New computer woes...

Ilander · 10-18-2005, 12:55 PM

Yep, I knew I'd run into something that was over my head, and then I'd be hosed.

So, I managed to install Windows after about 20 tries...but it finally installed properly without the weird IRQ error message that I kept getting...

Then, I was installing drivers, after having Windows up and running...and idiot me installed directx 9, which required an immediate restart.

Well, the computer didn't come back up from the restart...it claims that I'm missing a file from my Win 32 folder called "pci.sys"

Sure, i thought, that's not a big deal, I'll just start up the Windows installation and do a repair. Didn't seem like a big deal.

Then, for some reason, my computer stopped booting from my DVD drive first. Now, it just goes straight to an error message proclaiming that I'm missing pci.sys, but it won't boot from the CD, no matter how many times I try to do it. Just ain't happenin'.

Lastly, most of the time I startup, I get an unpleasant-sounding error "CMOS checksum error"

I looked it up, and it doesn't sound like something my computer wouldn't be able to get around, but is it possible that that is part of what's keeping me from being able to do my windows repair?

oh, and the thing keeps reseting...it'll start up, go to the diagnostics screen, sit for about a minute, then restart.

system:

Pentium 4 3 Ghz
A-Bit GD8 mobo
1 GB Geil DDR 400
NEC 3420a DVD drive
and a simple, 20 gig hard drive

oh, and I still need to set up my RAID...but I don't have the right power cables to power my SATA drives :S When did they change THAT standard????

EDIT: ARRRGH! I nearly had it fixed...windows was beginning its fix-run, and then my computer decided to restart again. This, of course, reset the BIOS...speaking of that, I think I was sent a mobo with a bad BIOS battery...because whenever my computer turns off, I lose my settings, and then I can't boot from CD...

I'm also wondering why in the world it's restarting so much...I put a 500 W power supply into it, so it should not be restarting because of a lack of power...

[ 10-18-2005, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: Ilander ]

RoSs_bg2_rox · 10-18-2005, 02:00 PM

Ehm, SATA cables have always been the same as far as I'm aware. As for your RAID, which other drive are you using? I would question whether it is really worthwhile creating a RAID Array, what did you have in mind, 0, 1?

As to installing things, the best way to go is install essential drivers first:

Chipset -> DirectX -> Graphics Card.

To get your computer to boot to your DVD drive first you have to go to into the BIOS and then change the boot order, to make let your DVD drive boot first above everything else.

As to the computer continually restarting. Is it overheating? What cooling you got in there?

Hope this helps.

RoSs_bg2_rox · 10-18-2005, 02:02 PM

Just read your edit. Try resetting the CMOS. Take the battery out and move the jumper to the other side for 10 seconds, then put it back. If you continually lose your settings you might want to make sure the jumper is on the right side, as that could be the cause of continual loss in settings. (Check the manual for which side it should be on).

Ilander · 10-18-2005, 02:26 PM

I figured out part of the resetting...it seems to reset if you touch the front panel...which means it's a case-wiring issue, which shouldn't be that hard to fix.

About the SATA drives...I have the interface cables, but I don't have the right power cables...unless the drive gets power from the SATA cable, which seems unlikely. I was expecting the typical 4-pin power supply plugs, like IDE hard drives and disc drives have.

And I'm going to add, once this thing is stable, that RAID card for my other three hard drives (the SATA ones) in a RAID 5 array.

CPU's running at 45 degrees, which is just a little on the hotter side, but I have it overclocked to 3.2 GHz, so I guess it's to be expected. I don't think that's the reason it's restarting, though...even under load, it shouldn't jump up to the 85 degrees it takes to auto-shut-down...

But anyways, thanks Ross...I'm repairing my installation of Windows right now...

andrewas · 10-18-2005, 06:29 PM

SATA has its own power standard. Its neccesary in order to make the drives hot-swappable as the SATA spec demands - a molex connector makes all the connections at the same time, a SATA power connector makes the ground connections first. This is kind of important if you have a large commercial server, and a needless hassle for the domestic user. Adapters are available from any PC store, and are cheap enough that the manager said 'give them to the guy' rather than look it up.

