Computer issues driving me crazy!
 

With my tax refunds I decided to upgrade from my old dual-PIII system to one a little more up to date. It has been nothing but a headache.

Specs for new system components:

Motherboards:
ECS P4M800PRO-M v2.0
Gigabyte GA-8VM800PMD-775-RH

CPU:
Intel Pentium D model 925 3.0GHz (2 different ones, both new)

RAM:
Kingston DDR2-533 PC4200 1GBx2 (2 different sets, all new)
IPSG (Micro Center house brand) DDR-400 PC3200 512MBx1

Video:
Onboard display adapters
ATI Radeon 9550 AGP 8x

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamers Case

Power Supply:
Ultra V-Series 600W

All of the above listed items are new, the only thing I've been re-using is the C drive from my current system (which apparently works quite well as I'm sending this message from it) and the monitor.

My problem is this: the system simply will not boot up. It won't even go any farther than the POST. With the Gigabyte board installed, I get the repeated long beeps from the speakr that indicates a DRAM error. Nothing comes up on the monitor at all, in fact, it remains in standby and blank. The ECS motherboard has no provision for the speaker so I cannot confirm that it's a DRAM error but all the other symptoms are the same. I've used three different sets of RAM all of which tested good. The Kingston DDR2-533 is listed as compatible by both Kingston and the motherboard manufacturers. Could I possibly have gotten two identically bad motherboards from two different sources and two different manufacturers? Both use the same VIA chipsets are are very similar in every regard. While I know that both are "cheap" boards, I was hoping to save a little cash and use the AGP video card I've had in a box by my desk for eight months; it was incompatible with my current system. My choices for boards are quite limited if I want to use my AGP card. I'm at a total loss on what to check or do next short of buying a "better" motherboard and a PCIe video card. I just can't afford to keep throwing money at it without any change in results. Is it possible I'm overlooking something simple? I'm open to all ideas.

Have you tried it without the vid card at all? Sounds like you've done a thorough job trying to eliminate the bad part by trying all possible combos. I'd suggest starting out with MB, CPU, single RAM chip, HD, power supply and nothing else. Maybe try the power supply from your current pc too.

Do the MB expect the RAM to be in a certain slot? I have a feeling mine did last fall when I built it.

I've tried without the AGP card, utilizing the onboard video that these two motherboards have. No different.

I have used a power supply tester on the power supply as well as swapping it into my old system. Works fine in both cases. My old power supply does not have the same auxiliary power plug. If I were to use it without the aux power, what would happen?

I'm not sure about RAM placement. The book is quite vague. It states "You must install at least one module in any of the four slots". The ECS has two DDR and two DDR2. The Gigabyte board just has two DDR2. I have tried two DDR2 DIMMs in each board as well as a single in either slot. I only have one DDR DIMM and have tried it in each slot as well.

Sounds like the PS tests out fine, what about the memory slots? I know mine wanted it in certain slots depending on how many sticks i was installing. I'd try single sticks at a time, rotate thru the 4 you have. See if you can get it to boot with the bare minimum config. Also not sure if windows will be happy to boot such different hardware, but you should be able to at least get to the bios setup. [edit] meaning the windows install you have on the drive you are moving over [/edit]

Might also check newegg, I've found some odd problems listed in customer reviews of products there, stuff like having to change voltages to make xxx memory work on yyy motherboard.