SN45G v2 Problems

[imported_Woo]

I recently purchased an SN45G v2 right here on the forums. It came with a 200 watt power supply (not SilentX) and an Athlon XP 2000+.

Other specs:

Corsair XMS Pro Series PC3200 512MBx2 Memory
NEC 16X DVD Burner
MSI Ti4600 128MB Video Card
Hitachi 400GB SATA Hard Drive

I replaced the Athlon XP 2000+ with an Athlon XP 3000+. I then noticed it didn't have SATA so I bought a SYBA SD-SATA150R SATA controller from Newegg. I booted up with my XP Pro format from my last build and after a while it was getting blue screens which was expected because it wasn't a clean format.

I then went into the bios to set the primary boot device to CD-ROM so I could install a fresh copy of XP Pro. I hit F10 to save and exit and when I rebooted there was no video. So, I reset the bios jumper and I got video. No matter what I edited in the bios, i'm unable to get video on the reboot.

I then tried something that probably isn't too healthy. I unplugged my SATA hard drive so that it would boot to CD-ROM and then after it says "Press any key to boot cd-rom" I plugged the SATA drive back in. It worked and XP Pro setup loaded but after the drive was formatted and the setup files were loaded, I rebooted and was greeted with errors about my disk drive. For some reason, I think my SATA controller is causing those errors but then again it may be because of what I did to get Windows setup to boot.

What is happening and how can I fix it?

 

[mparr1708]

Originally posted by: Woo
I recently purchased an SN45G v2 right here on the forums. It came with a 200 watt power supply (not SilentX) and an Athlon XP 2000+.

Other specs:

Corsair XMS Pro Series PC3200 512MBx2 Memory
NEC 16X DVD Burner
MSI Ti4600 128MB Video Card
Hitachi 400GB SATA Hard Drive

I replaced the Athlon XP 2000+ with an Athlon XP 3000+. I then noticed it didn't have SATA so I bought a SYBA SD-SATA150R SATA controller from Newegg. I booted up with my XP Pro format from my last build and after a while it was getting blue screens which was expected because it wasn't a clean format.

I then went into the bios to set the primary boot device to CD-ROM so I could install a fresh copy of XP Pro. I hit F10 to save and exit and when I rebooted there was no video. So, I reset the bios jumper and I got video. No matter what I edited in the bios, i'm unable to get video on the reboot.

I then tried something that probably isn't too healthy. I unplugged my SATA hard drive so that it would boot to CD-ROM and then after it says "Press any key to boot cd-rom" I plugged the SATA drive back in. It worked and XP Pro setup loaded but after the drive was formatted and the setup files were loaded, I rebooted and was greeted with errors about my disk drive. For some reason, I think my SATA controller is causing those errors but then again it may be because of what I did to get Windows setup to boot.

What is happening and how can I fix it?

It sounds like you have a couple of different problems going on. Lets start with the bios problem first... If you remove the sata controller can you make the same changes in the bios successfully that you couldnt make with it in? If so then you know its probably got some issues with your mobo. Have you tried updating the bios on your mobo? Updating the bios may resolve any conflicts the card has with your mobo. My only other thoguht would be if you have some other device trying to grab the same IRQ as the sata controller. What other cards do you have in that box? Try removing everything except the sata controller, video, the cdrom, the HD, and one stick of ram. ake your machine down to its base config to function properly and see if that resolves the problem.

The second problem is after you get XP setup started. Make sure you are pressing f6 and loading the drivers for that sata controller at the start of XP setup. You already hinted to this but plugging your drive in while the machine is on (with a controller that does not support hotplug) is a horrible idea. It may have worked in the short term but if you do that to much you may catch it just right and lose that 400gb drive.


Hope this stuff helps! Post and let us know .

 

[imported_Woo]

Okay,

I did press F6 to load drivers at setup and also I just updated to the newest bios. Later, i'm going to try to boot up without some hd, cdrom, vid, and one stick of ram to test the bios.

 

[imported_Woo]

I tried modifying the bios with 1 stick of ram, no hard drive, no cd-rom, and no sata controller and it does the same thing..

 

[imported_Woo]

Update: I took out my Corsair XMS PC3200 512MBx2 memory and replaced it with Kingston PC2100 256MB memory and now i'm unable to do anything I want to the bios!! What would cause this?!!

 

[mparr1708]

So with the controller out of the picture youa res till having the problems. Not only that with almost all devices disconnected you are still having the same problem. Contact your Mobos tech upport and see if they have any ideas. Unless I missed something its time for an RMA if they don't have a clue.

 

[Lateraliian]

Originally posted by: Woo
I tried modifying the bios with 1 stick of ram, no hard drive, no cd-rom, and no sata controller and it does the same thing..

Do you have a different video card to test with? Either PCI or AGP would work, maybe try switching buses, depending on the type you have in there now. If need be, I can send you one to try out. I've used an AGP GeForce 3, 5900SE, and 6600GT in that system. All of them worked fine, you've got a molex connector going to your video card (if it needs one?)

 

[imported_Woo]

Anyone else know what this may be?