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Building for the first time

A

axlvtt

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
65
Hey guys:

So I recently received all of my parts, and I am working on building my new computer for the very first time. I was extremely nervous at first, especially when I was trying to put in the huge heatsink and fans in its right place, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. Here is what I am working with:

Asus P6T (non-deluxe) motherboard
EVGA Geforce GTX 295
Corsair TX750W power supply
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 cpu cooler
Standard SATA optical drive (LG 22x dvd burner)
WD Caviar Blue 640GB HDD (WD6400AAKS)
Cooler Master CM 690 case
My cpu is an i7-920, and I am using Corsair DDR3 6GB ram.

I put in all of the parts into my case, and now I am working on plugging in all of the cables to the motherboard. This is where I have some questions :p

1. My optical drive & HDD are currently connected to SATA 5 and SATA 6 on the mobo, because the video card is making it tough for me to use SATA 1 and SATA 2. Is this okay?

2. The case fans are all linked to the power supply, but not the motherboard. Do I have to connect something to the PWR_FAN slot on the mobo?

3. I went over the manuals and I tried my best to make sure that everything was in its right place. The only part that I am not 100% sure of are all of the smaller cable connectors and jumpers. I didn't touch any of the jumpers because everything was set to normal already. Would it be ok to power the computer up to see if everything starts up normally?

Any help would be much appreciated :) Thanks for reading!
 
1. Doesn't matter

2. Yes, use the powersupply too power the fans.

3. Yes once you have check it over.
 
Thanks It_shiro :)

However, I am using my power supply to to power the case fans. I was just wondering if the case fans needed to be linked to the motherboard as well. Any ideas?
 
Err, here is another question lol. Both of my Noctua CPU fans have 3-pin cables, but the CPU_FAN connector on the mobo has 4 pins. My secondary cpu fan is just connected to CHA_FAN2 (which is a 3-pin connector), but what should I do with my primary cpu fan?
 
Nope. It did come with a low-noise adaptor (L.N.A) and a ultra-low-noise adaptor (U.L.N.A). I am guessing that they look like extension cables, but they are all 3-pin cables.
 
Ok well I learned that the 3-pin cable can go into the 4-pin cpu fan connector and the fan runs great. I just booted up the computer for the first time but there is a problem. I can't get anything to show on my monitor, and I can't get any warning sounds. My monitor tells me that theres no signal detected, but I know that the video card is in properly because it lights up green whenever I turn on the computer. It isn't a loose plugin because I tried that already. Anybody know whats up?

As for the warning sounds, I don't have anything plugged into my system warning speaker on my P6T system panel connector (4-pin SPEAKER). Where can I find the cable for this so I can use the chassis-mounted system warning speaker?
 
Just checked and reinstalled the memory. DIMM_A1, DIMM_B1, and DIMM_C1.

I also took out the video card and put it back in. I still can't get anything to show up on my monitor. I tested the monitor on my netbook and it works. The computer stays running, the dvd-rom works just fine. Nothing shows up on my screen :(
 
Shouldn't the motherboard make a beep when I boot up the computer too? Something is not right.
 
I just tried using a regular speaker and connected it to the green speaker slot but there is still no beep. No beep on the motherboard either.
 
Go look in the Basic Troubleshooting Guide stickied above. Look at the "If your system doesn't POST" part of that guide.
 
Err, I hope that I won't be having to RMA any parts. I've decided to just take my computer to the shop tomorrow and have the pros take a look at it. It will likely be a week or so before I hear back but I'd rather play it safe than sorry. I hope that I wasn't responsible for any damage hehe.
 
Don't you have any family/friends who have done this before? It is always handy to have someone supervising you on the first build.

Also, you never smelt anything like burnt wiring did you? ;)
 
Hehe. Naa, I am living in Japan atm so I don't really have a lot of options there. I don't have any friends here who are computer savvy. I don't think I did any damage, because I was pretty careful when I was building er up. However, I rather just spend a little bit of cash than spend hrs trying to figure this out. I just don't really have the free time to do it either.

