Installing heatsink/fan combo over CPU

I also found this one that looks pretty good:

http://www.firewire-1394.com/esata-sata-ii-4-port-raid.htm

SATA II RAID Controller with 4 eSATA (external SATA) Ports

 

Ok, I checked it and got it. You all must know your pc's insideout but I know where the on/off button, keyboard and mouse are located, plus my ext hdds.

Anyway, so I won't babble on, I have

AMD Athlon 64 x2 (dual core)
1 x PCI Express 16x (that I'm more than willing to use for a 4-port SATA card) (under $100.00)
1 x PCI Express 1x (used for floppy drive)
2 x PCI (1 used for firewire card)
I can connect up to 2 SATA II drives

Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 320-GB Hard Drive
the hard drive has a SATA 3Gb/s interface
USB/FireWire/eSATA external storage
and
If I want to add another internal hard drive, it would have to be another Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s (320-GB) Hard Drive? Can it be 500Gb?

 

You can have any HDD you want (brand, make, speed, size). You would need to get exact HDDs when you are running a RAID array, which you are not nor do you have any intention of doing.

 

Sounds like the best one - good price too

one of the other ones in the previous links has some pretty nasty reviews !


It would probably pay to peruse the following link regarding the different sata variations / connectors before you go any further
http://www.sata-io.org/esata.asp

 

Thanks for reminding me that I need to get an exact hdd only if I'm setting up a RAID array, Walter

 

I do like this one too.

Thanks for checking it out for me shanemail.

 

I see Shanemail has come up with a good one, and the link he provide should give you all the information that you need, and connections.
:clap

 

Yea, it was a good one, and I'm happy. I decided to spend $7.00 more for shipping so I can have it in 2-3 days instead of 5-7. I'm itching to get things set up.

Yesterday, I dropped one of my external hard drives and it doesn't work any longer. I can't find the receipt for it so I don't know if it's still under warranty and I don't remember which auctioner that I bought it from at eBay, so I can't contact him/her. So that's some bad news.

But I just connected one of my Maxtor firewire ext hdds to the HUB that has the firewire connections that didn't work before and it worked, so that's good news.

I thought that I had 12 ext hdds but I have 13 and a 100Gb ext hdd that I put in a drawer that has backups on it, but that's neither good or bad because I still have the same amount of memory, except for the one that broke. I'm going to check with eBay to see what I can pick up at a good price. I don't like to fill them up past 95%. I always get a great deal at eBay, but I've been going to there for a long time so I know what to look for and how to look for it there.

I didn't notice it until I wanted to install cards that my motherboard doesn't have many ports for them. My old one could fit 8 cards, but it wasn't SATA. I used to continually get messages that I had available ports whenever I connected a new ext hdd and sometimes when I just turned them on because I connected them using a HUB, but I didn't know what it was telling me. My new pc has only 4 ports . . . it'll be something to remember for the future.



Hopefully, in the future, they'll come out with SATA HUBs also.

 

Is there a difference between 1394 and firewire?

 

Some time ago, when I was really messing with old hard drives, I was always looking for ways to revive them.
One of the suggestions, from 'experts', -and not just one,- was to put a hard drive in the freezer for , I think it was an hour, and then retry it, and it might just spin up one last time, if you want to get anything off it.
I have to be honest, I never tried it - if they were noisy, I scrapped them.
I only said this in case there was anything you did not want to lose on thet dropped hard drive.
:hammer
Another was to hold it about 200 mm above a good flat aurface, and drop it flat on to the surface - I cannot say how good this was, but appently it works , on some occasions, if the only other alternative is to bin it.

 

Thanks. I'll give it a go, baklogic . . . I have nothing to lose either way. Not only is my brain leaking but my fingers have turned to butter.

 

I Googled 1394 and firewire and they appear to be the same:

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/IEEE_1394.html

 

Yes, they are.

 

Are you agreeing that my brain leaks and my fingers have turned to butter or are you agreeing that 1394 and firewire are the same thing? roflmao

 

Yes probably.

 

Thank you, Yargel.

If there's one thing I can count on in this forum is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. :liar

 

Sometimes I think that this computer was never supposed to have been built.

I've been receiving Error 1324. The path 29 bu - c drive contains an invalid character.

