Black Screen on Initial Boot - HELP

[ChaosInferno21]

I am helping my brother build his first computer. This is the first build for both of us so any help or suggestions would be amazing.

After installing all of the hardware and trying to do the initial boot, all we get is black screen (no signal). All of the fans and LEDs are working but we aren't hearing any beeps during boot. We have checked all connections several times and everything looks good. (His HDD LED is showing his HDD is working)

We thought it might be a problem between the GPU's default resolution and the monitors we have tried. The memory could be bad but other than that we don't have any ideas.

Here are the specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache

MOBO: MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 870 ATX AMD Motherboard

MEMORY: G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 Dual Channel Kit

GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X 100273L Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3

HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KSRTL 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

CASE: Rosewill Challenger Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CD/DVD Drive: MSi Black DVD/CD Burner

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

I figure someone is going to ask if we connected the 4-pin power connector as well as the 24-pin. We didn't forget to connect the 4-pin (this mobo does not have an 8-pin, it's a 4-pin).

If the problem is the resolution (the GPU defaulted to something too low for our monitor) then how would we fix this? We cannot adjust the resolution if we can't see anything so we are at a bit of a loss. All of the monitors we have tried to boot on are 720p. We have tried using HDMI, and DVI.

Why aren't we hearing any beeping from the mobo on boot (error code or whatever)?

The DVI on the GPU isn't a standard DVI (it has some extra holes) and we're wondering if anyone knew if this would work with a standard DVI cable? The standard DVI cable fits into it, just doesn't have the same number of pins as holes. Was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on that as well.

[Nikon]

not exactly sure about that (the holes vs pins thing), mine is the same way.

another thread not too long ago had a similar problem, and the solution was to use a DVI-VGA adapter for initial setup. the videocard runs in VGA mode untill proper drivers are installed afaik.

resolution of the monitor doesnt matter, and if it did, the monitor would tell you 'incompatable resolution' or something similar.

[glc]

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[ChaosInferno21]

Just so everyone knows, I am currently in Korea and my brother is building the computer in the states. I'm the one who did all of the research and picked out all of the parts for this build; and then I help him put it together over skype.

So my brother never connected the mobo speaker and that is why we haven't been able to get an error code. He is planning on getting it hooked up and booted soon so I will post what that reveals when he lets me know.

If the error code and VGA don't shed some light on this we are going to try the procedure posted by glc (the forum administrator). Since we are getting the green leds on the mobo we don't think the standoffs are shorting anything but who knows.

[ChaosInferno21]

VGA Connection:

We tried connecting the GPU to the monitor using the VGA today and no change. All we get is black screen. My brother went out and bought a TV finally, so this was on a 1080p resolution TV.

Mobo Speaker (trying to get an error code):

The mobo only has two connectors that are supposed to be for audio. One is the JCD1 and is for external audio input. The other is the JSP1 and is an S/PDIF (Sony & Philips Digital Interconnect Format)-Out connector.

The connector on the speaker that came with the mobo is too big for the JSP1 but fits into the JCD1; but that is an input, not output (we tried it anyway and the speaker did nothing).

Where the heck is this little speaker supposed to plug in? My brother says it's the same size as the fan connectors.

His mobo also has a headphone jack. Could he just plug some headphones/speakers into the headphone jack to get an error code?

We really want to get an error code before we take the whole thing apart.

[glc]

If there is no speaker connector on the mobo (if there is, it will be in the front panel lead grouping with the power switch, etc.) the mobo probably has a piezo speaker on it, or it will beep through speakers connected to the onboard sound jack on the rear panel.

[ChaosInferno21]

My brother has tried using headphones hooked straight into the headphone jack on the back of the MOBO and is still not getting a beep code (error code). His MOBO did come with a speaker (not built in) but he said he it wouldn't fit into the JFP2 pins that it was supposed to plug into (I know I talked about the JCD1, JSP1, and S/PDIF-Out, but that was after he said it wouldn't fit into his JFP2). I don't believe him so I'm going to get him to try again and see if we can get a beep code with that speaker.

He is also currently reinstalling his CPU. If that doesn't fix things then he is going to reconnect all of the cables as well as reinstall his GPU and Memory. After that he will try to reset CMOS by removing the MOBO battery and then putting it back in. If he is still not getting a post or error then he is going to boot with the MOBO, RAM, GPU, and CPU/heatsink all hooked up on a box outside of the case (to make sure the case isn't causing any shorts).

Worst case scenario, if he is still getting no post and no beep codes then what is our next step? I'm assuming it is a problem with either the MOBO or the CPU that would be causing this (black screen with no beep code). Could a bad mobo battery cause something like this? We don't have a system to test each part on so do we start RMAing things part by part until we find the problem? Or is there a faster, cheaper way of figuring things out?

If we need to start RMAing parts then what should we start with (what order should we do them in)? I was thinking the CPU first. If the CPU tests out OK then we would try the MOBO (then GPU, then Memory, and finally the PSU).

Any comments or ideas?

[ChaosInferno21]

My brother got his mobo speaker installed and still isn't getting a beep code.

He has also reinstalled his GPU and nothing has changed.

He has three more things left to try; clearing CMOS, rechecking all connections, and then booting outside of the case to rule out any shorts.

If all this fails then what is the next step? Start trying to RMA stuff?

[glc]

Probably. MSI's DOA motherboard rate is somewhere around 30%, and G.skill has been having quality issues recently.

[David M]

30%...that's nuts. How do they stay in business? Good marketing?

[ChaosInferno21]

So my brother got it to post!

It turned out that he had installed 8 standoffs when he only needed 6. The extra two were shorting his mobo. Once he took the two out he got a post.

Yay!

So lesson learned. Checking for shorts is crucial.