought from HP, and the RAM also which is a Samsung 1gb PC6400U. PC6400 = 800 right? which should be compatible with my motherboard, though its not listed:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/...5-ds3p_2.1.pdf
I didn't expect it to be there though; those are high end memory and my brothers came stock with his HP, but its just a recommendation list though is it? There are memory out of that list that should be able to run on the mobo still as long as they are DDR2 800 and whatever, which this stick should be.

The Hard drive i used is my current one (or old one) which is an IDE, and so is my DVD drive. The hard drive has information in it. Its dual boot with GRUB boot menu which has ubuntu and XP. I think I have everything plugged in correctly. There is one plug on my brothers PCIE graphics card that looks like a system fan plug, but about 2-3 times smaller. theres holes on one end to plug into the mobo, and 2 holes on the other which plugs into the card, but I couldn't find a spot to plug it into the mobo, so I'm guessing I don't have to.

The front panel switches...I think I got them on correctly. The lights work, the power bottom and reset works...

When I turn on the computer, it brings me to a logo screen where I have to press "tab" then it brings me to the POST screen which is what I normally see when on most other computers right when you turn in it. but from there it takes about 20 seconds for it to read the IDEs, and it reads my hard drive but not my DVD drive. If i leave it alone for maybe a minute, it says something like "verifying DMI pool" and soon after that it says disk boot failed, put disk in and press enter. If i press "del" to enter bios, that takes about 20 seconds to do, so its kinda slow.... am i supposed to reformat my hard drive? I don't know what to do. Should i go out and try to find a higher quality RAM?

OldBuzzard · Jul 13, 2008, 03:41 AM

Since it's trying to boot, and gets to the point where it says 'disk boot failed' the RAM is at least adaquate.

It sounds like you have the HDD, and DVD both set to MASTER.

I would first, make sure that the HDD and DVD are both set to CABLE SELECT (CS) with the jumpers on the rear of the HDD and DVD.

Then, when you boot go into the BIOS, and make sure that:

1. You disable the 'Show Logo" option, as that will allow you see some things that are happening during the boot process.

2. Go to the "boot sequence" part of the BIOS and make sure that you have the system booting from the HDD. For the time being, make sure that the HDD is the FIRST thing the system looks for.

When you save and exit the BIOS (usually F10), as it boots you should see a lot of info. One of the things you want to see is it saying that the HDD and DVD have been detected. At this point it 'should' try to boot from the HDD. Since you have a new MB and CPU, your current XP install is pretty much garbage, but right now, you don't care. You just want to see the system TRYING to boot from the HDD.

If it does try to boot then you are 1/2 way there. Now go back into the BIOS, and set the boot sequence to this order:

Floppy (if you have one)
CD/DVD
HDD

Make sure that you have nothing in the floppy drive and nothing in the DVD drive. On re-boot it should still try to boot from the HDD. If so, then you are good to go.

You will need to reinstall XP though, as you current install is looking for components and drivers that you don't have now, and trying to repair what's there will take more time than a re-install.

Your other option is to just buy a SATA HDD, and just put the DVD set to MASTER on the IDE ribbon.

jepherz · Jul 13, 2008, 04:15 AM

ok, ill get to trying that, but i need to ask something else. theres a list on the website for CPU compatibility :
GIGABYTE - Support - Motherboard - CPU Support List - GA-EP35-DS3P (rev. 2.1)
my Q9450 is listed but it says i need BIOS version f3. it came as a f2. so i updated it, but it didn't fix anything. everything is really slow on this computer, i thought this might have been the problem, but its not. what could be causing the computer to be going so slowly if its not the ram?

the computer boots to the logo screen, you have to press tab to get to the post screen, which detects the IDEs. it takes it a long time to detect them and then after they are detected the screen pauses there for about a minute before it goes to the next screen with a whole list of things and says "verifying DMI pool..." at the bottom.

i was hoping i wouldnt have to reformat my harddrive x.x what should it say if it detects my hard drive?

edit: i forgot to add, when i make changes to the BIOS and save changes and exit, the computer shuts off and then restarts, but when it tries to restart it shuts down within a few seconds then starts up again. one time this happened twice before the computer started up correctly without restarting. is that normal with BIOS changes?

