Need help with Fire Dragon

In article <VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com>, bmartin84
@prodigy.net says...
 > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it carefully
 > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated the AGP
 > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power it up
 > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal. I tried
 > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4 certified.
 > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are hooked up
 > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I have no
 > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure how to
 > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating washers
 > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that prevents the
 > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is there
 > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer because I
 > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.

Take the motherboard out of the case and lay it on a nonconductive
surface like a board then try booting it from there. Also, there is no
need to put washers between the standoffs and MB, just make sure there
are no standoffs that do not line up with a mounting hole and screw.

Doug<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Did you connect both the ATX power connector and the square four pin power
connector from the power supply to the motherboard? Also if you power supply
has the inline six pin power connector did you plug this one to the
motherboard as well? Also which P-4 2.0 gig cpu did you get. The Fire Dragon
only uses the 100 Mhz P-4's and the 2.0 gig cpu comes in both 100 Mhz and
133 Mhz. I have seen people buy the wrong cpu for this board. Just how many
beeps do you hear? As to your power supply what brand is it? If it's a high
quality supply like Antec the 350 watts will be ok but if its a no name
cheapy then you may want to consider buying a better one.

I had one of these boards when they first came out and it was an excellent
motherboard. Ran it with four hard drives and four optical drives using all
onboard features with a 350 watt Antec True Power supply. My only caution
with the board is Mighty Bolt it works great but caution must be used during
setup.

Jim
"BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
 > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it carefully
 > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated the AGP
 > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power it up
 > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal. I
tried
 > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
certified.
 > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are hooked up
 > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I have no
 > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure how
to
 > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating washers
 > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that prevents
the
 > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is there
 > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer because I
 > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
 >
 > Thanks,
 >
 > BLM
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Try a different video card. I have lots installs where the video card and
motherboard are incompatible, right out of the box. If you can, try to use a
pci card.
Joe
"Doug G." <dougng.DeleteThis@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.19870f039ee0210a989db9@news.newsguy.com...
 > In article <VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com>, bmartin84
 > @prodigy.net says...
  > > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it carefully
  > > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated the
AGP
  > > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power it up
  > > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal. I
tried
  > > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
certified.
  > > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are hooked up
  > > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I have
no
  > > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure how
to
  > > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating
washers
  > > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that prevents
the
  > > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is
there
  > > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer because
I
  > > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
 >
 > Take the motherboard out of the case and lay it on a nonconductive
 > surface like a board then try booting it from there. Also, there is no
 > need to put washers between the standoffs and MB, just make sure there
 > are no standoffs that do not line up with a mounting hole and screw.
 >
 > Doug<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Let's see if I can answer all your questions.

1. System configuration:
Soyo Sy-P4I Fire Dragon
Intel P4 2A GHZ System bus 400 MHz 512KB L2 cache (BX8053PC2000DSL5ZT)
PowMax LP-6100X ATX 350W PS
(3) Case fans
(2) Maxtor 60 GB hard drives on IDE 3 and 4 (for RAID 0 eventually)
(1) Maxtor 40 GB HD on IDE 1
(1) CDRW and (1) DVD drive on IDE 2
Asylum GeForce4 TI4200 128MB AGP video card
(2) 256 MB PNY DDR266
Round cables are used for all drive connections. The fire wire/usb
break out box that came with the MB is installed in the case. I have a
question with the orientation of the cable connection to the 5 pin fire wire
connector on the MB though. The manual doesn't give a pin out for the fire
wire connector. I'm concerned because I heard if you install it backwards
it can fry a DV camcorder.

2. Yes, the 20 pin, 6 pin and 4 pin power connectors are attached to the
MB. They only clip in one way so I assume it is correct.

3. I did try a PCI video card but got the same result...no video signal but
all the peripherals seemed to power up.

4. Don't know about the 100 vs 133 MHz CPU type. The CPU came with the MB
as a package deal.

5. I don't get the beeps anymore now that I reseated the video card and
memory chips.

6. I believe I only installed the brass standoffs for the places I was
going to add the screws to attach the MB to the case.

The case's front panel power button seems to be acting up now. Last weekend
I could hold down the power switch and after a few seconds the system would
shut down. Now it shuts down but restarts as soon as I release the power
button. The switch on the power supply works fine. I'm assuming the power
button may be malfunctioning now.

