[PewterScreaminMach]

I believe this is the correct forum, if not I apologize.

I put together my first computer last night with minimum difficulty (specs at bottom), but I have a few basic questions, number 3 being the most important. I have done a lot of searching but am finding nothing.

First off, I now know I was supposed to use the spacers between the mobo and the case, which I didn't do because for some reason it wasn't mentioned in the manual, so I'll do it when I get home from work tonight. There were no issues with the computer running when I left for work this morning, so should I be worried about related issues that maybe haven't shown their face yet or do you think I'm alright (computer is off and unplugged and I'll fix this before I start it up again)?

Second, there was no labeled firewire "hub" (9-pins off the mobo - correct term?), but there's only one hub left after everything else has been connected. The problem is it almost fits the firewire connectors, but not quite:

Hub on mobo:
x x x x o
x x x x x

Firewire connectors (view if trying to plug it in):
x x x x x
x x x x o

The empty space is one off, and yes, I have it rotated the right way. The only hubs that would fit this that I see are the blue labeled USB hubs, which are both in use by USB connectors. Any thoughts or ideas?

Third question, with the computer running, everything seems fine except that when I move around a window (open My Computer, for example), the window moves in a choppy fashion. For example, if I move a window from one side of the screen to the other, it is like you'll see the window four or five times in single spots moving across the screen, rather than in one smooth motion. I have seen this on very old computers, but never on a new one. Does anyone know why this might be happening? The System window in control panel shows that it is reading the processor and memory correctly and the majority of the parts came as a bundle, all SLI, so they are pretty much meant to work together as far as I'm aware.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm completely new to this and just kind of jumped right in. Thanks a lot.

Joe

SPECS - Built 01/08/08 - XP Pro, Ultra Aluminus Mid Tower ATX Case, XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775 Mobo, Intel Quad Core Kentsfield 2.4Ghz Q6600, OCZ 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz (2x1024MB), NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCIe, Seagate 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G, Ultra 600w X-Finity Power Supply w/2 80mm / Titan, THERMALTAKE RSI Socket 775 CPU Cooler, 2 Cooler Master 120MM Fans, LG L1953TX-BF 19" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor

[alex]

Before we go any further, DO NOT switch the pc on again. Remove everything from the case and install the motherboard risers. These stop the motherboard shorting on the case.

Failure to do this will result in a fried motherboard. And maybe a fried cpu and ram.

If you are reading this from your pc turn it off immediately and follow what I've put above

[PewterScreaminMach]

OK, I'm at work. The computer was running fine this morning except for the slow window movement, so when I got to work and found out about the risers, I had someone at home immediately turn off the computer and unplug the power supply. I should be safe in terms of that. There were no ill effects in terms of power or anything else and the computer ran all night formatting the harddrive and installing Windows, so I'm hoping I'm safe. First thing when I get home, I'll be installing the risers before I even plug it back in to the power supply.

So the main issue I'm facing now is the slow window movement I've mentioned above. I haven't done much besides installing Windows and the harddrive format, so I haven't noticed any other "slowness" or problems, but it was very annoying for the few minutes I spent on it before work after Windows finished installing. Is there any chance the slow movement could be related to the no-risers being installed, like a short in the motherboard causing it to run slowly, or would a short have totally different symptoms - I guess I'm asking what the symptoms of a short in the mobo are.

The Firewire problem is annoying, but not a big deal since I don't have any immediate need for Firewire (although advice would be appreciated).

Joe

[Logic Bomb]

It could have been the risers, if they've changed the stance or the angle at which your graphics card was in its slot (PCI express aye?). Perhaps the card was not properly inserted before that, or the card was not meeting all the receptacle connectors within the PCI slot or vis versa. You get my drift?

Make sure everything is securely & solidly connected within the case, if the problem persists post back.

[alex]

Second question: To help further, can you advise exactly what you are attempting to plug into the firewire socket. This socket sounds like an internal usb. Which motherboard have you installed?

Third question: I'd suggest this sounds like you don't have the drivers for the graphics card installed from the Nvidia website (for the most uptodate ones) or you haven't installed the drivers software that came with the graphics card. It certainly sounds like the card is being driven by Windows generic drivers, hence the speed issue in windows.

[MJM]

It definately sounds like you haven't installed any drivers.
As for anything related to the firewire, we'd need to know which motherboard you have.
It should tell you in your manual whether that is for firewire or just nothing.

[PewterScreaminMach]

OK guys, thanks for the responses and here's an update for you.

The motherboard is an XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775.

Turns out the risers WERE installed (came preinstalled in the case, that's why the manual never mentioned installing them), so I have nothing to worry about there.

I believe you are probably correct about the video drivers, but I tried to install them last night and had an issue. The directions on the CD for the drivers said to go into Control Panel, Display, Settings, Advanced, Monitor, and finally click the Properties button where I can update my drivers, but when I get to where the Properties button is, it is greyed out. The instuctions show this window displaying "Plug and Play Monitor" next to the Properties button, but my window doesn't display that; instead it says something like "Default Monitor" (or similar to that anyways, I'm at work now so I can't remember exactly).

