computer wont start

[bhome83]

So I decided to get a new case for my computer parts. Now the computer won't start. I feel like I have done everything I can to help isolate the problem but so am unsure what to do next.

I decided to put the parts back into my original case and still doesnt turn on. I get the red light on the mobo that stays lit when I have the power supply plugged in. A few questions I have:

does all the LED connecters have to be plugged in? I have the power switch hooked up and have tried it two different ways.

basically i need to know how to isolate the problem because I'm lost as to where I'm going wrong.


thanks for the help guys.

[Nikon]

check standoffs for contact causing a short.

i would recommend connecting all available leds (like power on/hdd if available) although i have never heard of this being a problem.

you have already tried both possible power switch positions so...
even though its not a new build, putting it in a new case is essentially rebuilding it:
PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[bhome83]

still no luck. took mobo out of case, put it on top of carboard box and followed directions provided in the link. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense because the computer was working fine yeseterday. its just when i tried to move everything into a new case this happened. I tried to reset the CMOS. I tried several times so am wondering whether my pin placement is right? There seems to be two cmos on my board (ABIT NF7).

so is the next thing i have to do is start buying new parts one by one? Is there any way to determine if its my power supply? Its a 350 watt power supply bought about a year ago. It has worked great up to this point.

[glc]

What's the brand and model of the PSU and video card?

[bhome83]

power supply was just recently updated and has been working great...until I unplugged it and everything else to go with it.

FSP Group ATX350-PA 350W ATX 12V (v 2.2) Power Supply - OEM
Newegg.com - FSP Group ATX350-PA 350W ATX 12V (v 2.2) Power Supply - Power Supplies

video card is radeon 128mb

[glc]

Old Radeon - like a 9250?

That system is showing its age - that's 7 year old tech. It might be telling you that it's time for an upgrade!

Well, if it won't fire up out of the case as per the procedure, you have a bad mobo, bad ram, bad PSU, or bad CPU. Have you looked at the capacitors on the mobo carefully for bulging tops and leaking electrolyte?

[bhome83]

to be more specific its a radeon 9600 128mb gpu. It worked great yesterday and all days before. It only wont start now that I put everything into a new case.

[Anomo]

Does the case have fans?

I know when I built my computer I did everything right the first time, BUT I hadn't put the fan connectors on the right pins. So the computer didn't start.

Ex. There are 4 pins on the mobo, but the connector from the case only has three holes. Therefor when I switched the connectors around a bit trying out different combinations it eventually worked.

[Nikon]

in my experience, case fans do not need to be connected at all (and most likely arnt when he built it outside the case) for a post screen and have offset notches to prevent them being connected backwards or on the wrong pin when using a 3pin fan on a 4pin mobo connector.

try connecting nothing but the psu, cpu (with heatsink)and mobo. no ram/video or anything. like the link said, use a screwdriver like the link said to cross the two pins that say 'power sw' or 'power switch'. if the heatsink fan comes on, and or mobo led's start coming on, try adding a stick of ram, and repeat, and repeat while adding one piece of hardware at a time, until the problem recurrs. you have then isolated the problem part.

if it doesnt atleast show some signs of life the 1st time (with just cpu/mobo/psu) then im afraid you may have killed one of those 3 components in the process.

there is one other thing. the heatsink fan. most mobos (even some of the really old ones) i have worked with have a failsafe built in that will prevent the computer from booting if the heatsink fan is not functioning for w/e reason (blocked, broken, etc). simple way to check this is to take just the fan and connect it to a fan header in a computer that works.

[bhome83]

always thought you need at least the gpu and 1 stick of ram on the mobo for any action to happen. I will try what you said though nikon and see what happens.

[glc]

The CPU will start with no ram or video card - if you have a speaker hooked up it should beep like crazy.

[flanzig1]

If the fan on the CPU starts running and any other case fans but you get no video, more than likely the video card is dead. Or the fan on the video card is bad and causing the GPU to over heat and not start.

[bhome83]

so it didn't work for me. Only a red light stays lit on the mobo, no cpu fan starting up or anything. I took off the heatsink from the cpu and tried reseating it and still no luck. Can't imagine I killed my mobo, or cpu. Really odd. The last thing I might try is resetting the cmos. My question to you guys though is that there are 3 pins on my mobo (ABIT NF7-S) that look just like the cmos pin. I was dumb enough to think I knew which one was the cmos reset and moved 2 different pins that weren't the cmos. Would this screw up the start up process? Is there any way to find out what the default settings for all the pins on the mobo are supposed to be? I've looked in my manuel but it doesn't show the 2 other pins. I know the CMOS one is next to the battery, but the other two are near the heatsink and GPU slot. I just want to know what the default settings are supposed to be on the mobo.

[Nikon]

need a mobo model number, should be printed on there somewhere....

[glc]

Ahem........

there are 3 pins on my mobo (ABIT NF7-S) that look just like the cmos pin.

The motherboard manual doesn't show those jumpers on the board diagram?

[bhome83]

guys appreciate the help, but I've decided to just build a budget computer. This computer is too sluggish to begin with. Not worth messing around anymore with it. thanks for all the help. I have a separate thread for my build questions.