Having problems with a new build? Try this.

[kraken]

Hal

Back to basics, This topic shold have a page of its own with diagrams and pics.

When something aint right back to basics.

The trick is knowing what the basics are. Well written and well done.

Back to basics could and should be a topic in its own right.

[HAL9000]

You're right, I should work on something with some pics. There ain't nothing better than "make it look like the picture". The only problem being if I do it, some people will have to throw out their AMD stuff and get Intel stuff

[Werewolfdaddy]

I am Intel to the core, but after building both an AMD and Intel computers, the experiences were similiar. They are both easy to install and fun to work with systems. I am not, however, including the AMD PC Chips MB my friend had originally bought. PC Chips changes the rules. It was a nightmare of incompatibility. Everything from the AGP to IDE controllers had to be patched.
BTW, we broke that sucker box that it came in down and put a Gigabyte MB in there and it runs twice as fast as it did before. A file we downloaded from a lan connection had originally taken 35mins, this last time it took 6mins. There was a big ide issue with the PCChips motherboard. It ran, but like a cow with no legs.

[Cricket]

Hey Werewolfdaddy,

That was a very interesting post. I remember all the trouble you were having with your friend's computer and that PC Chips motherboard. Have you seen the PC Chips Motherboards thread over in Assembly/Overclocking?http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...threadid=23886

By the way, good move replacing the PC Chips with the EPoX. Amazing what a difference a good motherboard will make.

Cricket

[Paul Victorey]

Originally posted by Nuclear Krusader Thanx for the tips. I didn't know that the anti-static bag is capable of conducting electricity. And to think that I've been placing the MoBo on it!! Oh, boy!! I've been very lucky till now.

I believe what was meant is, don't place the Mobo on it if you're going to run your computer outside of the case. For parts storage or for putting parts on something, you WANT the surface to be conductive; it can't build up a local static charge, and the entire thing will be at the same voltage. Aluminum covered workbenches are semi-common in electronics shops.

Just don't give the thing any juice at all when it's on a conductive surface(remember that an ATX board will always have power unless you unplug it at the wall).

[breathtaker]

i am having a probelm with my computer to see here http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...363#post178363

i tried 1) Remove EVERYTHING from the case
2) Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. .DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! It can acually conduct electricity! We are going to try and assemble a running system outside of the case.
3) Install the CPU and heat sink.
4) Install the RAM (only install 1 stick for SDRAM, 2 for RDRAM)
5) Install the video card
6) Connect the monitor to the video card.
7) Connect the power supply to the motherboard.
8) Connect power to the power supply
9) Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
10) Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard

and still does not work

[highrisemech]

Breathtaker.
I suggest you reseat your video card also reset your cmos then try.
You can also look here at this trouble shooting guide for your particular board.

[breathtaker]

thx for the link but what is cmos ?

[highrisemech]

Check your manual there is a jumper for it. You should always do your homework before attempting a build. You can read about cmos at the home page of this site. You can also reset your cmos by removing the battery for three mins with the computer off then reinstallit then power up. In my opinion though you should locate this jumper and make sure it is not in the reset position.

[breathtaker]

what do you mean by jumper ? cause i removed the cmos for 3mins then installed and nothing still.

[highrisemech]

Breathtaker you should read the build your own tutorial at the home page of this site.

Try hitting the insert key during boot up.

Jumpers are small pins on the board with plastic or metal devices that go over the pins. This device is called a bridge. When the bridge is connected to any two pins, it completes the circuit between those pins, telling the computer what it need to know. Jumpers are much more common than switches, but they are harder to use. If asked to remove a bridge, always save it for later. A little trick is to leave the bridge hanging on one pin. The computer will think the bridge is gone, but its still there so that you don't lose it. Also, knowing the jumper settings for your device can be a chore. You must have the device's manual to do it.

[breathtaker]

i hit insert then the code went to 00 but on the site does not have that . also i played with the jumpers and still nothing.

[highrisemech]

You wat to reset the cmos buy removing the battery then reinstalling then hit insert during bootup. Also make triple sure that the video card is fully seated.

[breathtaker]

hmm i pressed insert and did not work now ill remove it again and then press insert.

[JimB]

So, I have reset the cmos and made sure (several times) that everything is seated (memory wasn't). Still it does nothing!

[highrisemech]

Jim B.
Does the fan in the power supply spin up? If not check the switch on it make sure it is set to 110 or 115. Also if the power supply fan does not spin you may have a bad power supply, which is not uncommon if it is a cheap one. Post your result.

[JimB]

The fan does NOT spin on but then it won't until the motherboard tells it to and since it is not participating I think the Motherboard is bad.

Thanks

[highrisemech]

Very good reasoning. Are you sure you are making contact with the proper start switch leads on the motherboard. I would try this board with another power supply or take the board to a computer repair shop and have it tested. If this is a brand new motherboard and if I were a betting man my money says that power supply is bad.

