Troubleshooting on initial start up

[vidronin]

So I put together my first system. On initial startup I got nothing. I'm supposed to be getting some test beeps. 'm very much a noob to this process and at a loss as to what may be causing the problems. Some details:

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115214

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131620

Inside the computer the power supply and chassis fans are running. Power LED lights are on. But the CPU heatsink fan isn't running. I checked the CPU fan connector and it's connected.

Thing is when I first did the start up and looked inside I could have sworn the CPU fan was running and I saw a blue light emanating from the CPU (the computer was still not booting properly). I disconnected the power and checked out all the connections. I made no changes but decided to hook up power and try again to see if I could figure out what might not be working, and the CPU fan was not working.

On the motherboard the CPU LED and Boot Device LED are lit, indicating there are problems there.

I don't know where to go from here and any pointers would be helpful.

EDIT:

Okay after a bit more work I figured out there was a missing connection. Got it connected, then booted, and I finally got some beeps (didn't get any the first times). What I got was a beep followed by four beeps, which according to the motherboard manual indicates a hardware component failure.

And I resume my default position of not knowing what to do from here...

EDIT 2:

Okay, still trying to problem solve... The CPU fan is now working but it's noisy as hell. The problem seems to be that the wires that lead to the CPU fan connector are rubbing up against it. I looked closer and it's wound pretty tight around the edge of the fan. ***? Did I do this? I don't recall messing with the wires. *sigh* Anyway the computer still isn't booting right... At this point I should just set it aside until I get some advice...

[orbrit]

Which slots do you have your memory in?
The manual states that for dual ranked DDR3 DIMMs you should be using slots A1 and B1

Was the memory on the QVL?

[glc]

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

You can unclip those wires from the heatsink frame and tie them off as desired.

[vidronin]

I'm using all four slots. Would it help to take two out and reinstall them after I get things up and running? Memory is Gskill which glc had recommended with the same motherboard, so I assume it's kosher.

Thanks for the tip glc, I'll have to try that. At least I can get that problem out of the way.

Sorry for starting this thread before trying the tips in the sticky thread...

EDIT: I actually tried both unclipping the wires and taking out two memory cards, and viola, I got bios! Thanks for the tips!

[vidronin]

Okay I'm up and running. Feels great to complete the first build!

I reinstalled the RAM chips and right now in BIOS and Windows it's saying I only have 4 GB usable RAM, when I have 8 GB installed. I assume I have to change something in BIOS, right? I'm struggling to figure out what.

[glc]

Are you using a 64 bit operating system?

[vidronin]

Yeah Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Should have up to 16 gb capacity (same as the motherboard).

[orbrit]

HAVE you tried both sets of DIMMs independently?
i.e. switch the two that are currently working with the two that you removed from slots B1 and B2

See if those come up.

[vidronin]

I got the solution from Gskill. Here it is for future reference should anyone else have a similar issue: In BIOS, in the AI overclock tuner, select x.m.p. This automatically detects the right speed, frequency and voltage of the cards so they are used to fullest capacity. My system is now running off 8 gb RAM and I dare say my build is finally complete. Beautiful!