OK, as an aside, why are you installing Win 98? I'm sure that you can just install XP, and it'll ask for the original Win 98 media during the install, because it's an upgrade.
Thats what I was thinking, but since I have never had to use an upgrade version of XP...I wasnt sure.. It might be something to try.
It definitely works with Win 2K, I've never used an upgrade version of XP though. It does seem as though your problem lies elsewhere though, if this problem has persisted across 2 HDs.
As for the screen being in power saving mode, yeah I'm sure it was but I tried to push a button and move the mouse without any luck then I looked down at the power lights on my case and they were all off. I checked to make sure the computer was plugged up and it was so that led me to believe that my computer shut itself off and that was proved when I tried to reboot it and it shut itself off again. heypartner, yes I did waste money but I have decided it is for the best and if I can get my 60 GB HD working and nothing was really wrong with it I can sell it for more than double what the 20 GB HD cost me. I can always resell good...hell even the bad parts on EBAY or Yahoo! Auctions. I have decided to upgrade all hardware components now and not just my HD. I have found some good motherboard CPU combos on pricewatch and some great memory prices on EBAY, if I can win them. That's why I am asking what do you guys recommend now? I took apart my entire computer and found the memory inside of it and it said PC 133 on one bar and PC 133 on the other. Does that mean anything to you guys? When I purchase a motherboard CPU combo do I still have to purchase a processor, here's an example now does that come with a processor or not? Also, how can you tell how much and what kind of memory it can hold? Speaking of memory, what is the best kind SSRAM or DDRAM? I may have more question later, if you guys are still willing to help.
Lil Pun, 1) PC133 means the speed of the RAM is 133MGHZ 2) CPU combo means the CPU comes with a main board. 3) Be careful of the combos. You can get get pricing but sometimes the main board they sell with the CPU is plain jane and doesn't come with alot of PCI slots and stuff like that. Looking at the picture of that board that comes with the combo, it looks like it only has two PCI slots 4) When you check out pricewatch, you might want to also check out www.ubm.com and Fry's. UBM is over off the Beltway and Westheimer. I have found, in the past, that their CPU combos are pretty comparable, price wise, to what you will find on pricewatch (don't have to pay shipping and you can get it faster).
If you are going to upgrade...go with a combo that has more than two PCI slots, and I prefer one with an AMD processor..YMMV. DDRam is better than SDram..most new AMD boards only have DDR anyway. to be sure of what the specs are and how much the boards can handle..find a combo that you like, and go do a google on the mobo name...then you should be able to find the info on it.
codell, thank you a lot for your help. It is much appreciated. I found a board with 5 PCI slots, is that enough? What exactly are PCI slots? Is that what a 56K modem, Ethernet card, etc. hook up to? Does this one look good? I want a board that will hold enough memory for my computer to be quick also but not lighting speed just up to date. How can I find that stuff out. Like I said thanks a lot codell, it really helps.
5 PCI slots is pretty good. Make sure you it has an AGP slot too for a video card. PCI slots are for add on cards like NICs, sound cards, modems, etc. If you only have two, you are limiting your computer's upgradeability (is that a word?? ). That board you picked out seems pretty decent for what you want. It has integrated sound so you wont have to buy a sound card. I am not a big fan of the VIA chipsets though. I have always found them to be more unstable than an Intel chipset. However, they are popular and shouldn't give you any problems for the most part. Seriously though. Email R2K and he can walk you through what you should look for better than I can. I stopped building computers a year or so ago and am kind of out of touch with current specs and whatnot.
Yea..push it off on me, will ya? Questions: Are you satisfied with onboard sound and video? Do you need a network port?(do you have a network or high-speed internet?) How many add-on cards do you currently use?(modem,sound,etc) 5 PCI slots are good if you have cards that you need to use. if you are satisfied with onboard sound/video/modem/network card...then you may not need the PCi slots. It depends on how you intend to use it. btw..during the day...its better to post it here..i dont have access to my home email from work
Lil Pun, I didn't mean to say you "wasted money" anymore than you saying it first. At this point, you still haven't ruled out the motherboard or CPU. When I say that people like R2K and I troubleshoot flakey hardware behavior (if that's what you think you are witnessing) by swapping parts we currently have on hand, that is how we determine if the motherboard is bad. I wouldn't buy anymore hardware until you rule out the motherboard and CPU. The easiest way to do that is take the motherboard out with your CPU and one stick of RAM, and plug it into a known working machine. If it doesn't work, try your other stick of RAM...or borrow a stick that is known to work in your type of RAM. I hate to see someone get advice to just randomly buy parts when the problem could be Motherboard, CPU, Video Card, RAM...you just don't know. It gets to the point where it isn't worth the hassle and you might be better off just buying a new motherboard, chip and memory as a package, and if you still have the problem, then get a new video card. my recommendations remains that if you can't find a friend to help, consider it a lost motherboard/CPU and start new. I have blown good harddware before by swapping it onto a blown motherboard. I would only swap used cards/RAM/CPU, not new ones.
nevermind, looks like you are buying new everything, and the thread is turning into a "What Should I Buy" thread.