Thanks,

BLM
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

It could be a weak power supply. I would first remove the two hard drives on
IDE 3 & 4 and one of the optical drive. Then remove the motherboard from the
case and try booting it up on a non conductive surface. I can't remember if
this board had any problems with the TI4200 I know the first one's had
problems with the ATI 9700's. As for the 5 pin wire for the fire wire, I
know I had to do some digging for that information to get mine hooked up as
well. But the information was out there I got it working on my board. I will
try finding that again. The next big question is where did you buy the combo
package from? I hope it wasn't from Fry's.

Jim
"BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:CXpTa.1816$HG.979@newssvr32.news.prodigy.com...
 > Let's see if I can answer all your questions.
 >
 > 1. System configuration:
 > Soyo Sy-P4I Fire Dragon
 > Intel P4 2A GHZ System bus 400 MHz 512KB L2 cache (BX8053PC2000DSL5ZT)
 > PowMax LP-6100X ATX 350W PS
 > (3) Case fans
 > (2) Maxtor 60 GB hard drives on IDE 3 and 4 (for RAID 0 eventually)
 > (1) Maxtor 40 GB HD on IDE 1
 > (1) CDRW and (1) DVD drive on IDE 2
 > Asylum GeForce4 TI4200 128MB AGP video card
 > (2) 256 MB PNY DDR266
 > Round cables are used for all drive connections. The fire wire/usb
 > break out box that came with the MB is installed in the case. I have a
 > question with the orientation of the cable connection to the 5 pin fire
wire
 > connector on the MB though. The manual doesn't give a pin out for the
fire
 > wire connector. I'm concerned because I heard if you install it backwards
 > it can fry a DV camcorder.
 >
 > 2. Yes, the 20 pin, 6 pin and 4 pin power connectors are attached to the
 > MB. They only clip in one way so I assume it is correct.
 >
 > 3. I did try a PCI video card but got the same result...no video signal
but
 > all the peripherals seemed to power up.
 >
 > 4. Don't know about the 100 vs 133 MHz CPU type. The CPU came with the
MB
 > as a package deal.
 >
 > 5. I don't get the beeps anymore now that I reseated the video card and
 > memory chips.
 >
 > 6. I believe I only installed the brass standoffs for the places I was
 > going to add the screws to attach the MB to the case.
 >
 > The case's front panel power button seems to be acting up now. Last
weekend
 > I could hold down the power switch and after a few seconds the system
would
 > shut down. Now it shuts down but restarts as soon as I release the power
 > button. The switch on the power supply works fine. I'm assuming the
power
 > button may be malfunctioning now.
 >
 > Thanks,
 >
 > BLM
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Jim,

BINGO!! I bought the combo from Fry's in San Diego.

BLM
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Then thats most likely your problem. If you could go back a in this group
you would find many complaints about motherboards from Fry's. Some reported
them as reselling boards that were brought back because they didn't work.
I'm sure glad there not in my area. My next suggestion isn't a pretty one
for you since you can't take the combo back to them. But the board is still
under warrenty so I would contact Soyo support for an RMA on the board. Also
I would try to find someone that can test the cpu for you. I have no doubt
the cpu is an OEM cpu and not a Retail Box cpu so it doesn't come with the
three year warrenty on that. Final suggestion is to stay clear of Fry's.

Jim
"BigSky" <bmartin84.DeleteThis@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:P_KTa.1937$fk2.1688@newssvr32.news.prodigy.com...
 > Jim,
 >
 > BINGO!! I bought the combo from Fry's in San Diego.
 >
 > BLM
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Jim,

Concur about Frys. Never again. The CPU was in an Intel retail box
complete with the Intel fan. I've never worked with their customer service
for return of a CPU. That should be fun..."hey, did you try a different
CPU?"

Below is what I got from Soyo:

BLM

- If No beep, and no POST this means the CPU, and the board are not
transferring any signal codes. In this case follow these steps:

- Try first to remove all unrelated hardware from the computer such as HDD,
FDD, etc...., only leave the CPU, CPU FAN, Chassis speaker, and the ATX
power plug and the power on/off switch(PWRBT).

