great, build not working :(

[dccool879]

Boot up, all the lights go on and fans spinning, but nothing on the monitor. Can someone help me spot what is wrong. clues
1. i've tried all jumper combinations
2. when cd drive ide is plugged in, the drive wont open, but when not plugged in, it does.
3. the wireless receiver for the keyboard/mouse lights up
4. i tested a working video card as well as another one in there, still no luck.
5. i've removed everything except fans, ram, cpu, gcard, and mobo and still wont show a pic on the screen
6. tried 1 stick of ram, tried both sticks as 1
7. reset cmos
8. taken out and put back in the cmos battery
9. taken out cpu to make sure it's fine

i've pretty much narrowed it down to the cpu and mobo. Could it be the mobo tho? the mobo powers the cpu fan fine. Also, the cpu i had to bend some pins back. Maybe they are dirty? one needs to be cleaned?? help!!

 

[g12rxz]

Does the motherboard have a post beep? Is there an onboard graphics adapter on your motherboard? Does your videocard require a PCI-E power connection (6 pin)? Maybe its finicky, some motherboards have a 12v 4 pin molex connector on the motherboard (DFI Mobo with NF4 chipset i ecnountered this) and they wont do anything without it. Borrow some friends ram to see if it will boot with theirs, 2 bad sticks is highly unlikely, but still possible. Make sure the power to the motherboard is completely snapped down. Take the HS off your CPU and remove it from the socket, check pins again, reseat and press down firmly with a piece of plastic wrap on your finger to ensure its fitting tightly. Etc Etc --- debuild and rebuild. look at one thing at a time. Even try swapping videocards.

 

[dccool879]

Does the motherboard have a post beep? Is there an onboard graphics adapter on your motherboard? Does your videocard require a PCI-E power connection (6 pin)? Maybe its finicky, some motherboards have a 12v 4 pin molex connector on the motherboard (DFI Mobo with NF4 chipset i ecnountered this) and they wont do anything without it. Borrow some friends ram to see if it will boot with theirs, 2 bad sticks is highly unlikely, but still possible. Make sure the power to the motherboard is completely snapped down. Take the HS off your CPU and remove it from the socket, check pins again, reseat and press down firmly with a piece of plastic wrap on your finger to ensure its fitting tightly. Etc Etc --- debuild and rebuild. look at one thing at a time. Even try swapping videocards.

no onboard graphics. it is an agp, requires no external power. I pluged in the additional 4 pin molex to the 20 pin atx power thingy. this ram worked before i put it in. i reconnected the power like 69 times to check. i checked pins, and tried cleaning them with alcohol. why the plastic wrap tho? do humans really pose that much static electricity on a cpu to not touch it? cause we definity touched the sides of it during bending back like 20+ pins.

 

[g12rxz]

Well i mentioned covering your finger with some plastic wrap when you push down on the cpu and are locking the the arm, this keeps the oils from your skin from getting onto the processor and lowering the effectiveness of the contact between thermal paste/metal. Sounds like its your motherboard. Whats the CPU, RAM, mobo etc?

 

[dccool879]

ram is 2x kingmax pc2700 512mb sticks, mobo= http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PCCHIPS-P4-...7QQihZ009QQcategoryZ80159QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem cpu= http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220009259184&sspagename=ADME:B:AAQ:US:1&rd=1 right now i am just using a tnt2 to test out the computer until the 6800 comes. i've also tested it with a confirmed working 9600xt. also my friend had a fried mobo, and his prob was that it wouldnt even power up, none of the fans or anything.

 

[g12rxz]

I'm definatly going to lay my claim to it being a motherboard problem.

 

[disarmedmeteor]

As a matter of fact, I have had this problem several times, I had accidentally corrupted the bios while overclocking. It's definitely your motherboard. Try replacing it even though it's a painful ordeal.

 

[dccool879]

my friend had a fried mobo, and his prob was that it wouldnt even power up, none of the fans or anything. with this one, all fans go on including fans that plug into the mobo like the cpu fan are running. i'd think it would be working if i didnt look @ the screen and think it was working. this is what edges me towards it being cpu. also the cpu was from a sketchy auction where i had to bend back many pins. so are you surree its the mobo?? i wish i had one to test it out on, but this is my first intel system i've ever built

 

[g12rxz]

Bending back pins wont affect it working as long as your sure all the pins are in order, straight, and there arent any broken ones. I've bent pins on my current processor to 90 degree angles and saved them, have you possibly forced the processor in the wrong way, and not used the keys?

IE arrow pointing with arrow, dot to dot, the pattern for the pins themselves to the socket..

 

[dccool879]

all are straight up, and to the pattern of the socket. so all should be fine?

 

[g12rxz]

everything should be fine. the only other thing you can try is another power supply, even if the fans spin, doesnt mean its 100% functional.

 

[dccool879]

what would the symtoms be if just the cpu was bad? atm i am testing another power supply, ill get back in like 3 min to see if that might be it

 

[g12rxz]

rarely do you get a fully doa cpu, parts of them just may not be working, and youd at least be able to post. from there youd experience frequent crashes and hangups... again, try the power supply.... from there you've narrowed it to the processor or motherboard, which is pretty good. motherboard wise, just that brand name sticks out as 'ICK'.

 

[dccool879]

lol ya pcchips haha. i tried another working powersupply from my webserver, and no luck. same results. well thanks guy i'm now certain it's the motherboard. i just was a little uncertain because @ THG http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1177199#1177199 a dude said he thought it was the cpu! but ya'll seem to know what you're doing

 

[dccool879]

i'm not home right now but my friend told me over the net that when he swapped motherboards it is still doing the same thing! so it's gotta be the processor?

 

[disarmedmeteor]

what are your system specs exactly?