Need Help With Building Computer

[Gannuscio]

Hello I am having problems building a copmuter. I have read the manuals over and over and still can't find a solution so I am turning to you. Here is the list of hardware I currently am working with.

MSI 945P Neo3 -

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2487397&CatId=1533

Pentium D 925 3.0 GHZ -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116254

Diamond X300SE 256 MB Video Card

http://www.diamondmm.com/X300SE256HM-CN.php

Maxtor 200 GB IEDE

http://www.outpost.com/product/3492233

Now my problem is that when I plug all of this stuff in and I turn it on I don't hear any beeps but I hear the fans kick in. My main problem is that nothing shows up in the screen. I have reseated everything possible and checked all jumpers on the board. I can't figure out why nothing is showing up on the screen. I am wanting to believe that the motherboard is no good but I am not sure.

Please help.

 

[vacunita]

Does the motherboard have an inbuilt video card? Have you disabled it if so?

Does your video card require an extra power plug to be connected to it? If so is it connected to it?

Can the PSU support all the hardware?



----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[Gannuscio]

vacunita, the motherboard does not have an inbuilt video card, and as far as I can see there is no extra power plug for the video cord. I am running a 400w Power supply with only my m/b, hard drive, and video card... any other ideas?

 

[ArizonaGeek]

I am assuming you have RAM plugged in? Without it, you wont get anything.

Also check to make sure the CPU fan is firmly in place. Does the power supply kick on? How big of a power supply do you have?

Cheers
Rob

 

[Gannuscio]

Rob

I have a 400w power supply and yes I have 1 512 DDR2 533 MHZ Bus plugged in. I have the CPU fan in firmly and I even reseated it last night. I am getting power because I here my hd spin up and my cd rom will open along with the fans kicking on.

Anything else you can think of? Where should I start my troubleshooting?

 

[vacunita]

ArizonaGeek has a point do you have RAM in there?


Also according to the Video card Specs it requires: 420 Watt power supply or higher. You say you have a 400W power supply your 20W shy. And even though I'm sure it would at least start it would be good to get a bigger PSU in the near future.





----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[Gannuscio]

I understand what you are saying about the 20w in the power supply but I don't understand why I can't even get it to start so I can get into the bios. Where should I start in trouble shooting? I am ram in the computer as well. Should I hear beeping with the motherboard?

 

[ArizonaGeek]

Well, first off, asking a stupid question here but is the monitor plugged in and working? Have you tested it to see if it kicks on with another computer? I know these are simple but I learned my lesson a long time ago, rule out the simple ones first. Make sure the video card is firmly in place. Without any beep's its a long shot for the video but never the less, easy to rule out.

Have you tried to reset the bios on the motherboard? There should be a bios reset jumper on the board, try that to see if resetting it works. Check the mb manufacture website and see if there is a BIOS update or a forum to see if there is a known issue.

Hindsight is 20/20 but this is exactly the reason why buying mb and cpu from the same place is helpful. If the CPU is bad, you've got to ship it back and wait for a replacement only to find out if the motherboard is bad (or vice versa) at least if you get them both from the same place they will usually put it together and test it before they send them out.

Cheers
Rob

 

[Gannuscio]

I have confirmed the monitor works well, I am thinking more that it is the motherboard because i bought it from frys and it was an open box. That is my only guess. I was thinking about taking it back and buy a MB with a video card on it. I have looked all through the MB manufacturer website and can't find anything that is helpful to me. I just thought all MB's came with some time of beeping detection to see even if the MB was working. Any other ideas?

 

[edfair]

The M/B manufacturers ship the boards with the CMOS clear jumper set to save the battery. With the jumper set that way the board doesn't process.


Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[ArizonaGeek]

They do and Fry's, although I love the place, won't check returned items. I just bought an Abit AB9-pro motherboard with a Core 2 processor and it works great. It wasnt the easiest to get set up but once I figured it out it rocks. Asus also have great boards as well.

I think with your ATI chip video card an Abit board will work better for you. The Asus tend to want Nvidia video cards more.

Someone will confirm/deny that I am sure. If you arent getting any beeps at all and nothing on the screen, you've ruled out video, you've ruled out power, have you tested your RAM to make sure it works?

Beyond that it leaves one of two things motherboard or CPU and if the motherboard were an open box I'd have to go with that as being the cause. I worked at Fry's here in Phoenix for about 6 months (didn't really need the money but man, they have killer discounts for employees) so I know they put returns back on the shelf if the person doing the returning says nothing is wrong. I'd go with that and let them know it doesn't work. Good luck!

Cheers
Rob

 

[ArizonaGeek]

Just an FYI, a motherboard only needs three things to get to post (bios) and that is power, CPU and ram. And of course video to see it but it doesn't NEED that.

I've never run into a new motherboard that has CMOS clear jumper set so not all do it but it is something to check.

Cheers
Rob

 

[UUVGuy]

If you disconnect the HDs and CD drives, do you still get no display? Any other non essential items that take power could also be disconnected.
20W may not seem like much but if the video card is power starved, it won't display as the input signal to the monitor won't be enough to tell it to activate.

 

[vacunita]

Agreed, Disconnect everything. Just leave the Video Card and the Ram in and see if you get a POST.

If still no go, you might have a defective motherboard.

However i'm concerned its not beeping at all. It should beep if something is wrong.

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.