[nerfication]

I just installed a new Motherboard in my computer and i need some help getting it to boot. I got a Dell Dimension 4700 and the Motherboard is Dell Part#: M3918 Socket: LGA775. I bought it from Ascendtech and had them install a CPU and RAM and Test it. My system OS is XP home edition and the HDD is SATA.
I installed the new MB and started up the PC. It shows the Dell screen with a progress bar. when the progress bar completes it switches to plain text screen and says it can't find the floppy drive. so I went into setup and turned the SATA drives from off to on. Now it says it can't find the SATA drive.
What do I do to fix it?

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Take the battery out, leave it about twenty minutes, put it back in again and power up the computer. It should reconfigure itself.

[Neil Jones]

Take the battery out, leave it about twenty minutes, put it back in again and power up the computer. It should reconfigure itself.

[Macboatmaster]

nerfication

As the sales pitch for that motherboard says

]Enhance your Dell Dimension 4700 desktop system with the Dell M3918

It appears likely that it is not the SAME spec as the original motherboard.
If that is the case, the suggestion from my colleague, Neil Jones is certainly still worth trying, but I fear it is unlikely to work, all the drivers loaded onto the system are for the old motherboard and that includes the SATA drivers.

It MAY be that you are facing a reinstall of windows.

[nerfication]

Thanks for your help.
I haven't done anything yet because it seems to have fixed itself.
Note: The new motherboard I installed is exactly the same as the old one, even the same REV. I am using the HDD from the old MB also.
After I started this thread I did some research and learned that I did not apply the thermal compound correctly. So I removed the heatsink and fixed that.
I also learned that Ascendtech had installed the RAM in slot 1 & 3. I moved one stick from 3 to 2.
Now when I start the computer I have to hit F1, then it boots to the desktop. Boots up fast and runs great, and shuts down quick with no problems.
Still don't know why I have to hit F1, but at least it boots to Windows all the way now.

Edited by nerfication, 27 May 2012 - 02:27 PM.

[Macboatmaster]

It depends what the message is that then says key F1.

If it is floppy diskette drive boot failure or some other drive boot failure.
Turn that device off in setup on the BIOS screens - normally you enter setup by keying F2 or delete but it will tell you ion first post screen.

Examine in BIOS the drives, set those that you do have to Auto detect.
Set boot priority to DVD drive and then the hard drive.

Even if the computer itself does not have a floppy drive, that does not mean that the BIOS does not cater for one, so that is the first aspect to examine.

Is the system time and date correct, did the motherboard come with a CMOS battery, this error can be caused by a flat or no CMOS battery

[nerfication]

ok, it says: "floppy diskette seek failure, drive 1 not found: serial ATA, SATA-2,"
So i went into BIOS and turned off the internal drive and SATA-2 drive. And now it boots to the desktop.
Macboatmaster you really know your stuff, thanks.
I still need to Set boot priority, and the MB did come with a battery, the time is not correct but I have not set the time yet.
I'm glad you were willing to help me so i could get my old Dimension working again. Now I got 6 old computers LOL.

[Macboatmaster]

Pleased that worked

the time is not correct but I have not set the time yet.

Set the time and date you will have all sorts of problems if it is not correct.
Not least of the problems will be windows updates