<b>Common problems with questions color keyed as follows:
<font color=blue>Boot/POST/BIOS Problems</font color=blue>
<font color=orange>Stability Problems</font color=orange>
<font color=red>CPU compatibility questions</font color=red>  
<font color=green>Assembly Questions</font color=green>
<font color=purple>Attaching SATA drives</font color=purple>
 
<font color=blue>Q. My new system doesn't work; the fans turn on 3 seconds and then turn off, or
Q2. My new system won’t respond at all, won’t post?</b> </font color=blue>
 
A. Most likely cause of this situation is the motherboard being grounded by a misplaced mounting post. Check to make sure all the post line up with all the holes in the motherboard, and remove any posts that don't.
 
<font color=blue><b>Q. My computer won’t boot, and my drive light stays on constantly, or
Q2. My computer cannot access floppy, and the drive light stays on constantly?</b></font color=blue>
 
A. Align pin 1, as marked on the motherboard, with the red stripe on the cable. IDE drives normally have the pin 1 position on the left hand side of the case (the right hand side of the drive as you face it's rear connector), floppy drives normally have the pin 1 position on the right hand side of the case (the left hand side of the drive as you face it's rear connector).
 
<font color=blue><b>Q. I have a power switch on the back of my power supply, but when I turn it on, my computer does nothing?</b></font color=blue>
 
A. That switch only turns on the power to the board, the power button on the front, when connected, is for starting the system.
 
<font color=blue><b>Q. Upon starting system, I get a long beep, followed by several short beeps?</b></font color=blue>
 
A. Probably a video card problem, try reseating the card or making sure it's seated all the way into the slot.
 
<font color=blue><b>Q. Upon starting system, I get continuous long beeps, with no video? </b></font color=blue>
 
A. Probably a memory problem, the first thing to check is that you inserted it all the way until it clicked.
 
<font color=blue><b>Q. BIOS reports my 333 bus Athlon is running at 166MHz bus, or
Q2. BIOS shows my 800 bus P4 is running at 200MHz bus?</b></font color=blue>
 
A. AMD’s Socket 462 (Socket A) CPU bus uses Double Data Rate technology, the numbers are inflated by 2x to show data rate rather than clock frequency, because  DDR transfers two bits per path per cycle instead of one.
 
A2. Intel processors based on P4 technology use a Quad Data Rate bus, the numbers are inflated by 4x to show data rate rather than clock frequency.  QDR transfers four bits per path per cycle instead of one.
 
<font color=blue><b>Q. I just installed an XP1600+ and it shows up as an Athlon 1050MHz (or similar mismatched speed).</b></font color=blue>
 
A. Socket A processors do not have bus speed detection pins as Intel processors do, you must manually change your bus speed in BIOS or by jumper, see your motherboard manual for more information.
 
<font color=orange><b>Q. After changing motherboards my system has problems in Windows.</b></font color=orange>
 
If you have upgraded you motherboard to a new board with a different architecture or chipset you will, at minimum, need to install the appropriate drivers for the chipset.
 
Sometimes you may need to fully reinstall the OS to regain a completely fast and stable system, but you should try installing/re-applying the chipset drivers first.
 
For Windows 2000 and XP your easiest solution is to do a repair install.  That process will detect the new hardware, remove the old, and configure the parts to work together.  
 
In Win9x the easiest way to make a new board work is to:
1. Copy the new drivers to your hard drive before you change boards, because the CDROM will not be accessible until the drivers for the new IDE controller are loaded.
2. Copy the OS directory (Win95, Win98) from the CD to a file on your hard drive.
3. Go into safe mode, remove all installed drivers from the control panel, and remove all devices from device manager.
4. Install the new board
5. Start the system, and when the new devices are detected, use the “browse” button to locate the drivers/files you saved in steps 1 and 2.
 
Also be aware that changes in hardware can place an increased demand on the power supply, which may or may not require a larger capacity unit.
 