I started to receive this Error Message today when I tried to install the drivers for my Maxtor external hard drives. Path "29 bu - c drive" is a folder on my external J drive where I placed a backup of all my c drive files (excluding Windows and some others).

Yesterday, I connected drive J because I kept receiving Error 1327. Invalid Drive: J:\ whenever I tried to install Adobe Reader, but it didn't help. I found Foxit and decided that I could do without Adobe Reader.

I Googled the two error messages:

1. This is the information that I received about Error 1324

http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q108470

This information is from 2003 and doesn't apply to X64.


2. This is the information that I received about Error 1327
http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q110636

There are 3 reasons given for this error message:

-The CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive letter has changed since a previous install. (It's always been D)
-You have changed the drive letter of the hard disk that the operating system is installed on, for example, drive C. (It's still C)
-This behavior may occur if a registry key contains an incorrect value in a Data field. This is a possibility but I don't touch my registry (except to make these screen shots).

The procedure outlined:

1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box opens.

2. In the Open field, type regedit, and then click OK. The Registry Editor opens.

3. In the Registry Editor, locate the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

4. In the right pane, note the values in the Data column of each entry. If any value contains a drive that is not correct for your computer, right-click the entry and select Modify.

5. Type the correct drive letter in the Value data field, and then click OK. For example, if one of the values is "X:\Documents and Settings\Administrator", the drive letter should be changed to a valid drive on the system, such as “C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator".

I've attached a screenshot of
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
and
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator (I don't know what the last 3 files are).

 

I made a mistake here so I deleted what I said.

 

Continued


6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each entry whose Data value contains an incorrect drive.

7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each of the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

 

Continued


The last 2 screenshots.

I have absolutely no idea how to fix this. They don't match at all.

If it's not an easy thing to do to fix this, I'll practice reinstalling Windows again. I'm getting pretty good at it, don't you think?

 

I am glad to see your progress DeniseM! And dang this is a long thread!

I am a bit dissapointed in you if I am reading it right, unless you mean you unplugged it from the computer. In that case, ignore the rest of this post.:cool

" Yesterday, I dropped one of my external hard drives and it doesn't work any longer. I can't find the receipt for it so I don't know if it's still under warranty and I don't remember which auctioner that I bought it from at eBay, so I can't contact him/her. So that's some bad news"

If you dropped the drive physically, and it does not work anymore, you killed it.:cry

If you just unplugged the drive, I misread/understood it wrong.

E

 

Fred, if you only knew.

But yes, I dropped the drive. It wasn't in my hands when it happened. It was on a chair and when the chair tipped, the drive when down, onto a cement floor. I put it in my freezer as baklogic recommended but it didn't help it. I also dropped it from about 8" high on one of its sides but that didn't help either. It's a gonner. It was one of my favorite drives too.

But I have more problems now. I can't install some programs that I need, software and drivers. I keep getting the error messages that I mentioned in my last few posts. I decided to go back to my first Restore Point and install Adobe Reader but read the limitations at the Adobe site and it's not compatible with X64. I still can't install my external Maxtor hdd software so I might do a format of Windows. I'm not sure that the repair removed all the problems that Max Registry Repair caused. I'm just not looking forward to installing all my programs and settings again. . . it'll be the 4th time! I'm going to start tonight and finish up sometime tomorrow.

I have most of my external hard drives connected. I have to get some more cables and electrical wires hooked up, but those are for the SATA drives and I just ordered the SATA card. It should be arriving in about 3 to 5 days. I also have to dig out the drive boxes to get the SATA cables. I don't remember if they came with the drives or not. If not, I'll have to buy some and that'll take another week. I'm moving fast :hyper but I'm not gettin' very far!

 

In all honesty, I say go back to the 32 bit WinXP... this one is fighting you.

If you dropped the drive, you broke it. No warranty in my opinion. Do what you like on that aspect of it.

You might look at this program. http://majorgeeks.com/Unstoppable_Copier_d2623.html
Data recovery stuff, but if it is dead, RIP.

And I think the recommendation was to drop the drive 8mm, not 8" :cry I usually just give them a good tap on the front of the drive with a large screwdriver handle. Hit and miss on an iffy hard drive, if you do 'revive' one, never trust it.

