Comp starts but monitor shows nothing.(MtgOwen)

[mtgowen]

I just put together a computer iam building. components installed are the following...
Winfast NF4UK8AA mobo used
amd 4000+ single core used
kingston 2x512 pc3200 used
new amd stock HSf
new Hd radeon 2600 pro
seagate 160gb new
no optical drive atm
500w new psu from foxtech.

ok now I have built another pc before with no problems at all. now everything looks fine installed, but when i go to power on the tower for the first time, there is absolutely no power at all. I did a psu test that i found on these forums which incluced taking the 24 pin cpu clip and shorting the green wire with the black one next to it and powering on the psu. when i did that test i had the mobo still hooked up by the 4 pin molex and cpu fan was still hooked to mobo. now that being said once i flicked the switch the psu powered on and the heatsink fan was spinning plus the leds from the power button lit up.

Ok now after that test I hooked just the power button up with the cpu 24 pin and the 4 pin and tried powering that up. still got no power to my psu or anything in the computer.... if anyone has seen this before or has any infomation as to what i may be doing wrong please feel free to answer.

P.S i was touchin the psu to remove static electricity from me before touching any components.

[mtgowen]

text taken from another website...
Q.
"The power supply in my new ATX case does not seem to work. After I plugged the power supply and turned on the switch, the fan did not turn. I did not detect any voltage coming out of the power supply, either. Is this a defected power supply?"

A.
ATX power supplies require a working motherboard with a working CPU, memory, and video card to function properly. ATX power supplies switched on only through a motherboard connector. In other words, it needs to be connected to a functioning computer before the fan inside the power supply will turn on and the voltage from the connectors can be measured. That's how ATX is designed.

It would be useful to connect a speaker properly to a motherboard, almost every motherboard sends coded beeps if something is amiss. Not having a speaker connected will severely limit your troubleshooting attempts. The meaning of beeping codes should be described in the motherboard manual. Some motherboards also have LEDs that help to determine the error states.

If your motherboards requires a special power to be hooked up to a plug near the CPU (it is 2x2 or 2x4 plug), do not forget to do so or CPU might not have power to run the motherboard. It is especially true for the motherboards that can run double core CPUs.

Check the voltage selection switch on the back of the power supply. Make sure it is set for 115V, the Northern American voltage, a very common mistake. If it is set for 220V, it will act as a dead PSU. All it requires is a flip of the voltage selection switch. Switch it back and forth to make sure it is switch all the way to a correct selection.

Now, find a description in the manual how to clear the CMOS - BIOS through a jumper or other means. A BIOS with corrupted data can prevent a motherboard to power on. What this step does is returning memory of BIOS to the factory settings. Do not forget to place the jumper back before attempting to boot again! (see motherboard manual for correct jumper position)

Make sure that the processor, memory and video card are properly inserted, re-sit them to be sure, do so even if the hardware seems to be sitted well. More often than not it is a memory module not sitted all the way. Reposition a video card, sometimes when you tighten it to the case, the video card slides out some from the slot. If all fails try remove and install once again a CPU. The next step would be to dismount a motherboard, the connectors from the bottom or the case itself can short parts of the motherboard. When running tests, do not connect power supply to any extra hardware like case fans or hard drives, the PSU should power only the motherboard and a video card if one is present. Remove motherboard from the case, place it on non-conductive surface, remove every component, re-install CPU without installing memory or video card. If it works then put in memory, test, if works, then put in video card and test again. This way you may find a components that is refusing to "cooperate."

If the system still does not power up, see if the new power supply in question would work in another working computer or see if another working power supply would power up the new system you are building.

At times the manufacturer's phone support or forums can have a valuable information about your hardware. One may never know that the simple things like a defective power cable, turned off power surge protector, incorrectly hooked up power switch to the motherboard can be causes of misfunction.

If the power supply is confirmed defective, file an online RMA request and ship back only the power supply but not the entire case for exchange.

After installing the hardware, my bare-bone system does not seem to boot

According to your manual, make sure you have the RAM module seated properly in Bank 1. Also, the motherboard for the system is shipped with the CMOS Jumper set to CLEAR from the manufacturer. Make sure you set the CMOS Jumper to NORMAL for proper operation.


is all this true, if so, what would you think my problem is? or what kinda test can i perform to narrow my problems down?

[Eclecticos]

Are you sure you hooked up the leads from your front panel i.e. Buttons to the motherboard?
If not consult your motherboard manual.
You are looking for "Front Panel Connector" or Panel 1.
It will tell you where the leads or braided wire from the frontpanel buttons go.

[mtgowen]

yes they are all connected securely. after i did that power supply test. I took all my components out of the tower and put them all back in one by one and than put all power supply and front panel connectors where they had to go. still no power. would you think its my cpu that is not powering the board or its a motherboard problem? also the cmos and bios jumpers, would they have anything to do with my motherboard not receiving any power at all?

