Help with a computer build - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Anxst · 06-26-2009, 03:36 PM

So, I'm in the midst of building a new machine for my wife, and I can't get the damned thing to POST. Original testing showed the power supply was not supplying on the -5V, so I sent it back and got a replacement, but I'm still unable to get an initial POST. Sadly, I do not have one of those handy little 4 block light boards to hook up and see what the issue might be.

Parts are:

MSI K9N2G Neo-FD AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS550-PCARE3-US 550W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-8500C5

BIOSTAR VA4652NHG1 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

I checked all the power connections, and all seem secure. Currently on power on, there's nothing. Fans spin (including the heatsink fan), lights light up, but there's no beep, and nothing on screen (when using the onboard video or the installed vid card, I checked both). Mobo jumper is set to allow bios to be saved. The power button in the case I bought seemed to be labeled backwards as I had to switch it and the reset switch to have it power on. Holding down the power button does make the machine power down.

Any advice? This thing is starting to drive me nuts.

Martian · 06-26-2009, 04:03 PM

No POST is likley caused by a bad motherboard. If the original PSU was faulty it may have caused some damage.

Strip it down to processor, PSU, one stick of RAM. See if you get a POST beep. If not, and if the PSU is assumed good, the motherboard is probably dead.

Anxst · 06-26-2009, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martian

No POST is likley caused by a bad motherboard. If the original PSU was faulty it may have caused some damage.

Strip it down to processor, PSU, one stick of RAM. See if you get a POST beep. If not, and if the PSU is assumed good, the motherboard is probably dead.

That was my first thought, too. Still, on an off chance I tried something and got lucky. I disconnected all the case switches and just hooked an old switch up and it works fine. So, bad switches in the case, I replaced them (good god what a pain), and we're good to go!

If nothing else, going to an outside source for help got the wheels turning. Thanks, folks!

Martian · 06-26-2009, 05:27 PM

Well, that's random.

It's (clearly) possible for a switch to short out the board and cause that, although I have to say I'm not sure I would've ever thought of it.

Glad you got it sorted.

Lasereth · 06-26-2009, 05:34 PM

Holy cow I would never have thought of that. Grats.

Anxst · 06-26-2009, 06:02 PM

Yeah, I've never seen anything like it. I've only built a few machines before, but I always felt I had a pretty solid grasp on what I was doing. I pretty much tried this on a whim, and it happened to be the issue. Weirdness.

Hopefully we'll never see it again.

Lasereth · 06-26-2009, 06:21 PM

I've built a few no-post PCs and twice it was a bad CPU, once bad mobo. Luckily I had spare parts around so it made troubleshooting really easy.

06-26-2009, 03:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
Anxst Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance. Location: Madison, WI	Help with a computer build So, I'm in the midst of building a new machine for my wife, and I can't get the damned thing to POST. Original testing showed the power supply was not supplying on the -5V, so I sent it back and got a replacement, but I'm still unable to get an initial POST. Sadly, I do not have one of those handy little 4 block light boards to hook up and see what the issue might be. Parts are: MSI K9N2G Neo-FD AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 ATX AMD Motherboard AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS550-PCARE3-US 550W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-8500C5 BIOSTAR VA4652NHG1 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card I checked all the power connections, and all seem secure. Currently on power on, there's nothing. Fans spin (including the heatsink fan), lights light up, but there's no beep, and nothing on screen (when using the onboard video or the installed vid card, I checked both). Mobo jumper is set to allow bios to be saved. The power button in the case I bought seemed to be labeled backwards as I had to switch it and the reset switch to have it power on. Holding down the power button does make the machine power down. Any advice? This thing is starting to drive me nuts. __________________ Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.

06-26-2009, 04:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	No POST is likley caused by a bad motherboard. If the original PSU was faulty it may have caused some damage. Strip it down to processor, PSU, one stick of RAM. See if you get a POST beep. If not, and if the PSU is assumed good, the motherboard is probably dead. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

06-26-2009, 05:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Well, that's random. It's (clearly) possible for a switch to short out the board and cause that, although I have to say I'm not sure I would've ever thought of it. Glad you got it sorted. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

06-26-2009, 05:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Holy cow I would never have thought of that. Grats. __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

06-26-2009, 06:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
Anxst Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance. Location: Madison, WI	Yeah, I've never seen anything like it. I've only built a few machines before, but I always felt I had a pretty solid grasp on what I was doing. I pretty much tried this on a whim, and it happened to be the issue. Weirdness. Hopefully we'll never see it again. __________________ Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.

06-26-2009, 06:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	I've built a few no-post PCs and twice it was a bad CPU, once bad mobo. Luckily I had spare parts around so it made troubleshooting really easy. __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert