Tech Support Forum Checklist
These are some common fixes for technical difficulties:
First step is to read the Forum FAQ?s listed at the top of this page!
Does your computer freeze on bootup? try downloading a bootlog analyzer to see what the problem may be.
Is your new hard drive not showing up in windows xp? in winxp, drives do not automatically show up (for security reasons) you need to login to an administrator account, and use Disk Management to make your drive partitions "active" so that they will show up.
To do this, go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools-> Computer Management-> choose Disk Management on the panel, right click your new disk on the right and select Make Partition Active.
When you first load your OS The order that you load things is critical. The best order in which to do this is: OS, board drivers, video drivers, nic, modem, with sound card drivers last.
Card location is Important If you have an agp card try to leave pci slot 1 open. Sound cards generally run into the fewest conflicts in the last few slots, On motherboards with VIA chipsets avoid putting anything in pci slots 4 and 6 as they share IRQ's with USB and can cause stability problems when using usb devices.
Are you running a VIA chipset? If so have you tried upgrading the VIA 4 in 1 drivers? This can fix problems relating to AGP, USB issues etc.
No matter what chipset you are running, have you checked the chipset manufacturers? website for new drivers?
If you are running an Nvidia product have you updated to the latest Detonators?
If you are getting beep code errors while your computer attempts to complete the POST operation, have you made sure the video card and RAM are seated correctly? (Make sure that the RAM clips click around your module. Have you read you motherboard manual to make sure the RAM is populating the banks correctly?
If you are having a hardware related problem, and are not sure what the culprit is start with a minimal configuration (RAM video, hard drive, CD-ROM) and add in parts until you experience the problem.
If experiencing random shutdowns/reboots check the power supply, make sure all connections are in tact, and if that doesn?t work if possible try another PSU. Also if you are running an AMD Athlon/Duron it is a good Idea to have an AMD approved power supply of at least 300 watts, this will ensure you are getting enough power to all devices.
Does your hard drive light stay on all the time, or not come on at all? Make sure you have the connector plugged into the right pins on the motherboard, a schematic is available in your motherboard manual, and is sometimes printed onto the PCB as well.
Always make sure your system speaker is plugged in, as this assures you will not miss any beep codes associated with the POST operation
If your floppy drive light stays on all the time, try switching the way the cable is oriented, usually the rule is make sure the red stripe (Pin 1) is facing the power cable.
If your new rig won?t POST, the culprit may be the motherboard is shorting out, in order to prevent this, make sure you install the standoffs correctly that came with the case.
Is your CPU not posting at the proper speed?
Check to make sure that you have the FSB set to the correct bus speed. Most motherboards allow you to do this through the BIOS, but others require that you manually set a jumper on the mobo.
If you experience random lock ups check to see if they are heat related. What kind of cooling do you have on your processor? Any case fans? If so, how many and placement? Check system temps by installing and configuring Motherboard Monitor 5.0. If you are unsure of proper setup post a thread either here in tech support or in cases and cooling.
Why am I not getting any sound when I play a CD?
Have you checked to see that your CD Audio cables are plugged in properly to both the CD-Rom and Sound Card? Check to see if you need to enable the Auxillary sound plug through your sound card settings.
If you are having stability problems make sure that you are not overclocking at that you FSB is set to the same frequency that is marked on the chip, and that your RAM is specified for.
If you are having problems completing the POST operation try clearing the CMOS with the onboard jumper.
When building a new system, check to be sure your power supply switch is set to 110/115 W and not 220/240W.
If your system was working and quits or becomes flaky, even when booting in safe mode, then bad connections may be the problem. Try unplugging and re-seating all boards (not just memory and video). This will usually clean the contacts.
If further cleaning is necessary then use a pencil eraser to very lightly polish the contacts on each board edge. Some people don't like this idea because it may erode the contacts, so you can use a little rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth if you prefer.
Links
Minendo's tech support links
usb fixes
If this checklist does not help you when you post your problem in the forum, please give a detailed description of the problem, along with complete system specs (from psu down to motherboard) anything that you have tried, and what OS you are running.
created by DaiShan & Minendo
If you have any additions to this thread, pm me or minendo, or post in the thread.
These are some common fixes for technical difficulties:
First step is to read the Forum FAQ?s listed at the top of this page!
Does your computer freeze on bootup? try downloading a bootlog analyzer to see what the problem may be.
Is your new hard drive not showing up in windows xp? in winxp, drives do not automatically show up (for security reasons) you need to login to an administrator account, and use Disk Management to make your drive partitions "active" so that they will show up.
To do this, go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools-> Computer Management-> choose Disk Management on the panel, right click your new disk on the right and select Make Partition Active.
When you first load your OS The order that you load things is critical. The best order in which to do this is: OS, board drivers, video drivers, nic, modem, with sound card drivers last.
Card location is Important If you have an agp card try to leave pci slot 1 open. Sound cards generally run into the fewest conflicts in the last few slots, On motherboards with VIA chipsets avoid putting anything in pci slots 4 and 6 as they share IRQ's with USB and can cause stability problems when using usb devices.
Are you running a VIA chipset? If so have you tried upgrading the VIA 4 in 1 drivers? This can fix problems relating to AGP, USB issues etc.
No matter what chipset you are running, have you checked the chipset manufacturers? website for new drivers?
If you are running an Nvidia product have you updated to the latest Detonators?
If you are getting beep code errors while your computer attempts to complete the POST operation, have you made sure the video card and RAM are seated correctly? (Make sure that the RAM clips click around your module. Have you read you motherboard manual to make sure the RAM is populating the banks correctly?
If you are having a hardware related problem, and are not sure what the culprit is start with a minimal configuration (RAM video, hard drive, CD-ROM) and add in parts until you experience the problem.
If experiencing random shutdowns/reboots check the power supply, make sure all connections are in tact, and if that doesn?t work if possible try another PSU. Also if you are running an AMD Athlon/Duron it is a good Idea to have an AMD approved power supply of at least 300 watts, this will ensure you are getting enough power to all devices.
Does your hard drive light stay on all the time, or not come on at all? Make sure you have the connector plugged into the right pins on the motherboard, a schematic is available in your motherboard manual, and is sometimes printed onto the PCB as well.
Always make sure your system speaker is plugged in, as this assures you will not miss any beep codes associated with the POST operation
If your floppy drive light stays on all the time, try switching the way the cable is oriented, usually the rule is make sure the red stripe (Pin 1) is facing the power cable.
If your new rig won?t POST, the culprit may be the motherboard is shorting out, in order to prevent this, make sure you install the standoffs correctly that came with the case.
Is your CPU not posting at the proper speed?
Check to make sure that you have the FSB set to the correct bus speed. Most motherboards allow you to do this through the BIOS, but others require that you manually set a jumper on the mobo.
If you experience random lock ups check to see if they are heat related. What kind of cooling do you have on your processor? Any case fans? If so, how many and placement? Check system temps by installing and configuring Motherboard Monitor 5.0. If you are unsure of proper setup post a thread either here in tech support or in cases and cooling.
Why am I not getting any sound when I play a CD?
Have you checked to see that your CD Audio cables are plugged in properly to both the CD-Rom and Sound Card? Check to see if you need to enable the Auxillary sound plug through your sound card settings.
If you are having stability problems make sure that you are not overclocking at that you FSB is set to the same frequency that is marked on the chip, and that your RAM is specified for.
If you are having problems completing the POST operation try clearing the CMOS with the onboard jumper.
When building a new system, check to be sure your power supply switch is set to 110/115 W and not 220/240W.
If your system was working and quits or becomes flaky, even when booting in safe mode, then bad connections may be the problem. Try unplugging and re-seating all boards (not just memory and video). This will usually clean the contacts.
If further cleaning is necessary then use a pencil eraser to very lightly polish the contacts on each board edge. Some people don't like this idea because it may erode the contacts, so you can use a little rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth if you prefer.
Links
Minendo's tech support links
usb fixes
If this checklist does not help you when you post your problem in the forum, please give a detailed description of the problem, along with complete system specs (from psu down to motherboard) anything that you have tried, and what OS you are running.
created by DaiShan & Minendo
If you have any additions to this thread, pm me or minendo, or post in the thread.
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