- For P4 users in addition to the mentioned diagnostics make sure that your
power supply is P4 Certified, which contains both the main ATX (20 Pin), and
the 12V(4 Pin Square) connectors. Please be sure that you have connected the
extra 4 pin (12v) and the 6 pin Aux power connetors on the M/B.

- Try to clear the CMOS via JP5 (make sure power is removed from the board)
, move jumper cap from pins 1-2 to pins 2-3 and let it sit there for about
10 seconds, after that move the cap back to it's original place(pins 1-2).
Then try turning the system ON again and check for beep.

- If there is still no beeps. Please try clearing again the CMOS (JP5). This
time, when you power-on the system press the INSERT & DEL keys at the same
time & see if the system would enter the BIOS setup. If yes, LOAD FAIL-SAFE
DEFAULT settings in the BIOS setup then save & exit setup.

- Check also if the CPU fan is spinning when power is applied, if not,
there's no power coming in to the M/B. The power supply might be defective.
Test your power supply on a different machine, or try a different power
supply on this machine. This will determine if the power supply is good or
bad.

- If problem still persists. Pull the board out from the case and isolate it
on a flat non-conductive surface (wood or plastic). And try the previous
steps that I have given you.

- If the above mentioned steps fail, please try a different processor. it is
very much possible that your processor, is defective, or damaged during
installation

Note: Theres no need to purchase additional components. You can just borrow
from a friend to test it on this M/B.

- And also, try to use this P4IY Sigma Box manual. You can refer to this
manual for moreinfo on how to connect the Sigma Box.

Please e-mail me back the result.

Thank You! Have a Nice Day!
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

OK. A thousand apologies. I'm a bit embarassed with what I have to report.
Despite verifying the CMOS jumper numerous times, I discovered I had the
jumper on the wrong pins. Once I moved it, the computer would boot. I sure
feel dumb. Anyway, this weekend I'll be installing Win98 followed by XP
Home upgrade.

Since you can't have good news without bad news, the front power switch is
acting up already. When I depress and hold it to turn the CPU off, I
noticed that as soon as I took my finger away, the system would power back
up. I have to use the power switch now to shut the computer offf.

Thanks.

BLM

"BigSky" <bmartin84.DeleteThis@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
 > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it carefully
 > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated the AGP
 > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power it up
 > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal. I
tried
 > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
certified.
 > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are hooked up
 > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I have no
 > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure how
to
 > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating washers
 > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that prevents
the
 > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is there
 > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer because I
 > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
 >
 > Thanks,
 >
 > BLM
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Once you get an operating system on the computer you will be shutting down
the computer through windows and you will only be using the power switch to
turn on the computer. You can look in the BIOS there is a setting for power
failures it may be set to return to previous state after power failure this
would turn it back on when your holdinig the power switch to shut it down.
Since after all without an operating system it has no way to tell if thats
what happend.

Glad to hear it was something simple as the CMOS jumper.

I don't have any experiance with the WinXP upgrade disk but if it's like
previous update disks you can just put that in for installation of the
operating system. If this is the case during the installation it will just
ask you to insert you copy of Win98 for validating that you have a licensed
copy to update from. I use WinXP on all of my computers for myself and other
customers but I use full versions of WinXP Pro. If it doesn't work that way
I would just install Win98 then go directly to the WinXP disk. Do not
install any of the Win98 drivers before installing WinXP. The only exception
to this would be if your going to use RAID or place the operating system on
a hard drive operating off the HPT controller (IDE 3 & 4) because you will
either have to load the drivers for the Highpoint controller after Win98
installation or load them off a floppy disk during WinXP setup.

Jim
"BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:0upUa.6602$Uf1.3659@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
 > OK. A thousand apologies. I'm a bit embarassed with what I have to
report.
 > Despite verifying the CMOS jumper numerous times, I discovered I had the
 > jumper on the wrong pins. Once I moved it, the computer would boot. I
sure
 > feel dumb. Anyway, this weekend I'll be installing Win98 followed by XP
 > Home upgrade.
 >
 > Since you can't have good news without bad news, the front power switch is
 > acting up already. When I depress and hold it to turn the CPU off, I
 > noticed that as soon as I took my finger away, the system would power back
 > up. I have to use the power switch now to shut the computer offf.
 >
 > Thanks.
 >
 > BLM
 >
 > "BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
 > news:VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
  > > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it carefully
  > > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated the
AGP
  > > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power it up
  > > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal. I
 > tried
  > > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
 > certified.
  > > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are hooked up
  > > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I have
no
  > > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure how
 > to
  > > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating
washers
  > > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that prevents
 > the
  > > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is
there
  > > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer because
I
  > > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
  > >
  > > Thanks,
  > >
  > > BLM
  > >
  > >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Jim,

