Just tried hooking up a different PSU to the system...same result, so it appears the PSU is not the problem.
Sounds like it might be the RAM. How many sticks are in it? Do you have any other systems that you could test them in?
TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EVThat we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
--Benjamin Franklin
hmm...it's dual channel and I have 2 sticks in there, Samsung PC2100 512MB. I tried them in slots 1 and 3, then 2 and 4, then a single stick in one of the slots, all with the same result.
I started looking for more RAM to buy when I realized that according to the spec sheet I found for a slightly later version of the motherboard (which, as far as I can tell, just adds an AGP slot and a firewire port) it can take up to PC3200. It just so happens that's the RAM speed in my fiancee's computer...so I tried that and got the same result. The screen says "no signal" then shuts off, the hard drive is silent after the initial power on...and that's it.
At this point I'd say it's either the motherboard or the processor, and aside from buying new ones, I've got no way of figuring out which is the issue. I think I'll order both but will try the m/b - most places will take a motherboard return but not a processor. Unless anyone has a P4 socket 478, up to 3.2GHz (that's what's in there right now) they're willing to donate? )
Both worked fine before sending your way...
k...just ordered an MSI m/b with the Intel 865GV chipset - built in graphics, very similar specs to the board that's in there new, and it comes with a celeron 2.4GHz proc and heatsink/fan, all for under $50 (after tax and shipping!).
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...4-PB-R&cat=MBB
It's refurb, but I'm not too worried about that. I figure this way if the P4 proc is nonfunctional, I'll at least have the celeron. And the fan on the P4 was a little noisy too (those blower style fans just don't do well when vertical), so hopefully the normal fan on the celeron will be better.
And now for a few pics from yesterday:
monitor stand removal and figuring out VESA mount hole locations on case front
Case construction – figuring out where to put all the various screwholes, and countersinking them. I messed up on the front panel, I countersunk 2 on the wrong side, but luckily on one of them it wasn’t far enough in to really mess it up. And the other? Well, turns out I only have 3 screws that fit the VESA screwholes anyway LOL.
This is the underside, the screws that hold the funky PSU in place.
And cleaning and re-thermal greasing the P4 and heatsink…which now I may not be using depending on what component is responsible for the non-booting. Hopefully I’ll get my new stuff tomorrow; Wednesday at the latest.
hmmm...did you use the onboard video? Or did you have a PCI vid card in there? I wondered if it wasn't set to use the onboard video, and maybe it's hanging at an error screen, but the problem is there's no apparent way to force it to the onboard without being able to see what the screen's showing. I'm hopin' that the new m/b with the P4 proc will work fine, but I'll keep poking around with this one this morning, while there's still time to cancel that order if I can get this working.
It's possible too that the m/b got non-visibly damaged in shipping. I had that happen to a m/b I sold on ebay once - it was fine when I had it, but apparently got dinged in shipping and was DOA (although the processor was fine).
Using the onboard. Have you tried pulling the battery to reset the CMOS?
Yep, that was one of the first things I did. I've also tried different RAM (the PC3200 DDR), no hard drive, which while it obviously wouldn't boot I should still get a POST screen, and a different much higher watt PSU. Also tried hooking the screen up to my fiancee's laptop to test it and the VGA cable, and both are working fine. Other than the problem being the MB or proc, I'm out of ideas...
Check for loose capacitors, etc. on the board?
If it's one of the two, I'd say it's the motherboard.
That's my feeling too. None of the caps seemed loose or bulging, and the little green LED near the CMOS battery lights up when the power is plugged in so visually the mb seems fine. It just doesn't actually do anything I re-seated the processor too a little while ago, just to make sure. No change. It's what I expected but it was worth a try.
I realized I neglected to mention on the earlier set of photos - I forgot to take a pic of it after the gray primer coat, which is why there's an odd photo of it partly gray and partly black. I ran out of black spray paint after coating the outside, so that's why the inside is still gray. It's not worth going to the store and getting yet another can of paint, I was happy to have used up a couple cans of the 7 or 8 that I've had sitting around for years. I also glued thin black foam rubber to the underside to keep it from scratching up the piano.
Lastly, I *might* go back and coat the outside with a resin spray, to give it a nice hard glossy finish. Haven't decided on that one yet, but it could make it look much nicer than the flat black now. Any thoughts on that are appreciated.
More updates probably on Wednesday when I get the new motherboard. I was hoping it'd be here tomorrow but I forgot it's a holiday here in the States. One nice addition on the new board - it'll have SATA, so at some point I can upgrade the HD to an SSD without having to swap out everything else.