E

 

Thanks for the link, Fred, but I have my files backed up on another drive. It's the reason I have so many drives. I had only a vcd burner and it fit very little info on a disk so buying ext hdds was a faster way to backup and maybe not that much more expensive, considering the price of disks and the ever-changing programs.

baklogic said 200mm which is about 8". Either way, it didn't make a difference because it didn't work. I'm going to check in the phone book to see if anyone repairs external hard drives. It may be something small that's wrong with it and even if it costs me 1/2 of what I paid for it, it'll be worth it.

I'm going to format now so I'll see you all tomorrow sometime. If it doesn't work this time, I'll seriously consider going back to X32.

 

Sorry, I misread the info. Drive repair will most likely cost you a lot more than just getting a new one.

E zzz

 

After freezing it and dropping it 200mm - good luck


Gotta wonder how many of these issues have had something to do with x64,
I will be keeping away from it

 

regarding the registry

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

My Music should read C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Music
My Pictures should read C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures
My Videos should read C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Videos

and

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

J:\29 bu - c drive\Documents and Settings - Administrator\My Documents\My Music
J:\29 bu - c drive\Documents and Settings - Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures
J:\29 bu - c drive\Documents and Settings - Administrator\My Documents\My Videos
should be
%USERPROFILE%\My Music
%USERPROFILE%\My Pictures
%USERPROFILE%\My Videos

If you have all of the system files on the C:\ it should like like I have shown
I dont know if J:\ has the files backed up on it if this may have caused it to alter the registry ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also seems a bit strange, in the 4th thumbnail attached
it shows that the x64 systems have both a
Program files
and a
Program files (x86)

if it actually separates the 64 bit and the 32 bit programs like this, why does it have any issues running 32 bit stuff. It looks like it is set up to run 32 bit programs. If 64 bit programs are installed it will run them, but, if 32 bit programs are installed it should have no issues running them either. It appears to be 100% backwards compatible

Maybe i have missed the point here somewhere (fairly likely)
is there an issue running 32 bit programs
or is the only issue
that you need 64 bit drivers ?

(as per usual)

 

Hi shanemail,

I just finished formatting my hard drive. It still held onto some programs though, which isn't supposed to happen. Maybe that's just X64.

Some X32 programs can run on X64 systems but some can't. Just for an example, Adobe Reader doesn't have an X64 version and a X32 version won't work. Than there are some programs that have to run X64 because I have X64 but other software that are dependents come only in X32. But it's not often that these things happen. I think the hardest part is just getting used to it. Once you've accepted that there are some things that you just can't do (or until you find a way to do it using X64), it's not bad. I think it's just going to take some software and hardware manufacturers focusing their energies and finances on the development of X64 products, or come up with the bucks to do it. Microsoft isn't going to help them. But I found my way around some obstacles already, such as my HP All-in-One printer. It wasn't supposed to have the fax capability because I have X64. I got on the phone with HP several times until I got to speak with someone who knew what she was doing and she heard me say that I want all three functions that I paid for. We were on the phone for about an hour and it works fine now.

Since I formatted the drive this time instead of repairing it, I'm not having the problem that I had earlier. I was able to install my drivers and other software and so far I haven't received an error message.

Thanks for doing all that work for me for the registry. Even seeing it written down as well as you did, I would have gone crazy trying to change the settings/values/things, and I would've been a nervous wreck. It used to be BIOS that scared me to death but I got used to making some easy changes with excellent directions from everyone her. Now the registry is the boogey man.

X64 does have two folders for program files. One folder is Program Files and the other is Program Files (x86) and I don't see the difference in the types of files/programs that are in the folders. They both have X64 and X32 files/programs inside them. Asus probably knows the reason for it.

My problems with X64 stemmed from the fact that I used registry cleaners. I think they're great and keep the computer moving along quickly. Unfortunately, the two that I used worked great on my X32 system but ruined my registery in this computer. I tried one that someone recommended and when I saw that it was finding hundreds of things that needed to be removed, I cancelled the scan, walked away and didn't look back. I'm sure that they'll come out with ones that works properly in an X64 system in time.

