I have been posting my silly newbie questions for the last 2 months about installation and other motherboard questions. Well it's finally done. I built the new system 2 nights ago, and finally got it up and running w Windows XP last night.
Here it is: AMD 64 3000+, LAN Party UT n3 250 Gb, 512 MB RAM PC3200, LiteOn DVD/CD RW, Geforce FX 5700 Ultra, Coolmax 450W PSU. The graphics card I know is low end, butwas quite a step up from my old system that had been using a Geforce 3. It was also ordered months before the upgrade. Now, though, it looks like I need to replace it. I would also have ordered more memory except it would have put me even more over budget.
Setup went without a hitch, literally. The last time I installed a new processor was when it was so damned difficult to fasten the heatsink to the socket. Now there is a fancy lever that does all the work for you. I was very pleased. The BIOS was easily configured, no problems with POSTing-- which was my biggest fear. The LAN Party utility for flashing the BIOS did it all for me. It could not have been much easier.
While I am jubilant now, there were some moments I thought tense. First, I couldn't get the computer to boot to a floppy. As it turns out I think the disc was bad because the BIOS flash utility booted just fine. Second, following Elder Geeks recommendation topress F5 on the RAID or SCSI installation screen in Windows XP, the computer was not identified to be APCI compliant, which can cause some problems. I went ahead with the installation after a couple of attempts to detect the BIOS as it is APCI. Luckily all was installed just fine. The system was on for several hours last night, no crashes, it would awake from suspend mode, shutdown and restarted just fine. Needless to say I am quite relieved.
The only problem I am having is not being able to connect to the Internet via my cable modem. It has already been pinged by the ISP before the upgrade. The settings on the old machine were all to be detected automatically. The LAN card on the mobo is functioning properly, so if anyone has suggestions to get it working I would appreciate it. Otherwise I have to call Road Runner, which can be nightmarish.
Why I am I posting this success story? First, to say thanks to everyone who has been answering my questions (namely Coyote, Crashman, Xeen, 5oh and even surly Ned Flanders 😉. There are others too, so thanks. Also, this is an example of how much easier system building has become. If a hack like me can do this, almost anyone can. Furthermore, to any other Newbies about to do the same, make sure to utilize this and Anandtech's fora as well as Black Viper's and Eldergeeks site.
Thanks for reading.
Brandt
Here it is: AMD 64 3000+, LAN Party UT n3 250 Gb, 512 MB RAM PC3200, LiteOn DVD/CD RW, Geforce FX 5700 Ultra, Coolmax 450W PSU. The graphics card I know is low end, butwas quite a step up from my old system that had been using a Geforce 3. It was also ordered months before the upgrade. Now, though, it looks like I need to replace it. I would also have ordered more memory except it would have put me even more over budget.
Setup went without a hitch, literally. The last time I installed a new processor was when it was so damned difficult to fasten the heatsink to the socket. Now there is a fancy lever that does all the work for you. I was very pleased. The BIOS was easily configured, no problems with POSTing-- which was my biggest fear. The LAN Party utility for flashing the BIOS did it all for me. It could not have been much easier.
While I am jubilant now, there were some moments I thought tense. First, I couldn't get the computer to boot to a floppy. As it turns out I think the disc was bad because the BIOS flash utility booted just fine. Second, following Elder Geeks recommendation topress F5 on the RAID or SCSI installation screen in Windows XP, the computer was not identified to be APCI compliant, which can cause some problems. I went ahead with the installation after a couple of attempts to detect the BIOS as it is APCI. Luckily all was installed just fine. The system was on for several hours last night, no crashes, it would awake from suspend mode, shutdown and restarted just fine. Needless to say I am quite relieved.
The only problem I am having is not being able to connect to the Internet via my cable modem. It has already been pinged by the ISP before the upgrade. The settings on the old machine were all to be detected automatically. The LAN card on the mobo is functioning properly, so if anyone has suggestions to get it working I would appreciate it. Otherwise I have to call Road Runner, which can be nightmarish.
Why I am I posting this success story? First, to say thanks to everyone who has been answering my questions (namely Coyote, Crashman, Xeen, 5oh and even surly Ned Flanders 😉. There are others too, so thanks. Also, this is an example of how much easier system building has become. If a hack like me can do this, almost anyone can. Furthermore, to any other Newbies about to do the same, make sure to utilize this and Anandtech's fora as well as Black Viper's and Eldergeeks site.
Thanks for reading.
Brandt
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