HELP! HELP! HELP!

[smitty2005]

I tried to build my machine tonight. I turned on the PSU, and absolutely nothing happened. No beeps, no whurs, no hums, no nothing at all. I checked and rechecked all the connections. I unpluged each component (Hard drive, Optical, all fans). Still nothing.
Any help would be greatly apprecaited. I'm so upset.

Here's my system:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Processor
EPOX 9NPA+Ultra
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000SWS Silver ATX Mid Tower Case
OCZ PowerStream OCZ420ADJ ATX 420W Power Supply
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200
Samsung Spinpoint 200GB:
ATI Radeon X600XL PCI-Express AIW Video Card
BenQ DVD Burner

 

[smitty2005]

Oh, and one other thing. The second time I tried the PSU, I noticed a slight current when I touched the Thmeraltake case.

 

[Overkiller]

Make sure everything is grounded correctly. When you say " nothing happens "

Does the motherboard LED light up when everything is plugged in or is it dark? Did you plug in both Power connectors into the motherboard? Are you using an oversaturated line (i.e. the outlet already has another pc on it..)

 

[Ricemarine]

Bye bye power supply.

 

[smitty2005]

No, nothing lights up at all. Nothing happens at all. It is the only thing plugged into that outlet.
Is there any way to isolate to PSU to see if that is the problem?

 

[smitty2005]

How do I determine weather or not the PSU is defective?

 

[CrimsonCutie]

Hey
if you tingle when you touch the case.. sounds like something isn't grounding correctly (maybe you used the wrong screws putting in the mobo?

But to check a PSU... unplug it from everything... drives and mobo and short pin 14 to ground
TESTING A PSU

it tells you which pin to short
its not hard to do... just don't zap yourself hehe...

You may want to have a case fan plugged into the PSU as well
so when you make the short youc an verify that the unit is putting out power

 

[smitty2005]

From what I read, testing the PSU itself is WAY out of my league. You mentioned something about the screws to mount the MoBo. How would I check to see if this is the problem?

 

[Ricemarine]

If you have excess brass standoffs, it can short your mobo.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: smitty2005
From what I read, testing the PSU itself is WAY out of my league. You mentioned something about the screws to mount the MoBo. How would I check to see if this is the problem?

Don't put the mobo in the case just yet, put it on a cardboard box(i.e the one your mobo came in) and this will ground it, and THEN test it, if your rig works, than it is your case, something is causing static and it needs to be grounded.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
If you have excess brass standoffs, it can short your mobo.

That too, but try it on a cardboard box first.

 

[smitty2005]

You mean brass standoffs screwed into my case that are not then used to hold the MOBO in place? I don't think I have any of those.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: smitty2005
You mean brass standoffs screwed into my case that are not then used to hold the MOBO in place? I don't think I have any of those.

Cardboard box...its the only way to go .

 

[CrimsonCutie]

take your mobo out of the case, and put it on a cardboard box.. and hook up itup that way... just outside the case
and see if it works... thats a good way to test for ground issues.


shorting the leads on the PSU are simple you take a paperclip and bend it and put it in pin14 and in a ground pin..but if you dn't feel confident DO NOT DO IT...

 

[smitty2005]

Okay, I did the cardboard box trick, and "It's Aliiiive! it's aliiiive!"
So, I put the board back in the case, and, you guessed it, nothing. It's definitely a grounding issue with the case then right?
The only thing I see is there is no brass mounting standoff for one of the mounting holes in the MoBo, so I just left that one empty. There are no brass mounting standoffs that do not coorespond with a mounting hole. Could the missing brass mounting standoff be causing the problem? Or should I look elsewhere?
PS: Thanks so much for the cardboard box tip. Seeing it work, even out of the case, felt so good. I was pretty down on myself becasue I had no idea what was wrong. Now, at least I think I've isolated the problem.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: smitty2005
Okay, I did the cardboard box trick, and "It's Aliiiive! it's aliiiive!"
So, I put the board back in the case, and, you guessed it, nothing. It's definitely a grounding issue with the case then right?
The only thing I see is there is no brass mounting standoff for one of the mounting holes in the MoBo, so I just left that one empty. There are no brass mounting standoffs that do not coorespond with a mounting hole. Could the missing brass mounting standoff be causing the problem? Or should I look elsewhere?
PS: Thanks so much for the cardboard box tip. Seeing it work, even out of the case, felt so good. I was pretty down on myself becasue I had no idea what was wrong. Now, at least I think I've isolated the problem.

thats good, where are you building it? It is very bad to build on carpet you know(i hope you aren't), and you should constantly ground yourself by touching the PSU, try building your rig on a wooden table, what I do with my rigs is put em over a piece of wood off the carpet on the ground in my room.

