PC problem (non work)

[gibbo_ap]

I have built a new system for a friend, nice high ish spec comp,

 

after building it, it powered on first time, hit POST, BIOS image, then all i get is a blinking underscore in the top corner... thats it

 

have tried 3 different optical drives 2 different hdds (one sata one ide)

2 different copies of windows (one xp sp2 one vista)

 

any ideas...i know its not work but i have to go round tonight and im stumped

 

cheers

[CESIL]

Do you see all the POST info or just an image?

 

There is usually an option to display the full POST data which may help with diagnosis

[richard.thomas]

Similar thing happened to me when i built my PC... Can't remember exactly what I did. Have you tried clearing the CMOS? Normally you have to connect two pins together- Although some of the newer boards have buttons I'm led to believe!

[gibbo_ap]

i didnt try that though its already on my list for tonight, i tried loads of things it was getting embarrasing lol

 

any more ideas ppl

[gwendes]

Try an out of case test. I had a similar problem and there was a problem with the mounting points on the board - had me sweating for hours.

 

Could be a corrupt BIOS though - try clearing or reflash if you can. Otherwise a trip back to the shop

[Michael]

As well as the boot sequence, which should typically be CD-ROM > HDD, I'd check any settings relating to RAID and disable them.

 

I had a similar problem a few years ago. It sounds to me the computer is POSTing ok from what you describe, otherwise you wouldn't even get a blinking underscore.

 

Sometimes you can also specify in the BIOS (as an additional setting) where to boot from primarily between IDE and SATA, as of course you can have hard drives in either format.