I'm also sure that I have my computer in a pretty good shape right now and I don't expect any problems like I had the last few times. Between not running the registry cleaners and formatting the drive before I installed Windows, it seems to be happy.

It's after 4 am here and it looks like I'll be up all night and sleep all day after I bring my grandson to pre-k. The errands and dust will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks again for your help with the registry. I appreciate you putting the time and thought into it for me.

Have a good night/day . . .

 

Hi Denise

Its surprising to me that you have files left over after reformatting
the doc I have attached has the 2 methods I have used with XP
just wondering if you are using a different method ?

I generally use the second method


If you are not keen on playing with the registry - dont (should be no need anyway)
About the only place I touch is the store folders you mentioned earlier.
I change the values to shift my Desktop and Favorites to my D:\ Partition.
This enables me to reformat my C:\ Partition (Operating system & Programs), without having to back anything up. (all of my data is on the D:\ Partition)
I also copy the windows updates installation files over to the D:\ Partition so that I do not have to re-download them after reformatting.

There is a windows powertoy - Tweak UI - that can be downloaded that can be used to change the store folders anyway. Wish I had known about that previously.

 

It surprises me too. Another time, was either Max Registry Repair or PConPoint that was still in my computer, in Program Files. This time, Dia-A-Fix still had its settings (just had to click on the icon). I don't know if it's because it's X64, but it still doesn't sound right . . . the whole point being to wipe out whatever is on the drive. Maybe Asus knows why. He hasn't been around in a while . . . probably wants to stay away from the lady whose gray matter leaks LOL But it's nice to have the computer all set, with no error messages, and I cleaned up a lot of clutter that was in my work space as I was building it, so I have some elbow room now too.

I found another external hard drive at eBay to replace the one that dropped and broke. I'm also going to be ordering the wire loom. You should see the tangled mess of wires I have already. I have two spare electric cords to for one of my drives but neither end fits into the socket on the drive. I have a funny feeling that one of the other power supply cords was able to fit the one that belongs to that one and one of the 2 spares fits the other. I'll get it sorted out though. If worse comes to worst, I'll buy another one. My money has hit rock bottom so I'm going to have to wait before I buy anything else. I over-expended myself as it was but I wanted it all yesterday. The kit said that I'd have everything I'd need to build the pc but there were a number of things that I had to buy, not counting the hard drive, the DVD drive, the floppy drive and cables. The roll of film that I've been using to take pictures only has 1 or 2 pictures left on it. I'm saving them so that I can take a final picture of everything set up, connected and turned on.

I'm going to have a time consuming job of switching files to different drives so that they're in some semblance of order, but I like doing things like that, and once the SATA card comes in, I'll be on :cloud9 Much of what we've done in the past two weeks has really been an explosion of new information to absorb, especially the differences between SATA and PATA and X32 and X64. I really was very lucky to have you guys to help me. I never could have done it without you and, if you think or read back, you'll know it's true. But even though you all helped me so much, I still feel very proud that I built a computer, and I did retain a lot of the info that I was taught, and reiterated, sometimes 5 times over. Just learning how to reinstall Windows is worth its weight in gold. Something else was missing when I formatted and reinstalled Windows, come to think of it. I had a corrupt registry string or key and after I formatted and reinstalled Windows, it was still corrupt. I thought that formatting and reinstalling Windows would replace the string/key with one that was not corrupted.

I love Dial-A-Fix (its the only cleaner that I can run that I know won't wreck havoc with my computer). Still, weird things happen. My settings change often, and not just when I reboot. If I open my email or go to eBay, the font is size 10 but when I go to another page, say MajorGeeks, it's down to 9. When I go into Advanced settings, it's not just that the website had a small font, the font size is changed back to 9. Another X64 mystery. Where's Asus when you need him ? . . . I better not say that too loudly or he'll come bellowing down here. I don't know him like I know you mild-mannered geeks and he startles me.

Well, I'd better end this novel and get some sleep before it's time to get up and get my grandson.

Have a happy all . . .

 

I found a 4-port external SATA at eBay for $44.00 the price of the one I ordered (a few posts down).

