Built a comp, doesnt work... plz help (detailed)

S

SpeedRunner

Guest
Ok... I built a new computer with the specs seen in my signature. All the parts are brand new. Everyone that has looked at it has said that everything is plugged in correctly.... and that it appears everything is set up.

The problem:
When you turn the power on, the orange light on the front glows, all the fans turn... it appears as if the computer is booting up, but there is -nothing- on the display screen. the monitor acts as if nothings attached.

What me, my friends, and my friends dads have tried:

Replacing the RAM. No different result.
Replacing the video card: No different result.
Unplugging the sound card: No different result.
Reseting the BIOS: No different result.

My friends dad said that its probably the processor or power supply... and that he's never seen something like this before. He said it could also be the motherboard. But everyone is pretty much clueless at why nothing works.
 
I would say Power supply to weak, That set up needs at least 400+to run....Do you have lights? fans? USB pluged in? let me know Ill try and calculate what Minimum watts needed will be
 
yeah the USB is plugged in, all the fans are stock... I dont have anything you dont see in my specs
 
oh yeah, the CD drive doesnt work at all either... i pressed the button and nothing
 
I need to know how many fans, how many lights, What is plugged into USB
 
ok there is 2 fans in the case, the cpu fan, and the geforce6800gt fan. (if those count) nothing is plugged into the USB... there is only 1 light, the tiny orange one on the front.
 
Try this, run at bare minimum.... CPU and heatsink and Fan, Motherboard, 1 stick of ram and video card. thats it. Unplug all your hard drives cd roms, cards, everything. then see if it at leasts posts. You should have enough power for that. If it works, then your PSU is too weak... if not, I think your CPU might be bad/burned/cracked.
 
Ok, With just that the 350 antec should be Ok.
Need to ask, Have you tried another monitor?
Do you hear any posting beeps from the MB?
 
Tazzman said:
Ok, With just that the 350 antec should be Ok.
Need to ask, Have you tried another monitor?
Do you hear any posting beeps from the MB?
Click to expand...

Yes, I've tried two different monitors.

edit: i'm going to try USMC's idea. brb
 
With what he has listed roughly 319 watts would be needed, the 350 antec should be enough
 
*sigh* i have not the slightest clue whats wrong. no one does... no im not getting any beeps from my motherboard.
 
may be try taking the entire system apart. take everything out including CPU. then put it back together to make sure 100% everything is connected properly. then try to boot without HDDs, CD-ROM, sound card, additional USB ports.
 
Try to power on without the processor and then without the memory. If you get any type of beeps without of these, you will know the culprit. If not still, then it looks like the Mobo is shot.
 
SpeedRunner said:
ok there is 2 fans in the case, the cpu fan, and the geforce6800gt fan. (if those count) nothing is plugged into the USB... there is only 1 light, the tiny orange one on the front.
Click to expand...


im gonna have to agree that ur powersupply is causing the problems
 
I'm going to have to suggest troubleshooting starting with the obvious and go up from there:

make sure that if the motherboard has a clear CMOS jumper that it is set correctly.

Make sure you didn't plug a light into a the RESET jumper (the computer will ALWAYS be resetting)

Make sure that if the heatsink/fan had a plastic protector on it that you took it off first.

No bent pins on processor.

Make sure no standoffs are on the motherboard tray that aren't being used. Otherwise they could short out the board.

Otherwise I'd say offhand that you're looking at a bad motherboard or processor. Bad RAM or no video would produce beep codes (assuming you're speaker is also plugged in correctly.)
 
Just to take hardware off the checklist, you may want to try testing out some of your parts in another machine if you can, at least the video card and RAM. If there's another PC with a mobo that supports your CPU, I'd test that too. Also, if you can, try a more powerful PSU.

Did you have any luck with testing with the bare minimum? Is your motherboard speaker hooked up? Also, that reset switch thing mentioned above is a good thing to check.

Make sure your memory and everything is in the right slots.

My guess is your problem is one of three things: 1) PSU, 2) CPU, 3) mobo not necessarily in that order.

Sooo if you can, test with a better PSU, test your CPU in another machine if possible. If niether of those parts seems to be the problem, it's prolly your motherboard.
 
It's your washers/standoffs from behind. They will short out the circuits and cause it to basically not work at all, regardless of putting out any amount of light. You're going to need to put the whole system (without case) on a wooden/non-conductive table and turn it on from there. Check your power control panel on the motherboard as well.

-J.
 
Ok, I went to my buddy's house and he has a computer very similiar to mine. I tried my processor and video card on his motherboard... the CPU and video card are 100% working.

Only thing left is the motherboard... not sure how to test the motherboard.

It's your washers/standoffs from behind. They will short out the circuits and cause it to basically not work at all, regardless of putting out any amount of light. You're going to need to put the whole system (without case) on a wooden/non-conductive table and turn it on from there. Check your power control panel on the motherboard as well.
Click to expand...

we already checked that... we're 100% sure that nothing is shorting the MB.

I'm coming the personal conclusion that I have a defective motherboard and I'm preparing to send it back.... anything else I should test before I do?
 
If you've tested every other component, it's safe to say the motherboard is bad. If you call the place you brought it from, you shouldn't have a problem with the RMA. Just tell them the process you went through and they will take it back. This is assuming you used a reputable store.
 
when u tested your CPU in your friends mobo, why didnt you take his CPU and put it in ur mobo? i mean u had to take the cpu out anyways.
 
MrSlacker said:
when u tested your CPU in your friends mobo, why didnt you take his CPU and put it in ur mobo? i mean u had to take the cpu out anyways.
Click to expand...

yeah i did it had the same result... i'm 100% convinced that i need to return the motherboard...
 
SpeedRunner said:
yeah i did it had the same result... i'm 100% convinced that i need to return the motherboard...
Click to expand...
RMA the mobo, and then give us an update when you get a new one to see if your problem is fixed.
 
I had this same problem. I was excited to get my new computer together in a hurry and it would turn on but not post. Turns out the motherboard was shorting itself out on the case somehow. Try to unscrew the motherboard and rest it on the retail box with the padding to see if it boots. I did that and it worked fine, reseated the motherboard into the case tightly and has worked great since.
 
:mad:

I'm too late on the RMA

I have money though... can someone help me pick out a different motherboard? I -dont- want to buy the same brand.
 
Some of the newer MOBO's won't display vid if you have you mem in the wrong slots. Go to Chaintech's website and get the newest manual for your MB and make sure you have them inserted in the correct orientation for the type of memory you have.

Also, I have personally seen a bad CD-ROM prevent the video on an older pc from working. I know it wasn't a weak PS because I replaced it with a known good PS and the vid still didn't work but as soon as I disconnected the CD-ROM, I was in business.
 
blackrino9 said:
Some of the newer MOBO's won't display vid if you have you mem in the wrong slots. Go to Chaintech's website and get the newest manual for your MB and make sure you have them inserted in the correct orientation for the type of memory you have.

Also, I have personally seen a bad CD-ROM prevent the video on an older pc from working. I know it wasn't a weak PS because I replaced it with a known good PS and the vid still didn't work but as soon as I disconnected the CD-ROM, I was in business.
Click to expand...

yes, i have tried doing those... i'm pretty sure that there is nothing left to try.

i'm screwed as far as this motherboard is concerned... i need help picking out a similiar one or a better one (that is compatible with all my parts)
 
the first computer I ever built was using a crappy PSU and a high quality mobo. And you know what? I had to send the motherboard back, because it had a fried AGP slot.
 
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