First build won't post

[keegat]

I'm working on my first build with the following parts:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Intel E6550
G. Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 SDRAM
EVGA GeForce 8500GT PCI-e
Samsung Spinpoint T Series 7200 RPM 500GB SATA II HDD
Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM 80GB IDE HDD
Apevia MX-Pider Case with 500W PSU

and an old IDE CD drive

When I turn it on, all of the fans, including case fans, the CPU fan, and the graphics card fan turn on, as does the power indicator LED on the case.

However, there is no video, the drives do not turn on, there's no beeping from the speaker and there's no other indication of anything else running

I've checked the CPU and RAM, tried each stick of RAM individually in different slots, made sure both the 24 pin connector and 4 pin connectors are plugged in. I made sure both of the monitors I tested it on worked. The drives start up when theyre only connected to the PSU, but not when theyre connected to the motherboard. The graphics card also seems very loose, but it is getting power from the motherboard, and it wouldn't explain everything, I think. And I tried following the out of box configuration, with no improvements

The RAM is 2.0v, and I've read that some boards won't start initially with higher voltage RAM.


I'm not sure where to go from here, because I don't have another system available to test the components. Thanks in advance for any advice

[liambl]

Could be the PSU, they are crap quality, You should return if for a good brand, like Enermax or Sparklepower.

[rjfvillarosa]

When ever having a problem booting a new build you should always do an "out of case build", you will find instructions here:
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

[keegat]

I tried the out of box build, and got the same results.

So even if all of the fans turn on and the drives will turn on when not hooked up to the motherboard, it could still be a psu problem?

[Cupcakedturtle]

This is bizarre, I have almost the exact same system as you and I'm having the same problem. I'll post my own thread in a bit, but it's shocking.

[keegat]

I picked up an Antec Earthwatts 500w PSU today and tested several configurations, including the out of box build. Now my disks will spin up whether connected to the motherboard or not, but otherwise its the same, no video, no beep codes, so I'm pretty sure it has to be the board or the CPU. I don't have anything to swap either out with, so now my question is which one should I RMA first? And of course, if I missed anything I would greatly appreciate any other advice

[shadowpr]

Are you sure you have both the 24pin and the 4pin power connections connected?

Is the video card properly seated? You said it was loose, and it shouldn't be loose. Make sure it's in fully.

[keegat]

Both the 24 pin and the 4 pin cables are connected, and I know there's power going through t least some of the board and graphics card, because the fans are running. I know the card shouldn't be loose, but I'm sure it's seated properly, I don't know if the slot is physically damaged or what, but either way, wouldn't the lack of beeps indicate that it's the motherboard or cpu?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by keegat Both the 24 pin and the 4 pin cables are connected, and I know there's power going through t least some of the board and graphics card, because the fans are running. I know the card shouldn't be loose, but I'm sure it's seated properly, I don't know if the slot is physically damaged or what, but either way, wouldn't the lack of beeps indicate that it's the motherboard or cpu?

In most cases the motherboard will be the cause of the problem, not the CPU. CPUs are actually less likely to arrive DOA than almost any other component in a computer.

Cricket

[keegat]

Thanks for the advice, I RMA'ed the mobo, and by the time it gets here, I will probably also have access to a system to test the graphics card and RAM on. So things are looking up. I'll post again once I have the new board. And thanks everyone for all the suggestions, especially about the PSU, I found out it wasn't putting out nearly enough amps on most rails.

[keegat]

I got my new mobo in a couple days ago, I upgraded to the DS3R, put everything together and it's running smoothly. I found drivers for XP x64 for everything except my wireless card, and I even overclocked the E6550 to 3.0 GHz, and it's running <50C under load. This was my first time going to a forum for help on anything, and it worked out well. Thanks to everyone who helped.