seanakaforty
02-07-2009, 12:19 PM
Hi guys! This is my first post on this forum and my first build as well. So I'm a newb in every sense of the word. First let me give you some specs:
Motherboard: Biostar TA790gx AM2+
CPU: AMD 64 X2 6000 3.1 GHz
80 GB hard drive with Windows XP on it
4 GB (2 x 2GB) of G.Skill RAM
I'm using the motherboard's onboard sound and video (for right now, at least). I'm using the standard DVI analog port, not the HDMI digital output.
250 watt PSU (it only has 20 pins, but I heard it was ok to leave pins 11, 12, 23, 24 open on the mobo)
So far, I've seated the motherboard in the case, installed the CPU, heatsink, and fan, installed the RAM, connected the front panel lights and connectors, connected power to the motherboard and the hard drive, and connected the ribbon cable from the hard drive to the IDE connector on the board.
As far as I thought, there was nothing else to do. So I fired it up. On my monitor I see a scrambled mess of colors. It's nothing that can be made out (no words or such), just a big, distorted mess; it looks like an abstract painting.
I have no idea what to do now. Was there something else that needed to be done before I turned it on? Have I missed something?
I've switched out the power supply with one that I know works(although the other one was pretty crappy too; again it only has 20 pins). I also know for a fact that the monitor works. I'm sure that I need to setup the BIOS, and maybe even update it from the biostar website, but how can I do this if I can't even see anything on the screen? Also, in the manual, it briefly mentions something about how to set jumpers, but it doesn't seem to go into detail about what jumpers need to be set. Are there jumpers somewhere on the motherboard that I may need to set? I've also tried hooking up a CD drive and putting in the driver CD that came with the mobo, but the screen is still the same.
Can anybody point me in the right direction?
Motherboard: Biostar TA790gx AM2+
CPU: AMD 64 X2 6000 3.1 GHz
80 GB hard drive with Windows XP on it
4 GB (2 x 2GB) of G.Skill RAM
I'm using the motherboard's onboard sound and video (for right now, at least). I'm using the standard DVI analog port, not the HDMI digital output.
250 watt PSU (it only has 20 pins, but I heard it was ok to leave pins 11, 12, 23, 24 open on the mobo)
So far, I've seated the motherboard in the case, installed the CPU, heatsink, and fan, installed the RAM, connected the front panel lights and connectors, connected power to the motherboard and the hard drive, and connected the ribbon cable from the hard drive to the IDE connector on the board.
As far as I thought, there was nothing else to do. So I fired it up. On my monitor I see a scrambled mess of colors. It's nothing that can be made out (no words or such), just a big, distorted mess; it looks like an abstract painting.
I have no idea what to do now. Was there something else that needed to be done before I turned it on? Have I missed something?
I've switched out the power supply with one that I know works(although the other one was pretty crappy too; again it only has 20 pins). I also know for a fact that the monitor works. I'm sure that I need to setup the BIOS, and maybe even update it from the biostar website, but how can I do this if I can't even see anything on the screen? Also, in the manual, it briefly mentions something about how to set jumpers, but it doesn't seem to go into detail about what jumpers need to be set. Are there jumpers somewhere on the motherboard that I may need to set? I've also tried hooking up a CD drive and putting in the driver CD that came with the mobo, but the screen is still the same.
Can anybody point me in the right direction?