My biggest fear right now is faulty parts. I know that I have the option to RMA, but living here in Japan makes me a bit uncertain about how that will pan out.
 
axlvtt said:
Shouldn't the motherboard make a beep when I boot up the computer too? Something is not right.
Click to expand...

Most Asus boards don't come with the Speaker for the POST beep. Mine was is the box of screws that came with the case ... so check there.
 
Well, I took my computer to the shop last week to have them rebuild it their way. Unfortunately, I just got a call from them saying that the computer still won't startup properly (nothing shows up on the screen). I am going to go there later today and I'll most likely just take my computer back and start troubleshooting for myself (they want over $240 to figure out what is exactly wrong). Obviously, one of the parts is faulty and I'll have to RMA something. Just my luck eh?

As was suggested, I'll go through the troubleshooting guide (clearing cmos, etc) to see if that does anything.
 
might be a LONG shot but i built a couple of boxes for a friend of mine back in June.

One of the 2 ASUS p5q pro boards had a small (and i mean real small) piece of plastic in the Socket from where the machine had cut the plastic part of the socket.

This piece was just enough to generate the same symptoms you're seeing.

I took my finger and scrubbed it loose from the socket reseated everything and it booted next try.

Like i said a long shot but if you pull the CPU out look real close at the socket.
 
Thanks bigwooly. I'll take a look as soon as I pick up my computer from the shop later this evening :)
 
Update: So I went into the PC clinic and I ended up leaving my computer there, again lol. They are going to do all of the troubleshooting to figure out which part(s) is bad. I could have probably done this myself, but it would have taken a lot of time and frustration on my part. I decided to just pay to avoid all of that. That and plus I really don't have a lot of time during the week to be messing around with this, unfortunately.

So hopefully in about a week, I'll be knowing which part is bad so I could move on to my next step, which is the dreaded RMA.
 
good luck! we tried to save you money, but if you don't have the time, then the cost is probably worth it.
 
enginurd:

Its not that I don't appreciate the help. You guys have helped me out so much already, with picking out the parts and helping me put it together for the first time. Unfortunately for me, troubleshooting takes a lot of time and patience, and I just don't have the time :( I'll keep you guys updated, and I'll try to get some pictures of the new rig once I get it back :p

Edit: I'll most likely have a ton of questions once I get my computer back hehe
 
Oh I wasn't implying you were ungrateful, just trying to make you feel better about spending the money to have someone else troubleshoot it for you. ;)
 
Well here is an update. My computer is still in the shop, and they haven't given me a call yet. However, I went in the shop this morning because I needed to buy some DVD+Rs and I saw my computer on the table, all taken apart. I guess this means that they have been working on it, which is good news.

I asked them for an update on whats going on, and if they figured out which part was faulty, but they were all pretty busy and I managed to just get a few bits of information from them. They said that they needed a few more days, and said something about how the screws on the motherboard were not good, or something to that effect. They did not say anything about faulty hardware though, but the person was speaking pretty fast in Japanese so I just nodded my head and told them that I'll be waiting for their phone call.

In case people have forgotten, I am in the process of building a custom PC. I purchased all of my parts 2 weeks ago and built it myself, but I wasn't able to get the computer to post (spinning fans, but nothing showed up on display). I took my computer into the shop and had them rebuild it, but they ran into the same problem. I decided to leave it at the shop so they could figure out whats wrong with the computer for an extra cost. I guess my question is, would the wrong/bad type of screws that mount onto the motherboard be enough to cause this problem?
 
axlvtt said:
I guess my question is, would the wrong/bad type of screws that mount onto the motherboard be enough to cause this problem?
Click to expand...

Maybe. However, it could be the fact that there's a loose screw, wire, etc inside the case thats shorting out the mobo. If you had checked the Basic Troubleshooting guide, there are a number of things you could've done to rule out a case compatibility problem and other problems related to no POST.
 
Danny:

I did check out the basic troubleshooting guide, under the "If your system doesn't POST..." section, before I brought my computer into the shop.
 