<font color=orange><b>Q. I just installed a faster processor (or video card) and now my system is unstable under load?</b></font color=orange>
 
A. Your power supply may not have the capacity to support the additional load.
 
<font color=orange><b>Q. Device Manager is showing an exclamation point next to PCI Input Controller, I don't know what this is, what do I do?</b></font color=orange>
 
A. Most likely it's a device in the chipset that needs drivers.  Try reinstalling your chipset drivers to see if the exclamation mark goes away.
 
<b><font color=orange>Q. I've overclocked to far in BIOS and now my system won't boot, what should I do?</font color=orange></b>
 
A. Reset the BIOS, look in your manual for instructions on clearing the BIOS settings.
 
<font color=red><b>Q. Can I use an 800 bus P4 on my 533 bus motherboard, or
Q2. Can I use a 400 bus Athlon on my 333 bus motherboard?</b></font color=red>
 
A. Intel processors have been multiplier locked for many years, AMD Athlons for over a year, so while the processor may work, it will run at a much slower speed.  Some boards allow you to overclock your bus, but while you may be able to push your board to the higher bus speed, there aren’t any stability guarantees.
 
 
<font color=red><b>Q. Does my P4 motherboard support Prescott CPU’s?</b></font color=red>
 
A.  Check the manufacturer’s website for updated product information.  Prescott core processors require more power than their predecessors, some boards can’t output enough power to the CPU.  
 
<font color=red><b>Q. My Pentium III board only supports CPU’s of speeds up to 700MHz (800MHz etc).  Is there any way I can overclock the thing to support faster processors?</b></font color=red>
 
A. You wouldn’t be “overclocking” the thing to put any faster 100MHz system bus processor in it.  The board manufacturer probably only listed the fastest processor available at the time they wrote the information.  Because PIII processors have an internal multiplier lock, you could run an 850E.  There were also the rare 1000E (100MHz FSB) and even more rare 900E processors that were compatible.
 
<font color=red><b>Q. You said I could use a faster processor on my PIII board, but it only supports an 8x multiplier, how could it run higher multipliers?</b></font color=red>
 
A. Pentium II's from 350MHz up, and all later processors from Intel, had locked multipliers.  This multiplier is forced, regardless of the multiplier setting of the board.  For example, you could have your board set at 3.5x, but a PIII 650 would still force it to run at 6.5x.  This is something Intel did to prevent people from remarking CPU's and selling them as a faster speed version.
 
<font color=red><b>Q. I have a Slot 1 board and have heard about using a Powerleap upgrade or Upgradeware adapter to make the newer Tualatin CPU's work, what would you recommend?</b></font color=red>
 
A. It depends on whether your motherboard uses the original VRM 8.2 voltage regulator or the later VRM 8.4 version.  VRM 8.4 was released for Coppermine core CPU support, and is present on most Slot-1 boards that support 100MHz bus or higher.  Early 100MHz bus Slot 1 boards and most 66MHz bus Slot 1 boards use the earlier VRM 8.2 standard.
While VRM 8.4 allows voltages down to 1.3v, VRM 8.2 supports voltages only as low as 1.80v.
 
The Upgradeware adapter is cheaper, simpler, and more reliable than the Powerleap IP3/T, because it uses the motherboard’s VRM.  Since VRM 8.2 boards can’t detect a CPU at anything lower than 1.80v, the Upgradeware adapter should only be used on VRM 8.4 boards.
 
Conversely, the Powerleap IP3/T adapter is compatible with both VRM 8.2 and 8.4 motherboards, but it’s a waste of money and a sacrifice in reliability to put this adapter on one that already meets VRM 8.4 specification.
 
If your board was designed or revised for use with Coppermine CPU's, it should work with a Tualatin core processor on the Upgradeware adapter at reasonable voltages (1.50v recommended).  Otherwise, you'll need a Powerleap adapter, as these have their own built-in VRM, which allows the board to detect the adapter itself at 2.05v while the CPU operates at the lower voltage provided by the Powerleap VRM.
 
