Can't start Windows after installing new motherboard!!!

[Beck]

Alternatively, it could be a broken video card.
Check this out...
http://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2005/10/31/garbled-bios-text-output-after-heat-damage

Just to add, upon further research it can also be bad memory that can cause
garbled bios.
I wonder if you bios cmos is worth resetting using the clear cmos jumper.

 

[Guest]

OK - thanks guys (and gals!) for all the help and info! I'll try your advice
later Doug and let you know later. Its almost 2am, so *yawn* time for bed. If
all else fails, I'll take the machine in to some professionals.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[Beck]

OK - thanks guys (and gals!) for all the help and info! I'll try your
advice later Doug and let you know later. Its almost 2am, so *yawn*
time for bed. If all else fails, I'll take the machine in to some
professionals.

Thanks for the help!!

Good luck!

 

[Doug Kanter]

OK - thanks guys (and gals!) for all the help and info! I'll try your
advice
later Doug and let you know later. Its almost 2am, so *yawn* time for bed.
If
all else fails, I'll take the machine in to some professionals.

Thanks for the help!!

Definitely try the boot disk idea. It's free and easy.

 

[paul]

I had the same exact symptoms after I installed my new MOBO.
After much hair pulling I found out that the power supply I was using did
not provide enough CURRENT (amperes NOT watts) to the motherboard.

I purchased a new PS with high current supply and the problem was solved.
If you have another PS of higher current give it a try.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi! I've recently installed a new motherboard, ATI Radeon graphics card and
memory into my XP system, and now I can't seem to load anything!!

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore *not*
transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting), unless
the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same IDE
controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.

I've looked
on the web and the problem seems to be with the motherboard. Not only that,
but the BIOS is... scrambled... its in English, but half the letters aren't
right. O's get replaced with G's, so it can be quite hard to make out the
BIOS. Is this faulty?

It certainly sounds like it. What does the manufacturer's Tech Support
have to say on the subject?



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

 

[paulmd]

Hi! I've recently installed a new motherboard, ATI Radeon graphics card and
memory into my XP system, and now I can't seem to load anything!! I've looked
on the web and the problem seems to be with the motherboard. Not only that,
but the BIOS is... scrambled... its in English, but half the letters aren't
right. O's get replaced with G's, so it can be quite hard to make out the
BIOS. Is this faulty?

90% says incompatible or defective video card.

The rest is divided between other compatibility issues with the
motherboard (ram/ processor, power supply), and a plain defective
motherboard, and a short.

Once you solve the BIOS issue, we'll see what happens with windows

 

[Guest]

Compatible with the XP or compatible with the motherboard? The first screen
and the blue stop error are the only screens where the text is normal

 

[Guest]

Ok - I tried making a MS-DOS bootdisk from www.bootdisk.com. I wasn't sure
what version of DOS it is so I tried version 5.00 Starting the computer with
that in just came up with the regular read error so I assumed that was the
wrong disk. I went back and downloaded the windows XP boot disks from
Microsoft (the 6-disk set) and used them at startup. Setup loaded and asked
if I wanted to install Windows. Pressing enter (with XP in the drive) came up
with another error saying something along the lines of "setup did not detect
a CD-ROM drive..."

I can attempt to boot windows from the XP CD, but that comes up with a blue
stop error. So I know the CD Drive is working to some extent.

 

[paulmd]

Compatible with the XP or compatible with the motherboard? The first screen
and the blue stop error are the only screens where the text is normal

Compatible with the Motherboard. XP (Or any other OS) will NOT be
stable until you resolve your hardware issues. Once you get the BIOS
screen stabilized, THEN put on OS on that thing. THere ore no XP tweaks
to solve this. One (or more) part(s) are causing this problem. IT must
be changed out, or set in the BIOS correctly. Changed out is more
likely. It is entirely possible you have a defective part. Good news,
they're new and under Warrenty!

I've seen your issue in a small handful of machines. It is usually a
video card problem. On integrated video systems, it may be a RAM
problem. Another poster said you should check the power supply. This is
a VERY good idea. When people replace thier motherboard, they often get
a faster one, a more powerful CPU, or a few other upgrades. Faster
usually means it will require more juice. This means a a power supply
with more watts. 350 is probaly safe. Unless you're running a whole
bunch of stuff.

 

[Guest]

Compatible with the Motherboard. XP (Or any other OS) will NOT be

stable until you resolve your hardware issues. Once you get the BIOS
screen stabilized, THEN put on OS on that thing. THere ore no XP tweaks
to solve this. One (or more) part(s) are causing this problem. IT must
be changed out, or set in the BIOS correctly. Changed out is more
likely. It is entirely possible you have a defective part. Good news,
they're new and under Warrenty!

The graphics card and motherboard are both brand new and from the same
manufacturer, Gigabyte. Since installing those into the case XP has been
unable to load, so no drivers have been installed.

I've seen your issue in a small handful of machines. It is usually a
video card problem. On integrated video systems, it may be a RAM
problem. Another poster said you should check the power supply. This is
a VERY good idea. When people replace thier motherboard, they often get
a faster one, a more powerful CPU, or a few other upgrades. Faster
usually means it will require more juice. This means a a power supply
with more watts. 350 is probaly safe. Unless you're running a whole
bunch of stuff.

The original power supply had to be replaced for the new processor (had a
fan at least 4 times as big as the old one!), so a new one has has just been
installed. Before that there weren't any LED's showing.

I had an older hard disk with Me installed on it. Switching the hard disks,
the computer did boot Me with the motherboard and graphics card, although the
graphic are VERY basic, with random blue lines running horizontally down the
screen.

OK, so Me loads - a key problem here is that the CD drive has disapeared
from My Computer so I can't load XP and troubleshoot the MB from there.

 

[paul]

No. It's not the "watts" you need to check. It is the current (amperes) this
is VERY important.

The original power supply had to be replaced for the new processor (had a
fan at least 4 times as big as the old one!), so a new one has has just
been
installed. Before that there weren't any LED's showing.

Just curious. How many amps does the new power supply provide versus the
original power supply?

 

[Guest]

Can't say at the moment - the new power supply works, its being used to
install XP over Me on an old hard-disk and see if we can work from there

 

[paulmd]

The graphics card and motherboard are both brand new and from the same
manufacturer, Gigabyte. Since installing those into the case XP has been
unable to load, so no drivers have been installed.

Just because they're new doesn't mean that they aren't defective! Every
company has a percentage of their cards DOA.

The original power supply had to be replaced for the new processor (had a
fan at least 4 times as big as the old one!), so a new one has has just been
installed. Before that there weren't any LED's showing.

I had an older hard disk with Me installed on it. Switching the hard disks,
the computer did boot Me with the motherboard and graphics card, although the
graphic are VERY basic, with random blue lines running horizontally down the
screen.

Hi! That's a dead video card! Possibly a bad power supply. Exchange for
ones that work!

OK, so Me loads - a key problem here is that the CD drive has disapeared
from My Computer so I can't load XP and troubleshoot the MB from there.

Loading XP will get you nowhere. You have a bad part. Period.