I spoke too soon. Today I decided to get the ball rolling. I got into the
BIOS and started adjusting a few settings like date and time plus just
looking around at the various settings. The system would freeze and not
accept any keyboard output. I did a warm and cold boot but could no longer
get a video signal. I shut off the computer, removed the power board, reset
the CMOS and was able to boot again. Again it froze after a few minutes
with the BIOS screen up. Warm and cold reboots didn't work. I turned it
off, removed and replaced the power cord, and I could boot again. Once
again it froze so I turned it off and let it sit for 30 minutes and was able
to boot then. Feeling lucky, I tried to go ahead with the WinXP install. I
got about 10 minutes into the install (15% transfer of start up files) and
the system froze.

I've scoured every review of this board. The only thing that remotely
resembled this hang up was mucking with the CPU voltage settings. Mine is
set to default. I'm assuming it is correctly identifying my 2.0GHz cpu but
I don't know what Intel's settings are for this cpu. What the heck is going
on? Is this a bad motherboard, mismatched or bad RAM, bad hardware
monitoring in the BIOS, or a bad cpu? I'm ready to punt.

Thanks,

BLM
"Jim Burghdoff" <jburghdoff DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:vi50s4t3roaic8@corp.supernews.com...
 > Once you get an operating system on the computer you will be shutting down
 > the computer through windows and you will only be using the power switch
to
 > turn on the computer. You can look in the BIOS there is a setting for
power
 > failures it may be set to return to previous state after power failure
this
 > would turn it back on when your holdinig the power switch to shut it down.
 > Since after all without an operating system it has no way to tell if thats
 > what happend.
 >
 > Glad to hear it was something simple as the CMOS jumper.
 >
 > I don't have any experiance with the WinXP upgrade disk but if it's like
 > previous update disks you can just put that in for installation of the
 > operating system. If this is the case during the installation it will just
 > ask you to insert you copy of Win98 for validating that you have a
licensed
 > copy to update from. I use WinXP on all of my computers for myself and
other
 > customers but I use full versions of WinXP Pro. If it doesn't work that
way
 > I would just install Win98 then go directly to the WinXP disk. Do not
 > install any of the Win98 drivers before installing WinXP. The only
exception
 > to this would be if your going to use RAID or place the operating system
on
 > a hard drive operating off the HPT controller (IDE 3 & 4) because you will
 > either have to load the drivers for the Highpoint controller after Win98
 > installation or load them off a floppy disk during WinXP setup.
 >
 > Jim
 > "BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
 > news:0upUa.6602$Uf1.3659@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
  > > OK. A thousand apologies. I'm a bit embarassed with what I have to
 > report.
  > > Despite verifying the CMOS jumper numerous times, I discovered I had the
  > > jumper on the wrong pins. Once I moved it, the computer would boot. I
 > sure
  > > feel dumb. Anyway, this weekend I'll be installing Win98 followed by XP
  > > Home upgrade.
  > >
  > > Since you can't have good news without bad news, the front power switch
is
  > > acting up already. When I depress and hold it to turn the CPU off, I
  > > noticed that as soon as I took my finger away, the system would power
back
  > > up. I have to use the power switch now to shut the computer offf.
  > >
  > > Thanks.
  > >
  > > BLM
  > >
  > > "BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
  > > news:VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
   > > > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it
carefully
   > > > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated the
 > AGP
   > > > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power it
up
   > > > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal. I
  > > tried
   > > > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
  > > certified.
   > > > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are hooked
up
   > > > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I have
 > no
   > > > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure
how
  > > to
   > > > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating
 > washers
   > > > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that
prevents
  > > the
   > > > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is
 > there
   > > > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer
because
 > I
   > > > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
   > > >
   > > > Thanks,
   > > >
   > > > BLM
   > > >
   > > >
  > >
  > >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Well to determine the CPU speed just turn on the power and watch the boot
up. It lists the cpu right on the screen and it should list yours as 2.0
running at 100Mhz if its below that its a P-4 2.0B or your front side bus is
set below 100. As for the manual settings for the cpu on this board the only
setting that can be changed for the cpu is the Front Side Bus speed and that
for this board should be set at 100 Mhz anything above that is overclocking
the cpu. First thing I would do with your configuration is to remove one
stick of the memory and give that a try. PNY memory isn't really that great
of memory and all Soyo boards seem to require high quality memory. One more
thing you should check and that's your video card. Check to see that your
video card is AGP4X compatible. A few of the 128mb TI4200 cards are strictly
AGP8X cards and they will not work on the Fire Dragon, you must have a AGP
4X compatible card.