<font color=red><b>Q. My old Socket 7 motherboard supports K6-2 processors, but is limited to 4.5x bus multiplier and 66/75/83.3MHz bus speed.  Can I install a faster CPU?</b></font color=red>
 
A. Yes, all K6-2 400’s (and a few lower speeds) are of a later revision core that supports the 6x multiplier when the 2x multiplier is used, the CPU itself does the conversion.  Since 66MHz bus is actually 66.6 continuous, your CPU speed using the 2x multiplier would be 400MHz at 66MHz bus, 450MHz at 75MHz bus, and 500MHz at 83.3MHz bus speeds.
 
<font color=red><b>Q. My board doesn’t support the 2.2v core required for the AMD K6-2.  Can I still use one?</b></font color=red>
 
A. Most boards that support 2.4v, 2.5v, or 2.8v cores can be used, but will produce much greater core heat.  For instance, at 2.8v core, I recommend using a large Socket 462/Socket 370 cooler to prevent overheating.  There are a few boards that won’t work with the K6-2 at all, such as the ones produced for Dell, do to BIOS incompatibility.  So while most work, there are exceptions.
 
Some people suggest using a $50 Power Leap socket 7 adapter.   I don’t, as the K6-2 cost about the same as a Duron, and the Power Leap adapter cost about the same as an inexpensive motherboard for the Duron.  So it would be as inexpensive to upgrade the whole motherboard and processor as it would be to use the Power Leap adapter and a K6-2.
 
<font color=red><b>Q. My old socket 5 board is limited to low multipliers (such as 1.5x, 2x, 2.5x, 3x).  Can I use a faster CPU in it?</b></font color=red>
 
A. Most of these early boards will work fine with a Pentium 233MMX.  Intel recycled the 1.5x multiplier for use as 3.5x.  The core voltage of the Pentium MMX is 2.8v, if you don’t have that setting, the CPU will work at 3.3v “VR” settings, but will run a bit hotter, so a fan cooler is recommended.
 
<font color=green><b>Q. My new motherboard uses a 24-pin connector, but my power supply has the standard 20-pin connector, can I use it?</b></font color=green>
 
A.  Most current boards allow you to use a 20-pin and 4-pin lead, rather than the 24-pin lead.  The 24-pin connector is keyed so that a 20-pin connector only fits in the proper orientation, offset to one side.  I’d try the 20-pin power supply, and if the system doesn’t boot or has CPU stability issues, buy a more powerful 24-pin supply.
 
<font color=green><b>Q. My older P4 motherboard has two auxiliary power connectors, one’s square, the other’s rectangular.  Do I need to use both?  Which is better?</b></font color=green>
 
A. You don’t need to use both.  The rectangular one (a standard drive power connector) is a substitute to be used with power supplies that do not have the square lead.
 
<font color=green><b>Q. I don’t know the manufacturer or model of my board, where can I find this?</b></font color=green>
 
A. <A HREF="http://www.wimsbios.com" target="_new">http://www.wimsbios.com</A> has much information to help you identify it.
 
<b><font color=green>Q. I'm looking at a Radeon 9700 Pro, do I need an AGP Pro slot?  My older board is AGP Pro, does that mean it's 8x?</font color=green></b>
 
A. No, AGP Pro is a VERY OLD specification for the slot itself.  It has nothing to do with transfer rate.
 
You've probably noticed that the 9700/9800 Pro and 5800FX have a power cable connection.  AGP Pro was designed to circumvent that need on professional graphics workstations.  The reason it's so old is because many professional cards used a lot of hardware, some using up to 4 graphics chips, for several years now.
 
What it does is add something like 16 power pins to the end of the AGP slot, near the back of the board.  There are two power levels, they are called AGP Pro 50 and AGP Pro 110, with the numbers specifying watts.  AGP Pro 50 requires you leave the first PCI slot empty and draws it's power from that slot's power lines.  AGP Pro 110 requires you leave the first 2 slots empty.
 
Many Asus PC boards came with AGP Pro so you could use the board with these types of cards in a workstation.  Some had a sticker over the extra pins, others had a removable piece of white plastic inserted into that part of the slot.  You can look at pictures of boards to see it.
 
So when ATI calls the 9700 Pro by that name, it doesn't mean it's an AGP Pro card, but that it's "intended for professional level gamers" haha.
 
