Problem powering on

[microdot]

Hey everyone I have recently build my own PC and I have everything hooked up and when I power on the green light on the motherboard comes on but the fans do not start nor does the hard drive. I am missing the power button that normally on the front of the case I know this is a dumb question but is that why I am not getting power? Thanks for any help.

[freakitchen]

What do you mean by missing the power button on the front of the case? The light on the motherboard will come on when the power supply is connected and switched on, but you need to hook the power button up to the motherboard and press it to power up the whole system.

There'll be a series of wires coming from the front of your case that you need to hook up to the front panel header on the motherboard, the power switch will be one along with the power/hard drive LEDs, the reset switch and possibly the CMOS speaker. Refer to your motherboard manual to locate the header - usually in the bottom right of the board - and find which connectors go to which pins.

[microdot]

I have it booting now just missed a plug except now after it boots it runs for maybe two mins then turns off.

[freakitchen]

Do you get a display on the screen at all?

Please post your full system specs.

[shadowpr]

List system specs like was stated above.

Also, make sure the heatsink is properly and fully installed.

[microdot]

Motherboard: Asus M2A-VM AMD
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+
RAM: Corsair 1x2GB DDR2
PSU: Ultra 350watt ATX suply
Video: None

I get to the load screen for windows and it boots but then the power kicks off, My heatsink and fans are installed and runnin properly except i get a CPU fan is unplugged or running too slowerror message. Ive also tried removing th CMOS battery and this also does not work.

[shadowpr]

Ultra power supplies have had issues. Might want to try a different power supply.

[phigdon]

unplug and reconnect the CPU fan to the mobo, if that doesn't work then try using an adapter to run the CPU fan off the power supply. It sounds like its over heating and shutting down. in the BIOS, under the advanced tab i believe, is the mobo sensor readouts. see what the fan speed is and the CPU temp.

and the green light indicates that the mobo is getting power.

[microdot]

Still not having any luck guess i will try a new power supply next pay day, thanks guys.

[freakitchen]

Before you condemn the power supply, do what phigdon suggests and view the temperature of the CPU in BIOS. It's likely to be under the 'hardware monitor' section, which may be a sub-section of 'advanced' or maybe 'power'. From a fresh power-on it should be in the 30s (centigrade) and not rise into the 50s, if you've installed the heatsink correctly. Having said that, it's quite difficult to install an AMD heatsink incorrectly. Did you latch it on at both sides and rotate the locking arm fully? Did you remove the plastic cover from the base of the heatsink that protects the thermal pad - assuming it's a new processor and you're using the stock heatsink.

It is also a good idea to build the system with minimal parts, outside of the case for troubleshooting - steps detailed in this thread:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409