Member Avatar for notuserfriendly

Please, i really need some help with it.
i bought athlon xp 64 san diego 3700+, asus A8N VM{CSM}
xclio 450w sli powersupply , kingston 512ram and a samsung 18x dvd drive
the only thing i did not buy new was the HDD because i had an old Mactor 40Gb laying around. i set up every thing smoothly as always and when i tried to boot the Asus logo boot screen would just stay there and the pc would not boot, i also tried booting with a windows xp cd on the drive but it woldnt boot at all
i checked the bios settings and it recognized EVERYTHING , but it just wouldnt boot. Later i enetred in the bios again and just exited my way out of it without changing anything and i saw a blue screen for like 0.5 seconds but since i have good reflexes , i saw the blue screen and i saw some 000 some xxxxxx and some numbers.
wel then later i tried to use my main HDD from my main Tower which is nicley configured and the pc booted up but after a long time
.
so here are my questions
What is the problem/.?
Is it the MB?
OR is it the HDD.
im having a new HDD being shipped so im hopping that the HDD is the problem , and if its not im stuck and do not know what to do.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

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Dani AI

Generated

As noted, public threads are the right place for this. Building on 's correct point about driver/OS mismatches, here is a compact, ordered troubleshooting plan that isolates hardware POST problems from OS/drive issues. Make only one change at a time and record what changes each test produces.

  1. Minimum configuration: motherboard, CPU + cooler, one RAM stick (in the recommended slot), video (if needed), PSU, and the power switch/header. Remove all HDDs, extra optical drives, cards and USB devices. Power on and watch for fan spin, POST beeps, and any POST messages on screen.
  2. Power and front-panel check: confirm both main ATX and CPU 4/8‑pin power plugs are seated. Verify the case power switch/wiring by shorting the two power pins briefly with a screwdriver (power off first).
  3. RAM and seating: try a single known-good stick in each slot, one at a time. Reseat CPU cooler and check for bent pins (if applicable).
  4. CMOS/BIOS: clear CMOS, boot to BIOS, load optimized defaults. If accessible, disable the vendor splash/logo so POST text appears. Do not flash BIOS unless a confirmed compatibility issue exists and a supported procedure from the vendor is followed — improper flashing can brick the board.
  5. Boot media check: confirm the install CD is actually bootable by testing it in another machine. For older Windows XP installs on newer controllers, be prepared to supply SATA drivers during setup (F6) or set SATA mode to Compatibility/IDE in BIOS while installing.
  6. Power/short diagnosis: if nothing posts but fans spin, test with a different known-good PSU and try the board outside the case to rule out a short from standoffs.

Interpretation hints: no spin/no LEDs = power/connector issue; fans but no POST/beeps = RAM/CPU/mobo problem; BIOS visible but no boot from CD = boot media/cable/jumper or SATA driver issue; brief blue screen when an old HDD is left connected = expected OS/driver mismatch — plan a repair or clean install on a new disk.

If the minimal-config tests still fail, the likely culprits in order are PSU, RAM, motherboard, then CPU; swap in known-good parts where possible before RMA.

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Member Avatar for 'Stein

Please do not, ever PM me asking to look at your thread.

Member Avatar for jbennet

yeah, thats really not cool, man.

Member Avatar for notuserfriendly

ok... im in desperate need for help and i really need an answer fast and i was looking in the forums who is good at tech that why i pm a mod
i didnt know that wasnt cool

Member Avatar for dcc

It's true that you shouldn't PM the mods with "frivolous" messages, but if they have the time to post a public rebuke they should also have the time to respond to your question in the forum.

When you take a hdd that has been used with another motherboard there are drivers that it is used to seeing, and when you install it with another motherboard it tries to recognize the new drivers from that board, this confuses the hell out of it. Sometimes the hdd can recover from this, other times it can damage the registry.

commented: helped me +1
Member Avatar for notuserfriendly

yes but the thing is i didnt even boot up
i directly placed the new windows xp installation cd to reinstall the os because i knew what would happen witht he old HDD
thank you for taking the time to respond not like those other people[doc]

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