Jim
"BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:XsKUa.577$e%1.17@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
 > Jim,
 >
 > I spoke too soon. Today I decided to get the ball rolling. I got into
the
 > BIOS and started adjusting a few settings like date and time plus just
 > looking around at the various settings. The system would freeze and not
 > accept any keyboard output. I did a warm and cold boot but could no
longer
 > get a video signal. I shut off the computer, removed the power board,
reset
 > the CMOS and was able to boot again. Again it froze after a few minutes
 > with the BIOS screen up. Warm and cold reboots didn't work. I turned it
 > off, removed and replaced the power cord, and I could boot again. Once
 > again it froze so I turned it off and let it sit for 30 minutes and was
able
 > to boot then. Feeling lucky, I tried to go ahead with the WinXP install.
I
 > got about 10 minutes into the install (15% transfer of start up files) and
 > the system froze.
 >
 > I've scoured every review of this board. The only thing that remotely
 > resembled this hang up was mucking with the CPU voltage settings. Mine is
 > set to default. I'm assuming it is correctly identifying my 2.0GHz cpu
but
 > I don't know what Intel's settings are for this cpu. What the heck is
going
 > on? Is this a bad motherboard, mismatched or bad RAM, bad hardware
 > monitoring in the BIOS, or a bad cpu? I'm ready to punt.
 >
 > Thanks,
 >
 > BLM
 > "Jim Burghdoff" <jburghdoff DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
 > news:vi50s4t3roaic8@corp.supernews.com...
  > > Once you get an operating system on the computer you will be shutting
down
  > > the computer through windows and you will only be using the power switch
 > to
  > > turn on the computer. You can look in the BIOS there is a setting for
 > power
  > > failures it may be set to return to previous state after power failure
 > this
  > > would turn it back on when your holdinig the power switch to shut it
down.
  > > Since after all without an operating system it has no way to tell if
thats
  > > what happend.
  > >
  > > Glad to hear it was something simple as the CMOS jumper.
  > >
  > > I don't have any experiance with the WinXP upgrade disk but if it's like
  > > previous update disks you can just put that in for installation of the
  > > operating system. If this is the case during the installation it will
just
  > > ask you to insert you copy of Win98 for validating that you have a
 > licensed
  > > copy to update from. I use WinXP on all of my computers for myself and
 > other
  > > customers but I use full versions of WinXP Pro. If it doesn't work that
 > way
  > > I would just install Win98 then go directly to the WinXP disk. Do not
  > > install any of the Win98 drivers before installing WinXP. The only
 > exception
  > > to this would be if your going to use RAID or place the operating system
 > on
  > > a hard drive operating off the HPT controller (IDE 3 & 4) because you
will
  > > either have to load the drivers for the Highpoint controller after Win98
  > > installation or load them off a floppy disk during WinXP setup.
  > >
  > > Jim
  > > "BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
  > > news:0upUa.6602$Uf1.3659@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
   > > > OK. A thousand apologies. I'm a bit embarassed with what I have to
  > > report.
   > > > Despite verifying the CMOS jumper numerous times, I discovered I had
the
   > > > jumper on the wrong pins. Once I moved it, the computer would boot.
I
  > > sure
   > > > feel dumb. Anyway, this weekend I'll be installing Win98 followed by
XP
   > > > Home upgrade.
   > > >
   > > > Since you can't have good news without bad news, the front power
switch
 > is
   > > > acting up already. When I depress and hold it to turn the CPU off, I
   > > > noticed that as soon as I took my finger away, the system would power
 > back
   > > > up. I have to use the power switch now to shut the computer offf.
   > > >
   > > > Thanks.
   > > >
   > > > BLM
   > > >
   > > > "BigSky" <bmartin84 DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
   > > > news:VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
   > > > > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it
 > carefully
   > > > > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated
the
  > > AGP
   > > > > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power
it
 > up
   > > > > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video signal.
I
   > > > tried
   > > > > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
   > > > certified.
   > > > > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are
hooked
 > up
   > > > > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I
have
  > > no
   > > > > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not sure
 > how
   > > > to
   > > > > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating
  > > washers
   > > > > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that
 > prevents
   > > > the
   > > > > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB. Is
  > > there
   > > > > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer
 > because
  > > I
   > > > > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
   > > > >
   > > > > Thanks,
   > > > >
   > > > > BLM
   > > > >
   > > > >
   > > >
   > > >
  > >
  > >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon 

