Asus A7V

[voodooreign]

Here is my problem I know this is an old board but I got it cheap to build a computer for my daughter. Here is the problem I have everything put together. It will boot up in DOS and do the hardware checks but when it goes to load the OS which is XP it comes up with the screen that says windows didn't load properly and asks if I want to load normaly or in safe mode but it won't do either. It detects the HD I checked the bios. here is my setup. any help will be appreciated.

Asus A7V (non ATA100 Version)
Athlon 1.3Ghz 200 FSB
1 Stick pc133 256 and Pc133 512
1 20 gig IBM deskstar
1 120gig WD Caviar
antec 430watt ps

 

[KF]

Is this after you freshly installed XP? You didn't say. It sounds like no. If the installation is from another mobo, you'll need to install XP over itself (repair install) more often than not. It is vey normal for XP to not redetect a motherboard change properly, and that is the message you will end up getting a blue screen or an automatic reboot.

Otherwise, get the program "memtest", or another one, off the Internet and check your memory.

Set memory timings as slow as avavilable in BIOS.

Make sure the heatsink is seated properly on the CPU.

Is the CPU speed displayed on the boot up screen what it is supposed to be?

 

[mechBgon]

Also, if the Western Digital hard drive happens to have a data cable all to itself, make sure it's jumpered for Single Drive and not for Master, Slave or Cable Select, since they can be fussy about that.

 

[voodooreign]

I tried booting from CD Windows XP but it won't work it goes to the blue screen and asks about loading SCSI or Raid but when it goes to where it should start loading files it just stays blank at the bottom nothing. It reads my CPU AMD 1300MHZ and my HD is detected and also my memory I tried it with out the WD 120 in case there was a conflict. I have PC133 memory but fsb reads 100MHZ I don't know if that makes any difference. I really appreciate the help.

 

[KF]

>I have PC133 memory but fsb reads 100MHZ I don't know if that makes any difference.

100 is OK, and safe. If your CPU is 200 FSB (which is Double Data Rate) your fsb is supposed to be set automatically to half 200 = 100. As I recall, mobos of this era can have the memory set to 133 in the BIOS while the CPU bus is set to 100 (200 DDR), but setting the memory to 100 should work too. You can worry about setting it faster after you get things working.

One thing you can try is to use only one memory module at a time. Sometimes mobos are finicky about 2, or maybe one module or the other is flakey. (Which is why I thought you could try running a memory test.) Just because the memory is detected does not mean it is working 100%. It is not that uncommon to have memory problems that look like this. Booting XP or installing XP is much more demanding on the CPU and memory than getting to DOS.

Make sure the HD is set to "auto" in the BIOS, and that the HD is attached on IDE plug 1, not 2.

Try a different HD cable.

Take a look at mechBgon's link. Even experienced builders slip up on heatsink mounting.

As far as the 120G drive, I think it should be supported by the if it has the last BIOS update that ASUS had for it. Otherwise you might need "disk manager" software that is often supplied with a boxed HD, or available at the manufacturers web site.

BTW, did this mobo come with a guaranty?

 

[mechBgon]

One other thing... on the A7V, make sure your hard drive is on one of the top pair of IDE ports, which are "native" to the southbridge. The bottom pair are operated by that tack-on Promise chiplet and you'd need to feed it drivers on a floppy using the F6-key routine. It being a PCI-based chiplet, I'd steer clear of it on the old VIA chipsets if I could.

 

[voodooreign]

Thanks for everything I finaly got it to work. It was one of the memory sticks the 256MB one. It's weird cause on boot up it say memory status OK and would show total of both sticks but would not let it go to windows. As soon as I removed the 256 stick it fired right up and I did do a fresh install of XP before I went any further like KF suggested. I didn't pay much for everything. New MB $10 Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu HS $30 New AMD T-bird 1.3 $35 and stick of Micron PC133 512MB for $50 everything else I had just laying around so it was a cheap project. I really appreciate all the help thanks again.