Daaaamm Computer Doesn't Work :( :( :(

NewGuyNewGuy
edited March 2006 in Hardware
this suckss.... i finished building the new computer.... but when i connected the monitor, keyboard, mouse, NOTHING showed up on the screen :bawling:
The only thing that worked was this LED on the mobo, a few case lights, and the fans. THATS IT!! The keyboard and mouse lights didn't even turn on! I think i heard a few beeps...but then after i tried to find what the problem was, and and then the beeps didn't even work!

I took out the vid card and put it back in...no luck

I tried putting the hard drive jumper in all positions, still nothing :(

The ram looks stable. and i know i put the cpu in correctly.

I put a dvd burner and a dvd rom...but if i messed up with the master/slave things it shouldn't stop anything from showing on the screen right?

I didn't touch any jumber cables on the mobo like the CLRTC (Clear RTC) jumpers

i put the ram in the third slot (B1) cuz the guide says to put it there... and the vid card is in the top pci express slot

I haven't connected the tiny fan cable from the pwersupply to the motherboard, cuz i dont think im supposed to ... im assuming the fan pins on the motherboard are for the smaller fans.

Can anyone please help me out?? :eek3: I had a feeling this wasn't going to work :(
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Comments

  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    OK, let's start over.
    What is your hardware? Give us a list.
    Now, dismantle the entire thing. Take the mobo out of the case.
    Read the manual. You may need the fan connected.
    PSU, mobo, CPU, cooler, one stick of memory and video card are all you need to see if you get a boot.
    Before you plug it in make sure that you clear the bios and return the jumper to the correct position.
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
    AMD athlon 3200+
    XFX 6800GS 256M
    OCZ 1024MB DDR Ram
    Western Digital 200GB
    Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550W

    Ok i will dismantle everything, and only install the necessary parts. Are u sure we dont need a hard drive?

    What do u mean by clear the bios and return the jumper to the correct position?

    Was i supposed to do this before too?
  • ArmoArmo Mr. Nice Guy Is Dead,Only Aqua Remains Member
    edited February 2006
    somewhere real close to the CMOS battery ( looks like a large watch battery ) is a jumpter, if you set it to the opposite postion, by moving it over 1 pin, and start the machine, it will clear the CMOS. when you power it on with the jumper switched it shouldnt display anything on the screen, let it run like that for a few seconds and then set the jumper back to the way it was before.

    the HDD is just a storage unit. you dont need it for this level of troubleshooting, theres somthing hardware related going on.

    one thing to make sure the CPU/MOBO are correctly running is to take all of the memory out as well as the video cards, with only the CPU/and the mobo powered when you turn it on, you should get bios beep codes comming from the speaker telling you that you dont have any ram installed, if it dosnt make a noise, and the speaker is hooked up forrectly, you have effectivly narrowed your search for the bad parts.
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    nice reply... i will try that cpu/motherboard trick.

    about the jumper...should i let it run for a few seconds, turn the machine off, and then switch it back to default postion? or switch it to default postion while the machine is on?

    do i have to do that if i only have cpu and motherboard installed?

    thanks
  • ArmoArmo Mr. Nice Guy Is Dead,Only Aqua Remains Member
    edited February 2006
    turn it off before switching any jumpers, its worth a shot with just the CPU and motherboard, what restting the jumpers does is puts the motherboard back into setup defualts. it will run at the most supportive modes. with the most basic ( not fastest ) settings.
  • jradminjradmin North Kackalaki
    edited February 2006
    Also, try putting the RAM in slot #1. ASUS has some issues with OCZ RAM that I've learned dealing with my own machine, and some times you have to throw the manual out the window.
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    It still doesn't work :(

    i tried everything....nothing worked

    i didn't even hear any beeps with only the motherboard and cpu connected.

    I tried connecting only the psu, mobo, video card and ram, but there wasn't anything from the monitor

    I dont think any of the I/O slots work... because the keyboard lights didn't even flash like they always do. there wasn't any reaction from the monitor or mouse.

    I did the jumper thing too... what can be the problem??

    i tried connecting the ram to slot 1 also... nothing worked :banghead:

    i am losing hope... :sad2:
  • hypermoodhypermood Smyrna, GA New
    edited February 2006
    Can you hear the PSU fans running? Double check to make sure the power switch connector is plugged into the right pins.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited February 2006
    Have you plugged in the four-pin auxiliary power connector?
  • ArmoArmo Mr. Nice Guy Is Dead,Only Aqua Remains Member
    edited February 2006
    most of the time, if you power the machine on with JUST the motherboard and CPU installed that means one of them is bad,

    but like prof said make sure all of the auxilary power connections are made to the board, also that the PSU you are using has a 24 main power plug and not just a 20, or that you have some kind of 20-24 pin adapter, the motheboard will not work with a 20 pin power connector.

