New build, having trouble...

[Kasch]

Ok, just put together my first self build. Here's the specs:

Athlon XP Mobile 2500
Seagate 120 gig SATA HDD
Abit NF7-S mobo
MSI RX 9800 Pro
Antec 430w PSU

I thought I could handle this but I'm lost. Everything is together, powers up and POSTs fine. The first screen tells me I have an unknown CPU type @ 600MHz. Primary Master, Slave etc. all say "None". Under that it says "CPU is unworkable or has been changed. Please recheck-CPU Soft Menu." I go into the soft menu and I'm lost. So far it looks like my drives aren't found and this CPU error has got me flustered. I did a few Google searches but found nothing pertaining to my exact troubles. Can someone please help me out, i feel a migraine coming on. Thanks.

 

[Hyperlite26]

Hi Kasch, It sounds like you don't have the correct configuration in your "setup" (which I think your mobo manufacturer is calling the "soft menu" for the IDE \ SATA devices. You have to specify it to enable SAT + IDE or IDE only or SATA only or it wont recognize any of your drives (Cd rom, Hard drives, DVD drive)

I dont know that your mobo accommodates ide & sata HD's but I am betting it does and thats the reason the system isnt seeing your drives. Let us know what happens. GL

 

[boomerang]

I would follow the procedure in your motherboard manual to clear your CMOS as a first step. The message you are receiving is not a problem. You just need to configure your BIOS correctly to recognize your processor.

I just downloaded your manual. In the SoftMenu, change it to read 2500(166). Save and exit. One step at a time. Let's get the processor recognized first.

 

[Kasch]

I cleared CMOS and the Unworkable message went away. Now it says CMOS checksum error- defaults loaded. I need to know what exactly to put in the setup areas for the CPU. It's a 1.83GHz processor but how do i spell that out in the BIOS? Just 1.83GHz or 1800MHz?

 

[boomerang]

No, 2500(166) as I said above.

 

[Kasch]

I have the speeds right now but for some reason my XP CD doesn't load up at reboot to start installing. So far it doesn't look like my drives are recognized. There's only mention of my floppy in the BIOS. I know about hitting f6 during XP install for SATA and all of that but the BIOS is showing no drives at all. The CD ROM lights up and spins etc. but I get nothing from my XP CD. I know the CD is good, I tried it on this comp to be sure. Hmmmm....

 

[boomerang]

You must have a cable reversed or it's on the wrong end of the cable.

It sounds like it's the only device on the cable so here's what I'd do. This is not the only way, it's just one of many. Jumper the drive to Master. If you are using an 80 wire cable, connect the blue end to the motherboard and the black end to the drive. Nothing on the gray connector.

Plug that cable into IDE 2 on the motherboard. Make sure the red stripe on the cable is oriented correctly. The cable is most likely keyed and will only connect one way.

Do not proceed further until your BIOS recognizes the drive.

 

[Kasch]

Ok here we go. Switched the jumper to master on the CD ROM, oops didn't think of that before but that's not the worst of it. The IDE connector was loose on the motherboard. Go ahead call me a big dummy, i can take it.

 

[boomerang]

Go into Advanced BIOS Features Setup Menu and set your boot order as follows.

First > Floppy
Second > Serial ATA
Third > CD-ROM

Once again, there are many ways to set this up. The key here is the Serial ATA setting. Without this, you will never boot off your HD.

Put the XP CD in the drive and Save and Exit. Upon reboot, assuming your CD Drive is recognized, you will boot off the XP CD and the process will be underway.

You said you already know about the F6 stuff so you will be all set there. Once the initial copying of files is done, you should boot off the HD and complete the install.

Now, I left out a step you should really do. After resetting the CMOS, it's a good idea to go in and "Load Optimized Defaults". Sorrry I overlooked it before. It will only take a minute and you should not have to do any resetting in the BIOS, but make sure your processor is recognized correctly and that the boot order is as I described and proceed to load your OS.

 

[boomerang]

Hey, you're doing great. Patience is the key. We've all done these simple mistakes, I guarantee it.

 

[MrChad]

Don't sweat it Kasch. Believe me, if your biggest problems in a new build are configuring a CPU and identifying a loose IDE cable, you're doing just fine.

Good luck, and keep us posted. :thumbsup: