Newguy POST problem

[Milliron]

I am working on my first build. Here is what I have put together:

Coolermaster Praetorian case
Sparkle Power 400w PSU
Intel 875PBZLK MB
Intel 3.0 Ghz 800Mhz FSB
1GB Mushkin DDR RAM in matched dual channel
Sony 3.5" floppy
Lite-On 48X24X48XX16 Combo Drive
Western Digital 160 GB IDE HDD
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Coolermaster AeroGate II fan control (disconnected presently)
round floppy and IDE cables

When I press the power button, there is no POST at all, the fans all come on and the CD and floppy drives light up, and I receive the message:

"Reboot and Select proper boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device"

That I get a request for bootable media does not surprise me. That I get no POST does.

Also, I get no HDD light or power on LED, although these appear to be connected correctly The power on LED case connector did not fit the one on the board, so I hooked it to the ALT_PWR LED, which it does fit. The power switch works, as does the reset button (although the reset is supposed be a three prong connector and my case connector is two prong--I did get it to work)

Can someone help me with this? I have no idea why I am not getting a POST. I checked to make sure no metal was touching the board, and the board LEDs come on.

I am at work so I will be unable to test suggestions right away.

Bob

[SamuraiWarrior]

In bio make sure you have the CD rom as your first boot option followeed by you HD. Reboot and things should be Ok. It sounds like it is not set properly in your bios.

[Craig100]

The HDD LED connector maybe reveresed, try inserting it the opposite way.

[Jester]

go with craig100s suggestion and switch the speaker connection around, and the power connection too. These connections work on a + and - connection.

[Milliron]

How do I rearrange the BIOS when there are no jumpers and I can't get to the CMOS?

Bob

[glc]

You don't have the front panel wires connected correctly. Pull them all off except for the power switch and see if you get a POST. Note that Intel boards default to "silent boot" and you won't get a POST screen, just a full screen Intel Desktop Board logo. Bios entry on Intel is F2, start tapping it the second you hit the power switch.

There is no speaker connector on Intel boards, it has a builtin piezo speaker, you can remove your case speaker if you want.

[Milliron]

I went over the big MB problem/troubleshooting thread with a search. I was curious as to whether changing the jumpers on the board from "normal" to "config" might also help the problem (I will do as you suggest, GLC, and disconnect the front panel connectors and hit F2), but if that doesn't work, would changing the jumpers around help?

I am assuming that if I am able to get into the BIOS by way of F2, and I reset the boot order to the HDD, I will get a POST? Could this be a video issue?

I am trying to put together multiple possible solutions as I may not be able to consult when I start working on it.

[Cricket]

Get the motherboard CD and look for the electronic motherboard manual (it's in .pdf format so you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader). Go through the motherboard manual and make sure you read the section on setting up the motherboard. There's a jumper on the motherboard that will send you straight into BIOS once the system is booted. Once in BIOS, disable all the silent and quick boot options, that way you should get the 1 POST beep and should see the post screens while the system is booting up.

About the front panel connectors...you can move the wires around on the 3 pin/2 wire connector. Get a pin and on the side of the plastic connector that isn't solid, there is a flap you can lift up and release the pin. Once you get the pin loose, move it to the center hole.

Cricket

[glc]

Cricket - Intel fixed that. They now have an alternate power LED connector that's 3 pin starting with the 865/875 boards and the later 845's.

You want to set the boot order to CD first, then floppy, then HDD. Boot it with the OS CD in the drive.

I just noticed that you have round cables - humor me and put the flat ones that the board came with on there. Intel boards require the little shortie floppy cable, the multiple position cables don't work.

[Cricket]

Originally posted by glc Cricket - Intel fixed that. They now have an alternate power LED connector that's 3 pin starting with the 865/875

LOL...you know, I did't even notice that. The last 6 computers I built all used Intel i865 motherboards and I didn't even notice I didn't have to "modify" the connectors from the front of the case to fit the front panel header pins. The power and HDD LEDs were all working fine so I must have been on auto-pilot when I put those computers together.

Cricket

[Spyda]

they might not be drawing enough power from the boards pins, lian li LEDs are notorious for this as they are super bright, a fair few motherboards cant light them up as they dont supply them with enough juice

[Milliron]

Thanks all. I have solved MOST of the problems and I have successfully booted and installed all hardware and software. The problem was the Intel "silent boot." I was unfamiliar with this and didn't know the board was actually POSTing. Once I went into the BIOS and rearranged the drive order, everything was cool.

GLC, I haven't tested the floppy drive yet. You're saying the round floppy cable won't work? What do you mean by "multiple position"cable?

I have partially solved the LED problem. The HDD light now comes on, but the power LED still won't, even after flipping it around. If the case LED is so bright that the MB doesn't have the juice to light it, why does the HDD LED work? I wondered if it was possibly b/c the LED may be blue. (the HDD LED is blue) The MB specs refer to the the ALT_PWR pin as lighting either a green or yellow LED, if the LED was blue would this make a difference? It seems unlikely, but hey when has that ever mattered?

Any answers to this question would be appreciated.

Bob

[Cricket]

Originally posted by Milliron GLC, I haven't tested the floppy drive yet. You're saying the round floppy cable won't work? What do you mean by "multiple position"cable?

Standard floppy cables come with 3 connectors instead of just 2.

Originally posted by Milliron I have partially solved the LED problem. The HDD light now comes on, but the power LED still won't, even after flipping it around. If the case LED is so bright that the MB doesn't have the juice to light it, why does the HDD LED work? I wondered if it was possibly b/c the LED may be blue. (the HDD LED is blue) The MB specs refer to the the ALT_PWR pin as lighting either a green or yellow LED, if the LED was blue would this make a difference? It seems unlikely, but hey when has that ever mattered?

You're hooking up the power LED to the wrong set of pins. The power LED pins is on the same block as the HDD LED, not off to the side on another block. The power LED connector should go right next to the HDD LED connector.

The AUX_LED is for something else.

Cricket

[Milliron]

The reason I am attaching the PWR_LED to the ALT_PWR pins is that it is a 3-pin, 2 wire lead. It will not fit on the normal power LED two pin connector next to the HDD LED. The MB manual says the alt_pwr header is designed to duplicate the pwr_LED on the case connector block. However, it isn't working.

The connector fits this: |___| (ALT_PWR LED)

Not this: |_| (PWR_LED)

Do I need to remove a pin and somehow rearrange it to fit?

Again, thanks for all your help.

Bob

[Cricket]

Hmm...maybe that's the fix glc was talking about...

Anyway, you can move the pins on the connector so that they're next to each other like a 2 pin connector. Using a needle, look on the side of the connector with the openings...you can see the pins in the slots. There's a little flap that holds the pin in and if you lift if with the needle, you can pull the pin out and move it.

Since you said the AUX_LED is supposed to duplicate the regular PWR LED, I'm beginning to wonder if the LED is defective.

Cricket

[Milliron]

That's what I am beginning to wonder. It's not a super big deal, really, except it is detracts from what so far has been a pretty successful build. I will continue to look at it. If I can't fix it, I suppose I will just leave it--it's not like I don't know the power's on. I guess I'm a little disappointed that a $135.00 case would have a defective LED, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

Thanks for the input.

Bob

[Cricket]

Of course, there's always the chance that the AUX_PWR header might be defective too.

Cricket