First PC Build - Boot Problems

[Hactar]

I just built my PC, and everything looks to be connected correctly. When I turn it on, all the fans start up and the speaker emits 1 long beep and 2 short beeps. Nothing shows on the monitor. Heres the specs:

A8N-SLI Deluxe
Corsair XMS 1gb
Sapphire X800
Maxtor SATA 7200rpm 8mb cache
Lite-On 16x DVD drive
Enermax Whisper 2 PSU (550w)

I may have connected the HD LED plugs the wrong way, because they don't light up on the front panel, unless the HD isn't supposed to activate that early in the boot process. I also can't hear if its spinning or not. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be the mobo, since i double checked all the connections for the video card, ram, ect. Can someone please help me out?

Edit - I just remembered to plug in my headphones, and the mobo said "system failed VGA test"....so what should i do? I though the video card was properly seated but I'm not sure now, nor am I sure of the correct way. I just inserted it into the slot and it fit fine. Theres a small lever next to the PCI-E slot but it doesnt seem to move or anything.

 

[d2arcturus]

Reseat video card, plug PCIe plug from power supply into it.

Oh, my reasoning: here (Award BIOS).
1 beep 2 short = video problem.

 

[Hactar]

Alright, I'll try that out. How do i know when its properly seated? When i put it in, it slid in and there was a lever on the PCI-E slot, but it didn't move and didn't seem to do anything. Also, I dont think theres a slot to plug in a PCI-E connector on it.

 

[d2arcturus]

Make sure you put the card in the top (blue) PCIe slot.
You shouldn't be able to see any of the god connectors if it's in all the way.
Just make sure you put it down with two hands applying even pressure on both sides of the card until it won't go any further. Don't snap the motherboard.

 

[Hactar]

Theres a small 4 pin slot right here:

Picture

Thats on the video card but im not sure what its for. There aren't any connectors on the PSU that fit that. Nor are there any connectors for the 6-pin (3 by 3) black connectors from the PSU either. I reseated it as well but I couldn't notice a difference.

 

[d2arcturus]

It's in the top slot? Hmm. Test the card in another system, because according to BIOS it's a video problem.

 

[Hactar]

I cant - the only other system i have is 5 years old and doesnt support PCI-E.

 

[Hactar]

Ok, now it beeped once, i have a display! yay! it says at the bottom: "CMOS Checksum error- defaults loaded"

What does that mean? what do i do?

Heres a link to a picture of the screen:

Picture!

 

[d2arcturus]

CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR = Checksum of CMOS is incorrect. This can indicate that CMOS has become corrupt. This error may have been caused by a weak battery.

Turn off PC, take out CMOS battery for 10 seconds, put it back in and turn on.

 

[Hactar]

Alright, I'll get back to you.

 

[Hactar]

Err- how do i go about removing the battery? do i just pull it out?

 

[d2arcturus]

Yeah. Might be a little metal lever holding it in. Just pull that back and pull it out while the system is off.

 

[Hactar]

Uh oh, now it didn't beep or anything, i have no display, and i pressed the power button and it didnt turn off!

 

[d2arcturus]

Did you put the battery back in?

 

[Hactar]

I held the power button for about 5 seconds and it turned off...what should i do now?

 

[Hactar]

yeah, i did.

 

[d2arcturus]

Originally posted by: d2arcturus
CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR = Checksum of CMOS is incorrect. This can indicate that CMOS has become corrupt. This error may have been caused by a weak battery.

Maybe it has to be replaced.

 

[Hactar]

Well thats not good, where can i get another one?

 

[d2arcturus]

Radio Shack. Just take that one in and get the same kind.

 

[d2arcturus]

Try one more thing. There is a little jumper next to the battery. Take off the jumper for a few seconds (leave the battery in) and put it back. Then power on and tell me what happens.

Make sure you didn't put the battery in upside-down.

 

[Hactar]

Alright, yeah, i saw that in the manual about resetting the memory in CMOS. I'll let you know in a minute.

 

[Hactar]

ok, i took the battery out, moved the jumper over for about 10 seconds to clear the CMOS RAM, then moved the jumper back to the original position and put the battery back in. This time it beeped once and came up with the same screen - CMOS Checksum error. So maybe it is the battery.

It also says press DEL to enter setup and F1 to continue.

 

[d2arcturus]

Yeah looks like weak battery.

 

[Hactar]

Now when i start it, beeps once, then goes to a screen asking me to set up a RAID utility, and when i press delete it goes to screen that says BOOT DISK FAILURE INSERT DISK TO CONTINUE or something like that, and i think that means im supposed to put my OS disk in. But, it never goes back to the original screen where it had the list of all the parts and the CHECKSUM error.

 

[d2arcturus]

It should be fine for now then. Replace the battery when you get a chance though, just to be safe.

Now just install your OS and what not, and enjoy.