Anyway. It would be a good idea to drop the overclock until you know the system is stable at stock speeds. The temps arent worryingly high, but temps aren't the whole story and it might just be that your chip wont run that fast at stock voltages or without more cooling. Or, it could be something entirely unrelated. Drop the overclock for now, put it back on when you know you have a stable system to work with.

RoSs_bg2_rox · 10-18-2005, 07:09 PM

Yeah as another thought, it could even be something like the RAM overheating or the like. Best to keep yourself at stock speeds until you get Windows up and running.

Made any progress yet?

Ilander · 10-18-2005, 08:23 PM

Naw, I had a lot of work to do for classes...

That short in my on/off switch in incredibly annoying, though...makes everything fizzle up and die at the worst possible times...like twice during my repair install.

I'm thinking about sending the case back, but that would mean I'd have to wait two weeks on this thing that I might be able to fix myself...after all, it's probably just something to do with the wires going into the switch...

Thanks for the info about the SATA power source, Andrewas.

And to be honest, most of the reason I'm running at 3.2 instead of 3.0 is because of that pesky short...it's always a race against time, and a couple hundred extra megahertz may very well make the difference between an install and a failure.

andrewas · 10-19-2005, 04:43 AM

Unplug the power switch, and short the relevant pins with a screwdriver. You dont need to keep it shorted, you just need to pull the green wire (or the pin connected to that wire) to ground for a second.

Ilander · 10-21-2005, 02:42 AM

Things are working nicely...I have the power button and reset button disabled (unplugged) right now, but that's easily enough to remedy.

Still waiting on the SATA power adapters, but they'll be in next week. DirectX 9 works. Everything works, and it all seems to be working

Thanks, ya'll.

Ilander · 10-25-2005, 03:17 AM

It works. I have finally managed to set up everything, including my RAID array. Hosscat is up and running, and it makes me happy to say that I learned a LOT in this project.

10-18-2005, 12:55 PM	#1
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	Yep, I knew I'd run into something that was over my head, and then I'd be hosed. So, I managed to install Windows after about 20 tries...but it finally installed properly without the weird IRQ error message that I kept getting... Then, I was installing drivers, after having Windows up and running...and idiot me installed directx 9, which required an immediate restart. Well, the computer didn't come back up from the restart...it claims that I'm missing a file from my Win 32 folder called "pci.sys" Sure, i thought, that's not a big deal, I'll just start up the Windows installation and do a repair. Didn't seem like a big deal. Then, for some reason, my computer stopped booting from my DVD drive first. Now, it just goes straight to an error message proclaiming that I'm missing pci.sys, but it won't boot from the CD, no matter how many times I try to do it. Just ain't happenin'. Lastly, most of the time I startup, I get an unpleasant-sounding error "CMOS checksum error" I looked it up, and it doesn't sound like something my computer wouldn't be able to get around, but is it possible that that is part of what's keeping me from being able to do my windows repair? oh, and the thing keeps reseting...it'll start up, go to the diagnostics screen, sit for about a minute, then restart. system: Pentium 4 3 Ghz A-Bit GD8 mobo 1 GB Geil DDR 400 NEC 3420a DVD drive and a simple, 20 gig hard drive oh, and I still need to set up my RAID...but I don't have the right power cables to power my SATA drives :S When did they change THAT standard???? EDIT: ARRRGH! I nearly had it fixed...windows was beginning its fix-run, and then my computer decided to restart again. This, of course, reset the BIOS...speaking of that, I think I was sent a mobo with a bad BIOS battery...because whenever my computer turns off, I lose my settings, and then I can't boot from CD... I'm also wondering why in the world it's restarting so much...I put a 500 W power supply into it, so it should not be restarting because of a lack of power... [ 10-18-2005, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: Ilander ] __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

10-18-2005, 02:00 PM	#2
RoSs_bg2_rox Zartan Join Date: May 20, 2003 Location: Near Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 36 Posts: 5,225	Ehm, SATA cables have always been the same as far as I'm aware. As for your RAID, which other drive are you using? I would question whether it is really worthwhile creating a RAID Array, what did you have in mind, 0, 1? As to installing things, the best way to go is install essential drivers first: Chipset -> DirectX -> Graphics Card. To get your computer to boot to your DVD drive first you have to go to into the BIOS and then change the boot order, to make let your DVD drive boot first above everything else. As to the computer continually restarting. Is it overheating? What cooling you got in there? Hope this helps. __________________ [img]\"http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/ladyzekke/dragonwater2.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

