New build bootup problem

[DannyITR]

Hi all,

I just build a new PC for the first time.

INTELCORE 2 DUO E6300
P4 775 INTEL DG965 WH PCIE motherboard
XFX NVidia GeForce 7900GS 7900 GS PCI-E Video Card
Seagate SATA II 320GB HD
2GB OCZ 800MHZ DDR2 RAM GOLD XTC KIT
LG DVD+/-RW GSAH22L 18X
Antec Case with 350W power supply

The first time I booted I got nothing on my monitor. It was as if the comp was off but the fans and HDs were all running.

I removed the video card and tried to boot (with my winXP CD in) and it worked. Setup started loading files (i pressed F6 because I wanted to do a RAID but nothing seemed to happen).

I got to a point where it told me it didn't recognize a mass storage device and to insert a disk if I had one. I put the RAID disk in but that didn't do anything. I had to shut down.

Now whenever I boot up I either get 3 louds beeps with no video on the monitor, or get sent to my setup screen with the same end result. Once I saw a screen for like 1 sec that said press F2 for BIOS and I tried feverishly to get the button pressed but nothing happened. That screen has since not re-appeared. Oh and whenever I reset I get no video afterwards. In order to get video I need to power off completely then start back up again.

Why is it a different situation each time and why won't it work? I hate Microsoft.

 

[DannyITR]

ok I made some progress. If I remove 1 stick of RAM, the comp boots but the hard drives are gone form the BIOS now.

If I remove the video card and plug the monitor into the MB, the hard drives return. I decided to put the second RAM back in and boot up and try to install windows but I got the following error:

File Setupdd.sys could not be loaded. The error code is 7. Press F3 to exit setup.

I took the stick back out and it actually worked. The setup finished and now Its asking me which drive I want to install windows on. The thing is, when to I get the chance to setup the drives in a RAID? I pressed F6 at the beginning to install the RAID driver but nothing happened.

 

[waytoosmall]

I can at least speak to one of your issues. When you hit F6 for raid, it is later on that you will then be asked to load the drivers from the disk, not right then. Eventually a screen should appear that asks you to load the drivers, which you do from a floppy. But, you have to have the raid array already maid, which is usually done by enabling it in your bios, then hitting F(something) when prompted during boot up. Your one memory stick seems obviously bad, but I'm sure other more experienced people on here will give you more insight. If you get an error code though, you can usually look that up on-line. It also seems as though your vid card is faulty as well. Good Luck.