My CUSL2-C used an AGP Pro slot and was AGP4x.  Some serverworks chipset boards (notice: professional boards) used AGP Pro at AGP2x.  The latest boards from several manufacturers have AGP Pro at AGP8x.
 
Use of a non-AGP Pro card in an AGP Pro slot simply means that part of the slot is unused, so the power requirements of AGP Pro are not applicable.  In other words, the PCI slots are usable as long as you use a normal AGP card.
 
<font color=purple><b>Q. My motherboard has two SATA RAID controllers and a PATA controller.  I plan on using one hard drive and a DVD drive.  How do I get Windows setup to see the SATA drive on the RAID controller?  I’ve already tried loading drivers at the F6-prompt!</b></font color=purple>
 
A. You don’t RAID single drives.  Most RAID controllers can be operated in non-RAID mode.  
 
Controllers integrated into the chipset allow Windows Setup to see the SATA drive as a standard ATA drive (as it would a parallel ATA drive).  That means you don’t need to install any special drivers for the chipset’s controller to get through Windows Setup.
 
As long as you’re using no more drives than your chipset’s controller supports, the easiest method is to disable any third party RAID controllers and turn off RAID mode for your integrated controller, in BIOS.  Attach your C: drive to the motherboard’s SATA-1 header, and BIOS should detect it.  Set the boot priority in BIOS with the optical drive (CD/DVD, etc) first and the detected SATA drive second, and installation will proceed normally!
 
If you’re forced to use a third-party controller, rather than the chipset’s controller, you will need to load a driver for Windows Setup to see the drive.  You’ll see a prompt to press F6 load drivers from a floppy, you’ll have to obey the prompt with third party controllers.  Your motherboard CD should contain a program to create the driver floppy from a file, you’ll have to access another computer to use it.  And this does require a floppy drive.

hello i want to ask you i have this motherboard DFI LANParty UT RDX200 CF-DR which has 2 pci e slot both 16 speed , when in crossfire they became 8 speed , if i put my single vga in the lower slot will it run with 16 speed ?

Awesome POST!!!!
 
Thanks

Excellent post. The html tags aren't working for me though, i don't know why.

I might have missed it but there is another question... how do you update your bios? everyone seems to think you can just do it instantly but i don't have the first idea im a noob btw

CHANGING a motherboard. My five yr old home built PC wants/needs a new motherboard. So I'm about to change it with a good one (I just purchased, the MSI P965 Platinum LGA775). Also purchased a Geforce7600GT graphics, compatible CPU, and memory....
NOW, Should I install the MoBo DRIVERS on the hard drive before replacing it?
Is WindowsXP going to go crazy and will I have to install the operating system ALL OVER AGAIN? I know I'll have to re-activate windows. THANKS.  
 

ok the html joint doesnt work with me

HI I want to buy a new pc.
I want to buy New mainbord on Intel X38 Chipset.just for DDRIII.
I also find A X35 that support DDRIII,PLz Help Me to chose One of these mainboards,Thanks Alot
 
X38
ASUS - P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP@n
ASUS - P5E3 WS Professional
GIGABYTE - X38T-DQ6
 
X35
ASUS - P5K3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP

Folks look at the post date.
[quote]Posted on :  
 09-08-2002 at 11:18:32 PM[/code]
 
The reason tags arent working is probably update the forum since then and may not use same BB code format etc.
 
This is a sticky info post. YOu dont ask questions here- ask in the forums make a new thread. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if all out posts get deleted in this thread. Not to be mean, but because it was never supposed to be posted in less about the actuall OP.

Sorry mod please delete

 
 
YES, you can do that... have fun while doing it too, o.k.

 
You can chose something from Asus, but in future you may have problems, your mobo can be crashed by owerclocking or other problems, in Asus mobo had more options whot you don't use
 
If you wont to stabil Mobo chose Intel DX38BT or last news Intel DX48BT2, I was test that mobos, the results was grate  

My computer have problem in bios. I don't know what is the exact problem. Can any one tell me about bios and what will be the problem in it.