Help me help my sprog with his computer build..

[weltweit]

So sprog wanted a more powerful games computer.

He bought a motherboard, graphics card, SSD and HDD and case and put them all together however they won't start.

My immediate thought was, he has dealt with the physical items now he needs to establish a boot partition and an OS, (Win10). Initially I was stumped because he doesn't have a CD drive, how I wondered would he load the OS etc onto the new machine. Cue one of his buddies - who said easy, use a USB stick!

So now, he could use a bootable USB stick I think, how does he create a bootable USB Stick? is it the right thing to do? and is it possible to load Win10 from the old machine to the new one? He has his current machine running Win10, but he doesn't have an approved Win10 disk or anything?

Basically any advice welcomed!

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I think he can clone his old HDD into the SSD with the right software

I'm sure someone with more knowledge on this will be along shortly

I'd try booting from a Linux usb or CD made on the old PC to test the physical okayness of the new machine

 

[snadge]

Enter BIOS at boot (usually press delete) and set the BOOT sequence, make the USB drive the initial BOOT device.

Windows 10 on his existing system can make a bootable USB image.

3 Easy methods to Create Bootable Windows 10 USB / DVD Installer

Use the official Windows media creation tool to download Windows 10 ISO files and create bootable installation media.

www.techsupportall.com

 

[weltweit]

Enter BIOS at boot (usually press delete) and set the BOOT sequence, make the USB drive the initial BOOT device.

Windows 10 on his existing system can make a bootable USB image.

3 Easy methods to Create Bootable Windows 10 USB / DVD Installer

Use the official Windows media creation tool to download Windows 10 ISO files and create bootable installation media.

www.techsupportall.com

Hi snadge, he isn't getting anything on his monitor when trying to start the machine.

 

[platinumsage]

Does it beep? Did he also buy RAM?

 

[weltweit]

Does it beep? Did he also buy RAM?

Don't know to both of those.

 

[platinumsage]

Don't know to both of those.

The motherboard should beep, and there are special sequences of beeps to indicate specific problems that might prevent the monitor from displaying something. This will be detailed in the motherboard's manual.

If the mother board doesn't beep it likely isn't getting power. If so has he plugged all the power plugs into the right sockets, as detailed in the manual?

 

[snadge]

On an ATX board there are 2 power plugs that have to plug into motherboard from power supply, big long block that connects to far side from back plate side and a smaller 4 pin plug that connects to top of board, I often forget to connect the 2cnd giving the same 'no power' as it looks like a graphics card power connector.

 

[weltweit]

snadge what is an ATX board?

 

[souljacker]

Pretty much every mobo in existence has an integrated GPU so it may be worth plugging the monitor in that to see if he gets the BIOS screen. If he doesn't, he needs to check he's seated all the parts correctly. Do the fans spin up as if it's trying to get going?

 

[snadge]

snadge what is an ATX board?

The name for full size modern motherboards, although you can also get smaller form boards that use the same power supply, I think the only board that you need a sp[ecial PSU for are MiniITX boards but they are tiny.

 

[weltweit]

Thank you people I have sent a summary to sprog, hopefully he can make progress !!

 

[snadge]

weltweit any progress yet?

 

[weltweit]

weltweit any progress yet?

He appears to be cogitating but he does say no info on beeps in his motherboard instructions.

 

[snadge]

Here's some info on BIOS beeps.

Computer POST and Beep Codes

Computer beep codes and other POST issues. Page includes AMI, Award, Dell, IBM, and Phoenix BIOS beep code help and information.

www.computerhope.com

 

[weltweit]

Thanks snadge I will send that on to him - he did say that he connected one power cable to the motherboard and that there wasn't a second cable in the kit he was supplied.

 

[platinumsage]

What's the motherboard model number?

 

[snadge]

Thanks snadge I will send that on to him - he did say that he connected one power cable to the motherboard and that there wasn't a second cable in the kit he was supplied.

there is definitely 2 connectors to the motherboard, this video shows.

 

[platinumsage]

It really depends on the board. However it's certainly possible that the power supply that came inside the case he bought doesn't have sufficient connecting cables to attach to the motherboard. If so, it might simply be the case of buying an adapter/splitter on ebay, or it could be that the two aren't compatible.

 

[snadge]

It really depends on the board. However it's certainly possible that the power supply that came inside the case he bought doesn't have sufficient connecting cables to attach to the motherboard. If so, it might simply be the case of buying an adapter/splitter on ebay, or it could be that the two aren't compatible.

I actually bought a cheap power supply once and the 4 Pin atx power lead (4pin) was far too short to reach the socket on the motherboard, had to extend the wires myself.


I only buy modular PSU now for that very reason.

 

[weltweit]

To update the thread.

Thank you to those who suggested things / offered help.

He went a bit dark for a while, but very recently got a tech to look at it, it seems something wasn't connected properly, but all the elements were present and correct. All working now, win 10 installed on SSD plus 2 hdds and all now working a treat.