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First Time Build Power Supply Problem?

J

jrphoenix

Golden Member
EDIT FROM ORIGINAL REQUEST.................

I hoooked up the powersupply to the motherboard with ram / processor / videocard. The motherboard is outside the case so that I can make sure it's working (on foam & box it came in per mechbgon's guide). The 12volt & ATX plugs are plugged in and nothing happens when I switch on the power supply (- from 0) in the back?

Is this a bad powersupply & bad luck on my first build???? Please help 🙁


OLD MESSAGE.......................
Hi,

I am trying to build a system by myself for the first time. I unpacked all of my supplies and laid them out. I am using an Antech 480 watt "true blue" power supply (new out of the box). I wanted to test it before putting it in to see if it worked.

I plugged the power supply in and laid it on top of the box and flipped the switch on. Nothing? Is there some kind of safety feature that won't allow me to power it on unless its screwed into the case? Do I have a bad power supply & bad luck 🙁 ?

I made sure the little red switch was set to the correct voltage to?

Please help as I am building now.
 
it has to either be hooked to a psu tester(can be jumpered..not saying do that) or connected to a mobo..
<--currently have a Biostar setup ..bare mobo,cpu,hsf,ram and psu..
 
Hi Scrap,

Thank you for the heads up. I have been nervous building the first time on my own. I never would have tried it if not for the extremely helpful people such as yourself &amp; Mechbgon's guide 😛

Ok... I will wait to turn it on until it is hooked up to the motherboard.

P.S. if you hear of a place to buy and Ultra or XT (my last part) for $500 - 550 please let me know 😛
 
The power supply isn't supposed to power up the system when you flip it from 0 to 1 on the back, so you'll just need to hook up your case's Power button to the proper pins on the mobo, like shown in this photo. Now press the case's Power button, and that tells the motherboard to fire up the power supply.

What motherboard did you get, by the way? I can help you find the right pins for the power button, if it's giving you trouble. 🙂
 
Hi Mechbgon,

Wow.... the big guy who wrote the guide replying to me 😛 Thank you for the information. Iwill go hookup the "power" button for my case to the motherboard now. BTW, I have the Gigabyte NF3-250 motherboard that newegg sells: Newegg Link

P.S. What do you think of my rig I'm building?: Parts

I had to build sooner than I wanted, I was waiting on PCI-E 🙁 I am happy with my build so far though 🙂 I should have listened to you about buying an ergonomically correct case. I went for looks and have a few blood knuckles 😛

Oh yeah... if you find a place that is selling the Ultra or XT PE please send me a messag sometime.

Thank you!!!
 
Hey MechBGon.... It's up and running (posted and all). I got the error message that is normal for not having my hard drives hooked up. It showed all of my ram (2Gb of OCZ 😛) My processor (3800+) showed 200 MHz because I don't think it has a multiplier set yet? The FSB must be set to 200 MHz with a 1x multiplier?

Thank you so much for the quick reply.... without your help I would be up the creek right now (after my old computer died) 😛
 
Yes you need to still connect the plug from the case for the power button or you need to know which two pins to short (using a insulated flat tip screwdriver) to get teh board to power up.

If it still does not, (be sure you try flipping the 0/+ switch on the PS since you have been flipping it)
try powering up without the RAM or the CPU. It should give power and give an audible warning (because it can't find the cpu or memory) That would tell you if the board is bad or if you have an issue with your RAM or CPU... just know from my own experience with a bad board I had to exchange.
 
Thank you OhioGamer... luckily everything is working now. This is awesome (building your own PC). It's funny that you are "junior" member and know more than me the "senior" member 😛 It's only because I have been posting here since February when I originally wanted to buy an Alienware system.

After hearing everyone's suggestions to build and reading Mech's guide, I went for it. I must say it has been rewarding this far. Thank you for your time &amp; tips.
 
Originally posted by: jrphoenix
Hey MechBGon.... It's up and running (posted and all). I got the error message that is normal for not having my hard drives hooked up. It showed all of my ram (2Gb of OCZ 😛) My processor (3800+) showed 200 MHz because I don't think it has a multiplier set yet? The FSB must be set to 200 MHz with a 1x multiplier?

Thank you so much for the quick reply.... without your help I would be up the creek right now (after my old computer died) 😛
Click to expand...
Sure thing 😀 I haven't worked with the Gigabyte board but I suspect it's got the CPU correct right from the get-go. Unlike AthlonXP's where there are different bus speeds, there's only one "bus speed" for an A64 (so far).

Next steps: start by bumping your memory voltage to 2.7 volts since DDR400+ is gonna want more than the skimpy 2.5V that mobos give the RAM when they're left on Auto. For your board... *pulls up manual in PDF format* ...that setting is found in the MB Intelligent Tweaker section of the motherboard's BIOS 🙂

After that, you'll want to take a snack break 😀 and then you are ready to install Windows and get its armor on without exposing it to the Internet. I'd download this patch set from Microsoft and ZoneAlarm free version if you don't have a hardware firewall at home (a cable/DSL router). Leave the network cable unplugged to ensure it's isolated from the Internet.

If you have antivirus software, let me know what brand and I can help you track down an offline updater that arms it with the latest definitions without going online to get them, too. If you have just one home PC instead of a home network, then you're qualified to use AVG Free Edition, and if you download its installer, it'll be within a week of current on its definitions so that's good enough to deflect the common worms like Sasser.

Once you're online, update your antivirus definitions again, then make a few visits to Windows Update to load up on patches (duh) and grab the free Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to help spot trouble areas like weak/blank passwords and stuff.

As far as the system goes, it was smart of you to pick a high-quality PSU 😎 I personally turned my nose up at the Gigabyte board after seeing how a lot of the added features are clogged onto the PCI bus, but it's not the end of the world unless you seriously get high-speed transfers going on several of them at once. I'm not an OCZ fan considering their past either, but no use crying over spilled milk, you already got it 😉 That burner looks nice, especially since it comes with software 🙂
 
Thank you for the helpful hints &amp; info. The motherboard came with a free copy of Norton Intenet Security (firewall &amp; antivirus) on disc. I was using this on my old system but I was almost out of my one year subscription renewal. I will download the stuff you linked to. I am currently using my work laptop to access the net through dialup (my highspeed is down until I finish my new system).

I will up the votage when I get back to the room. If you write back it may be a while before I reply (going back to work after of course having a pizza snack 😛 dominos just delivered)

Have a great weekend &amp; thank you!
 
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