Reset Switch Plug (Building a Computer for the first time)

[bori]

Hey all! Building a comp for the first time and its going flawlessly so far(following directions cautiously and everything).

A problem I have come upon:

The directions stated to plug in the Reset Switch Plug into the motherboard. I have looked up the map for my motherboard, and located the jack where I plug it. However, looking at my directions for my motherboard, there is a + and a - side to the plug. However, I am not sure what side is positive and negative on the actual wire. Can anyone help me?

[SephYuyX]

The one thing that never fails is the sucky directions for case to mb operations.
With the reset button im pretty sure it doesnt matter, but in any case, usually Red +, Black -, or White +, Black -.

[Spekkio]

it's a switch. it temporarily closes a circuit. when i build PCs to start them up w/ just the board, i short the power leads with a flathead screwdriver and that has neither a positive or a negative terminal! just plug it in. as long as you're jumpering the RIGHT pins, nothing bad will happen. remember that your power and HDD LED DO have a positive and a negative terminal so that is relevant.

[bori]

Ok, I built the computer. But for some reason whenever I boot up the computer, it gets to the desktop, but a minute later, it blue screens of death and restarts by itself. Does the voltage have to do with anything? (didn't mess with anything). Or the fact that I didn't plug in the HDD LED jacks (sorry if I'm a noob). >< Also, this could be just a stupid mistake, but my CD-ROM doesn't have any power coming to it (it's not opening), but I swear its plugged in properly. Can anyone help?

[Isiolia]

Check your RAM timings and/or do a Memcheck or the like. Voltage could cause a problem, but usually the defaults are conservative and work fine. Or you could have a flakey power supply. If it's a new CD-ROM, did it work for installing Windows? Or is it possibly DOA?

[bori]

Fixed the CD ROM Problem, but the restarts keep occuring. What should the timings on the RAM be? And also, on my motherboard, there are 2 groups of 2 ram plugs. Yellow/Red. I plugged in one ram stick on the yellow plug on one side, and the other on the yellow plug on the other group. Is this how its supposed to be?

[bori]

Btw, should I reformat? This is basically an entirely new computer, and I used my old HDD from my old computer. Good idea to reformat?

[Spekkio]

first ensure the hardware's all working as it should. load memtest onto a cd and let it bake overnight, or while you're at work/school too if possible. more testing=better results. also ensure all the RAM you plugged into the thing is recorded. if you stuck 2 gig in there, it should read about 1.9something gigs (a smidge is taken up for the memtest app itself and if you have shared video that could suck a lot more.) but if you stuck 2 gig in there and see an entire stick's worth missing, you may have misseated RAM. after that, boot with a bootable linux distro like knoppix and just fiddle with it. see if it runs stabilly there. if so, it's probably a forked up OS disk and you'll want to reload. if it's crashing under linux or you're getting errors in your memory i think you know how to troubleshoot that.

[Isiolia]

Btw, should I reformat? This is basically an entirely new computer, and I used my old HDD from my old computer. Good idea to reformat?

Always do a format/fresh install of Windows with a new build. There are times you can get it running otherwise, but it's rarely a good idea (IE, your old motherboard died and you have no other way to back up the data).

What should the timings on the RAM be? And also, on my motherboard, there are 2 groups of 2 ram plugs. Yellow/Red. I plugged in one ram stick on the yellow plug on one side, and the other on the yellow plug on the other group. Is this how its supposed to be?

Timings will vary according to what the RAM is rated at. If you have that info, then just look in the BIOS and see what it's running at. If you didn't tweak the settings though, it should be running at stock or at more conservative numbers than stock.

Slots, I would assume that you have them right as the memory banks are usually color coded like that. You could always check your manual if you want to be sure.


Given that you're running on an old Windows install, I would look at fixing that first, as it's a likely cause of the crashing.

edit: and yeah, running a bootable Linux distro or some other tests/etc for a bit would be a good way to ensure all the hardware is working before you spend a lot of time setting things up.

[Spekkio]

reason i suggested trying the hardware first is 4 fold.
1.) it's all brand new, so it's perfectly reasonable to assume that you'll have a decent chance at a hardware failure/poorly connected IDE cable/misseated ram/etc.
2.) if he's moving his old drive to his new PC, if he does have a hardware problem and he formats this, he trashes his install from his old PC so he can't roll back to it.
3.) i'm guessing if he's so strapped for storage that he's recycling an old HDD he doesn't have a full backup of his files so a reformat would be a real pain in the ass. i despise recycling old drives if it's a drive that's already lived a full life. you don't put a set of old, worn, busted ass spark plugs into a shiny new car. you'll be back in to replace them soon enough.
4.) it's stupidly easy. memtest takes about 2 minutes of actual thought and about 18 hrs if you want to do it thoroughly. 30 min would probably be more than enough to tell if there's a problem. booting a knoppix distro is similarly easy. reformatting the drive takes a lot of backup and prep work, plus you gotta get on the phone w/ india to reactivate windows since i'm sure he's already reactivated it once when xp detected a change in his motherboard/cpu/etc.

[Shuemue]

If he's using an old install of windows with all new hardware, it's almost certainly windows going "WTF is this shit?"

Windows just can't handle that many hardware changes, it needs a fresh install with a new build exactly as Isiolia said.

Sure, it doesn't hurt to reseat the parts, but windows will flop sooner rather than later even if you do get it running.

[bori]

Seems like you were all right! Fresh copy of XP fixed it right up. Thanks a lot guys! Woot, new computer!!!

[Spekkio]

about what i figured, but i always like to make sure all my ducks are in a row before i commit totally to decommissioning my old PC. glad to hear it was just a format and not a hardware problem. have fun w/ your new PC.