New rig won't even power up?!

[Nizmo]

Ok it's clearly not the PSU, I put it back to the old rig and powers up just fine. The new rig has 2x2GB RAM so tried each stick by turn, still no power. Took GPU out and reinserted back in, still no power, checked both power cords, everything is plugged in. Checked the power button line, it's plugged in correctly. So I'm guessing the MB is DOA? It's a Gigabyte MB so I was fairly confident that it would be high quality, guess I got the bad luck of the draw. Anything else I might have missed?

[glc]

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[Masaki 7-11]

Make sure you have the power switch connected to the right front panel connectors, the AMD computer I recently build had a rather confusing name for the power LED. I had the same problem as you where everything (except for the power switch) was properly connected and nothing would happen when I pressed the power switch or shorted what I though to be the power switch front panel connectors. After I realized what happened and properly connected the power switch to the motherboard's front panel connectors, everything worked great.

[Nizmo]

Well I know that the power switch line is working because it's the same case, there's no way I plugged it in the wrong way either as the MB has it color-coded and there's only 2 ways to plug it in and I've tried both. It's just so odd that it won't even power up. How can you tell which one is the culprit if it's either CPU or GPU?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Nizmo Well I know that the power switch line is working because it's the same case, there's no way I plugged it in the wrong way either as the MB has it color-coded and there's only 2 ways to plug it in and I've tried both. It's just so odd that it won't even power up. How can you tell which one is the culprit if it's either CPU or GPU?

If the GPU was the culprit, you would still have the fans spinning up, and I think the same is true for the CPU. Have you tried the instructions that GLC linked to above, if after you've tried that and the result is the same, than most likely you have a bad motherboard.

[Nizmo]

I guess I'll have to try the "touch start switch with a screw driver" method just to make sure that at least it would power up before RMA the MB, which sucks because it'll delay building the new rig for another week or so. I'll be back if anything new develops.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Nizmo I guess I'll have to try the "touch start switch with a screw driver" method just to make sure that at least it would power up before RMA the MB, which sucks because it'll delay building the new rig for another week or so. I'll be back if anything new develops.

Try building the rig outside the case (you can put the motherboard and PSU on their respective cardboard boxes), this will eliminate the possibility of a short which could be why your computer is not starting up.

Can you list the make and model of the parts in your rig? Sometimes if the parts require more power than the PSU supplies the computer won't start up.

[Nizmo]

CPU: Core2Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8Ghz LGA775 65W
MB: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45
RAM: 2x2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2 1066 Dual-Channel
GPU: EVGA GeForce G250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0x16
PSU: BFG Tech GS Series 450 W ATX 12V 2.2

I'm using the same case for the new rig so I'm not sure if it would cause a short to a new MB but not to the old one, does that happen?

The PSU isn't that powerful, but I don't think it's lacking power though, especially when my old P4 CPU uses far more Wattage than the Core 2 Duo one. EGVA recommended using 450W PSU at least for the GPU so that should be fine, the Gigabyte did mention using at least a 500W PSU for the MB though, but I don't think a 50W difference should make such a difference especially when only the essential components are connected.

[LeftyAce]

Yes, shorts between the standoffs and the motherboard, or loose screws, or other random parts do happen. Try it outside the case, otherwise we have no idea what the issue might be.

[Nizmo]

If the case is causing the short, how would I fix that?

[LeftyAce]

Usually it's because the screw-hole placement on the new motherboard is different from the old one, so a standoff is in the wrong place. Removing the standoff will fix it. If it's not a short problem, we can start figuring out what it _is_.

[Nizmo]

It turns out that the USB connectors from the case was plugged in the wrong way, causing the short. I feel so stupid not to even take that into consideration...everything works perfectly now, I even noticed after the out the case testing that GPU, 3rd party CPU heatsink/fan, and PSU are really quiet, I could barely sense that the power was turned on by the lights turning on, it looks like the 2 case fans were the loudest ones, I guess I need to replace them, any recommendations for a very quiet case fan? (case fan specs: 120x120x25mm)

[Khalil]

That is why it is a very good idea not to guess how the wiring goes in a system and use the owner's manual that comes with the motherboard. Glad you sorted it out without damaging the motherboard.