    theres also a small square power connecter that has 2 yellow and 2 black wires going to it, this provides the board with more +5V. also some where near one of the PCI-E slots is a 4 pin molex connector, its not mandatory but hooking power to this couldnt hurt.

    can you tell i have the same board :)
  • jradminjradmin North Kackalaki
    edited February 2006
    Don't use the EZ Plug power connecting on that MOBO unless you are using 2 vid cards in SLI. Thats just a lttle factoid for ya. You should only be using the 24 pin power connection and the 4 pin square aux power connection. I've heard of some rare issues with people using it any not needing it. Also, take a look at the LED on your MOBO and see if you have a red one lit up anwhere.

    Have you mearsured the rails on your PSU yet? Check those to see if your voltage is correct.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    I want to make sure that you performed the BIOS reset with the CMOS jumper correctly. I am adding a step that wasn't put up here before:

    - turn off the computer
    - turn off the power supply unit or unplug it
    - move the CMOS jumper to the lower two pins and wait thirty seconds
    - return the CMOS jumper to the upper two pins
    - plug in the power supply/turn on the power supply
    - turn on the computer

    Please ensure you have taken those steps exactly.

    What happens now? PSU fans spin? Motherboard LED light on? Any beeps? Do any other fans spin?

    If there is still a problem, recheck the front panel motherboard connectors. I'm talking about the little connectors that attach to the pins at the bottom right side of the motherboard: speaker, reset, power switch, rest, HDD LED, and power LED. If those are not correctly positioned, your board might now power on. Try connecting only the power switch ("pwr sw"). Does it work now?
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    When i first posted this thread, i didn't have the square 4-pin power connected, then after i read the manual and i found out i forgot to connect it, and i was soo confident that was the problem. But turned out it wasn't.

    The auxilary power is the 12V square one right?

    in the psu manual it says: "it has a 24-and-20-pin Main Power Connector"
    but i only see one big power connector...? I guess i will have to count the pins to see how many there are on it

    I will also try disconnecting the EZ power and ill double chek all the power switch and led pins.

    do the speaker pins have to be in the right direction? for example, in the mobo manual it says connect it this way:

    +5V - Ground - Ground - Speaker

    but is it ok if i connect it: Speaker - Ground - Ground - +5 ?
    i will switch them to make sure.

    Also, with the motherboard/cpu beep trick, were u talking about the speakers that i connect from inside the mobo with the tiny pins, or the ones i connect from the outside (in the I/O slots) ?

    thanks for all your help guys!!
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    The square, 4-pin connector MUST be connected.

    The rectangular (Molex) 4-pin connector is optional unless you are running dual video cards.

    The main (ATX) 20/24 pin connector on the motherboard MUST be connected. Does the plug from the power supply fill the whole ATX motherboard socket? If it does, you are OK. The "24-and-20-pin Main Power Connector" is the plug that fits in the ATX slot on the motherboard. That plug is configured with an end piece that snaps away (not off completely, just separates) to allow to use the plug for motherboards with only a 20-pin ATX slot.

    Concerning the speaker connector:
    All Asus boards I've built with have the connectors' white lettering facing up, towards the top of the motherboard. You shouldn't have to note which pins are positive or ground. (Abit is another story - sheesh! Sometimes you have to do the exact opposite of the Abit board manuals instruct!)
    Also, with the motherboard/cpu beep trick, were u talking about the speakers that i connect from inside the mobo with the tiny pins, or the ones i connect from the outside (in the I/O slots) ?
    The beeps I'm referring to should emanate from the small speaker integral to the case (sometimes in the face plate/bezel). That speaker is powered by the small connector affixed to the tiny pins at the bottom of the motherboard.
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    wait, i only know speaker connectors that are at the bottom of the mobo, which speaker connecters are at the top?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    You should not be attempting auxilliary speakers at this time. That should be one of the last things you do, after your computer is booted into windows and running well. The ONLY speaker you should be concerned with right now is the tiny case speaker (inside the case somewhere) that provides beep codes for diagnostic purposes. That speaker is connected via a single single, very small black connector that you affix to pins on the motherboard.

    BTW, did you perform the CMOS reset exactly as prescribed in my post above. I'm not ragging on you. We want to help you. It's just that we'll never get through this troubleshooting if we can't confirm the steps taken, one at a time.
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    I want to make sure that you performed the BIOS reset with the CMOS jumper correctly. I am adding a step that wasn't put up here before:

    - turn off the computer
    - turn off the power supply unit or unplug it
    - move the CMOS jumper to the lower two pins and wait thirty seconds
    - return the CMOS jumper to the upper two pins
    - plug in the power supply/turn on the power supply
    - turn on the computer

    Please ensure you have taken those steps exactly.

