Help! Can't get computer to post.

C

coder_t2

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 31, 2005
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I just put together a phenom x4 system. And cannot get anything to appear on my TV. The CPU Fan starts spinning, but nothing on the TV. I tried both HDMI and VGA. And I made sure the jumpers are set for HDMI Out. Below are my parts.

MSI 880GM-E35
Apex case w/ power supply
I have used this power supply with my Core 2 Duo build, so it should be powerful enough to power this system.

8GB G Skill Ram

Phenom x4 840

A couple of Sata Hard drives are also hooked up.

Any help in troubleshooting this matter is greatly appreciated.

Edit: Something I thought about. The Mobo Manual doesn't say where to put positive or negative connectors for the case power button. Does this matter?

Thanks for the help ahead of time.
 
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Try pulling everything out of the case and just hooking up psu/vga and one stick of ram. Or try another stick of ram. May also try another power supply.

Do you have a multimeter?

Button doesnt matter, as long as gap is bridged. I have used screwdrivers to turn on pc's before (not recommended for those of weak constitution).
 
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I did steps 1-23 here already. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

I tried another PSU, still no go. I don't get any beeps if it is just the PSU and CPU/HSF on the board. I tried one stick, tried both slots, tried no RAM. I think the board may be bad at this point, but if anyone else has some other troubleshooting tips, I'd love to hear them before I have to RMA this damn board. Is it at all possible it is the CPU? I may have a multimeter somewhere, but since I tried another PSU, not sure how much help it would be.
 
Try reseating the cpu? Make sure there are no bent pins? (step 10) Have another board/cpu to test components in?
 
Nope, no extra board or CPU. I will try reseating, although I imagine if it wasn't seated correctly, pins would be bent at this point.
 
What are the minimum things I need hooked up to get to POST? RAM and CPU? Do I even need a keyboard and hard drive connected?
 
Wow, bent CPU pin it is. Not sure if it was bent the whole time, or I just bent it removing the HSF. The CPU actually came off with the HSF, like they were connected...

So do I RMA or try to fix myself?
 
Probably bent the whole time. If you have a strong stomach you can try fixing it with a pen with the ink removed. Not sure if there will be trouble returning with bent pin.
 
was pretty close with the pen. It has been a while since i have done this. I used tweezers, but remembered reading about a writing utensil.

old [H] Post .5mm mechanical pencil
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1349843

"1. Get yourself a .5mm mechanical pencil from a store make sure it's a metal tipped one (most of us have it laying around) and empty the lead, also make sure there is no lead loaded in the tip.

2. Next place the tip over the bent pin (wow it’s a perfect fit!) and slowly bent it back to normal.

3. Now I suggest you undershoot the bend because it is safer to bend metal more in the same direction then to have to bend it the opposite way.

4. Now put that CPU back in the socket and enjoy!!!"
^^
http://www.overclock.net/faqs/29950-how-fix-bent-pins.html
 
Thanks for the help Malecoda. I can't believe the CPU Pin was bent, never had that happen to me before. Probably should've inspected it more I guess. I'll let you know how things turn out.
 
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