I'm building up a machine using a MB/CPU that was given to me (Gigabyte GA-MA-790FX-DQ6/AMD64 Phenom X4 9950) and I've added a new disk, DVD, memory, etc. After putting it together I try to boot it and it hangs in the bios. Memory is recognized, disk is recognized, it displays IDE connections and then hangs. If I hit DEL during boot it says "preparing to enter bios setup" and then hangs. If I hit F12 during boot it gives me a boot order menu and then hangs (so I can't boot from DVD). OK, I figure I can erase the bios and re-flash it. Following the manual I remove the battery and short the two pins for 10 seconds, replace battery and reboot - same problem. So I remove battery (for up to 24 hours) - and problem remains. Any suggestions?? Thanks in advance

It sounds like the BIOS is fine but there is something wrong with your hardware.

Try and remove all superfluous equipment and start from the basics. Witt CPU memory and possible a graphics card (if it’s not built in) the machine should boot up, send a POST beep and then say something like “No operating system found” before halting.

If that works, try adding one drive and repeat the process (CD or HDD). Then remove it and try the other components. See which one is hanging the machine.

Ok, thanks for the quick reply. I'll go thru the hardware piece by piece.

Tom

Also do some calculations and make sure the PSU can handle it (especially an old PSU you might be using):
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/p...ulatorlite.jsp