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| Frequently Asked Tech Support Questions
Q: My drive is not detected in the BIOS setup screen
Q: My drive is not detected in the BIOS setup screen When more than one drive is on the the same cable, their transfer timings are determined by jumpers. These are small plastic tabs that cover pins on the back of each drive. The bootable hard drive must be on the primary controller and have its jumpers set to "master". A secondary hard drive on the same controller must be set as "slave". There is also a "cable select" setting, which makes the system attempt to auto-configure. Some CD-ROM drives prefer cable select. Jumper setting diagrams are often printed on the top of the hard drive.
Q: My new hard drive does not show up in My Computer For Windows 98 and ME: Open Programs->Accessories->MS-DOS Prompt For Windows 2000 and XP: Right click on My Computer.
I can only access 137GB of my 200GB hard drive The original design specification for the ATA interface was limited to a maximum of 137.4 gigabytes. Most newer motherboards BIOS use 48 bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA), which supports larger hard drives. In order to see the full capacity of your drive you must have an IDE controller and an Operating System that supports large drives. Windows XP with Service Pack 1 and Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 are the only versions of Windows that support 48 bit LBA out of the box. If you have installed an earlier version of Windows XP, then upgraded to Service Pack 1, and still cannot see the full capacity of the drive, you may need to make a few minor software changes. Please see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013 for details. If your Operating System or Motherboard do not support 48 bit LBA, you will need to download drive setup software from the hard drive manufacturer's website. This will work around that limitation and allow you to access the full size of the drive.
Q: My new motherboard does not power on; the fans just spin In order to boot, motherboards require a processor w/ heatsink, RAM, and a video card. (If you have onboard video, a video card is not required.) If any of these are not installed or not making good contact with the board, the fans might spin but the system will not post. Try reseating your components in the slots, and remove any non-essential parts like modems or drives. Also, try clearing your mainboard's CMOS settings according to the product manual. In most cases, this is accomplished by moving a jumper for ten seconds, then placing it back in the normal operation position. Finally, Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 64, and many newer AMD Athlon XP motherboards require a four pin +12V connector in addition to the 20 pin ATX power connector. Your motherboard may not power up completely if it is not connected; check your motherboard manual to see if you need the ATX +12V.
Q: My AMD processor is running at the wrong speed CPU speed is dependent on the Front Side Bus speed. At the wrong Front Side Bus (FSB), an Athlon XP 2800+ will be detected as a 2200+, a 3200+ as a 2500+, etc. On many motherboards, such as the Biostar M7VIG-400, this is set by jumpers on the board. Other boards allow the front side bus speed to be set in the BIOS. Please refer to your manual to determine how to change this setting. For Biostar nForce motherboards, the setting is in Advanced Chipset Features. For MSI VIA KT600 motherboards, this is in Frequency and Voltage Control. Front Side Bus Reference Chart Athlon XP1900 - 2600 (266) 133 MHz
Q: My system reports the wrong amount of memory If you are using onboard video, the system reserves part of the RAM for graphics processing. As a result, your system can only address 96MB of your 128MB of RAM, 224MB of 256MB, etc. Q: My DVD or CDRW drive did not come with any software Many of our drives are OEM drives and do not come with any software. In order to watch a DVD movie you will need software such as Cyberlink PowerDVD or InterVideo WinDVD. To burn CDs and DVDs you can use the CD burning Wizard in Windows XP or software such as Ahead Nero Burning ROM or DVD Xcopy. There are also free alternatives or demo versions available at download.com
Q: I do not get any sound when I play a music CD First, be sure that you have installed the drivers for your sound card, and that your speakers are attached properly and powered on. If you have front panel audio on your case attached, it will disable the rear ports on some motherboards. If you can hear system sounds but not the CD, it is likely due to the analog audio; in the past, audio CDs required an analog cable connected to the sound card (or motherboard, if you have onboard audio). You can either install one, or configure Windows to pass the information through the data cable. For Windows 98 and ME: Right click My Computer For Windows 2000 and XP: Right click My Computer
Q: How do I boot from my CD-ROM to install Windows? You can change the order in which the computer searches for boot devices in the BIOS. By default, most motherboards will have floppy or (A) as the first boot device and the hard disk (C) as the second. Enter the BIOS (usually by pressing delete or F1) and look for a Boot Sequence option. On the Biostar M7VIG-400, for example, it is under the Advanced BIOS Features menu. Change the boot sequence so your CD-ROM drive is before your hard disk (Hard Disk 0). Save your settings and reboot.
Drivers for many of our products can be downloaded directly from the manufacturer. If you do not know who the manufacturer is or cannot find drivers on their website, e-mail support@3btech.net . If we have or know of a driver for your hardware, we will send you a link where you can download it. We do not have replacement driver CDs or floppy disks. Manufacturer websites: BIOSTAR motherboards: http://www.biostar.com.tw
Q: UPS damaged my package. What do I do? Our packages are fully insured, so if they are damaged in transit we can send a replacement at no cost to you. Contact the RMA Department at rma@3btech.net or phone 877-328-3248. They will be happy to begin the damage claim process, and in most cases a replacement will be shipped to you within a few business days. Please hold on to the damaged item and original packaging for seven business days, as UPS may wish to inspect them.
Q: I have tried the suggestions on this web page but still cannot get my item to work, or my problem is not listed. Please contact our technical support staff. E-mail support@3btech.net or call 877-328-3248 Monday-Friday 10:00am - 5:30pm. If tech support is unable to solve your problem, or if you are confident that your item is defective (e.g. you are an experienced reseller), fill out the Online RMA Form at http://3btech.net/rmaform.html . Be specific as to the problem you are having and the steps you have taken to troubleshoot it. You will be contacted within one business day with a response. If your item meets the requirements for RMA service, you will be e-mailed an RMA number and instructions on how to return the item for testing.
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