10-18-2005, 02:02 PM	#3
RoSs_bg2_rox Zartan Join Date: May 20, 2003 Location: Near Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 36 Posts: 5,225	Just read your edit. Try resetting the CMOS. Take the battery out and move the jumper to the other side for 10 seconds, then put it back. If you continually lose your settings you might want to make sure the jumper is on the right side, as that could be the cause of continual loss in settings. (Check the manual for which side it should be on). __________________ [img]\"http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/ladyzekke/dragonwater2.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

10-18-2005, 02:26 PM	#4
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	I figured out part of the resetting...it seems to reset if you touch the front panel...which means it's a case-wiring issue, which shouldn't be that hard to fix. About the SATA drives...I have the interface cables, but I don't have the right power cables...unless the drive gets power from the SATA cable, which seems unlikely. I was expecting the typical 4-pin power supply plugs, like IDE hard drives and disc drives have. And I'm going to add, once this thing is stable, that RAID card for my other three hard drives (the SATA ones) in a RAID 5 array. CPU's running at 45 degrees, which is just a little on the hotter side, but I have it overclocked to 3.2 GHz, so I guess it's to be expected. I don't think that's the reason it's restarting, though...even under load, it shouldn't jump up to the 85 degrees it takes to auto-shut-down... But anyways, thanks Ross...I'm repairing my installation of Windows right now... __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

10-18-2005, 07:09 PM	#6
RoSs_bg2_rox Zartan Join Date: May 20, 2003 Location: Near Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 36 Posts: 5,225	Yeah as another thought, it could even be something like the RAM overheating or the like. Best to keep yourself at stock speeds until you get Windows up and running. Made any progress yet? __________________ [img]\"http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/ladyzekke/dragonwater2.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

10-18-2005, 06:29 PM	#5
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 43 Posts: 4,774	SATA has its own power standard. Its neccesary in order to make the drives hot-swappable as the SATA spec demands - a molex connector makes all the connections at the same time, a SATA power connector makes the ground connections first. This is kind of important if you have a large commercial server, and a needless hassle for the domestic user. Adapters are available from any PC store, and are cheap enough that the manager said 'give them to the guy' rather than look it up. Anyway. It would be a good idea to drop the overclock until you know the system is stable at stock speeds. The temps arent worryingly high, but temps aren't the whole story and it might just be that your chip wont run that fast at stock voltages or without more cooling. Or, it could be something entirely unrelated. Drop the overclock for now, put it back on when you know you have a stable system to work with.

10-18-2005, 08:23 PM	#7
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	Naw, I had a lot of work to do for classes... That short in my on/off switch in incredibly annoying, though...makes everything fizzle up and die at the worst possible times...like twice during my repair install. I'm thinking about sending the case back, but that would mean I'd have to wait two weeks on this thing that I might be able to fix myself...after all, it's probably just something to do with the wires going into the switch... Thanks for the info about the SATA power source, Andrewas. And to be honest, most of the reason I'm running at 3.2 instead of 3.0 is because of that pesky short...it's always a race against time, and a couple hundred extra megahertz may very well make the difference between an install and a failure. __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

10-19-2005, 04:43 AM	#8
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 43 Posts: 4,774	Unplug the power switch, and short the relevant pins with a screwdriver. You dont need to keep it shorted, you just need to pull the green wire (or the pin connected to that wire) to ground for a second.

10-21-2005, 02:42 AM	#9
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	Things are working nicely...I have the power button and reset button disabled (unplugged) right now, but that's easily enough to remedy. Still waiting on the SATA power adapters, but they'll be in next week. DirectX 9 works. Everything works, and it all seems to be working Thanks, ya'll. __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

10-25-2005, 03:17 AM	#10
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	It works. I have finally managed to set up everything, including my RAID array. Hosscat is up and running, and it makes me happy to say that I learned a LOT in this project. __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

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