    What happens now? PSU fans spin? Motherboard LED light on? Any beeps? Do any other fans spin?

    If there is still a problem, recheck the front panel motherboard connectors. I'm talking about the little connectors that attach to the pins at the bottom right side of the motherboard: speaker, reset, power switch, rest, HDD LED, and power LED. If those are not correctly positioned, your board might now power on. Try connecting only the power switch ("pwr sw"). Does it work now?

    I did that... with the vid card and ram...and without it

    with the video card and ram... the psu, cpu, and vid card fans started spinning and the green light on the mobo was on, no sound

    without vid card and ram (only cpu and mobo) .... same thing.... cpu, and psu fans started spinning, with the green light always on, no sound

    i performed the CMOS procedure exactly for both (with and without ram&card) as listed above, except i might have waited longer than 30 seconds

    I also unhooked all of the speaker, reset,ide, and pled pins... so that only the power switch was hooked, but i got the same results: spinning fans with no other activity
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    I jus want to note...

    u know those two steel "pins" touching the side of the CMOS battery.... well, yesterday in the manual it said to clear the CMOS thing by first removing the battery. I didn't know how to remove the batter, so i tried pulling on the pins, then im like forget it cuz it didn't seem like the right way to remove it, so i just gave up. Now one of the pins is not touching the side... it is almos touching, but its not... is that a bad thing?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    OK, good work. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else right now. You may just have a bad motherboard. If you/we don't come up with a troubleshooting step within the next 24 hours that works, it's probably time to call the seller and ask for an RMA (return merchandise authorization). If it's Newegg, you've got 14 days or 30 (don't remember) for a new board.
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    maybe the speaker is bad? can i try connecting wires through the speaker connector, and the other ends of the wires toching a battery, and see if it makes a "static" sound?
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    I also want to note the bottom of the motherboard is touching the case, would that cause any problems?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    Yes, both pins should be touching the batter. For CMOS battery removal, a small knife blade or small screw inserted between the battery and the plastic holder, twisted gently will remove it. Yes, removing the battery is another way of clearing the BIOS.

    I don't know about testing a case speaker, so I can't recommend your suggestion. I can nearly guarantee you that the speaker is not defective.
  • jradminjradmin North Kackalaki
    edited February 2006
    NewGuy wrote:
    I also want to note the bottom of the motherboard is touching the case, would that cause any problems?

    You mean the bottom as in the back of the mobo where all the solder connections are? Or the bottom as in if the mobo is standing up in the case...the lower edge of the board.

    If the back of the board is touching any part of the case, then you have it shorted out somewhere.
    If its just the bottom edge of the board standing up, then its still very possiable that its being shorted out.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    Um, did you use the little brass mounting studs in the case to mount the board???? Or just screw it to the case???? If you screwed it right to the case, you now have a dead CMOS battery also and will get nothing from the board until the board has a new CMOS battery installed (had a friend do that one time)..... 99% chance.
  • ArmoArmo Mr. Nice Guy Is Dead,Only Aqua Remains Member
    edited February 2006
    ive seen fried PSU's like that
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    The back of the board where all the solder connections are! I just screwed it on to the case. Maybe thats the problem :D

    i mounted the board with normal steel screws, and the bottomo of the board is touching.

    I did get big plastic screws, and i got gold screws, and i got very thin circle things that i think are for putting around screws. Ill send a picture of them as soon as i find the "necessary software" to install my webcam
  • ArmoArmo Mr. Nice Guy Is Dead,Only Aqua Remains Member
    edited February 2006
    there should be small brass standoffs that came with the motherboard, those screw into the case, thent he motherboard sints on top of the standoffs, ONLY WHERE THERE ARE SCREW HOLES throught the motherboard
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    ok, first the brass, then the sints (the small circular ones right), then the motherboard, then the normal steel screws right?

    sorry im slow at this
  • jradminjradmin North Kackalaki
    edited February 2006
    Yes, in that order.

    I believe you should have 7 holes. 2 on the top, 1 in the middle and 2 on the bottom forward and bottom rear.

    The screw holes your looking for will have a silver lining around them...like a cloud :crazy:
  • NewGuyNewGuy
    edited February 2006
    Hi again,

    i put the brass screws in and hooked up the motherboard. there were ony 5 of the brass screws, so i put 1 at the top, 2 in the middle, and 2 at the bottom.

    i instaled the cpu and all the power switches, and hooked up the power cables in the necessary spots. then i tried booting it up, cuz i might hear a beep now, but i didn't ARGGG ( i also cleard the CMOS memory)

    i guess now im gonna have replace the CMOS battey (btw i fixed the pin that wasn't touching the battery)

    so do u guys think it is the battery causing the problem? Lets hope it is...
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