Computer building problem.

[camwyn]

Got the parts.
Installed the mobo.
Installed the CPU.
Spent 45+ minutes wrestling with the motherloving fan and heat sink.
Got that into place. Plugged in CPU fan.
Installed the RAM.
Installed the AGP video card.
Spent 15+ minutes looking for extra power connector. Eventually found enough info online to indicate that this model does not use an extra power connector.
Plugged in monitor. Plugged in keyboard.
Plugged in computer.

The power supply does not respond. Not to anything.

I flip the switch on the back. Still no response. LED on mobo indicates there is standby power. No fan action in the power supply, though. No CPU fan.

Reversed the Power On cable connected to mobo. Nothing.
Reversed it again. Nothing.
Reversed the Power LED cable. Nothing. Reversed it again. Still nothing.

The mobo's giving me that standby light each time. But none of the fans come up and there is no activity.

I found an on button hidden under the front of the case. I pushed it. Now it powers up. CPU fan, on. Power supply fan, on. Case fan, on. However, I get no graphics output of any kind at any point in this rigamarole. Also, ten seconds later, the power stops and I am left with the motherboard LED again. This is a 350-watt power supply so it should not be overtaxed by one graphics card, one cpu, and one cooling fan. I have not hooked up the HD or the DVD-RW drive yet, either.

No POST beeps of any kind. NOt even when I hook up the onboard audio port to a speaker. Not even when I reverse the speaker cable inside the computer.

Any ideas before I go to Best Buy?

Comments

[derien.livejournal.com]

I only read eor a very small part of your post, so there may be critical information that he didn't get, but based on:

it powers up. CPU fan, on. Power supply fan, on. Case fan, on. However, I get no graphics output of any kind at any point in this rigamarole. Also, ten seconds later, the power stops and I am left with the motherboard LED again.

he suspects the video card.

He also suggests you could try swapping the memory chips around if you have an A and a B.

For trouble-shooting purposes he suggests taking out everything but the video card, memory, motherboard, and the CPU - you should get a post unless it's one of those 4 items which is having the problem. (but you probably already knew that, because you're a computer person.)

Do you have known-good video card, memory, motherboard, and/or CPU that you can swap out for testing purposes?

[camwyn]

I don't HAVE anything but the video card, memory, mobo and CPU. I haven't gotten that far in the install process.

Removed the vid card. Tried booting up. Ten seconds of power, then nada.
Tried switching the speaker cable around inside, redid. Still no beeps, not even angry POST beeps. Ten seconds of power, then nada.

WIll try memory next. First without video, then with.

[derien.livejournal.com]

You have to have some video card in there or it won't work. That's why I asked if you had known-good components that you could swap in for testing.

[camwyn]

Removed one stick of memory. NO change. No POST beeps even.
MOved it to different socket. No change.
Removed that stick. Put in other stick. No change.
Moved that to different socket. No change.

Will install vid card again.

[camwyn]

Tried putting vid card back into AGP slot. Still no change and no POST beeps.

[pelogrande.livejournal.com]

Do you have actual speakers plugged into the back or are you relying on a speaker plugged into the board? That model motherboard supports voices messages for POST which run through the onboard soundcard. I can't remember if this is on by default or not.

[camwyn]

Tried both with speakers and without. No difference.

Note: Had a hell of a time getting the CPU fan mounted. I may have munged something on the mobo in the process- I know I dropped it once and nearly screamed. Also, I could not get the wrong size screw out of one of the stand-offs.

I will not cry if I have to replace the mobo. I bought a serial ATA drive only to discover that this mobo does not in fact HAVE serial ATA ports, idiot idiot idiot me.

[zwol.livejournal.com]

I'd try taking EVERYTHING off the motherboard except its connection to the power supply. No CPU even. If it doesn't beep at you then, I'd consider the motherboard busted.

[camwyn]

I got no beeps when I did that; the computer didn't power down, but there were no beeps. Have since tried several other things (see below) and still no beeps, so,yeah, mobo gonna be replaced.

