AN8 32X Post CF - Please Help - New Build

[ABIT Sean]

The code FF means it serching for a boot device, what are you trying to boot from?

[Bruticus]

trying to boot from the hardrive. my motherboard is an an8 sli. I'm runniing a 7900 gtx and I have an amd dual core 4400+. the whole thing just kinda crapped out, I didn't change anything. any solutions. thanks

[ABIT Sean]

Does it still respond? Can you turn the caps lock on/off on the keyboard?

[Bruticus]

nothing, nada. before the post screen it does. I can enter he bios and such. then the post reads 7a on my motherboard. when i let it run though it just turns black and the keyboard and mouse stop. they do anyway when the post is running until windows boots them when my comp does work though so thats not really helpful, sorry.

[ABIT Sean]

Have you installed windows on this motherboard before? or is this the first time?

[Bruticus]

i already had windows. I built it 2 months ago and it has worked fine until now. The first time I hit the power button it booted right up and was good to go. XP has had no problems. th thing just crapped out.

[Bruticus]

for clarification. I have windows installed already. I don't want to restore my hard drive and I lack the ability to with this problem anyway. thanks

[ABIT Sean]

Can you let me know the following:
Hard drive spec
PSU
How many sticks or ram you are using and what make/type (duel or single channel)

Also can you list all of the codes you see, from start to finish.

[Bruticus]

harddrive- maxtor 250 gig
psu- dont know the term(i do the mechanics of building, I dont unterstand computers well)
ram- 1 stick ult31664 1024 mb pc3200 400mhz ddr

[Bruticus]

ok wow, shoulda seen that one comin. power supply, lol. ultra 500w

[Bruticus]

oh, and the codes move to fast. It starts a o4, then A whole bunch of stuff. then 7a, then ff

[Bruticus]

I also tried removing the battery on the motherboard and letting it chill but no effect

[Bruticus]

I kinda need my computer back by the end of today. I live in EST zone so its 10 hours away from yours. shold I just call customer support?

[ABIT Sean]

It would be easier if you did call the customer support line. Its hard to diagnose the problem on a forum. But the lines are now closed for the day and won't reopen until monday.

[Bruticus]

I'd be calling the california lines. They open in an hour. thanks though. still, got any ideas in the meantime.

[paddY_21]

I can't offer any advice but maybe some of my own problems can help you trouble shoot... Unless you've spoken to tech support and can help me out!!

AN8 32x Series board, AMD x2 3800+ processor, Asus N7600 silence gfx card

I had it boot as far as finding there was no OS on the drive. Shut down, then plugged in DVD IDE & power then booted up. Post ended at 8.C.
--> Long story short, disconnected everything but RAM & Video. No peripheral power chords are connected anywhere (not even atx4p1). Post code will not go beyond 8.C. , usually not even that far. Ends at 9.9 or 9.8 or somewhere in Power On Sequence.

If I hold the power button in it usually goes to 9.8. If I hit it quickly I get to 9.9 immediatly. I've reset the CMOS several times w/o the battery & the 24 pin power connected with no noticible gains.

?'s ->
Do the peripheral cables coming from the power supply have any effect on posting?
If the board grounding is shorted or screws are in wrong can that effect the post?
Will having the IDE cable plugged in to the mother board but not the HD or DVD give errors?
Has USB / Firewire connections ever influenced power up problems?

Thanks all... just plain stumped and ticked