Is this the same thing or at least compatible:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...E:L:RTQ:US:1&viewitem=&item=120094130523&rd=1

Denise

 

No, the original ones PCI-X
and 3.0 GB/s
the one from ebay is only PCI (slower)
and 1.5 GB/s

not sure if there are any other differences
its from the same manufacturer though

 

Thanks shanemail . . . I appreciate it.

 

Hello all,
I see we are still going on steadily.(I was referring to 1344, and firewire- honest)rolleyes :innocent
The dropped hard drive:
-Freezing did not work, and , perhaps I did not say to drop it flat, but, I appreciated it was dropped quite hard, by accident, and dropping it , again, might just have moved the internal arm - but it was only an outside chance.The only other way that I knew was to have someone who plays with hard drives, changing the platters over.- but even then the internal arm could have done other damage to the disk, so really, it did not have a chance.- I did say, only if the bin was the only alternative.
The format.
If all is well, on this go, then, bear with it, but If it is an issue at any time, Shanemail has given you a good guide.
Sata Card.
Again Shanemail has done his homework.
With a following wind, and the sun in the right place, you will get there . I am definitely leaving x64 off my computers.:boxing

 

Hi Guys!

I've been giving the computer a nice workout for the past 24 hours and it's coming through with flying colors! It's a lean, mean computing machine

I still don't have all of my ext hdds connected. I was right about the HUB . . . I think only 1 port out of 6 works so I went to eBay and just got another one. The SATA card came in the mail yesterday. I'll be hooking it up sometime this weekend (if I have the SATA cables). I know I have one that I bought last week and got in the mail but I'm pretty sure they came with the drives, but it's been about a year since I opened the boxes and I didn't give much thought to what was in them except for what I needed which, at the time, were the 2.0 cables. Ya know . . . some of those people at eBay are cheats. They put 1.0 cables in the boxes and I had to write them and remind them that the auction stated 2.0. I'm sure some people didn't know the difference but when it takes a minute to transfer a file from one drive to another, it can't be a 2.0 cable.

Anyway . . . it's great to not have error messages popping up all the time, no freezing, no crashing and web pages open within seconds. Amazing.

I'm sure you guys don't care about this but I wound up turning my computer desk around so that it faces another wall so that my ext hdds can be on that shelf I told you about. It used to be very hard to get at them and now they're right at my fingertips. You'll laugh your butts off when I attach a picture of them all lined up in a row with their wires a complete wreck. I'm gonna buy some of that weaving that shanemail told me about and that'll make a big difference.

Oh, and I'm going to do a little exploring on the hard drive that I broke. Maybe I'll hit a jack pot and just the touch of a finger will having it working again (in another lifetime on another world perhaps), but it can't hurt anything.

Denise

 

Still waiting on the picts! Lol. Great to see you making progress.

E

 

Of course we care, we spend more time together than with our own families

 

:cloud9
Going on great, glad to hear it.:clap
You see, Fred, Shanemail, and even Yargil will watch for progress.
I think everyone wants to see you all connected up, and all working without a crash.:hyper
Do not ask them all to show you how tidy their computers are, though :guitar

 

Guilty as charged! I am the worlds worst at wire management. I try, spent over 2 hours on the wires of my newest build, still looks like tangled mess! As far as my desk, well, the top is clean, I do not even look at the wires behind it! With 2 towers, a laptop, 2 routers and a printer, you can imagine...

E

 

Ive got the side covers off, with wires hanging out the side
As far as I know that is exactly how it is meant to be

Its a work of art - abstract

 

LOL . . . oh, it's a work of art alright!

I'm pretty sure that it'll hold up. I have a lot of work to do on them though . . . reassigning drive letters and switching files from one drive to another. The broken drive put a kink in things, but I'll get it straightened out. I love to do things like that. I'm going to run a Belarc when they're all connected and turned on and post it here too. I'm the external hard drive lady!

Denise

 

The waiting to see it all pukka, is what it is all about.:eek
My missus is always having a go at me about my computer mess, so I am no angel , either.
I reckon Walter,s and Yargil's are no better, seeing as they have not come back in , yet, but I missed Walter's input- He gave some good help, and I think we might all have picked up a little from each other, on the way.:wine
Practice what we preach in tidyness roflmao roflmao ?