[derien.livejournal.com]

If something is touching the motherboard in the wrong place you can have a motherboard short - eor says he's had that happen when he's building systems from scratch.

ClassicDrogn on mobo shorts

[(Anonymous)]

I read in someone else's account of building a comp that tey had trouble because the standoffs from the back of the board to the case were so short that the force applied from installing components had warped it enough to short out some of the surface mount stuff - he solved it by cutting open a plastic milk jug and putting holes in it to slip the standoffs through, thus inserting an insulating layer. Shame about the SATA - Having reccomended a different member of that board family and specifically noted its built in SATA ports, I fear I may have been part of that mixup. Um, you did get a PSU that has the power connectors for it, right? Apparently they are not the same - SATA drives want different voltages, I think. (Mine just used two very large Western Digital Ultra IDE drives - capacity was more important to me than raw speed)

- CD

Re: ClassicDrogn on mobo shorts

[camwyn]

The guys at Best Buy seemed to think this case had the power connector. I asked about that. If the picture at http://english.aopen.com.tw/products/mb/accessory/serialatapower.htm reflects the right kind of connector, then yes, there is one of those on my power supply.

I have since spent some time on the phone with the marvellous and wonderful eor. We have eliminated the video card as the likely source of the problem by using a known good vid card. There is no alternative CPU available. We have attempted several different configurations of the memory. They do not make a difference. I removed several standoffs including the problematic one, then only screwed two of the standoffs down. The only result was that the computer no longer dies after ten seconds, but keeps on running very happily indeed.

I'm going to Best Buy and picking up a new mobo. If this doesn't work I'll know it's the processor. That, or I'll go into my existing computer, rip out the power supply, and hook that bastard up. But I think it's probably the mobo; all three fans come to life when I power the machine up, and the standby light on the mobo comes on, it's just that I get neither video signal nor angry beeps. And hooking up the keyboard? no good. Got a very brief plip of light on the num/caps/scroll lock LEDs, but after that, touching the various lock keys got no response at all.

Re: ClassicDrogn on mobo shorts

[(Anonymous)]

Older SATA drives may have the old style 4 pin molex connectors. The newer ones tend to have the new SATA power connector. But the voltages are the same, and little adapter cables are easily available. I have one that I needed briefly until I put my new drive into a SATA external enclosure.

The thing that is nice about the new connectors, aside from being smaller and perhaps less prone to having pins get pulled out, and being easier to attach and detach, is that they're hot swappable, as are SATA data connectors. (Of course, make sure that your OS supports that before trying it)

Re: ClassicDrogn on mobo shorts

[camwyn]

I have taken the step of ordering a new motherboard from newegg.com. If it works with this processor, great. If not, I stab someone in the eye with a pen, then buy a new processor.

THIS mobo supports this particular model of AMD processor, AND it has serial ATA. So unless the processor itself is bad, it should work.

*mutters to self*

Re: ClassicDrogn on mobo shorts

[(Anonymous)]

Can we vote on who you stab? Or do you expect that you'll just stab whoever's closest?

Random Troubleshooting Factoids

[highdancer.livejournal.com]

Couple of ideas for checking that the Mobo is toast.

Remove all RAM. If the board is operating properly, it should beep to let you know the situation if FUBAR. No beeps, not good. The beeps are, generically, for most BIOS, 1 3 3 1.

Also: It beeps, you put the RAM back in, nothing. Check the CPU. Most boards should cope, but a few, if the CPU is 'absent' for whatever reason, the POST will sit there and wait for an answer it will never get.

Re: Random Troubleshooting Factoids

[camwyn]

No beeps. Doesn't matter what's connected or what removed. It doesn't beep.

[akawil]

I once had a MOBO refuse to boot -- even refuse to spin the CPU fan up -- because I installed the wrong type of RAM. I suppose, though, that this wouldn't be what's happening if you're not even getting the "no RAM at all" beeps.