Blasted Computers...

[Tifa Glace]

Geh... Well, I bought all the parts to a pc about 2 months ago, and since then, I couldn't get it running c.c; I've figured out that they sent me a bad motherboard and bad ram.. however when I look at their return policy it says that they will take defective returns, however it doesnt say the address to ship it to... *mumbles to self* When I called them they told me where, but said that my motherboard and ram didn't qualify as "defective returns" ><!

Never again am I shopping online, though it seem's I'll have to (This is what I get for straying from my mac.. Although I kinda "had" to get the pc too.. @_@)
Since it seems that I'll have to anyways (seeing as how no actual stores here sell those items) does anyone know of any good online computer stores that sell XFX motherboards for AMD processors, and DDR Ram?

Sorry everyone ^^; Any help would be greatly appreciated

[AntiProgress]

I just go to www.newegg.com for all of my stuff.  I know quite a few people who make their living off of building computers for people and they get all their stuff there also.  I don't think they've ever sent me or one of my friends a bad piece of hardware ^^

[Tifa Glace]

*See's that they have the same motherboard an ram* THANK YOU! ;_; You have changed my life dramatically! .. .. sorta. ^_^;

[drwoobie]

I have had many dealings with Newegg and can recommend them 100%.
I've used all of their shipping auctions and been satisfied with every transaction.

[TUCK]

I haven't heard of Newegg, but sounds like other's have. I usually hit up my local Fry's Electronics.

What interests me is that the company, without inspecting the motherboard, told you that it wasn't defective. I would make them prove that it wasn't defective. I bet they will gladly ship you a new one with haste instead of having to find out they f-ed up. I can understand them saying a few lines are being recalled, but if the product they shipped you doesn't work, they need to fix that.

[Chris P]

I either go to work (where i will soon be having a new system from) or go to www.ebuyer.com  Their UK service is fantastic. I have no idea what its like state side though sorry

[Tifa Glace]

Lol, I'm thinking of calling them again.. or maybe just randomly ship it back with a note that says they screwed up x.o

Bad thing is that it had a rebate on it too that I sent off for.. So that could possibly make them "not want it"

Now that I'm thinking about my computer again though... I really wonder if it IS the motherboard and the ram.. I've never had the problems that I'm having now x.o and all my "smart" computer friends say "ram. motherboard. send them back".. I agree it could be the ram but I dunno about the motherboard @_@ Either way I'm willing to try returning both >>

[TUCK]

...and all my "smart" computer friends say "ram. motherboard. send them back".. I agree it could be the ram but I dunno about the motherboard @_@ Either way I'm willing to try returning both >>

Ram is cheap, just run out and buy the cheapest thing that will work in your board. Plug it all in, and see if it comes up. Remember to just start up using the board, RAM, and the video card. Don't plug in anything else on the first run. Once you got the BIOS to load, you can shut down, add hardware and continue setting up stuff.

If the BIOS don't come up, and the RAM is bad, it'll beep at you. Actually, is it beeping at you now when you turn it on? The board diagnostic should be working and alerting you to what the problem is on boot-up.

[Tifa Glace]

When I first install windows on it, it'll work fine, however after my first restart or two before windows boots up it'll give me an error..

Here's the Error:
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

@_@ then it wont boot up again, unless I can get it to boot from the cd and reinstall windows again...

Then everything above just repeats itself over and over ><

I kinda think it could be the ram.. but I keep getting totally different answers from everyone I talk to and nothing seems to work..

---
^^; And I'm actually looking for a certian type of ram.. because If it really is the ram then I wanna buy the good ram and then put the old in the package (but it'll be the exact same ram) and tell them they gave me bad and I want my money back ^^;; I really want nothing to do with the company that I originally bought it from ><


[Edit]
Actually, on the beeping, when I first got it to startup, it would beep... Like, "Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!" and I read the book for beepcodes an all but it didn't say anything and neither did the internet ><! Since that one time though it hasn't done anything.

[TUCK]

The ol'swap-n-return! Good for RAM, CD-Burners, DVDs, and mayn other boxed items. *ahem* I wouldn't know anything about that. *ahem*

So it sounds like an overheating problem to me. Possibly the RAM is f-ed too, but the compination of them would cuase havoc with great ease. I had a Celeron on a board once that would get very very hot. If there was not enough cooling, I would get similar error messages and strange activity. Even with the right cooling, I would get strange heap errors. I did lots of research on Microsoft and found very few answers. I started switching RAM chips around and figure out that a combination of RAM chips that I had didn't like working with each other.

Maybe make sure all your fans are securely seated and working properly. Then change out the RAM as you were planning on. Also, if you have a good board, the BIOS should have a few temp monitors that you can check.

[C1utCh]

mine will beep if the processor gets to hot, or if I tried to up the multipliers or fsb too much, all that means is I have to reset the CMOS chip, and try again.

[Tifa Glace]

So it sounds like an overheating problem to me. Possibly the RAM is f-ed too, but the compination of them would cuase havoc with great ease. I had a Celeron on a board once that would get very very hot. If there was not enough cooling, I would get similar error messages and strange activity. Even with the right cooling, I would get strange heap errors. I did lots of research on Microsoft and found very few answers. I started switching RAM chips around and figure out that a combination of RAM chips that I had didn't like working with each other.
Maybe make sure all your fans are securely seated and working properly. Then change out the RAM as you were planning on. Also, if you have a good board, the BIOS should have a few temp monitors that you can check.

Well, I was told that it could be an overheating error.. so I checked all the fans, then went and bought another one (so I'd have one going into the case, and one going out) And it still seemed to give me the same error.. However, I have seen those cool little RAM Coolers they got out now that light up.. I might buy those just because of the lighty-up coolness of them ^_^;.
*Coughs* I'd have the fans in "securely" but I'm still trying to find screws to fit it.. The case is see-thru and thick, so I zip-tied them in place til I could get some to fit it in properly ^_^;;

[TUCK]

EEEE Blinky light up RAM fans!!!! ^_^

*cough* Right... um zip ties are fine for the case fans. I was refering to fans and heat sinks that attach to items like the processor and that type of stuff. Can you get a reading from the BIOS on what the tempetures are inside your computer?

If you feel good about the cooling systems then I would suggest swapping the RAM. If your computer boots up then the board in not defective, but the RAM could be. It's trial and error time.

[C1utCh]

and if its too hot (the processor) most of the time (if you bought the comp) then it may do you WONDERS to remove the heatsink from the processor, take the thermal gel off of the bottom of the heatsink and off of the processor, and put better, more evenly applied stuff on

many times companies will just glob it on, or even use a heatpad, which can actually insulate the processor, making it even hotter. This is especially true with AMDs because of their teeny cores.

Please don't just go in and do it however, find a tutorial or ask someone who has done it before to help
 some tips (if you want to consider doing this)
-use isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs to remove the old gel

-buy some higher-quality thermal gel like Artic Silver 5 (widely available, and about $7 for 20 applications)

-be careful

but, if you don't feel comfortable, don't do it.

Usually a computer will not be dangerously hot at startup, so it should run and everything even if hot (unless it got too hot the time before and you fried some stuff)

the RAM suggestion is a good one, it could be anything with just an alarm

maybe you could try looking up the type of motherboard or BIOS you have online, and any alarms it has, and what they mean?

if that helps ...