Does anyone know why this may be the case? I don't believe there is a built in video card to the motherboard that could be interfering, but I can't seem to get to anywhere that allows me to update the drivers, and the CD only gives an option to display these instructions that tell you to do this; they don't just install them like most device CDs seem to. Any advice would be appreciated and I'm sure I'll have more issues after I get a chance to play with it some more.

And I don't know if this helps, but I went into the Device Manager and the Video/Display icon had a yellow question mark next to it, which I believe means the drivers weren't installed so it's not recognizing it propertly (correct?).

Thanks for the help! Oh yeah, and all the parts from this build are listed at the bottom of the original post.

[MJM]

Did you have the motherboard listed before as well... I went through your post yesterday and couldn't find it. I may have just been tired though.

Yes, the yellow question mark means wrong/faulty/unrecognised/similar. There's no on board GFX, so that isn't the issue. Just go to nvidia and download the newest driver set from there. Or click here to download the drivers.

Your board definately supports firewire (slot at back). However getting the manual from XFX was a pain. Instead of just linking to it I had to open the prodcut page, look for product code and then enter that into the manual list. Who thought of that design? All pages I refer to now are based on the ones from the PDF (cleverly wrapped in a ZIP, genius...) of the site.
If you look at page 34 it does describe the firewire expansion cable, yet has no image to tell you where on the mobo the headers are like the USB headers do on the next page. Which by the way is probably what you are saying is like firewire, but just mirrored.
Page 23 describes the board layout. Nowhere can I find firewire headers. I've zoomed in as best I can, but it doesn't help all too much, since I just can't find anything there which isn't described and could be firewire headers.
Did the board come with the optional expansion part (I think it must have)? If not, maybe you aren't expected to attach such? I'd probably contact XFX to clear this up. What's probably up is that this is a run of the mill manual and just has stuff printed by default even though it's not available. even though the manual explains this as possible throughout (read several references).

[PewterScreaminMach]

Originally Posted by MJM

Did you have the motherboard listed before as well... I went through your post yesterday and couldn't find it. I may have just been tired though.

Yes, the yellow question mark means wrong/faulty/unrecognised/similar. There's no on board GFX, so that isn't the issue. Just go to nvidia and download the newest driver set from there. Or click here to download the drivers.

Your board definately supports firewire (slot at back). However getting the manual from XFX was a pain. Instead of just linking to it I had to open the prodcut page, look for product code and then enter that into the manual list. Who thought of that design? All pages I refer to now are based on the ones from the PDF (cleverly wrapped in a ZIP, genius...) of the site.
If you look at page 34 it does describe the firewire expansion cable, yet has no image to tell you where on the mobo the headers are like the USB headers do on the next page. Which by the way is probably what you are saying is like firewire, but just mirrored.
Page 23 describes the board layout. Nowhere can I find firewire headers. I've zoomed in as best I can, but it doesn't help all too much, since I just can't find anything there which isn't described and could be firewire headers.
Did the board come with the optional expansion part (I think it must have)? If not, maybe you aren't expected to attach such? I'd probably contact XFX to clear this up. What's probably up is that this is a run of the mill manual and just has stuff printed by default even though it's not available. even though the manual explains this as possible throughout (read several references).

Thanks for the response and help. Yes, I've seen exactly what you are talking about with the usb and firewire headers in the manual, but the usb headers, which are paired together and color-coded, are on a separate part of the board from this other header which sits alone and which I thought was for firewire (it's the only header left empty on the board, but it's the same layout as the usb headers, which is one off from the firewire plug). The manual definitely sucks as it does not show where the supposed firewire header is located on the board (I don't think it's there at all). I will contact XFX regarding this issue.

I will also go home and install the drivers you linked to for the video card. Thanks for that link; I'll let you know how it goes when I do so. And BTW, do you think after I do this, I will be able to install the driver that came with the monitor?

I have a few other questions if you guys don't mind reading them (keep in mind I've never done this before so some of these might seem simple/stupid).

One, there are obviously sound jacks on the back of the board for my speakers, but when I plugged the speakers in and turned them on, there is no sound. I go into Control Panel and Sound/Audio Devices, but it is blank, showing that there is no sound card hooked up. Do I need to load some sort of driver for this, since I would imagine the sound is onboard (at least if I remember correctly)? Or is there some sort of software I might need to purchase or install?

Also, I have an issue with my USB network adapter. It is a Belkin Wireless G USB adapter, 54mbps. I grabbed the drivers from the Belkin site for it, but there were 5 different versions of the same one, so I tried each of them separately. One or more of them got the computer to recognize the adapter as a Belkin Wireless Adapter when I plugged it in, but the little popup in the bottom right corner of the screen said it had a problem installing the device, and then it would not light up or find any open wireless networks (the one in my house wasn't locked). Any thoughts on this? I don't have the original CD that came with it, but figured the drivers from the site would help. They don't seem to work.

Thanks!!!

Joe

[PewterScreaminMach]

OK guys, don't think I'm too stupid, but I just realized that, no, I never loaded my mobo drivers/software CD, so no, no drivers at all are installed and I feel like an idiot for posting all these problems when the solution is probably sitting at home on that one CD. I will do so first thing when I get home tonight and let you know how it goes. Obviously don't worry about responding to the previous post since it is all linked except for the Belkin Wireless Adapter.