If you did the barebone setup outside of the case, on top of the cardboard box for the mobo, then that would have ruled out a short from the case. You didn't post the results of this test, so I'm not sure if you tried it or not. I just see that Danny recommended that section, Leslie said RMA, and you said you'd just take it to the shop instead, since you had no time.

Danny Bui said:
Go look in the Basic Troubleshooting Guide stickied above. Look at the "If your system doesn't POST" part of that guide.
Click to expand...

leSLIe said:
if that doesn't work, try reading the " RMA" part of that guide :p
Click to expand...

axlvtt said:
Err, I hope that I won't be having to RMA any parts. I've decided to just take my computer to the shop tomorrow and have the pros take a look at it. It will likely be a week or so before I hear back but I'd rather play it safe than sorry. I hope that I wasn't responsible for any damage hehe.
Click to expand...
 
enginurd:

That is true. I didn't really want to go through a lot of troubleshooting because yes, I just didn't have time to. There are no results because I didn't try the barebone setup :)

The post was more of an update of the situation, and I asked about the bad screws question just to make sure that what they had told me sounded like a possibility. I am no expert with computer parts, so I just wanted the assurance more than anything.

Edit: I guess I should have been more clear with my last post. When I said that I did check the basic troubleshooting guide, I meant that I did take a look at it before taking my computer to the shop.
 
Thanks for the update. ;) Feel free to ask any more questions if you're unsure of what they're telling you... we don't want you to get ripped off.
 
axlvtt said:
Hey guys:

So I recently received all of my parts, and I am working on building my new computer for the very first time. I was extremely nervous at first, especially when I was trying to put in the huge heatsink and fans in its right place, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. Here is what I am working with:

Asus P6T (non-deluxe) motherboard
EVGA Geforce GTX 295
Corsair TX750W power supply
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 cpu cooler
Standard SATA optical drive (LG 22x dvd burner)
WD Caviar Blue 640GB HDD (WD6400AAKS)
Cooler Master CM 690 case
My cpu is an i7-920, and I am using Corsair DDR3 6GB ram.

I put in all of the parts into my case, and now I am working on plugging in all of the cables to the motherboard. This is where I have some questions :p

1. My optical drive & HDD are currently connected to SATA 5 and SATA 6 on the mobo, because the video card is making it tough for me to use SATA 1 and SATA 2. Is this okay?

2. The case fans are all linked to the power supply, but not the motherboard. Do I have to connect something to the PWR_FAN slot on the mobo?

3. I went over the manuals and I tried my best to make sure that everything was in its right place. The only part that I am not 100% sure of are all of the smaller cable connectors and jumpers. I didn't touch any of the jumpers because everything was set to normal already. Would it be ok to power the computer up to see if everything starts up normally?

Any help would be much appreciated :) Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...

It could still have been a short and it did some permanent damage. Also if you arent getting any kind of noise from the mobo speaker, (and I know this sounds so stupid)
but pop the cmos battery out and re-install it after at least 5 seconds. I have had two mobos that did the very same thing within the past two months, and that seemed to fix it.
 
enginurd said:
Thanks for the update. ;) Feel free to ask any more questions if you're unsure of what they're telling you... we don't want you to get ripped off.
Click to expand...

Thanks :) They have been pretty good/honest so far, I think, but I'll see what they tell me when they give me a call in a few days.
 
Red_Star said:
It could still have been a short and it did some permanent damage. Also if you arent getting any kind of noise from the mobo speaker, (and I know this sounds so stupid)
but pop the cmos battery out and re-install it after at least 5 seconds. I have had two mobos that did the very same thing within the past two months, and that seemed to fix it.
Click to expand...

Err, I hope its not permanent damage :/ That is what I am actually dreading right now. I am hoping they would call me and tell me that everything is working now and there is no damage done instead :p
 
So it looks like the motherboard was bad. I just sent a replacement request form to the retailer, but its been over 2 weeks since the purchase so I'll have to wait and see if they'll take it back. If not, I'll be RMAing through Asus using my warranty. Its a shame that it had to be the mobo hehe.
 
It sounds like you definitely shorted out the board. Its all good just as long as you get a replacement. I just hope it works for ya mate.
 
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