no video

[animalshack]

i recently put together a comp by myself

the mobo would only get into the bios and wouldnt load windows so i got it replaced with the same model, now i cant even get anything on the m,onitor

i plug everything in right, yet nothing seems to fix it, it just stays like if the pc werent connected to it...just a black screen with a yellow led by the power button (there should be a green one when its on), anyway, i was wondering if u guys had any idea why...

heres my specs:

• VideoCard: GeForce 4 MX 420 with TV-Out
• Mobo: ECS Mainboard P4VXASD2+
• RAM: Generic 512 MB DDR
• HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 series with 2 mb buffer
• CD: Old HP CD-ROM Drive
• Processor: Intel P4 2.4 GHz w/ 533MHz FSB and 512K L2 Cache
• Monitor: HP Pavilion M50 series

btw i tried a different monitor and i had the same problem....also, when i used to have the old mobo the RAM and VideoCard and Monitor worked fine, if you could help me that would be great

thx in advance

[Furius92]

The first thing I would do is replace the motherboard with one from a reputable manufacturer such as Asus, Intel, MSI, EPoX, Shuttle or Soltek. ECS is almost as bad as PC Chips, and both are terrible. My guess is that you got a second bad board. And try to get one that has an Intel chipset, rather than the VIA chipset you have now.

However, other things you may want to check before spending more money are as follows:

1. The video card, reseat it
2. Recheck all connections inside of the case
3. Reseat all RAM modules
4. Ensure CPU is properly installed, this will require reinstalling it

Also, do your fans spin when you hit the power? If not, then you have a bad power supply. Antec, Aztec, Sparkle, Enermax and Enlight make good ones. Please post back

[animalshack]

ok well i didnt know ECS was a bad mobo manufacturer so thats my fault, but its only the 2nd pc ive built so ease up ok?

1. i already reseated the video card (twice)
2. all connections are good
3. all ram has been reseated
4. fans spin (its an enermax power supply)

anyway, if anyone wants to help me, then go ahead because im not spending anymore money on this computer seeing as how ive already spent 600$ + and have only gotten to the bios....so post back if u can

[glc]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?&threadid=12753

This will show you how to troubleshoot out of the case, which is what you need to do now.

It's too bad more people don't ask for opinions *before* they spend the big bucks - there would be less problems. The only questionable component besides that motherboard is the generic ram, but if it worked before, it should at least get you to a POST screen even if the motherboard didn't like it - that may have been the problem with the first board - incompatibility. Just because the ram will get you a POST doesn't mean that it will allow Windows to install or load.

[Colonel Sanders]

DDo you have a speaker attached? Try pulling the RAM, that should get the MB to beep if it is alive.

L J

[animalshack]

yes i have a speaker attached and i took the spkrs out to see if that would work too

btw

to the guy with the flag in his icon, i knew what i was buying, thats exactly why i bought it, 50$ for 512MB DDR is a GOOD deal compared to kingston for 100$ even if it is generic i can still get it replaced

what idont get is how you say it might not be compatible...

how the hell am i supposed to know? lol even if i asked you guys, i wouldnt be 100% sure unless i got the exact same parts that you did, anyway, my friend bought pretty much the same system and his turned out fine

ill be back wiht more info

thx

[animalshack]

ok well i visited the website of the RAM

its Legacy Electronics 512 MB DDR PC2100 and it turns out that my mobo wasnt in the supported list, so i stuck a peice of 128SD from my old HP comp, low and behold, it worked fine...i installed windows and hopefully i can buy some Kingston RAM i see what you guys mean now, thanks sooo much ill post back if i have any problems

[Redo40]

Crucial, the best place to buy memory and they have a compatibility guarantee.

[glc]

A guaranteed compatible 512mb PC2100 module for that motherboard is $71.99 direct from Crucial, free shipping, you pay sales tax in *some* states.

I think the point I'm trying to make is this - and it's been said here many times - there are 2 things in a computer build you don't want to "cheap out" on - and that's a motherboard and a power supply. They are just too important. You may have good results, but we see too many problems to endorse it. This can be extended to ram also - generic in and of itself is not bad, but how do you know it's going to be 100% compatible with any particular board? You just don't. I'm in the business, and my distributor offers both generic and name brand ram - I gave up on generic a long time ago due to issues, it's just not worth the small savings to take a chance that I'll be wasting time pulling it back out, exchanging it, and reinstalling it. I'd rather take a cut in my markup and ensure that I won't have to make a return trip at MY expense.

On my own system here, I had a whole pile of used 128mb PC100 modules to pick from to use. ALL of them tested good in a ram tester. However, I had to play for a while to find 4 of them that worked in MY motherboard (Asus P2B-F) and got along with each other - and I still think that there are some issues with them that's causing my AGP bus to be very flaky - for now I'm using a PCI video card just to keep things running well. Bottom line? RAM is not "just" RAM, if the modules you use are not "certified" by the manufacturer or vendor to be compatible with YOUR motherboard or system, you are taking a chance.

[animalshack]

ok well i didnt know that ECS wasnt too good for motherboards, got any suggestions for next time?

i heard Asus and nForce are great but im not sure, also, the power supply i got is a 320watt enermax, so far it works great

one more thing how about this Mushkin RAM

do you think that will work? i generally want something under $50 that will work with a P4VXASD2+ and i want it to be either 256 or 512 ddr, if you find anything please help me out....thanks

btw i also want it to be from that website since thats the website for FRYS and thats where i buy all my stuff....

[Xayd]

Mushkin is good for RAM, yes.

nForce is the chipset, Asus is a manufacturer.

As far as motherboard manufacturers go and my personal experiences, my preferences are Asus, Abit, Epox in that order. If you wanna save a few bucks and get a mobo with less features than an Asus/Abit board, take a look at Soyo, they're the most consistent of the inexpensive brands.

[glc]

ECS is a division of PC Chips. They do make some decent motherboards (the K7S5A is one of them) but the quality is just too variable to absolutely depend on them. The one you have may very well be decent, but it's a Via chipset, which I will never recommend for an Intel processor. Bottom line, that motherboard costs $56.99 for a good reason, you get what you pay for.

Mushkin ram is well known for its quality, but once again, is that part number compatible with that motherboard? MAYBE - it's not certified on the P4X333, only the P4X266. It may work or it may not. Crucial has 256mb PC2100 modules guaranteed to work for $36.99.

Fry's has a history of carrying "offbrand" stuff and selling reboxed returns, so I won't take their website too seriously, I personally think you would be better off with a dedicated webseller such as Newegg, Mwave, and a few others.

Back to the motherboard - I don't see any board under $100 that I would trust that will work with that processor at Outpost. Newegg has the Asus P4S533-X board for $76.99, that has the SiS 645DX chipset, which is a lot better than that Via you have and almost as good as a genuine Intel, which can't be had for under $100 in a decent brand. Your generic ram, as long as it isn't defective, just might work in that board too.

Yes, I saw the "Intel" board for $59.99 at Outpost - and I noticed that they very carefully have not stated the model number. This rings alarm bells. It *says* it's DDR, and if it's really Intel branded, it would probably be a D845BGL long-discontinued 400 FSB-only board, which does you no good - and I would lay odds it's refurbished.

[animalshack]

ok well thanks guys,

im going with frys because i dont like shopping online, i just look at the site to compare prices

my mobo was actually 69.99

and btw when frys sells you something refurbished, they clearly state that wiht a sticker...

i dont think ill be changing motherboards at least for this computer anyway

and i put hte 512 in my other computer so now that 1 has 1 GB of DDR and it works fine

thx guys