[noobsaibot21]

Hello again Geeks,

I recently bought a few upgrades for my rusty 8 year old PC and i am having a number of problems with it.

1. I have bought a brand new socket 775 P4 processor and compatable motherboard which i can't use as the connection for the power and reset button is different to the one connected to my power supply

2. I have put in a samsung 80Gb hard drive which the device manager will detect but i can't initialize/format it. There was no software with it and i have it set up as a slave HD next to my original 8.47Gb HDD but it will not detect as a drive. I also checked the drive space on drive C (the original HD) and it says it is only 8.47Gb as opposed to 88Gb. Both HD's are hooked up to IDE port one.

3. The NEC DVD Burner i got doesn't seem to show up at all in device manager but i can open and close the tray at will. I was hoping to use it alongside my current DVD ROM player. They are both hooked up to IDE Port two.

4. The new Motherboard will not take my current graphics card, which is an ATI Rage Pro 128.

Based on the above information, can anyone tell me:

1. Is it possible to get some sort of converter for the On/Off & Reset button? I think it is supposed to be a 4 pin connector in the formation of the four corners of a square. My current connection has about 14 holes on it with one missing.

2. How can i format the HD? I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling but i cant seem to get anywhere with it.

3. How can i get my new DVD-RW installed? Again, i got no software with it or anything...

4. Although i will upgrade the graphics card after my wallet has fully recovered, is there any kind of converter i can get in order to use this graphics card? Failing that, is it still possible to use the PC for internet and small applications without it?


I don't really want to have to go and pay some overpriced PC "expert" to "take a look at it" for €80. I'm very low on cash anyway so if anyone can help me out with ANY of the above questions, i would be eternally grateful.

Many Thanks,
Noobsaibot21

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Sounds like it's time to find a place that sells used computer stuff so you can find the bits and pieces you need. You could get another box for a few dollars or find the parts to fix up the power connection. You can use crimp on sleeves to connect the wires to another connector. That way you can get your new MoBo working.

[Tyger]

Sounds like it's time to find a place that sells used computer stuff so you can find the bits and pieces you need. You could get another box for a few dollars or find the parts to fix up the power connection. You can use crimp on sleeves to connect the wires to another connector. That way you can get your new MoBo working.

[Stasiek]

1. I have bought a brand new socket 775 P4 processor and compatable motherboard which i can't use as the connection for the power and reset button is different to the one connected to my power supply
A: the power and reset button get connected to the mobo not the psu, check your mobo users manual for proper location

2. I have put in a samsung 80Gb hard drive which the device manager will detect but i can't initialize/format it. There was no software with it and i have it set up as a slave HD next to my original 8.47Gb HDD but it will not detect as a drive. I also checked the drive space on drive C (the original HD) and it says it is only 8.47Gb as opposed to 88Gb. Both HD's are hooked up to IDE port one.
A: by having 2 drives once you open my computer you will notice 2 hard drives with different letter designation, just because the hardware is connected on the same cable it doesn't mean that the ram is added like you said, go to bios during startup to see if the new hard drive is being detected as a slave, if it is then open my computer and select the new hard drive and right click on it then once the window shows up select format

3. The NEC DVD Burner i got doesn't seem to show up at all in device manager but i can open and close the tray at will. I was hoping to use it alongside my current DVD ROM player. They are both hooked up to IDE Port two.
A:make sure you have one of these drives set up as a slave and the other as a master, by you opening and closing the drive it only means that you have connected the power properly to it

4. The new Motherboard will not take my current graphics card, which is an ATI Rage Pro 128.
A: you eithor have a agp or pci-e slot for you graphic card, you will need to buy the compatible hardware to go with the new mobo, if you have onboard video intergrated in the mobo you dont have to have a video card (for now) you will be able to use the onboard video (if you have it, check mobo owners manual) for regular tasks and internet surfing

[noobsaibot21]

Okay, Here's where it stands:

1. Due to the build of the PC (made by Dell), i need to buy a new Power supply and PC Case thanks to Dell's incompatability. Nothing i can do here at the moment.

2. The Samsung 80Gb hard drive does show up on the device manager under disk drives and it is showing up as a slave when i go to setup but only my original 8Gb HD is showing up in my computer. As far as i know, i need to initialize the HD. If i go to the 80Gb HD, select Properties, Volumes, and click populate it says the following:

Disk: Disk 1
Type: Unknown
Status: Not Initialized
Partition style: Not Applicable
Capacity: 76348Mb
Unallocated Space: 76348Mb
Reserved Space: 0Mb

Any ideas?

3. The DVD-RW isn't slaved yet. I will do that and see if i have any problems.

4. What is the cheapest PCI-E compatable graphics card you can get? Will the Ge Force 5900 work with it?

Many thanks again,
Noobsaibot21

[warriorscot]

I think the x300s are teh cheapest you can buy at the moment for pci-e.

Dell are nasty like that, its always a good idea to change the case anyway if you are upgrading from a baught pc. Also did you seriously think an 8 year old PSU would power a new cpu and mobo,lol, you need to replace it with a new PSU of good quality and at least 400W.

The easiest way to fix the hard drive would be to install windows xp on the new drive this will speed up your boot times in general, if i were you once you have the new drive going get rid of the old one.

Also do you have compatible ram from what you have been saying it seems you didnt do your homework before you went and purchased all your parts.

[noobsaibot21]

Hello again,

I thought i did my homework (especially after my friends botched "upgrade").
I never knew that Dell could be such a pain in the [bleep] for upgrading but i guess thats business for them.
How can i install windows XP on the new hard drive if there is no location to save files? The only drives i have in My Computer are:

A: for floppy
C: for the 8Gb HD
D: for Toshiba DVD Player
E: for Generic Mass USB storage device aka Sony PSP

According to the device manager, the samsung 80Gb HD is working fine. I know i havent formatted it yet. How would i do that? It never came with any instructions on how to do that.

Please help,

Noobsaibot21

[Stasiek]

try the following, open my computer and then if the new drive is visible right click on it and then select format and then yes. once it's done it should be good to go.

[noobsaibot21]

Okay, here's the latest.....

I went to the shops today and picked up my PC Case and PSU and i've set up everything. I can power it on ok which is amazing for my level of expertise. Luckilly the MoBo has an onboard graphics chip (it's basic but should allow me to do simple tasks).

Anyway, when i power on, it asks me if i want to run Windows XP. When i select run Windows, a blue screen comes up saying that Windows has been closed because of an error. It also asks me to delete any Virus' i have (which i cant do outside of windows and i know i don't have any) or check the HD for errors and ensure it is set up properly. This is based on the old 8Gb HD as master.

I've tried to start up with the brand new 80Gb HD and it asks me to "insert boot media into the correct boot drive and press any key". Does this mean my Windows XP CD-Rom/Floppy? I tried my old Windows 98 floppy and CD but neither of them were valid.
I am currently using the old dell with just the old 8Gb HD and a gaping hole where my DVD Rom was. It should be noted that my new MoBo does detect both HD's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks,
Noobsaibot21