Hi all.
I would really appreciate someone taking time out to point me in the right direction.
I am in the process of putting together a :
Gigabyte 7VT600P-RZ Mobo
1Gb Ram - Supplied by Crucial - 2 x 512 Sticks
200Gb Maxtor 10 IDE HDD
Athlon XP 3200+ processor

When i switched on i get a bleep, Monitor shows the Graphics card i have, finds XP 3200 + and finds RAM ok, then when i press DEL to enter BIOS i get a message saying ' PREPARING TO ENTER BIOS ' but thats as far as i get. I cannot get into the BIOS at all. Even after leaving it for half an hour
( Need to change 1st boot to CD as i want to install Xp Pro )
This is my first attempt at building and now wish that maybe had not started.

I have been trying now for 2 days and with no luck.
Sorry for bothering you all with this but im totally lost

Thanks
Sean

Welcome to the PC Guide Forums!! :D

First of all, disconnect all drives. You don't need a hard drive or a CD drive or a floppy drive to get into the BIOS. It's best to start a fresh build at the bare minimum. Like in this case, it's more important to be able to get into the BIOS than it is to jump into a Windows installation. If the BIOS doesn't work, Windows won't, either! But that's because Windows takes every opportunity to not work... :rolleyes:

The next thing I would try is to unplug the system, and take the mobo battery out. It's a CR2032 button cell. Remove it. Wait 10 minutes. Don't put the battery back in. Plug the system back in. Boot it up. If it works fine without the battery, replace it.

Actually, when it comes to those batteries, one of the first things I do with a new mobo is take out the supplied CR2032 and throw it out! Those things are only $2-3 each, less if you buy them in bulk, which means it isn't worth trouble shooting a stupid little battery! ;) So I just get rid of the darn things and replace them with new ones.

Wow, Didnt expect a response this quick, many thanks Saphalline, Ill go try what you suggest and see what happens

Saphalline,

I cannot thank you enough !! :D

Surprise Surprise, removed battery and BARA BING !! Into the BIOS we go !!

One last question, what function does the battery have ?
Can i continue to load up windows on my HDD without the battery and buy a new battery tomorrow to put in ?

Once again many thanks,

Sean

P.s.- this is the kewlest forum in the land

Can't remember if I suggested this to you already:

"Smart Boot Manager" : How to make
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41498

Booting from this floppy allows you to choose which drive to boot from without the need to change the BIOS's boot sequence.

Hmmm... that would be very useful for trouble-shooting computers that are um... "confused" shall we say. ;)

Hello saphaline,
"that would be very useful for trouble-shooting computers that are um... "confused" shall we say"
Could you elaborate? :)

You know, like when you go over to a relative's house and they say "hey, can you look at my computer? It won't work." :rolleyes: So then you say "sure" which really means "fine, but only if you make dinner and do the dishes!" :p

And when you go upstairs you find their computer on with that wonderful NTLDR is missing message and you left all your tools at home because you figure it's a holiday and why do you need to carry that stuff everywhere you go and you're sitting there cursing their family which you know is the same as yours and you have no way to even open the d@mn thing because it's a stupid OEM machine and they "just bought it" 12 1/2 months ago so of course it's out of warranty and you think it might be a dust/residue problem because they like to smoke in the office where their computer is or it could be a boot virus attack because your cousin also just hosed her computer a week ago and had an email boot virus which has probably spread to all your other relatives by now except you because you're safe because you actually know something about security but the rest of your family won't listen even though you tell them every single time you fix a computer that all they need to do is keep updating those free utilities that you installed and configured for them last year!! :mad:

Grrrr...

That's what a "confused" computer is.

AAaaah, I think I get it. :)

That's a computer that's a bit like a confused, mixed-up teenager. :confused:

A bit of a "Kevin" [it's a British thing].
He was a teenage character played by a full-grown adult comedian.
His side-kick was played by a woman dressed as a boy.
What a great pair of characters!
Whenever he [she] talked to his parents on the phone he treated them like dirt, with total lack of respect or admiration.
Then he'd [she'd] come off the phone and speak like a little timid mouse to his friend Kevin's parents.
It was all about the TOTAL contrast between his timidity with those he was with versus how he treated his parents.
And whenever Kevin didn't get everything EXACTLY his own way, he'd huff & puff and stamp his foot and say it was all SOOOoooo UNFAIR.
His parents were the nicest, mildest, kindest, most gentle, most fair parents any pair could be, but it was never enough.

That kind of computer? :(

It's BADA BING!

Get with the program! :rolleyes:

Saphaline, I'm still trying to draw in enough air in to be able to say your paragraph/sentence in one breath.. I'm turning b-l-u-e :( ..and purple :eek:

;)

Sean and Annie,
You need the battery to retain the settings made to setup on the motherboard (BIOS settings). Without it, every boot will go to default settings and that will often lead to your pc running the processor at something similar to half-speed.

I have a problem kinda like this, is it possible to get your help?

I'll put here some photos of what my computer does, i cant do nothing more than this.

http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00026sg8.jpg
http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00025iw4.jpg

Anyone has some solution?

Thank you very much

This is a very old thread and it is generally a good idea to start your own thread to get help with your problem anyway... Please start your own thread and be specific about what your problem is... I won't click on those links, but I don't know that others won't...

You know, like when you go over to a relative's house and they say "hey, can you look at my computer? It won't work." :rolleyes: So then you say "sure" which really means "fine, but only if you make dinner and do the dishes!" :p

And when you go upstairs you find their computer on with that wonderful NTLDR is missing message and you left all your tools at home because you figure it's a holiday and why do you need to carry that stuff everywhere you go and you're sitting there cursing their family which you know is the same as yours and you have no way to even open the d@mn thing because it's a stupid OEM machine and they "just bought it" 12 1/2 months ago so of course it's out of warranty and you think it might be a dust/residue problem because they like to smoke in the office where their computer is or it could be a boot virus attack because your cousin also just hosed her computer a week ago and had an email boot virus which has probably spread to all your other relatives by now except you because you're safe because you actually know something about security but the rest of your family won't listen even though you tell them every single time you fix a computer that all they need to do is keep updating those free utilities that you installed and configured for them last year!! :mad:

Grrrr...

That's what a "confused" computer is.

Sorry, I know it's an old thread but that just made me laugh really hard. :D :D

Oh, hey! That's where I put that! I've been looking for that...

Did you try removing the CR2032 battery?


Saphalline,

I cannot thank you enough !! :D

Surprise Surprise, removed battery and BARA BING !! Into the BIOS we go !!

One last question, what function does the battery have ?
Can i continue to load up windows on my HDD without the battery and buy a new battery tomorrow to put in ?

Once again many thanks,

Sean

P.s.- this is the kewlest forum in the land