Having some problems with a new build

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:07

Hello there.. I've just bought some new parts for my pc and I'm having a few issues

I'm powering on the system after building it and having no luck getting any response. Fans power up including on the graphics card. However, the only light on the memory stick is the 5th light which stays orange for a while and disappears. I've tried unconnecting all peripherals except the graphics card and still get no response. The mobo says it supports ddr400 afaik and I'm sure thats what my memory is. I've tried it with the memory in a number of combinations with no luck. There are no audible warnings when powering up to indicate anything wrong.

Specs are as follows

Athlon Dual Core 4200+
Gigabyte K8N SLI mobo
Corsair 1gb XMS3200C2 pro (2x512mb)
Antec TruePower 380W PSU
BFG Nvidia Geforce 7900GT
160gb DiamondMax SATA HDD

Anyone have any suspicions as to what might be the cause. All previous builds I've done have given me audible warnings when something goes wrong but not this time so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Admiral Huddy · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:13

when you say no response, do you get POST messages on the screen?

Can you get into the BIOS?

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:16

I don't get any response on the monitor at all. the orange light on the lcd monitor power button just stays orange, and the memory activity lights on the memory go out after a few seconds (but never do anything really anyway).

Admiral Huddy · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:16

.. no signal .. A further thought.. I'm not that familiar with the Gigabyte, but i know the Asus SLi is particular fussy which PCI-E slot you place a single VGA configuration rather than a dual SLi config.

Check the manual that your VGA is in the right slot if using a single card.

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:20

Admiral Huddy said:
.. no signal .. A further thought.. I'm not that familiar with the Gigabyte, but i know the Asus SLi is particular fussy which PCI-E slot you place a single VGA configuration rather than a dual SLi config.

Check the manual that your VGA is in the right slot if using a single card.

will do that now...

Thanks for the help

Admiral Huddy · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:21

Gorky said:
will do that now...

Thanks for the help

post back result

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:26

Admiral Huddy said:
post back result

I've installed the card in slot PCIE_16_1 which is what the manual says I should do when running in non-SLI mode. It also says installing it in slot 2 when it's not available might damage it so I won't move it over. Any other ideas? :/

div0 · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:31

if the mobo has inbuilt sound you can try plugging in some speakers/headphones and seeing if there is a vocal post through there.

i was used to old systems posting beeps on the pc speaker - but a lot of new mobos seem to post vocal messages out of the inbuilt sound card.

could try that if you haven't already.......

Chris19 · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:35

Make sure that all the power connecters are pluged in as DFI bords are fussy about this. Does the graphics fan spin up and keep spinning at full speed? if so give it a little jimmy to try get a better connection

Admiral Huddy · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:36

ok that elimiates that, i'm a little concerned over you power supply.. i'm not sure a 380W will cut it tbh..

Check all your power connections are secure..

Check that the memory and video card are securley in their place.

Check the monitor cable and swap out for a known working one.

Are you getting "the POST ok" bleep - normally a single bleep?

mj3zero · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:36

Gorky said:
Hello there.. I've just bought some new parts for my pc and I'm having a few issues

I'm powering on the system after building it and having no luck getting any response. Fans power up including on the graphics card. However, the only light on the memory stick is the 5th light which stays orange for a while and disappears. I've tried unconnecting all peripherals except the graphics card and still get no response. The mobo says it supports ddr400 afaik and I'm sure thats what my memory is. I've tried it with the memory in a number of combinations with no luck. There are no audible warnings when powering up to indicate anything wrong.

Specs are as follows

Athlon Dual Core 4200+
Gigabyte K8N SLI mobo
Corsair 1gb XMS3200C2 pro (2x512mb)
Antec TruePower 380W PSU
BFG Nvidia Geforce 7900GT
160gb DiamondMax SATA HDD

Anyone have any suspicions as to what might be the cause. All previous builds I've done have given me audible warnings when something goes wrong but not this time so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Three things spring to mind,

1 - a power issue. Your Psu is a little low on juice for your cpu and vga card (imho). Have you got the PCI-E card connected correctly ? You really want it on its own power cable - ie even though the cable might have 2 or 3 molex and a floppy on it, only connect one to your card (or 2 if required). A quick way of finding out if this is the case is to use an old PCI vga card.

2 - memory compatability issue. This is less likely from your description. If the case has a speaker you should get some beep codes if there is a memory issue.

3 - hardware failure. The worst case scenario as you really need a seperate working rig to try your bits in and see if they are ok.

Good luck and hope it turns out well
mj

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 16:47

Thanks for all the replies. I've tried plugging speakers in with no luck... It's still not giving me an audio signals. I'm going to check everything out power wise. This is the best powersupply I have at hand at the moment. At some point, I'm probably going to want a larger one, if I ever go SLImode so I might get a bigger one tomorrow. I'll see what I cna do for now. I'll report back with results form your suggestions in a while

Admiral Huddy · 28 Mar 2006 at 17:01

Seasonic 600W solid as a rock

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 17:13

I've tried a different set of matched pc3200 ddr400 memory and still no luck so I don't think memory is te isue. I've reseated the cpu, and reconnected the atx power connectors. 4pin and 20(?) pin to the mobo, and a 6 pin to the graphics card. All other drives and peripherals have been completely removed. Still no luck. I'll get myself a decent psu tomorrow and report back with the results. If it's causing problems with just these peripherals in, I can't imagine it's going to like a sound card and the possibility of a second graphics card. That one you've recommended looks solid... Shame I've probably missed next day delivery from OCUK now

I somehow doubt none of the shops around here has anything remotely good unfortunately so it might be thursday until I can get this fixed.

Thanks again for all your advice!

Chris1712 · 28 Mar 2006 at 17:50

Might sound obvious, but have you tried clearing the CMOS? Or using the insert key of justice? (dunno whether this works on all boards though)

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 18:41

I have tried clearing cmos.. No luck. As for the "Insert key of justice" it doesn't seem like the computer even sees the keyboard...

Mikey1280 · 28 Mar 2006 at 19:13

If the Gigabyte board needs a 24pin power supply make sure that you have the 20+4 pins into the large power slot and a separate 4 pin cable plugged into the board near the CPU socket. Do not use the extra pins on the 24pin cable for the CPU.

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 19:27

hmm I think this might be the problem. I'm not sure the psu I've used is compatible. I never noticed there was a cover over 4 of the pins on the main power connector. I only saw the 20 pins and didn't realise it needed another connector. First time I've seen this, but it's been a while since I've built any machines. It seems that I need a PSU with a 20 pin connector and 2 4 pin connectors then? I should have checked my existing PSU would have been compatible I guess, but it appeared to have all the relavant connectors on a wuick glance at the motherboard... Oh well.. you live and learn

AFK_Matrix · 28 Mar 2006 at 20:36

Yep thats your problem mate. Had the same issue when i built my pc in my sig. Basically your DFI needs the main 24 pin socket AND the 4 pin socket near it (think its white from memory and says P4) plugged in. If your PSU doesn't have the 24pin cable or the 4 pin cable your not going to get anywhere. Go get that nice Seasonic 600w PSU and then plug in all the power cables to the Mobo. Oh also there is a molex socket on the DFI board plug that in to apparently makes the system a bit more stable.

Gorky · 28 Mar 2006 at 21:13

Well it's a Gigabyte board not a DFI but it sure sounds like it's the same issue here.

After uncovering those extra sockets, I certainly don't have enough power cables to go around, heh