[bonzai]

What do you mean by when u say make sure the motherboard isn't being shorted out anywhere when being placed in the case? My motherboard uses studs, which are metal. And I assume that my case is metal. I screw the studs in into the case, then put the motherboard, aligning the holes with the studs, and screw em in with metal screws. Am i shorting out the motherboard like this??

[Alfie]

bonzai,
The metal studs are aligned with specific holes in the motherboard,these act as grounding posts for the motherboard.
A motherboard will short when the circuit connections(solder points,etc.) make contact with the case.
The standoffs serve the purpose of keeping the motherboards circuitry from making contact with the case.

[Theed]

System Specs:
1ghz AMD athlon k7
Soyo k7VIA mobo
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - sound
Diamond Viper 200D - video
supramax 56k modem
linksys 10/100 ethernet
16x toshiba dvd
3.5" floppy

Problem:
I was away from my computer and when I returned it was turned off. Each time I attempted to turn it on I recieved no response. At first I thought it was the chip and/or mother board that had been fried on me. I sent both back to the manufacturers and both companies said both products were working fine. I then realized how stupid this was and I simply tried a new power supply... problem solved. Well, after a few minutes of this computer working it simply just craps out. What I mean by this is that it can freeze while booting into windows (yes it's win98se box, my gaming machine). Or it can also do it while in windows, or just after it cleared the bios. It usually takes longer for it to occur after the computer has been off for awhile shorter if it's been on. I have no possible idea to the cause of this. Basically the ONLY thing that has changed is the power supply and now it doesn't work. There isn't a problem with this power supply because it's a 250 watt atx ps that I transplanted from a p2 233 of the exact same wattage and both are atx, so I do not believe it to be a ps problem.

Also, I do not believe it to be a conflict between windows or the hardware because I have never updated any drivers or versions of windows in the 8 months this computer ran flawlessly.

[HAL9000]

The power supply could still potentially be a problem. The AMD chips are fussy about power supplies and I would recommend a quality 300w instead of the 250. While the old one may have been a 250, it may have been of better quality and met the power demands of your system. This is all of course assuming that nothing else has changed in your system (hardware or drivers).

[Theed]

Yep, I noticed earlier today in retardation, that tigerdirect, whom i bought the barebone from slipped in a 300W ps of the same company instead of the 250W they wrote down on the invoice... I just never bothered to look... so I'm going tomorrow and throwing down as much money that is required to buy a 300W or higher... I'm just mad and happy at the same thing that I found this out... thanks for the help though.

*walks off a cliff in stupidity*

[Alfie]

It's not the 300watt that counts,but rather the quality of the power supply,make sure you get a good one.
Antec,Sparkle,highpower,etc.

[wilcopshot]

Just a minor point..Its always a good idea to putt a folded up piece of normal paper or some other non conducting surface under the MOBO when installing ram. A friend of mine split about 2 inches of the copper tracks on the MOBO trying to push the RAM in and beding the MOBO

[glc]

That's why we recommend installing your ram with the motherboard out of the case on the table.

[Goog]

Thanks to everyone for all their help in this post! It's really awesome...

I followed the instructions and my computer just turns on, then the motherboard gives a loud, pretty long beep and turns off. That's it. It was doing pretty much the same thing for me in the case as well.

It's a 1.2 Duron with a asus a7v mobo.

[Alfie]

Either mobo is bad or cpu is bad,double check all jumper settings,etc.
Pull the memory and see if the motherboard beeps.

[Downtown99]

Well I've already tried most everything you have listed here.

Unfortunately I can't take the motherboard out of the case, since it is a Dual-XEON system (P4 and XEON Cpu's have a mounting bracket which, unfortunately, has to be mounted to the case).

I did remove the system board to check to make sure it wasn't being shorted somewhere, however I have the board mounted exactly as specified in the MB mounting documentation.

And as I mentioned earlier, I've pulled the CPUs and remounted them; I've tried booting the system with just one CPU, and also tried rotating out all of the memory.

One thing I have noticed is that there is a discrepancy in the documentation in reference to the memory type this system board takes - On Intel's online support documentation and system specifications, it says that this system board supports DDR200/266 ECC Registered 2.5V memory. However the Quick Start Guide which accompanied the system board indicates that this system board uses 3.3V DDR200 memory. Which one is right ? Anyone know ?

No matter what I do, when I power on the system, only the CPU fans come on, the keyboard lights blink, and that's it. No POST codes, no nothing.

The video is integrated (its going to be a web server anyway, so it doesn't matter), and there are no other cards installed in the machine. The power supply is a 470W Intel-certified PS. I've checked and rechecked all connections and configuration. Even as a last resort I reset the system CMOS hoping that maybe it had a bogus configuration.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Grakmor]

Hey,

I'm in serious problems. I've started up my new built and it gives 1 long beep and 2 short ones. I've looked this up in the beep code page of pcmech, but there were only other codes. Can someone help me? Is it my brand new DDR Ram?

Thanx,

Grakmor alias Bart Jacobs