Jim,

I made some progress today. I had installed a 256MB DDR from Crucial and
from PNY. When both were installed, I got the intermittent boot problems
described before. I decided to empty SIMM2 and swap the chips in SIMM1 to
see if the PNY memory was the problem. Well...the system would not boot
with either chip (no video signal either). I tried the PNY chip in SIMM2
and voila the system booted. I even managed to get WIN XP installed.
Sooooo....does this mean I may have a bad SIMM slot?

The WIN XP install went very well except for one BIG problem. It won't
recognize the 2 hard drives I have on the RAID controller. I have the
controller enabled in the BIOS. On boot up I "think" I see a quick mention
of these devices. I installed the RAID controller software. When WIN XP
boots up, I get a small dialog box saying the "device controller" could not
be found. I assume it is refering to the RAID/EIDE 3&4 controller. When I
run Explorer, I cannot see those two drives. The RAID software doesn't see
them either. Any ideas?

Thanks for your help. It looks to me like my MB may be partially defective.
I certainly appreciate your help.

BLM
"Jim Burghdoff" <jburghdoff RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:vi7lgenqop8b73@corp.supernews.com...
 > Well to determine the CPU speed just turn on the power and watch the boot
 > up. It lists the cpu right on the screen and it should list yours as 2.0
 > running at 100Mhz if its below that its a P-4 2.0B or your front side bus
is
 > set below 100. As for the manual settings for the cpu on this board the
only
 > setting that can be changed for the cpu is the Front Side Bus speed and
that
 > for this board should be set at 100 Mhz anything above that is
overclocking
 > the cpu. First thing I would do with your configuration is to remove one
 > stick of the memory and give that a try. PNY memory isn't really that
great
 > of memory and all Soyo boards seem to require high quality memory. One
more
 > thing you should check and that's your video card. Check to see that your
 > video card is AGP4X compatible. A few of the 128mb TI4200 cards are
strictly
 > AGP8X cards and they will not work on the Fire Dragon, you must have a AGP
 > 4X compatible card.
 >
 > Jim
 > "BigSky" <bmartin84 RemoveThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
 > news:XsKUa.577$e%1.17@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
  > > Jim,
  > >
  > > I spoke too soon. Today I decided to get the ball rolling. I got into
 > the
  > > BIOS and started adjusting a few settings like date and time plus just
  > > looking around at the various settings. The system would freeze and not
  > > accept any keyboard output. I did a warm and cold boot but could no
 > longer
  > > get a video signal. I shut off the computer, removed the power board,
 > reset
  > > the CMOS and was able to boot again. Again it froze after a few minutes
  > > with the BIOS screen up. Warm and cold reboots didn't work. I turned
it
  > > off, removed and replaced the power cord, and I could boot again. Once
  > > again it froze so I turned it off and let it sit for 30 minutes and was
 > able
  > > to boot then. Feeling lucky, I tried to go ahead with the WinXP
install.
 > I
  > > got about 10 minutes into the install (15% transfer of start up files)
and
  > > the system froze.
  > >
  > > I've scoured every review of this board. The only thing that remotely
  > > resembled this hang up was mucking with the CPU voltage settings. Mine
is
  > > set to default. I'm assuming it is correctly identifying my 2.0GHz cpu
 > but
  > > I don't know what Intel's settings are for this cpu. What the heck is
 > going
  > > on? Is this a bad motherboard, mismatched or bad RAM, bad hardware
  > > monitoring in the BIOS, or a bad cpu? I'm ready to punt.
  > >
  > > Thanks,
  > >
  > > BLM
  > > "Jim Burghdoff" <jburghdoff RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
  > > news:vi50s4t3roaic8@corp.supernews.com...
   > > > Once you get an operating system on the computer you will be shutting
 > down
   > > > the computer through windows and you will only be using the power
switch
  > > to
