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Built a computer, not booting!

Hi guys!

Built a computer for my brother and unfortunately it's not booting properly :frown: I'm not sure what the problem could be - if I've forgotten something, or if there's a faulty component.

Here's what I did:

1) Screwed in motherboard
2) Slotted in processor, popped on heat-sink, locked into place and fan power onto mobo
3) Slotted in hard-drive, plugged in sata power, sata cable to sata slot on mobo
4) Slotted in DDR ram sticks
5) Plugged in 24 pin power to mobo
6) Plugged in usb leads to mobo
7) Plugged in power switch, reset switch, hard-drive light etc
8) Plugged in screen, keyboard, mouse etc.

Boot up
The fan turns on, hard drive spins (I think) - no beep though, and screen stays black. Signal being sent to screen though, I think.

Some pictures:







Any ideas?

Many thanks,
Jorge

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Can't see anything on those photos. Take a full shot of the mobo with a high res if you can and flash. But sounds like you've got everything plugged in. Have you done the CPU power though? Sounds like that's the issue here.

It'll be either a 4 pin or a 8 pin.

Post your specs so I can see what we're dealing with and I can be more specific (for future reference always post your specs when asking for help :smile: )
Reply 2
Original post by jbcubed3

The fan turns on, hard drive spins (I think) - no beep though, and screen stays black. Signal being sent to screen though, I think.


A few perfectly working computers I've come across don't beep at start-up. Some of those beep when there's a fault.
Reply 3
Thanks Zorg, AidanLunn

I'm not actually sure if the CPU power's been plugged in actually :s-smilie: Need to check - could it be as simple as that?

Nooby question - it would be a lead from the PSU into the mobo?

Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7550 Bundle including AMD Athlon 64 X2 7550 AMD Processor, Asrock AM2+ N68C-S UCC mATX Motherboard and Heatsink and Fan
Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Memory Kit 1.65V CL9
Seagate ST31000528AS 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM
Xenta SATA 2.0 to right angle SATA 7-pin Cable (Red) 46cm / 18"
PowerColor HD 5570 2GB DDR3 VGA DVI HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card
Galaxy Black Mid Tower Case with Blue Bubble Light LED Strip - 450W PSU

Haven't plugged in the GPU yet - trying onboard first.
Reply 4
The power cable in question comes out of the power supply and should look something like this...



You will probably only need a single 4 pin connector.

Not plugging in this cable will cause similar problems to yours :wink:

EDIT: The socket that it fits into should be on the motherboard near the cpu heatsink.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by AidanLunn
A few perfectly working computers I've come across don't beep at start-up. Some of those beep when there's a fault.


One beet means everything is ok with the computer.

if you want to check if a single is being sent to the screen you can boot up the computer then unplut the cable from the monitor, depenting on the make of your monitor it will go into sleep mode and tell you.

also on your memory, I had a computer that would crash for no reason what so ever for years, till we got some new memory to upgrade and the memory was not placed in the right banks, putting them together, fixed the crashing all together
Original post by Scott1541
The power cable in question comes out of the power supply and should look something like this...



You will probably only need a single 4 pin connector.

Not plugging in this cable will cause similar problems to yours :wink:

EDIT: The socket that it fits into should be on the motherboard near the cpu heatsink.


This is exactly what I was thinking.

...another problem could be faulty ram/not inserted properly, but I doubt it. Try what the guy above mentions (the 4-pin 12v), and if that fails or you already have it plugged in, stick in your gfx card and try, and if that dont work, try using different ram

if you've done all that, could be a faulty mobo
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 7
Original post by lace-rules
This is exactly what I was thinking.

...another problem could be faulty ram/not inserted properly, but I doubt it. Try what the guy above mentions, and if that fails or you already have it plugged in, stick in your gfx card and try, and if that dont work, try using different ram


I'm sure that if it was a RAM fault/problem then the computer would POST, however without this cable plugged in I doubt it would POST.
Reply 8
Ohh is there another connector for those Cube things on your Graphics Card?

When you switch on the computer does the fans start spinning and after 2 secs stop?
Reply 9
lol, i was also thinking about the power, whats your power supply rated as?

is it enough to powerful enough? im assuming the first pic is of the power connector, is it seated properly?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Scott1541
I'm sure that if it was a RAM fault/problem then the computer would POST, however without this cable plugged in I doubt it would POST.