[crenn]

Could be that you have a faulty motherboard.

[nevermind1534]

Yeah, I've had that happen twice. I don't think I will ever buy another open-box motherboard again.

[Luke122]

If the PSU spins up with the green/black shorting trick, it could still be a faulty PSU. A PSU tester is a good (cheap) investment, and will sort out power problems very fast.

Alternately, you could try another PSU in the same case, or try this PSU with another system, and see if the problem moves with it.. I second the double checking of the power switch where it connects to the mobo, so maybe check that again too.

[nevermind1534]

You can just bypass the power switch by shorting out the pins for it with a metallic object.

[Luke122]

You can just bypass the power switch by shorting out the pins for it with a metallic object.

..directly on the motherboard. Yes, but that's not very safe.. if you make a poor connection, it would be equal to hitting the power button off and on rapidly, and could do damage. Any momentary switch would work, it's always good to keep one around just for testing purposes. You could even salvage one from an old case.

[nevermind1534]

Well, that's what I've been doing with my computer to turn it on for a few months, now since I've had it in the server case that I got out of the trash with my nice poster printer, complete with ink. A power button is much more convenient, though, and it probably isn't the safest thing to do to the motherboard. I should really get a new power button.

[mtgowen]

ok now what i have done is took all my other parts out. so its just a empty case with the brand new 500 watt psu. I put in a new p5k-c mobo, a used (tested) e6300 intel with a thermaltake max orb heatsink and fan, ati 2600 pro new, 160gb seagate hd new and 2 gb dual channel pc5400 ddr2 new. I hooked that all up and turn the power on the psu. i get a green light on my motherboard.
i turned the computer on success everything powered on then it seemed like it restarted and booted again but the monitor did not turn on at all. any solutions for me now?

[J-Roc]

MtgOwen is a good friend of mine and is having some problems getting his computer going. He made a topic for his last problem but has since changed the mobo/proc/ram/vid. I stoped by his place after work to help him install a MaxOrb heatpipe on an Asus/core2 system. After the computer was complete we started it up. All the lights came on, the HD and fans started spinning. However we couldnt get the monitor to click on. The computer seems to be running fine, it first started with the new hardware then reset itself (common asus thing) but the monitor remained black as if it wasnt connected. We changed the video card and also the ram. Still nothing.

I couldnt stay long and had to leave without resolving the problem.

Sugjestions?

[J-Roc]

I just made you a new topic :P

[mtgowen]

suggestions people. I am lost and need help if you have any info for me post it no matter how dumb it might seem, it may help me. Do you think if i reset the cmos it may help power on the monitor???

[Zeus]

are you getting any beeps at boot up? do you only hear the fans turn on when you kick it over? Have you checked all the PSU connections?

[Eclecticos]

I would suggest resetting the bios,
and Making sure your video card is properly seated.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5079/cmosjumperjf8.gif

You simply move the jumper over one pin. Hit the power button "nothing should happen"
then put it back in its original location. If that doesn't work I would suggest removing the battery for 15 seconds . .then resetting the bios and putting the battery back in before you attempt to reboot the computer.

I would recommend against openbox even if it looks like a deal.
You never know who has gotten ahold of it and what they have done to it.

Either that or you have forgotten to hook up your 4-8Pin PSU connector to the mobo.
Looks like this:

http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/4170/86450246kx5.jpghttp://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4733/91445088ib4.jpg

[mtgowen]

dont hear any beeps. i hear the psu fan, video card fan , hard drive, heatsink fan plus the led's are lit up. i have unplugged all power connections and hooked them back up. same results, no monitor signal. also switched ram for different ram, switched video card with another video card(both are new). I also tested it with another monitor that i know works. no signal still

[nevermind1534]

Did you try holding the power button down, until it turns off, then pressing it again to turn it back on? That's what has to be done on my grandma's computer, although when one of my motherboards did that to me, it was just about dead. I turned it on and off until I could get it to go, made sure that I didn't unplug it, or leave it turned off for too long, but it did get to the point that it wouldn't turn on at all.

[mtgowen]

nope that did not work for me either. ok so j-roc is gonna let me use his PSU on this computer to test that and if that is still the same result. Than a 2nd test outside the case with his psu. final test would be my p5n-sli board with the same components with my psu. again if that fails than i will test that mobo on his psu. I hope i figure this all out 2moro. will post back results and a Big thanks to every1 who responded. If you have any other tests or things i should try post them for me and i will test it all out 2moro at j-roc's place.:banana:

and btw i did reset the cmos and tried booting computer, no monitor signal.

[mtgowen]

faulty motherboard and one stick of my ram wasnt working. Thanks to all who responded. gave me alot of tests to run.