can't boot from floppy

[gdart]

i am trying to put together an amd 900 system. the post will run, but i can't boot from a floppy or cd to install os or hard-drive disk. the floppy light will come on but then the system will freeze. it started to boot once but then froze the same way (this time on a setup screen)

the chip was running at a little over 80 degrees C. i thought maybe that was to hot and lowered the core voltage (in case the fan was not doing the job) but that didn't help. with the lower voltage it runs at 70C but still won't boot.

also tried changing various other settings in the bios

[Reid]

Your CPU is running too hot, even if that is not the reason it will not boot. What type of heatsink/fan combo do you have? Did you use heatsink compound on it? Check to see if the heatsink is sitting squarely on the CPU die.

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reido@my-deja.com

Friends don't let friends install Windows ME

[gdart]

its a dual fan and i used the double-sided tape. what temp should it run at? maybe i should put a new fan on it, or try to reseat the one i have.

[Reid]

I think you should be able to get it down to 50C or less. 90C is the rated max for your CPU, so there is not much safety margin even if it would boot.
It is generally recommended to remove the phase-change "patch" and use heat sink compound instead. Check the Heat Sink Guide (http://www.heatsink-guide.com/) for more information.

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reido@my-deja.com

Friends don't let friends install Windows ME

[Reid]

If you can get the temperature down and it still doesn't boot, try setting the memory bus down to a lower speed and/or set the CAS (CL) to 3 if it is now set at 2.

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reido@my-deja.com

Friends don't let friends install Windows ME