Okay, so I went and bought some parts to build a new pc the otherday. Intel Core2 duo PC chips (i know...yuck, but it was one of the only cheapish agp compatible boards) P23G And an Xion case. Older parts I'm using that I know work: Patriot 1gb stick ram Dvd Burner 120GB Seagate drive 400W PS. 6800GT Okay, anyways. Here's where I am. I've installed my mother board into the case. I've hooked it up to the PS, have the CPU installed, the fan hooked up etc. I've pretty much just hooked up the essentials to see if it will atleast begin a boot up. I don't have the HD, or the DVD drive connected to the motherboard. I just wanted to get to the screen that shows my ram and cpu etc. But when I turn on my pc, all that happens is the fans turn on. There's NO video feed to my moniter. Nothing ever comes up on the screen. I've looked online for help, but all it says is that I should check to see if my CPU is installed correctly (i'm pretty damn sure it is), and if the ram is. (how am I going to screw up the ram?) Any ideas? ...damn I wish i had some computer literate friends.
Well, I guess you need to have your operating system, so you need your Hard Drive to install your OS.
Go over your mother board manual. Check the details on RAM installation, CPU installation, and BIOS configuration. You can mess up the RAM installation if you don't install compatible RAM or you put it in the wrong slot. If you think it’s your video card you could uninstall it and go through your on board video that comes with your mother board. You will have to configure your BIOS to enable or disable on board video depending on what you want to test.
I'm not trying to boot up to windows hence, I dont have the harddrive installed. I'm just trying to see the begining of a boot up. And get to bios etc, to see that what I have so far is working. What do you mean by check the Case screws? Do you mean the spacers under the motherboard? Or the screws attaching the motherboard to the spacers? The manual that came with my motherboard really sucked, it's what I get for going after a cheap Mobo. I'm not entirely computer iliterate, but this is my first time building a pc. I don't have my graphics card installed. NOTHING is on the motherboard but the cpu/heatsink/fan, and RAM. The RAM is in the right spot. (in the DDR400 slot, not DDR2.) I know the difference, and wouldn't make that mistake. I feel so pathetic with this. It's buggin the hell out of me not knowing what the hell is wrong. My case came with NO booklets, and my Mobo booklet sucked, and the PDF on the cd wasn't much better. I've been using the net and my old mobo booklet sadly, with the one that came with this one.
I really couldn't hear anything but fans, but I did hear a little clicking noise or something. Not sure what it was though.
Loose - or possibly missing. I had a PCChips board a few years ago and went through similar struggles. It was a missing screw and the board was not properly grounded as a result.
I did that earlier today, just to see. And it still didn't show anything. I've trouble shooted this damn thing all day today.
Well, i believe I put it into my case correctly. With the spacers and screws etc. It's secure, doesn't bend or anything. I did have a question about screwing it onto the spacers though, there were little red rings (some kind of material in the bag), and I used them like washers on my motherboard with teh screws. (I figured that's what they were for).
For not having anythign attached to it, I even unplugged a bunch of the case fans...I would think 400W is MORE than enough for a measley Mobo/cpu. This PS ran a 6800GT, like 3 case fans, 1gbstick, mobo, etc. It's more than powerful enough. Thanks for the input though.
This is from PCGuide.com - hope it helps: If the head of the screw is large enough that after tightening the screw the head might make contact with the circuitry on the motherboard, you must use a plastic or paper washer under the screw head to prevent accidentally shorting out the motherboard. Most motherboard manufacturers are smart enough today to leave a little extra space around the mounting holes.
1. You didn't mention pluggin in the keyboard. Try that, if you didn't. Could be your default Bios doesn't allow boot up w/o Keyboard. 2. Ram is very sensitive to static electricity from the human body, it's possible you could have damaged the ram that way. check the ram by puttin it in your old PC, see if the ol pc will boot up. If it don't, then you know you fried your Ram. (always discharge static electricity from your body by touching the case before handling any components inside .... especially Ram) That's all I can come up with .... hope it helps.
.... or if that's a brand new stick of Ram, it could have been bad to begin with (a common occurrence). That's why I never buy RAM on-line. Buy from the local Fry's and you can return it easily and get another one.
