First time building PC - need help!

[jakobkraft]

Okay, I'm attempting to build a very basic system for my fiancee's mother whose ancient P1, win95 266MHz system crapped out on her, finally. So I got my hands on a case and power supply and HD and a very decent P3 mobo. In the past I have upgraded and installed every single component that is possible on a PC for my own needs, but this is the first time I'm doing a complete build.

Everything looks okay, except when I turn on PC, system stays on for a few seconds, then shuts off. It doesn't even stay no long enough for the monitor to show me anything.

Although the mobo came in the original box, there was no documentation with it and couldn't find anything terribly specific online.

The components I added from my own miscellany were:

GeForce 2 MX 64MB
Soundblaster Live 5.1
Conexant 56K modem
Ricoh CD-RW
Sony DVD-Rom 1621


I suspect I didn't connect the wires attached to the power button into the right places on the mobo - but I can't find instructions on how to do that...

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I think this would be a nice little system for someone living in the past for so long. And Tues. her b-day, so it would be like killing two birds with one stone...

thanks...!

 

[Blain]

Go to the MB manufacturer's support site, and download the manual for it.

 

[Steven the Leech]

What kind of CPU are you using-slot 1? Mhz?

Try taking the motherboard out of the case, hook up only cpu/ram/MB/Video card, and try to boot with the monitor hooked up.
[After you make sure that all of the above are working properly, in another system if possible]

Another thing to consider is the Power Supply, If after you have tried to boot it with the MB outside the case, and if it doesnt work, try a different Power supply

 

[nick1985]

sounds like it might be shorting out. make sure no metal prongs from the I/O plate are touching the motherboard

 

[jakobkraft]

I tried that three times, the operation keeps timing out, like they're trying to offer it our of courtesy but it's not actually downloadable anymore. I tried using Netscape and IE...

Here's the site, maybe you'll have better luck:

http://www.abit-usa.com/produc...categories=1&model=101

 

[firebirdude]

What speed memory are you trying to run? Since you know nothing about the mobo, maybe it doesn't support the RAM you are using? Just an idea....

 

[mechBgon]

A couple of guesses for you:

1) maybe the mobo has a feature that shuts the power off when it can't detect an RPM signal on the CPUFAN header? If your CPU Fan header doesn't have an RPM-signalling fan on it, plug one in as a fact-finding step. There is often an override setting in the BIOS to disable this feature, if it has the feature to start with.

2) Make sure the stepped end of the heatsink is over the raised end of the socket (as shown for Athlon/Duron here in the third photo.

3) Motherboards will turn off if the case's power button is held down for ~5-6 seconds. If your case's switch is electrically stuck in the "pushed" position, then the mobo might power up and then see the continuous connection and go "oh, ok, he wants me to shut off again all righty then." To bypass that, try making a momentary electrical contact between the motherboard's power-switch pins with a piece of metal, and see if it stays running.

 

[Terumo]

What type of memory are you using? PC-100 or PC-133?

On the Asus P3B-F board we had problems with using 756mbs of memory (PC-100) (confirmed on 2 boards). It would boot when 512mbs was used.

 

[jakobkraft]

Originally posted by: Terumo
What type of memory are you using? PC-100 or PC-133?

On the Asus P3B-F board we had problems with using 756mbs of memory (PC-100) (confirmed on 2 boards). It would boot when 512mbs was used.

PC-133, which it does support from what I read, and was included (one 256MB stick) by the guy I bought if from...

 

[impemonk]

Sounds like its shorting out. Try tweaking the EGS wires a bit or something to see if you can rewire the CPU to a nondisclosed position.

 

[Terumo]

Originally posted by: jakobkraft

Originally posted by: Terumo
What type of memory are you using? PC-100 or PC-133?

On the Asus P3B-F board we had problems with using 756mbs of memory (PC-100) (confirmed on 2 boards). It would boot when 512mbs was used.

PC-133, which it does support from what I read, and was included (one 256MB stick) by the guy I bought if from...

Did you finally get a copy of the manual?

Did you test the memory to see it's not faulty? A stray static charge can ruin a stick (it is winter now, and there's a lot of static around). If you have a spare stick, try it.

Six things come to mind to prevent a boot:

1. Wrong BIOS.
2. Wrong or bad processor (either it's too low/high for the m/b; or a bent/broken pin).
3. Faulty memory.
4. Bad or underpowered PSU.
5. A faulty HDD.
6. Or a damaged m/b.

I had 5 out of 6 happen to me before (it's no fun trying to straighten a processor pin), and it just takes one weak link in the boot chain to cause what you're experiencing. Double check each and see if it resolves it. If it's none of the 5, suspect something is wrong with the motherboard (especially if the previous owner OCed it).

 

[Marktoloba]

I had a problem just like that with my older computer... The prob was my ram was burned out... Who knows

 

[jakobkraft]

Originally posted by: Terumo

Originally posted by: jakobkraft

Originally posted by: Terumo
What type of memory are you using? PC-100 or PC-133?

On the Asus P3B-F board we had problems with using 756mbs of memory (PC-100) (confirmed on 2 boards). It would boot when 512mbs was used.

PC-133, which it does support from what I read, and was included (one 256MB stick) by the guy I bought if from...

Did you finally get a copy of the manual?

Did you test the memory to see it's not faulty? A stray static charge can ruin a stick (it is winter now, and there's a lot of static around). If you have a spare stick, try it.

Six things come to mind to prevent a boot:

1. Wrong BIOS.
2. Wrong or bad processor (either it's too low/high for the m/b; or a bent/broken pin).
3. Faulty memory.
4. Bad or underpowered PSU.
5. A faulty HDD.
6. Or a damaged m/b.

I had 5 out of 6 happen to me before (it's no fun trying to straighten a processor pin), and it just takes one weak link in the boot chain to cause what you're experiencing. Double check each and see if it resolves it. If it's none of the 5, suspect something is wrong with the motherboard (especially if the previous owner OCed it).

I did finally get the manual to dl this morning. ..the bios was totally wrong, so I upgraded that - and I did have a spare stick of 128MB SDRAM lying around from an old machine - stuck that in and everything was roses.

Weird...oh well, I paid the guy for the mobo, not the memory, which was a bonus, if non-functioning...

thanks all for your feedback