new build - help

[mach1219]

I get no POST on the monitor.

from asus web page, the BIOS needs to be a certain version for it to work with the CPU im using, however, i have no way of checking the BIOS since i cant get the post screen.

Im leaning towards this, as i bought the board from a local shop that i try to avoid, but am unfortuneately becoming more familiar with, and they seem to have old stuff for sale, so this board may be older with an outdated bios.

im wonderign if i go there if they can install an older cpu that works, check and update the bios for me, and then see if my cpu will work

 

[mach1219]

i havent tried the post beeps this time. but im kind of ahead of that i think at this point.

 

[zigzag3143]

i havent tried the post beeps this time. but im kind of ahead of that i think at this point.

great. let us know if we can help

ken

 

[mach1219]

Does this sound like a good idea? Logical or am i way off?

from asus web page, the BIOS needs to be a certain version for it to work with the CPU im using, however, i have no way of checking the BIOS since i cant get the post screen.

Im leaning towards this, as i bought the board from a local shop that i try to avoid, but am unfortuneately becoming more familiar with, and they seem to have old stuff for sale, so this board may be older with an outdated bios.

im wonderign if i go there if they can install an older cpu that works, check and update the bios for me, and then see if my cpu will work

 

[zigzag3143]

if they will do it for free (or almost free) give them the headache. If not I dont know how handy you are in diagnosing things

ken

 

[mach1219]

well, you can see everything that i tried. I am good at diagnosing, im a semi-retired aircraft technician/mechanic, with some computer training as well, however i have never tried to build a PC from the ground up before, so this is new, but im not new to troubleshooting.

Since i am new to PC building, im afraid im overlooking soemthing, yet Ive tried it all, and i saw this board POST at the shop with some CPU that the lady put it, i dont think it was a E5200 though.

they didnt charge me for that, possibly since i bought the board from them.

I just wish i had a bin full of parts to work with. I already tried my old CPU in this board, (P4) so im pretty sure its bad, and was the original culprit. if u read this mess from the beginning, youll see what i mean.

The P4 should work with the older BIOS, but i dont have a functioning one to try.

Ive been buying both AMD and Intel based PCs over the years, but im seeing now it would be good idea to stick with one type to allow troubleshooting with parts from addtional pc's in your posession

 

[zigzag3143]

IM sure you are handy enough, and im like you I want to know why/how it works or doesn't but if they do it and fry something they have to replace it.

Pro's and con's

ken

 

[mach1219]

I guess Ill go there and see what happens. Im not real confident in thier employees and have not been impressed at all there, the place looks like a dump, inside and out, and they have already sold me wrong parts in the past, but they do have the luxery of a shop load of spare parts lying around to try.

 

[mach1219]

ok, go back to the PC shop, they swap in a P4 and it posts. I tell the guy that im trying to use a E5200 and asus web page says i need the latest bios for it to work, but he gives me a hard time and says it should work with my CPU regardless. So i ask him to check the BIOS version, and it is indeed not the one i need according to ASUS web page tech support. So then i ask him to flash it for me, and he says if the board blows up when he flashes it, its on me. I say well, you sold me the board with an outdated Bios, so shoudlnt you be responsible, and he says no, they always sell them that way and it up to the buyer to update the bios to work with thier Cpu, which is impossible if you cant get it to POST in the first place.

So then i asked him if its possible to isolate a bad main board or CPU without swapping one or the other, and hes says yes, but wont tell me how to do it, but suggests that if i bring in my old board and cpu he will tell me whats good and whats not.

so i came home to get my old parts while he updates my bios. I just hope this works.

