New Computer, No Boot

[dek]

ok this would be my second time building a computer, and it's for my roommate. we got it and put it together. however when we push the power button, all the lights come on, and fans start, even the post says what it should for booting up, but nothing happens. some parts are new some are old, so heres some system specs.

New things:
Epox 8kda3+ 250gb nforce 3
AMD 64 3700+
Kingston HyperX pc3200 1gb
Enermax 470 watt powersupply

Old things:
HDD:100gb
cdroms/floppy drives
flatscreen lcd monitor
geforce mx 440 64mb (lol)

i'm not too sure what could be our problem, so any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[mechBgon]

If it powers up and displays the POST screen, then maybe explain what you mean by "but nothing happens." Do you mean that Windows doesn't boot up? If you were hoping to re-use the old Windows installation that's already on the hard drive, it generally don't work like that :evil: There are exceptions, though. If I'm on the right track, then tell me what the old & new motherboards are.

 

[dek]

it shows the post on the mobo, not the screen. however i think i may have found the unfortunate solution. that the processor is not supported by the mobo

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: dek
it shows the post on the mobo, not the screen. however i think i may have found the unfortunate solution. that the processor is not supported by the mobo

You can order a new BIOS chip from http://www.badflash.com along with a chip extractor, if it just needs a BIOS update that you can't do because of the chicken-&-egg situation. BadFlash can put the latest BIOS on the chip for you in advance.

 

[dek]

ok we got it running, is there any way for me to put his hdd in my computer and get the files off it? :\

 

[mechBgon]

Yeah, you can do that. If the files are in his My Documents or My Pictures folders or the others that are "his", that belonged to his user account, then you'll have to take Ownership of them (assuming he was using the NTFS file system and not FAT32). So throw the drive into your comp there. What operating system are you using on your own computer? WinXP Professional or Win2000 Professional I hope?

 

[dek]

i have xp pro, hes running xp home

 

[dek]

i did throw his in mine, and it said i needed to format it before i could use it.

 

[blodhi74]

try restore option in xp .... other wise a format is in order .... oh ... hey mech

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: dek
i did throw his in mine, and it said i needed to format it before i could use it.

Did you guys try running Windows Setup on it after replacing the motherboard, or can you think of another reason why the existing data wouldn't show up to your own computer? If you didn't do anything to delete or change the existing partitions, then put the drive back on the old motherboard and see if you can boot up the existing Windows installation using the old hardware. Then perhaps you can back up important data onto CDs or DVDs.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: blodhi74
try restore option in xp .... other wise a format is in order .... oh ... hey mech

/me waves, been tweaking your riggie's wiring, I see

 

[dek]

but we definately have to format for his hdd to work on the new computer?

 

[blodhi74]

seems that sir .... good luck and listen to mechBgon

 

[blodhi74]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: blodhi74
try restore option in xp .... other wise a format is in order .... oh ... hey mech

/me waves, been tweaking your riggie's wiring, I see

cant slip any thing past you ....

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: dek
but we definately have to format for his hdd to work on the new computer?

Not always, no. For example, if the new mobo uses the same drivers as the old one... like when I replaced my old nForce board with an nForce2 board, it worked without a hitch because they both use the same nVidia driver package. Or if I were to upgrade from a KT333 board to a KT600 board (NOT LIKELY), that should work since they both use the same VIA 4-in-1 drivers. That's why I asked what the old & new boards are.

You could also try a Repair-mode installation of Windows but I don't recommend it as the permanent solution. You start Windows Setup and the first time it asks if you want to do a Repair or a fresh install, you choose a fresh install. It gets prepped, it looks at the hard drive, it asks where to install to, and you aim it at the C:\ partition. It sees the existing Windows installation in C:\WINDOWS and it asks if you want it Repaired? and now you say Repair. Make sure the network cable is unplugged, because if it works, the result will be a "raw" unpatched vulnerable Windows installation that's easy prey for worms.

Then you would wormproof it and plug in your network cable and get its antivirus software updated, then proceed to get the latest patches and so forth. After that you'd install the motherboard's chipset drivers, then reboot, then install the video drivers and other drivers. And you'd probably still have a Windows installation with some weird behaviors, these Repair installs don't always come out quite right. So it might be a stopgap measure.

That all assumes your friend's hard drive hasn't lost its partition info or something