   > > > turn on the computer. You can look in the BIOS there is a setting for
  > > power
   > > > failures it may be set to return to previous state after power failure
  > > this
   > > > would turn it back on when your holdinig the power switch to shut it
 > down.
   > > > Since after all without an operating system it has no way to tell if
 > thats
   > > > what happend.
   > > >
   > > > Glad to hear it was something simple as the CMOS jumper.
   > > >
   > > > I don't have any experiance with the WinXP upgrade disk but if it's
like
   > > > previous update disks you can just put that in for installation of the
   > > > operating system. If this is the case during the installation it will
 > just
   > > > ask you to insert you copy of Win98 for validating that you have a
  > > licensed
   > > > copy to update from. I use WinXP on all of my computers for myself and
  > > other
   > > > customers but I use full versions of WinXP Pro. If it doesn't work
that
  > > way
   > > > I would just install Win98 then go directly to the WinXP disk. Do not
   > > > install any of the Win98 drivers before installing WinXP. The only
  > > exception
   > > > to this would be if your going to use RAID or place the operating
system
  > > on
   > > > a hard drive operating off the HPT controller (IDE 3 & 4) because you
 > will
   > > > either have to load the drivers for the Highpoint controller after
Win98
   > > > installation or load them off a floppy disk during WinXP setup.
   > > >
   > > > Jim
   > > > "BigSky" <bmartin84 RemoveThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
   > > > news:0upUa.6602$Uf1.3659@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
   > > > > OK. A thousand apologies. I'm a bit embarassed with what I have to
   > > > report.
   > > > > Despite verifying the CMOS jumper numerous times, I discovered I had
 > the
   > > > > jumper on the wrong pins. Once I moved it, the computer would boot.
 > I
   > > > sure
   > > > > feel dumb. Anyway, this weekend I'll be installing Win98 followed
by
 > XP
   > > > > Home upgrade.
   > > > >
   > > > > Since you can't have good news without bad news, the front power
 > switch
  > > is
   > > > > acting up already. When I depress and hold it to turn the CPU off,
I
   > > > > noticed that as soon as I took my finger away, the system would
power
  > > back
   > > > > up. I have to use the power switch now to shut the computer offf.
   > > > >
   > > > > Thanks.
   > > > >
   > > > > BLM
   > > > >
   > > > > "BigSky" <bmartin84 RemoveThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
   > > > > news:VX4Ta.5816$Un1.2384@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
   > > > > > I'm at wits end with my "dream system." I finished putting it
  > > carefully
   > > > > > together. When I turned it on I got a bunch of beeps. I reseated
 > the
   > > > AGP
   > > > > > video card and memory which eliminated that problem. When I power
 > it
  > > up
   > > > > > now, all the fans and drives come on but there is now video
signal.
 > I
   > > > > tried
   > > > > > a PCI video card with the same result. The PS is 350W and is P4
   > > > > certified.
   > > > > > I assume the Intel P4 2.0 is OK. All the power connectors are
 > hooked
  > > up
   > > > > > properly. I cleared the bios. Since I don't have a spare CPU, I
 > have
   > > > no
   > > > > > way to check if the CPU is bad. I have a multimeter but am not
sure
  > > how
   > > > > to
   > > > > > verify if the MB is shorted to the case. I did use the insulating
   > > > washers
   > > > > > under the heads of the mounting screws but I'm not sure if that
  > > prevents
   > > > > the
   > > > > > shaft of the screw from contacting the silver hole in the MB.
Is
   > > > there
   > > > > > anything I can try? I can't take this stuff back to the dealer
  > > because
   > > > I
   > > > > > bought it right before I headed to Kuwait for 6 months. Lucky me.
   > > > > >
   > > > > > Thanks,
   > > > > >
   > > > > > BLM
   > > > > >
   > > > > >
   > > > >
   > > > >
   > > >
   > > >
  > >
  > >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Need help with Fire Dragon