 

[mOeeOm]

Also, try to find some anti-static bracelets. at this point you should try anything

 

[smitty2005]

I'm building on a cyramic tyle table on a concrete floor. Like I said, I got it work outside the case on a cardboard box. Now, I just need to findout what's shorting it inside the case. (Could it me that missing standoff?)

 

[CrimsonCutie]

check the insturctions for your mobo... it will tell you where you need BRASS screw in and where you need protective washers to keep from grounding...
it is 95% probable an issue with the screw set up... mounting the board.

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: CrimsonCutie
check the insturctions for your mobo... it will tell you where you need BRASS screw in and where you need protective washers to keep from grounding...
it is 95% probable an issue with the screw set up... mounting the board.

yep and make sure you're not warping the board by tightening some too tight or if a standoff or two are shorter than others.

 

[smitty2005]

Well, I checked again, and this time in the case I got a very brief (around a second) powerup then shutdown. So, I took the MOBO out of the case and again placed it on a cardboard box. Voila, power.
That said, it must be the case or the mounting right?
Does the fact that I get very brief startup inside the case (and only after I unplug the PSU and plaug it back in) tell anyone anything? Again, outside the case it appears to power up normally.
I've got brass mounting standoffs, but I'm using non-brass screws to secure the MoBo to the standoffs. Could this be an issue? Is it possible this extra mounting hole without a standoff is the problem? If so, how do I rectify that?
I checked my MoBo manual, and there is no information at all about how to mount it. No help there.

 

[CrimsonCutie]

just to let yo uknow
if you keep doing this.. you might blow your motherboard.. or pop your powersupply
you want to be careful how many times you put it back in the case... the short could really damage things...
your mobo should have in the early sections
the "how to mount your mainboard"
where it tells you where to put the 3 brown screws useing the rubber washers.. and the 2 brass screws makeing contact with the brass standoffs mounted on your motherboard tray <<<< EXAMPLE ONLY LOL

what mobo do you have?

 

[Varun]

Originally posted by: smitty2005
Well, I checked again, and this time in the case I got a very brief (around a second) powerup then shutdown. So, I took the MOBO out of the case and again placed it on a cardboard box. Voila, power.
That said, it must be the case or the mounting right? Make sure nothing is touching the motherboard anywhere other than the standoffs.
Does the fact that I get very brief startup inside the case (and only after I unplug the PSU and plaug it back in) tell anyone anything? Again, outside the case it appears to power up normally. It tells me you are lucky it hasn't fried yet. Stop trying it in the case until you figure out what is shorted
I've got brass mounting standoffs, but I'm using non-brass screws to secure the MoBo to the standoffs. Could this be an issue? Is it possible this extra mounting hole without a standoff is the problem? If so, how do I rectify that? The problem is something is grounded that shouldn't be - not something that should be grounded. It doesn't matter if the screws aren't brass. The extra mount shouldn't matter at all
I checked my MoBo manual, and there is no information at all about how to mount it. No help there.

Stand back, take a deep breath, and then check over the backside of the motherboard and the motherboard tray to be 100% sure that nothing is touching where it shouldn't be

 

[Ricemarine]

Um...

So he shorted his mobo by not using brass standoffs...

Heh...

Use only 6 brass standoffs, and 6 screws that come with some non-metal washers. Go to Compusa and get em!

 

[smitty2005]

I'm using an EPOX 9NPA+Ultra. Nothing appears to be touching it.
It makes perfect sense not to keep trying it the case. I certainly don't want to screw anything up.
My only question is, how do I know if I've fixed it without trying it in the case?
Oh the humanity.