Jul 12, 2008, 09:45 PM	#1
jepherz HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 119 Rep Power: 0	troubleshoot new computer x.x I just bought some new parts for a computer. a new processor and mobo. Intel Q9450 and a Gigabyte EP35-DS3P motherboard. I borrowed a stick of ram and a PCI-E video card from my brother. The video came with his computer that he'd bought from HP, and the RAM also which is a Samsung 1gb PC6400U. PC6400 = 800 right? which should be compatible with my motherboard, though its not listed: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/...5-ds3p_2.1.pdf I didn't expect it to be there though; those are high end memory and my brothers came stock with his HP, but its just a recommendation list though is it? There are memory out of that list that should be able to run on the mobo still as long as they are DDR2 800 and whatever, which this stick should be. The Hard drive i used is my current one (or old one) which is an IDE, and so is my DVD drive. The hard drive has information in it. Its dual boot with GRUB boot menu which has ubuntu and XP. I think I have everything plugged in correctly. There is one plug on my brothers PCIE graphics card that looks like a system fan plug, but about 2-3 times smaller. theres holes on one end to plug into the mobo, and 2 holes on the other which plugs into the card, but I couldn't find a spot to plug it into the mobo, so I'm guessing I don't have to. The front panel switches...I think I got them on correctly. The lights work, the power bottom and reset works... When I turn on the computer, it brings me to a logo screen where I have to press "tab" then it brings me to the POST screen which is what I normally see when on most other computers right when you turn in it. but from there it takes about 20 seconds for it to read the IDEs, and it reads my hard drive but not my DVD drive. If i leave it alone for maybe a minute, it says something like "verifying DMI pool" and soon after that it says disk boot failed, put disk in and press enter. If i press "del" to enter bios, that takes about 20 seconds to do, so its kinda slow.... am i supposed to reformat my hard drive? I don't know what to do. Should i go out and try to find a higher quality RAM?

Jul 13, 2008, 03:41 AM	#2
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Since it's trying to boot, and gets to the point where it says 'disk boot failed' the RAM is at least adaquate. It sounds like you have the HDD, and DVD both set to MASTER. I would first, make sure that the HDD and DVD are both set to CABLE SELECT (CS) with the jumpers on the rear of the HDD and DVD. Then, when you boot go into the BIOS, and make sure that: 1. You disable the 'Show Logo" option, as that will allow you see some things that are happening during the boot process. 2. Go to the "boot sequence" part of the BIOS and make sure that you have the system booting from the HDD. For the time being, make sure that the HDD is the FIRST thing the system looks for. When you save and exit the BIOS (usually F10), as it boots you should see a lot of info. One of the things you want to see is it saying that the HDD and DVD have been detected. At this point it 'should' try to boot from the HDD. Since you have a new MB and CPU, your current XP install is pretty much garbage, but right now, you don't care. You just want to see the system TRYING to boot from the HDD. If it does try to boot then you are 1/2 way there. Now go back into the BIOS, and set the boot sequence to this order: Floppy (if you have one) CD/DVD HDD Make sure that you have nothing in the floppy drive and nothing in the DVD drive. On re-boot it should still try to boot from the HDD. If so, then you are good to go. You will need to reinstall XP though, as you current install is looking for components and drivers that you don't have now, and trying to repair what's there will take more time than a re-install. Your other option is to just buy a SATA HDD, and just put the DVD set to MASTER on the IDE ribbon. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Jul 13, 2008, 04:15 AM	Thread Starter #3
jepherz HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 119 Rep Power: 0	ok, ill get to trying that, but i need to ask something else. theres a list on the website for CPU compatibility : GIGABYTE - Support - Motherboard - CPU Support List - GA-EP35-DS3P (rev. 2.1) my Q9450 is listed but it says i need BIOS version f3. it came as a f2. so i updated it, but it didn't fix anything. everything is really slow on this computer, i thought this might have been the problem, but its not. what could be causing the computer to be going so slowly if its not the ram? the computer boots to the logo screen, you have to press tab to get to the post screen, which detects the IDEs. it takes it a long time to detect them and then after they are detected the screen pauses there for about a minute before it goes to the next screen with a whole list of things and says "verifying DMI pool..." at the bottom. i was hoping i wouldnt have to reformat my harddrive x.x what should it say if it detects my hard drive? edit: i forgot to add, when i make changes to the BIOS and save changes and exit, the computer shuts off and then restarts, but when it tries to restart it shuts down within a few seconds then starts up again. one time this happened twice before the computer started up correctly without restarting. is that normal with BIOS changes? Last edited by jepherz; Jul 13, 2008 at 04:27 AM.