Motherboard Wiring - How to Reconnect?

by Joe
(Lake City, TN)

Need help with motherboard wiring: I have an emachine motherboard that was replaced and all the wires were not reconnected including Front USB and Sound. Can anyone help?

Sound Driver Problems

by Sam
(USA)

Can you help me troubleshoot my sound driver problems? Somehow my sound driver was deleted from my laptop. Can you help me with this problem; so I do not have purchase a new one? thank you

How to build a computer - that works?

by Ryan
(USA)

Okay. So I took some components from an old computer and am trying to build a new one. I have a new 500w power supply, a new disc drive, a new case, a new Gigabyte ATX micro Motherboard, and I am using old DDR2 RAM (4 GB, which the MoBo says it supports) and an old HD.

I tried booting up without the drives or the HD attached. Everything powers on fine, the fans spin, I get one beep. Then invariably at some point, the computer loses power. The power loss comes at different times. Sometimes almost right away, sometimes I make it to the Windows XP or BIOS screen (but never further, it always crashes almost instantly). I don't have a CPU cooling fan, but I have the power one and the system one. I don't think that's the problem, but I'm running out of ideas here.

Why Does USB Device Power Stay On After Shut Down?

by Tom
(SLC Utah)

Need some advice: why does the USB device power stay on after shut down of computer?

I was given a bunch of old computers and parts and using them to build my own computer!!

First, let me say that when I was a preschooler my mother would find,and give me, broken things to fix. Things like vacuum cleaners,radios clocks,toys - just about anything electrical.

So I learned about power supplies and drives etc. And (thanks to this site) I built a computer. It took me about 1 year to get the build done, operating and online. And the only money I spent was for a legal disc of Windows XP (no regrets). I did find that I had more fun building it than using it!

The only problem that I'm really having is that when the computer shuts down, the B+ power going to the USB ports and mouse port stays on. I guess that I need a schematic for the switching SCRs. Are they in the motherboard or the power supply? If anyone can help me on this, please email me.

tom.skippy at yahoo.com Thanks.

Bad Memory Stick

by Amjad ali
(Mahabaleshwar(Maharashtra))

Question: Is this a Memory Stick Problem?
When I turn on machine, the CPU horn emits three 'ti ti ti' for 3,4 times, before it starts, and after motherboard POST details, it shows a CPU fan error. After some time the system resumes operations. Please help me fix this issue.

Response from Chris: It is most likely that one of the memory modules of your PC has become defective or has been recently added to your system incorrectly.

The motherboard bios is telling you that the CPU fan is not turning fast enough to cool the main processor chip.

How long has it been since you had a look inside your system? You might be surprised at the amount of dust that can accumulate over time on memory stick(s) and also plug up the system and CPU fan assemblies!

Building My Own Computer System

by Nate
(USA)

Having trouble building my own computer.

Specs:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 black 3.2mhz
Motherboard/ MSI 890FXA-GD70
Video-cards 2 x EVGA Geforce 250 1gb 256bit in Xfire (only used one for the initial set up)
Power: Coolmaster 650W

I've gone through 3 different memory sticks all DDR3 dual chn 1600, 1800, 2000 (tried all different kinds only using one in the first slot for power ups).

I've gone step by step troubleshooting each part. Every thing powers on and looks in working order, vice either the CPU or some part of the Mother board.

Lights on the board come on and I get a flashing red light by the battery (not sure what that means and it's not in the MoBo manual).

I can't get to any bios set up or any indication that the processor is running.

I removed the MoBo from the case, set it on its box and tried booting only the CPU, memory, power supply and the video cards (swapping out each one to rule out a video card issue.)

Ive ruled out case shorts, memory, video cards and power supply.

I'm left with either Mobo or CPU but Mobo seems to be working fine and I have a hard time believing I got a bad AMD cpu (pins all normal and no chips or marks.)

Am I missing something simple or do I have major issue?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Speeding Up My Computer

by Anas
(Sri Lanka)

Speeding up my computer is my goal. How do I do it?
I have a Dell OptiPlex GX400. I want to speed up my computer. When I connect to the Internet it loads very slowly and it is very difficult to watch videos. I am going to buy more RAM and a hard disk. Do you have more computer tips and guides to
speed up my computer?

RETRIEVING FILES FROM THE HARD DISK OF A DAMAGED SYSTEM

by ENGR. JOSIAH ONWUGHALU
(ABA,ABIA STATE, NIGERIA)

Many times a system containing important files can break down through damage or viral attack. Those files can be retrieved by using the following steps:

1. Connect the hard disk in question to a working system.


2. Configure the hard disk as a 'slave' if the main disk is working as the master. NOTE: CHECK THE CONFIGURATION PATTERN ON THE LABEL OF THE HARD DISK.


3. Boot the system and access your computer folder.


4. Select the right format; i.e. when selecting the Drive, precisely choose either Drive D or E for your disk and then click open to access your files.


Then try to access your files normally through Windows File Explorer. (Note: if you changed the partition information in the old system in an attempt to recover the files you will not be able to open the files as the operating system will not see the drive.)

Upgrading Motherboard

by Benji
(UK)

I need a new motherboard for my PC (it's crashed). I have an Asus P5N32-E SLI but can't seem to buy it any where. Is there a motherboard that you would recommend to replace it?

Response from Build Your Own Computer:

If I understand your question properly, your primary reason for a new motherboard is
that the original is no longer working.

To keep using all of your existing hardware (because once you swap out the motherboard you need to consider how the other computer components work with the motherboard and at times you need to buy more computer parts), I would suggest getting a like-for-like replacement on Ebay-uk.

While Intel LGA 775 socket 'T' motherboards are no longer in production, you can still get a couple of new replacements from companies like Newegg but be aware that these are no longer supported (but usually warranteed – make sure you check that before buying), although they are still a good option for a desktop/server using an existing CPU but with the added RAM and USB upgrade.

• ASUS P5G41T-M LX PLUS LGA 775 Intel G41 -DDR3 1066/800


• Intel BOXDG43GT LGA 775 Intel G43 HDMI -DDR2 800

Note: When upgrading your motherboard, if you decide to go to a newer version (rather than selecting the one of the like-for-like motherboards I recommended above) remember that you will likely need to replace other components (to keep your system 'in sync').

Talk to your local computer parts supplier and make sure you cost out what all the components would cost and then compare to replacing with a like-for-like motherboard – sometimes it's more cost-effective over the long term to rebuild your system with newer technology.

Let us know what you decided to do about upgrading motherboard!

Regards, Kris, Build Your Own Computer

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