Having problems with a new build? Try this.

[HAL9000]

5.20.2007 Update I have updated this procedure slightly to reflect new build procedures. Please follow the steps carefully before starting your own thread. Thank you. -Alaron, BYOPC Moderator.

We're going to start from scratch.

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 actually 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 1 stick of RAM.
5) Install the video card and attach the power supply connection to the card if your card needs one. Do NOT use a video card if your motherboard has onboard video, the fewer parts we start with, the better.
6) Connect the monitor to the video card.
7) Connect the power supply to the motherboard with both the 24pin main ATX Power connection and the separate 4 or 8 pin power connection.
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. Consult your motherboard manual to find which two pins connect to your case's power switch. Then touch both pins with a screwdriver to complete the circuit and boot the system.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. Then assemble the parts into the case and try again. If the system now fails to boot, you have a short in the case and need to recheck your motherboard standoffs.

If the system does not boot after this process, then you most likely have a faulty component. You'll need to swap parts, start with the power supply, until you determine what is defective.

When starting a thread about your computer, be sure to include full specifications including brands, models and your power supply. This is important to help us help you.



Special thanks to HAL9000 for creating the original procedure that has helped countless PCs come to life.

[Floppyman]

Thanks for the list Hal, will keep those in mind if I have trouble with my next build.

[Obraxis]

Thanx for the above - might help some newbies

[DrZaius]

Good tips HAL.

Just to add a little, it's always a good idea to have a stick of RAM in your computer toolbox that you know works for sure (16 or 32 MB stick) so you can test for bad RAM.

[Eric H.]

Sorry, but can you please elaborate on "Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard?" I'm not too sure what you mean or how to short something..

[glc]

On ATX systems, the front panel power button connects to a pair of posts on the motherboard. You just take a small screwdriver and touch it to those 2 posts at the same time.

[Werewolfdaddy]

Computer Gods reside here.

[matura95]

It works the fan works as soon as i hit the switch
What do i do next?

[mairving]

Man, Hal, I thought that you would say remove that AMD chip and Motherboard and install Intel chip and Motherboard.

[HAL9000]

Good point, it would solve a ton of problems

Nah, although I'm probably not going to build an AMD system anytime soon, those people out there insisting on a system > 1Ghz should build an AMD. The P4 + Rambus just isn't an economical solution until SDRAM/DDR support becomes available.

[HAL9000]

Originally posted by matura95 It works the fan works as soon as i hit the switch What do i do next?

Put the bare basics back into the case making sure that you are not shorting out the motherboard anywhere and try again.

[Madog51]

This process didn't work for me... i get the same symptoms as i did with everything installed in the case... no display, no beeps. anythign else i can do?

[HAL9000]

Double, triple, quadruple check that your RAM, video card and your CPU are fully seated. If you still can't get things to go from there, you pretty well need access to another machine for which you can test your parts individually as something is most likely a dud.

[highrisemech]

Thanks for the tip Hal, this helped me a great deal on my build,
I found that the Athlon slot a cpu was not seated all the way also found a dimm not seated properly. Once I calmed down and followed your advice, the Tyan s2380 board posted without any problems.

[Ramer]

thanks for the tips

[Ramer]

does anyone know how to make the pic smaller

[glc]

Save the pic to your hard drive, resize it with an image editing program, upload it to your webspace, and link to that in your signature. I don't think you can define size in the {img} tags.

[Mark S.]

Took everything out and powered up fine, but got no display. Only a black screen. The video card is an ASUS V7100pro brand new out of the box. Could this be the problem?

[highrisemech]

Use only one ram chip make sure it is seated properly. Also make double sure the video card is fully seated. Make sure the motherboard is not grounding lay it on cardboard works good.Make sure the cpu is fully seated. Go over each one of these carefully and post your result. We will try to get you on the right track. Also if you can hook up the speaker and let us know if you get a beep code. If you do get a beep code post the code.

[Mark S.]

Rechecked RAM, video and CPU all are seated well. Attached speaker cable. Got no beep at all.

[highrisemech]

If the speaker is connected properly and there is no beep this sounds like a cpu problem. But I'm not sure lets get some more input from some of the veteran members.

[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.

[jackel_2]

I'm having the same problems as Mark S. did. I pulled it out, followed the instruction above, and nothing... is there someone who has the time to I.M. me on AOL Instant Messenger? Maybe talk me through what I have done wrong?

My buddy name is Murr43.. I will be logged on all afternoon. Thanks!

[Werewolfdaddy]

I recently built a computer for my girlfriend. It works great, but the other day, while I was opening it up to add memory, I noticed that the case is lightly magnetic. The screwdriver I was using wanted to stick to it and so will little screws. What's up?

[kentfoxx]

It powers up out of the case. Next step??


By the way, thanks

[HAL9000]

OK, if it's running there, time to take just those pieces and re-assemble in the case. Pay carefull attention to see if there is anywhere the motherboard is grounding out on the case itself. If not, there's no reason why it shouldn't work there as well.

[juanito]

Hal:
Been doin it that way for years (laying everything out on the work bench) and never had a problem, but several friends think I'm nuts and going to fry a MoBo.
I use a formica covered counter top, rather than the shipping box, but its non conductive.

Appreciate all the good info I get from these posts.

Juanito

[haptry]

What is the "white wire" in the wiring for the hdd led, reset, etc. I know one is positive and the other is negative, and which one goes on the #1. I think it is the positive

Thanks - Henry

[HAL9000]

Look very close on the connector and you will see a very small triangle on one side, that designates the positive wire.

[glc]

If you can figure out ONE of them, the others will all have the writing on the connector facing the same way.