Have you ever turned on a computer without ram?

If you did, you would notice that no video gets displayed.

On certain instances, faulty ram displays the exact same symptoms as having no ram, and thus would not post.

However, I suspect that the OP hasnt clicked the ram in correctly, but I cant tell without the computer being in front of me.
Reply 11
Turn around the power button connectors. There is a right side but the only way to tell is to experiment.
Original post by mistwarden
One beet means everything is ok with the computer.


Everything is OK with my computer. It was designed not to beep at start-up. I should know! My dad was one of the team at HP who designed this one! It's one of the HP Media Center PCs.
Original post by lace-rules
Have you ever turned on a computer without ram?

If you did, you would notice that no video gets displayed.

On certain instances, faulty ram displays the exact same symptoms as having no ram, and thus would not post.

However, I suspect that the OP hasnt clicked the ram in correctly, but I cant tell without the computer being in front of me.


I though I had but it must have been faulty ram instead, My excuse is that I have no reason at all to boot a computer with no ram in. I have only done it just now to see who was right.

The results determine that you are right and I am wrong. :rolleyes:
Reply 14
Original post by jbcubed3
Thanks Zorg, AidanLunn

I'm not actually sure if the CPU power's been plugged in actually :s-smilie: Need to check - could it be as simple as that?

Nooby question - it would be a lead from the PSU into the mobo?

Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7550 Bundle including AMD Athlon 64 X2 7550 AMD Processor, Asrock AM2+ N68C-S UCC mATX Motherboard and Heatsink and Fan
Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Memory Kit 1.65V CL9
Seagate ST31000528AS 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM
Xenta SATA 2.0 to right angle SATA 7-pin Cable (Red) 46cm / 18"
PowerColor HD 5570 2GB DDR3 VGA DVI HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card
Galaxy Black Mid Tower Case with Blue Bubble Light LED Strip - 450W PSU

Haven't plugged in the GPU yet - trying onboard first.


Yeah definitely looks like a 4pin CPU power problem. Some motherboards don't have built in speakers so there aren't any beeps, some have diagnostic LEDs (mine has them dotted around the main components like RAM, CPU, GPU, HDD etc)

Most importantly though, what power supply are you running this on? Because a no brand is likely to go at any time, it's not rated and is not a known entity. If the PSU blows it could take anything with it...
I'd check your PSU before turning the rig on.

RAM faults won't POST, just beep/flash LEDs at you and the fans will continuously spin

EDIT: http://europe.asrock.com/manual/N68C-S%20UCC.pdf Page 11 number 3
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Scott1541
I though I had but it must have been faulty ram instead, My excuse is that I have no reason at all to boot a computer with no ram in. I have only done it just now to see who was right.

The results determine that you are right and I am wrong. :rolleyes:


lmao...told you! :aetsch:
Put just the one stick of RAM in the closest slot to the CPU...
Original post by RedGuy
Turn around the power button connectors. There is a right side but the only way to tell is to experiment.


fail. the power button is a switch that works either way round (so long as it is plugged into the right header - OP: CHECK THE CASE CABLES WITH LOCATION ON THE HEADER, i.e. are they in the right place) and can easily be replaced with a screw-driver, please tell me kind sir, where is the positive terminal on a philips-head screw-driver?
Reply 18
Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies - I've checked my brother's PC and the 4-Pin ATX 12V Power Connector is already plugged in. Removed each Ram sick and tried that way, still no luck.

CPU fan spins plus it sounds like the hard-drive is spinning.

Left only the Power and reboot switches in and still no luck - some more images:

I think the case cables are plugged in correctly (please see image).







This is what I've plugged in:

View full-size image

Any ideas? Not sure what to do or what could be faulty. Not sure if eBuyer will accept anything back that's been opened either :/

Switches I put like this - Orange (power switch), Green (reset):


Many thanks!
(edited 12 years ago)
Plug in your graphics card. See what happens. This may sound like a stupid question but I didn't see you mention it, did you apply thermal paste to your processor before you installed it?

eBuyer will accept returns if products are faulty, they're pretty good.

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