So in hindsight, theres no way to tell what BIOS version is on a mainboard before you buy it, so even if you buy a compatible CPU, it may not work without flashing the BIOS, which you of course cant do because it wont post with the CPU u are using, so u have to have an old CPU laying around to POST it and flash the BIOS in order for your new CPU to work.

what a nightmare

 

[zigzag3143]

ok, go back to the PC shop, they swap in a P4 and it posts. I tell the guy that im trying to use a E5200 and asus web page says i need the latest bios for it to work, but he gives me a hard time and says it should work with my CPU regardless. So i ask him to check the BIOS version, and it is indeed not the one i need according to ASUS web page tech support. So then i ask him to flash it for me, and he says if the board blows up when he flashes it, its on me. I say well, you sold me the board with an outdated Bios, so shoudlnt you be responsible, and he says no, they always sell them that way and it up to the buyer to update the bios to work with thier Cpu, which is impossible if you cant get it to POST in the first place.

So then i asked him if its possible to isolate a bad main board or CPU without swapping one or the other, and hes says yes, but wont tell me how to do it, but suggests that if i bring in my old board and cpu he will tell me whats good and whats not.

so i came home to get my old parts while he updates my bios. I just hope this works.

So in hindsight, theres no way to tell what BIOS version is on a mainboard before you buy it, so even if you buy a compatible CPU, it may not work without flashing the BIOS, which you of course cant do because it wont post with the CPU u are using, so u have to have an old CPU laying around to POST it and flash the BIOS in order for your new CPU to work.

what a nightmare

Yep buyer beware

 

[mach1219]

This just gets better. what a bizzare experience.

go back to PC shop, he confirms without a doubt that the second new CPU that i got from newegg was also defective. he tried it in several boards /combinations against a good CPU to confirm this.

So i give him my old P4, he tries it and it works. Why this combination didnt work for me the first time i tried it, i dont know. maybe i forgot soemthign at that point in the troubleshooting. he also confirmed that my original main board is bad.

so since newegg has a exchange only policy on the CPU, im going to have to call them and ask for a refund. i hope they work with me.

i get home, try it and it is indeed working with my old processor. Im going to build it up and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[zigzag3143]

This just gets better. what a bizzare experience.

go back to PC shop, he confirms without a doubt that the second new CPU that i got from newegg was also defective. he tried it in several boards /combinations against a good CPU to confirm this.

So i give him my old P4, he tries it and it works. Why this combination didnt work for me the first time i tried it, i dont know. maybe i forgot soemthign at that point in the troubleshooting.

so since newegg has a exchange only policy on the CPU, im going to have to call them and ask for a refund. i hope they work with me.

If they dont offer you a refund i bet they would let you exchange for a different cpu or mobo.

 

[mach1219]

probably, but im 0 for 2 with newegg cpu's, and since my old P4 appears to be working, i would prefer my money back

 

[patio furniture]

well thats not really newegg's fault if the cpu is DOA...did you get it retail or oem? cause if its retail then you should get a new one for free from the company itself

 

[mach1219]

It was retail. I could only request an exchange online, but by calling them and explaining the situation they agreed to give me a refund and also send a pre paid shipping label.

its to bad, I really would like to upgrade the CPU, but my old P4 is gonna have to do for now, im not taking any chances with another one not working.

 

[zigzag3143]

It was retail. I could only request an exchange online, but by calling them and explaining the situation they agreed to give me a refund and also send a pre paid shipping label.

its to bad, I really would like to upgrade the CPU, but my old P4 is gonna have to do for now, im not taking any chances with another one not working.

nothing wrong with a P-IV i have 4 of them running win 7 and they do backups, media sharing, etc.

ken

 

[Frostmourne]

I'm getting whiffs of 2000 here, Pentium 4?

 

[zigzag3143]

multi threading, ummmmmm

kene

 

[mach1219]

The P4 was bought in a new PC in 2006, its a solid workhorse, but Ive been spoiled with my new AMD Phenom II x4, and was hoping the E5200 dual core would be would be a better performer than the P4.

Even though I finally got this thing working, there still remains many mysteries, like if my CPU was good all along, why didnt it POST in the first new motherboard i tried?

 

[mach1219]

also interesting to note, the guy at the PC store said he never updated my BIOS, he just swapped CPUs, he tried another E5200 as well as an even newer processor and they both worked with the boards old BIOS, so ASUS compatibility chart would appear to be wrong here, by them saying it needs BIOS update for the newer processors to function