GA-H55-USB3

[Rain Dog]

Hello all.

I just completed my very first PC build and have a couple of questions.

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    COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
   
     MSI N250GTS TwinFrozr 1G OC GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
  
    Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3K2/4G
      
    CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active

    HP Lightscribe DVD burner SATA

    WD Cavier Black 1 TB SATA HDD

    GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

    Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale 3.2GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80616I3550 (used Stock cooler)
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Overall I'm happy with the build, except for a couple of problems.

1. Windows 7 freezes on install. It loads files, then the animated windows logo appears, the the sky graphic and the it freezes.

My MB has the F4 Bios. the latest I think, for this MB is F5 could that be the reason?

 WindowsXP loads perfectly and is rock solid.

2. The PWR LED and the HDD LED do not work. Unknown if it is the fault of the MB,the Haf-X or me.

I know I should update the BIOS, but I'm scared to death of screwing it up, although the @BIOS utility looks pretty simple.

Any help would be greatly valued.

PS The Win7 ver is the full retail install of home Premium.

[Dark Mantis]

Right the easy bit first. The LEDs are probably just installed the wrong way round on the motherboard. Just literally turn the plugs round + to -.
As far  as the freezing goes it could be many things. The first to try is to update the BIOS as you have summised. DO NOT use @BIOS though. Use the Q-Flash utility in the BIOS itself. Much safer and so long as you don't power down whilst it is running you should be fine.
Post back when that is done with the verdict.

[Rain Dog]

Right the easy bit first. The LEDs are probably just installed the wrong way round on the motherboard. Just literally turn the plugs round + to -.
As far  as the freezing goes it could be many things. The first to try is to update the BIOS as you have summised. DO NOT use @BIOS though. Use the Q-Flash utility in the BIOS itself. Much safer and so long as you don't power down whilst it is running you should be fine.
Post back when that is done with the verdict.

Thanks dark Mantis. I will try both solutions. But first I'm going to just enjoy this PC while I work up the courage to flash the BIOS. I just spent 6 years on a P4 3.6 and the speed difference is mind blowing. I will let you know what happens.

Thanks Again.

[Dark Mantis]

No problem. Everyone has to start somewhere and you've done well for your first build. Come back when yoiu need some more help.

[Rain Dog]

Dark Mantis, I flipped the HDD acty led over, swapping poles and it worked perfectly.

Thanks so much for the tip.

I owe you a beer!

[Dark Mantis]

You're more than welcome. I won't take the beer thanks but if you want to hit the applaud button on the left that would be great.

[Rain Dog]

OK applause you get.

Also since the HDD led works now I tried Win7 again. The led kept flickering so I just waited and finally windows 7 started to install. It wasn't freezing after all just taking it's time to get going.

Now I can clean up the cable mess and seal this thing up.

Thanks Again.

[Dark Mantis]

Thanks for the feedback. It's always good to know how your advice has panned out. I'm glad that you're pleased with your new build and that it is working ok. The first step to becoming a enthusiast. What's next are you going to liquid cool it?
ATB

[venganza]

OK applause you get.

Also since the HDD led works now I tried Win7 again. The led kept flickering so I just waited and finally windows 7 started to install. It wasn't freezing after all just taking it's time to get going.

Now I can clean up the cable mess and seal this thing up.

Thanks Again.

lol

For some idiotic reason Win7 retail does the same stupid thing the beta did, on install when it polls HW and sets up parameters from install in RAM, there is just a blue screen and zero indication of any activity and no mouse cursor, no wonder people get confused, it can seem to sit there forever, you would think they would have fixed this

Oh incidentally lovely build, you are let down by a crappy GPU of course, I presume you had the GTX260 already, but no fuss if you are a gamer you can drop in something decent later.

Love the fact you chose a quality PSU, I see so many people spending good money on nice parts, and then stick some God aweful generic supply in

[absic]

Love the fact you chose a quality PSU, I see so many people spending good money on nice parts, and then stick some God aweful generic supply in

Never a truer word written my friend. People spend hundreds of Pounds, Dollars etc., on the CPU, GPU, RAM, Mobo et al then want to save as much as possible on the PSU. They then complain that their new rig won't run properly and blame everything else BUT the PSU..... go figure.

[Dark Mantis]

Well I guess in general people see the PSU as just an extension of the plug and think that any old one will do, usually the cheaper the better, of course some of us know it is one of the most important bits of kit. If you start the build with crappy foundations it wil fall over