 

20+ wires going in different directions, tangled, hanging, spread out on the floor . . . ya gotta be a geek to love it. Hello fellow geeks! :highfive :grouphug :celebrate :foolish

 

LOL! You should see my place! 4 computers in two rooms in a single wide trailer! Cat5 and a hell of mess! Make that 5 computers this weekend, I am working on one for a customer. It will be 'fixed' as soon as it turns in a WU! lol It will finish one Sunday, they need it Monday, but dang this thing will fold...

E

 

Well Guys, my computer is having serious problems.

I got the SATA card in the mail last week and dediced to install it today. I turned my computer off, unplugged it from the wall outlet, placed it on the anti-static mat and removed the side panel. I then put on my anti-static wrist band, plugged the card into the PCI slot, screwed it onto the inner cage and plugged the SATA wires from my external drives into it. A couple of weeks ago, I had connected the SATA bracket and since I had an extra internal SATA port and an extra SATA cord, I plugged the cord into the available internal SATA port and plugged the other end into one of the SATA ports that are located in the side of the bracket that faces inside so that I'd have an extra external SATA port. I put the side panel back on, plugged the computer back into the outlet, turned it on and nothing happened . . . not even a beep. I checked all the connections on the outside of the backpanel and they were securely in place and the 0/1 switch was on 1.

When I opened the side panel again, I noticed that only 2 of the red led lights were lit, LED_5SB and LED_DIMM. Lights LED_D1 and LED_D2 weren't lit. I checked the mobo manual and the 2 lights that weren't lit indicates a CPU/Chipset error. They were the same lights that weren't lit when Walter mentioned that the CPU needed to be plugged into the 4-pin port. I unplugged the computer from the wall, unplugged everything from the motherboard, waited about 30 minutes. Then I plugged the power to the motherboard, then the 4-pin CPU plug into the motherboard and heat sink/fan combo cord into its port, but the 2 led lights remained unlit. I don't know what could have happened because I wasn't working anywhere near the CPU. I unplugged everything again and tried to get the heatsink/fan combo off the bracket but no matter how much force I used, I couldn't get it off the bracket . . . I don't have the strength in my hands/fingers to press hard enough. But even if I could have gotten it off, I wouldn't know what to look for (to see what might be wrong with it).

Anybody have any ideas? At this point, everything is unplugged inside the computer and from the wall outlets.

Denise

 

Hi again,

I starting plugging things in one at a time. I didn't plug in the new SATA card or the cable that I ran from the SATA port into the SATA bracket.

When I started it up, it give me one long beep, followed by a second of silence, then one long beep. I checked the manual and it says that it means that there is "No DRAM detected or installed." Is it not recognizing my RAM sticks? Did I give them a bit of static electricity and now they're no longer any good, or it is something else in my computer? The manual doesn't say anything else on the subject.

Denise

 

Where are you guys!?! I need help!!!!!

 

Denise, I have been more or less watching this from the 'sidelines' because you are getting into areas I do not know about. Sounds like your PSU is not up to the task. Try the card with no drives attached, if that boots ok, add drives until it happens again.

Just some basic trouble shooting advice. I think you are in more than capable hands with the others in the forum.

I still want to see some picts!

E

 

You could try to reseat your RAM.. this is done by taking it out then putting it back in.



HTH,

Meit

 

Hi Fred,

Thanks for answering. I don't have any external hard drives turned on. Only a couple were connected at the time and they were turned off.

To try to get the computer to boot up again, or even just post, I did the same thing 3 times . . . unplugging everything and adding one thing at a time to see if the computer would start. The first and second time, nothing happened. The third time, my computer booted up. I can't explain it unless it was one of those little tiny front panel plugs that I had in the wrong socket. That could be the only mistake I could have made because there's a port for everything and they each only fit in one place. One time it told me that it couldn't find DRAM, the next time it told me that it couldn't find my hard drive. You should have heard me yelling at the thing as if it could hear . . . "What? Are you stupid! The hard drive is right there! SEE! Look at it, you Numbskull! . . ." LOL I had one heck of a time. I was thinking about that sledge hammer by that point.

I haven't tried to install the SATA card again. When I do, I won't connect the one that's a bracket. If my computer does it again, I'll know it's the card, but I won't know if the card is bad or if it's something else.

Thanks again Fred . . .

Denise