PC tries to start for 1 sec, stops, tries again, stops...

Mig · 24 Jan 2011 at 23:05

OK, just finished my build. Everything plugged in and when I turn on the power button on the PSU it makes a high pitched whine. Then when I press the PC power on, the fans and motherboard lights up for 1 second, then power off. It waits a couple of seconds then tries again. The same just happens like this in a loop forever.

Help?

Checklist

Tested PSU independently - it works
Tried with motherboard lifted out of the case
Tried alternative memory slots
Tried clearing CMOS

Mig · 24 Jan 2011 at 23:22

It's a brand new PSU; first build.

Antec TruePower New Modular 650W
Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz (Sandybridge)
MSI P67A-GD65
Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz
ATI Radeon 6950
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB

I asked when choosing my build and everyone said 650W would be fine.

Mig · 24 Jan 2011 at 23:35

Orcvader said:
Anyway, I would try taking everything out of the case first and testing it. Might be the case shorting out the motherboard

What would be causing it to short? I am seriously not up for removing everything for about the 4th time.

Orcvader said:
I would also try a CMOS reset.

Is it worth doing if the power won't even stay on? Does the power need to be on for me to do it?

Tealc said:
Also try disconnecting the reset button.

Stopped it restarting every few seconds, but nothing else. I put it back in but now the fans don't even start and it no longer continually restarts. One motherboard light comes on before it cuts out.

Tealc said:
Sounds like a dead PSU to me.

How can I test to be sure it is before I return it?

Orcvader said:
Why did you get a triple channel RAM kit? Sandybridge is only dual channel.

I had no idea. Wow, any other things you guys want to tell me relating to how much time and money I've wasted? I thought I researched everything well.

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 00:00

OK so if the standoffs are shorting it... how am I supposed to mount the board?

Should I return the 6GB tri-channel RAM and get 8GB dual-channel then? Is it going to be at all noticeable to pay £20 extra for 8-8-8 timings over 9-9-9?

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 00:35

OK, tried removing the motherboard - nope. Also removed the GPU and one stick of memory but neither worked.

Now when I turn it on something makes a horrible noise. Kind of a two-toned screech. Can't tell where it's coming from. Removed the internal speaker but it's not from that.

Gazza123 said:
you can short the green wire with any black wire to see if it powers up and remains on. If it does you are fine, if it doesn't RMA it

More explanation please

Literally have no idea what that means... I'm not that knowledgeable about electronics!

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 00:51

OK well I tested the PSU with the paperclip and it runs with a case fan running too.

I also did a CMOS reset by removing the battery for 10 secs and also moving the little thing (jumper?) to the other 2 pins after a few seconds of it being off. This made no difference. I think I forgot to unplug the power from the wall though, even though the PSU was switched off. Does this matter or do I need to do it again with the power out of the wall too?

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 01:05

Nope, tried the other memory sockets (although the manual is useless).

Tried CMOS again.

Is it just because I have DDR3? I have only 2x2GB in, with one left out.

Ugh. When will it end...

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 10:05

Thanks guys. FYI, the graphics card is definitely plugged in properly.

The loud screeching sound went away (after changing removing and replugging some things) but the PSU still makes a quiet high-pitched whine sort of like a TV does sometimes. Is that's normal? Sounds like someone else has this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN&tool=3

By the way, am I in danger of damaging anything by powering on when things aren't connected or these funny noises happen or things cut out all the time?

Nelson Santos said:
Sounds like you haven't pluged in th cpu v12 power supply.

Possibly. Which one is this? I basically plugged in all the cables that were already coming out of the PSU, except one split cable that I couldn't figure out the point of (thought it was optional). There are some red ports on the back of the PSU that I assume are just for extra optional cables - do I have to plug something into them with any of the spare cables in the PSU box?

Surveyor said:
Make sure you have connected:

24 pin connector from power supply to motherboard

8 pin connector from power supply to motherboard

OK, maybe this. I have plugged the 24-pin but not any 8-pin to the motherboard that I can recall. What's the 8-pin for? The product specification says it has a PCI-E 8 Pin Connector and a ATX 4+4 Pin CPU Connector but I don't remember plugging in or seeing any 8-pin connectors coming from the PSU.

I'm at work now, but from memory the only cable left unplugged from the PSU is one that splits into two connectors - one with 6 pins and one with maybe 4 but I might be wrong. There are some spare cables in the box but they all looked like duplicates of molex or SATA cables.

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 10:17

I've plugged in the large 24-pin connector on the right of the motherboard by the RAM:

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 10:24

Yeah I see it top left. Cheers. I will check that out, just waiting for my new dual-channel RAM... although OcUK won't refund my other RAM unfortunately.

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 11:48

Buchanan0204 said:
Really? I'm surprised they wont refund you. Did they give a reason?

Well I said I just bought the wrong RAM because I didn't realise it wasn't compatible with the Sandy Bridge but they said this was my fault and I'd have to sell it myself.

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 12:28

Tealc said:
What about distance selling regulation? Have you had the ram for 7 days?

Yeah.

Tealc said:
Thought you'd described the screech coming from psu.

I had a listen but couldn't tell. Not convinced it was from the PSU.

Tealc said:
Eps12v connection is pretty important. Yourmotherboard manual should have a section on connecting everything up.

To be honest, the motherboard manual is pretty useless. In fact, I'm quite surprised at how bad nearly every manual I got was.

Mig · 25 Jan 2011 at 13:39

I can live with it, I just wanted to check it's not a problem with it.

Mig · 26 Jan 2011 at 10:06

Yeah, you were right guys - I hadn't plugged in the 4+4 connector. The cable is split into a 4-pin and a 8-pin but on my motherboard 4 of the holes were covered with a little plastic cap, so I just plugged in the 4-pin one. What's the difference between using only 4 pins over all 8?

I now have everything set up and running Win 7.

Cheers everyone. I learnt a lot from this hellish experience, with your help.