Cant get new desktop to start properly - Newbie.

[tommyjw]

I'm complete newbie, so this could be obvious or be fixed easily.

Ordered a pre-built machine from the next day delivery section of the website.
Got it today, plugged it all in, turned it on.

It quick flashes to some screen stating bios version and few other information, and states to press space to continue (but continues within 2 seconds anyway).

It then flashes some other screen for a second, something about the Asus motherboard, but does not give me a chance to see any of the options or see what key to press to get any of them.

It then goes to windows recovery thing, starting it normally just keeps it at a black screen which it does not come off of (for the 10 minutes i've kept it anyway), and a safe mode start comes up with 'setup is preparing your computer for first use' but with an error pop-up stating this cannot work in safe mode, to which it restarts and goes back to a pure black screen and then keeps this on a loop.

Starting with any of the CD's i have been supplied with have not changed anything, i have also been given a SATA connector and a six pin cable thing and am unsure what to do with them, if i am meant to do anything..

Any help be much appreciated

 

[PCS]

Unfortunately it sounds like either sysprep has failed here, or that maybe you've turned off the power to your computer halfway through the first time setup, meaning that the crucial installation process has failed.

Did you first connect the monitor to a different connector on the PC, and at some point turn off the power?

The only way to resolve this is to re-install Windows unfortunately. It's a straight-forward process that just involves inserting the Windows CD and running the installation. If you refer to the Welcome booklet that we supplied with your computer there is a full step-by-step guide in there.

If you get stuck, please post back here and we'll help you as best we can.

 

[tommyjw]

I have a manual/guide for the case itself, the asus motherboard, a small one for the i5 processor and an nvidia installation guide .. unfortunately i cannot find a helpful installation guide in any of these so i assume i am missing some other booklet?

Starting the desktop with the windows 7 disk in provides no extra options to the above. Turning on goes to a asus motherboard options screen, then to a screen stating few lines of information, then a quick flash of the asus motherboard screen again .. and then straight to windows error recovery, to which it does state about re-installing windows but this does not seem obvious how to do, this loop then keeps repeating.

But the reason to the problem itself seems correct, so thats one step further, thankyou

 

[vanthus]

When you see the asus screen press f8 2 or 3 times,you should then see boot menu,choose optical drive, press any key to boot from dvd,do a fresh install from there.

 

[tommyjw]

All worked fine.

Except the screen resoultion wasnt 1920x1080 like it stated it should be. and couldnt find any way to connect to wireless network.. but i left that for a minute.

But then started installing the given CD's, got to the nvidia geforce CD, installed it all and it restarted and now it is stuck on a black screen again

 

[vanthus]

All worked fine.

Except the screen resoultion wasnt 1920x1080 like it stated it should be. and couldnt find any way to connect to wireless network.. but i left that for a minute.

But then started installing the given CD's, got to the nvidia geforce CD, installed it all and it restarted and now it is stuck on a black screen again

First check your monitor is connected to gpu & not on board.

 

[tommyjw]

Yep, pretty sure its on right one, the other one provides even smaller max resolution too.

Still cant even get the option to connect to wireless network, can i even do that?

 

[tommyjw]

Tried installing some of the CD's again, they restarted the computer as they usually do and it yet again ended in the screen staying on a black screen and nothing else.

I assume there is no way to completely return and get refunded?

I am not technically minded and was not prepared to have to go through all of this and involve such problems.

 

[tommyjw]

Returning?

Ordered a pre-built next day delivery desktop a few days ago.

However have encountered several problems that i was not prepared to deal with when i ordered it such as spending so long reinstalling windows over and over (the given CD's for nvidia etc keep giving me a black screen after restart until i reinstall windows again) .. the screen will not go to 1920 resolution . All of which can probably be fixed once the phone lines are open again and I can quickly talk to someone .. but I was not prepared to wait this long just to get my PC up and running

and i guess i was naive in thinking it would come with wireless capabilities, which it doesnt, which i kind of need.

I'm not that technically minded so fixing these problems will take longer than the average person.. so guess im just wondering what the policy is on returns. I have looked, but it seems to state that I cannot return a custom built PC once it is opened and such?. Would the fact i basically bought a pre-built machine change this? or is there no way i can return it?

 

[PCS]

Tommy

I cannot see your order number - could you let us know this please? This way I can check if you ordered a wireless network card in the PC.

Based on what you've said above, it sounds like you've managed to get into Windows now? To get the screen resolution to go to 1920 x 1080 you need to right click on your desktop and select "Screen Resolution" where you can then adjust it as required. Are you connecting to a monitor that supports 1920 x 1080?

If you have re-installed Windows, you will need to install your graphics drivers, otherwise there is no need to insert your Nvidia CD.

 

[tommyjw]

Tommy

I cannot see your order number - could you let us know this please? This way I can check if you ordered a wireless network card in the PC.

Based on what you've said above, it sounds like you've managed to get into Windows now? To get the screen resolution to go to 1920 x 1080 you need to right click on your desktop and select "Screen Resolution" where you can then adjust it as required. Are you connecting to a monitor that supports 1920 x 1080?

If you have re-installed Windows, you will need to install your graphics drivers, otherwise there is no need to insert your Nvidia CD.

366955 is order number, it was a pre-built machine so i think it just assumed it had one in rather than checking which is a fault on my part, i will have to find some way of taking the wireless from my laptop .

Is there any way of ordering one and fitting it, or is it more complicated than that?

The screen is the iiyama one and it says it supports 1920 x 1080 however the options on screen only go up to 1600 x 1020 , i ave tried it in the other port on the back to check it wasnt the wrong one but that one has a smaller maximum resoultion than this

 

[PCS]

The order number you have provided is not correct - our order numbers are currently 6 digits long. Can you please double check.

As we're a custom PC company, we can fit any device into a PC, but we don't fit wireless as standard. Unfortunately you cant take the wireless from your laptop unless it's an external adapter, in which case you can.

For your monitor resolution - you will need to ensure the drivers are installed for your graphics card. Did you re-install Windows? Just to confirm, ther monitor needs to be connected to the lowest available (as in nearest to bottom of your case) DVI port, like this:

 

[tommyjw]

Sorry , i realised it after, edited my post with correct number.

So it would be possible to order a wireless card and fit it?, or fail that send it back to you for you to fit it?

Im sure the screen resolution is easy to fix, i'll have a look at what i have / havent done but just to clarify that the DVI ports do not look like that, there is a VGA, next to the DVI - I and an HDMI port on one row and a single DVI - D on the row below, i am sure however that it is the DVI - D port that i am meant to be using so it must be something to do with the drivers, thank you

 

[PCS]

You're welcome to order a wireless card. Fitting is not too difficult, and we can guide you through this over the phone if needed. Give us a call on Tuesday and we'll create you an order for this. We can fit it for you for free, but you would need to pay for the collection and re-delivery charges (£35) so it will be quite expensive.

Regarding the above picture - this is just an example to show you what a DVI port looks like. Connect your monitor to the top DVI port on the graphics card. Once the Nvidia drivers are installed it should be easy to adjust your resolution.