new rig issues...will not boot

[indigoflow_as]

good day,

i have done mad research to get the precise computer that would suit my needs and finally have recieved the parts, they are as follows:

amd athlon 64 3000+ 939 venice
asus a8n-sli deluxe motherboard
single chaintech 6600gt
512 x 2 kingmax 3200 ddr memory (certified to be used with this MB)
430w thermaltake PSU with 24pin main connector
Western Digital HDDs (one blank, one with microsoft xp already on it)

i guess i should go ahead and describe the issue...ill try to throw out as much info as possible to reduce confusion and facilitate assistance, hope its not too long a post for you all, here we go...

(this is with a blank HDD, XP setup CD and CD-ROM drive boots first)
1. i power up the computer
2. see the standard ASUS mobo splash screen
3. the screen that we all see with the green epa energy thing FLICKERS (it
never remains there and give you all that fun system info as usual)
4. asks me if i want to enter the RAID utility setup by pressing F4
5. shows the pci device listing along with what the boot devices (Power-on self test?)
6. Failure to locate operating system message shows up at bottom of screen.
7. dead end

i can access the bios and the processor is stable at around 34C, so i dont imagine a thermal issue. i flashed the bios to the most current release because word had it that the bios that came with the board did not support 90nm processors. the blank HDD is alright, it will go into the XP setup on another computer. the BIOS does recognize that i have all vital components connected. i have attempted a barebones boot as well, with no luck. i have cleared the CMOS by moving the jumper and the battery. im pretty sure that i should be using a blank HDD for this as well, but why the failure to load the XP setup? i do have a HDD from my previous system w/ XP on it that one has its own set of issues.

goodness, i apologize for the length of this post...i just did not wanna miss anything, but surely i did anyhow. i feel like it's something simple and likely a motherboard issue. if anyone is familiar with this motherboard, or just have an idea...any insight would be greatly appreciated. this is my second build and really really want to learn this stuff by heart, with your forum i seek to do that. thanks in advance.

[profdlp]

Are you having trouble doing a clean install on the blank drive, or are you attempting a repair install on the one which already has WinXP? If the latter, try shutting down the computer and temporarily disconnecting the blank drive.

For a clean install on the blank HD, you might try the following:

1) Make sure your cdrom drive is set as the first boot device. Watch the screen carefully for a "Press any key to boot from CD" prompt. Make sure the cdrom drive you're trying to boot from is the Master drive on its IDE Channel.

2) See if you can boot from a system floppy w/ cdrom drivers, then point it toward whatever drive letter it assigns the cdrom drive and attempt setup from there.

3) Try creating a partition and copying the WinXP CD to the HD, then install from there. If you have a program like Partition Magic this job will be a lot easier.

4) Check out this site (http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm) and see if any of the following help:

Windows XP 6 Disk Setup Set

XP Home/Pro Original/SP1/SP2

XP Quick Boot Diskette Files | Read.1st

NTFS Bootdisks And Bootable CDs

Good luck. :)

[indigoflow_as]

prof:
thanks on the reply so far.

i am trying to do this with a blank HDD because i hear it is a better idea

if the prof or anyone else elaborate on this "master drive on IDE channel," is this relating to the jumper settings or a BIOS setting. i am investigating as we speak.

goodness, im a little lost about your no2 as well :-/
...a floppy w/ cdrom drivers?

bare with me, much thanks

[profdlp]

...i am trying to do this with a blank HDD because i hear it is a better idea
You heard right - it is. :)

...elaborate on this "master drive on IDE channel," is this relating to the jumper settings or a BIOS setting. i am investigating as we speak.
It concerns both the jumper on the drive and which plug on the cable you use. Look at the back of the cdrom drive and you should see a place where you can choose between Master, Slave, and Cable Select. Put the little plastic jumper in the appropriate place for Master, then make sure the drive is connected at the end of the IDE cable. (Not the center connector.)

Then check it in the BIOS and make sure that it is detected properly. Some MB's let you manually set the IDE drive to "CDROM". If yours is like that, then do that. See the attached picture and make sure that your cdrom drive is set as the first boot device. (Your BIOS may look a little different, but that's the basic idea.)

...goodness, im a little lost about your no2 as well :-/
...a floppy w/ cdrom drivers?...
The link I gave you before has lots of boot disks available for download. Many of them come with drivers which enable your cdrom to run even if it doesn't want to boot off a "bootable" CD for whatever reason.

Do you have a floppy drive in this computer?

[indigoflow_as]

holy canoli, i think you've done it.

i am in the xp pro setup now, formatting and what not.

it was the changing of the cdrom pin that did it...brilliant! you are a lifesaver and a gentleman. (high five to those in Ohio! im in westerville oh myself)

....and just for grins an giggles, i would like to ask about my old harddrive with all my files and the like, why was i unable to just pop it in and expect to boot straight into windows?

[Tex]

Because it was setup on a differant MB with a differant chipset and drivers etc.. And it was probably setup with it as the only hard drive so you screwed up the boot.ini drive referances more then likely by making it a secondary drive is my guess.

Tex