I do have high speed internet. I already have an Ethernet card so will it just plug into the motherboard's PCI slots and work? Do motherboards come with sound and video alread installed on them? I would always like to have better stuff than I already do so no I probably won't like a non-upgradable motherboard. What are the slots called where RAM goes? How many of those would be sufficient? How many fans would be sufficient in a PC? I don't plan on over-clocking my processor. Will a 512 block of RAM fit into the same space as a 128 block? Thanks for all your help as well R2K.
OK.. We are going to go at this back-asswards. First..what you should buy in the event you need to know. Considering what you have said, go with the mobo/cpu combo with the least amount of on-board stuff(audio/video,etc) and the most PCI slots . Amount of RAM slots are insignificant, you will probably never need more than 512M so even if it only has two slots..you are still ok. Yes, the PCI slots are where your ethernet card, modem, audio cards go..the AGP slot that codell mentioned is where your video card goes. to further expand on what HP was talking about in his last post, it would be beneficial to determine which component is faulty before deciding to buy buy buy. do you want to go this route? or have you decided that it is time to get new hardware? your decision on this point will determine where we go from here.
I have decided that it is definitely time to update. My computer components, excluding hard drives, are all 3+ years old. I want to upgrade motherboard, processor, and memory besides that everything else can wait. Also, what is an ample power supply in a PC? Can you have too much power? The biggest fear I have when working with computers is burning something up. PS: That 10 pin connector I mention on my hard drive, does that plug into anything or is it just to designate the drive as master or slave?
ok.. I believe we have amply covered what you need to look for in a mobo at this point. Power supply, depends on how much you intend to have loaded in the case..for instance..in my personal box, I have 4 hard drives a cd burner and a DVD burner. I am using a 300watt power supply, but Im pushing it..I need to get a new one..Ill probably get one of the 400 watt ones just to ensure I have plenty for all my devices and fans. You should probably stick to 300-350 watt unless you plan on stuffing your box with devices. the 10 pin area on your drive is for jumpers to set master/slave configuration. you will not have any cables plugged in there. The diagram on top of your drive should show you what thats about. Another thing which may come up, depending on your current case design, you may need to get another one to go with your new mobo. Obviously I cant tell this for sure, but the cutout on the back may not match the configuration of your new mobo. The only way to tell for sure will be after you get the new mobo, you will have to compare the back of your case with the mobo. but be prepared,you will more than likely have to get a new case.
I forgot to mention I planned to buy a new case as well since there is a place in town that sells them for around $10 so the case is no problem. What brands of motherboard are good? What's the difference in an AMD Athlon XP 2200, AMD MP 2200, and an AMD 1.4 GHz 266? While looking at the MP and XP models I didn't see any GHz readings but I saw 266MHz FBS, what's that?
Lil Pun, From my experience some of the Taiwanese brands such as ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI have produced quality mainboards... each brand has a variety of products so you might want to spend sometime to surf the net for reviews on these latest products. I'm not very familiar with AMD processors (R2K might help you out with that). If you are not running a variety of demanding 3D CAD or image processing programs the AMD processors probably is a good choice (it's much cheaper than Intel). If you are thinking about purchasing Intel processors, I'll recommand you to go for at least P4 2.4Ghz 800FSB (CPU external frequency which has become the new standard for Intel) & get PC3200 RAMs (so it matches with the CPU frequencies for optimum performance). Motherboards with Intel 865 chipsets (supports 800FSB) might be a good choice (& relatively chaper than the other intel chipset). Tom's hardware guide is a good site for you to look at: http://www.tomshardware.com/ Good luck!
Since I have two hard drives, is it possible to run dual hard drives in my PC? If so, what does it take to do this?
Sure. It's common to have more than 1 HD in a computer these days. All you need to do is determine which will be the primary and secondary HD and adjust the jumpers for each HD accordingly. Go to the bios setup & adjust the settings when you startup the machine & that's it!
