Just built a new computer and it worked for 20 minutes...

[trutherd]

So I just built a computer (not my first) and after a few minutes my monitor just went blank. I got into bios and had booted to the WinXP cd and was beginning to partition/format the hard drive. I was doing stuff on my other computer too so I don't know precisely when it happened. At first i thought i might have leaned on my keyboard and that might have caused it but I don't think so.

CPU: AMD Sempron 2800+ socket 754
RAM: 512 mb Kingston PC3200 (1 dimm)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8NS
Cooling: Heatsink/fan/thermal included in AMD retail box
Video card: ATI Radeon 9200 AGP

I have now cleared/reset the bios/cmos (took the battery out for ~20 minutes.) I also reinstalled the video card. Still nothing.

So, yeah, the main problem is no video but the other curious thing is that the DVD drive stopped responding (light stays on, won't open.) However, when I disconnected it from the motherboard but left the power plugged in it seemed fine. Let me know if there's any other details that might make it more clear. Thanks!

 

[mechBgon]

Try using the optical drive out of your other computer (unless it's a laptop). Maybe your DVD drive went *poof*. Also, what power supply (brand & model) are you using, is it something of good quality and adequate wattage?

 

[trutherd]

I think the DVD drive is fine because when I shut down the computer and remove the IDE cable from the back of the drive then the drive itself is fine (the light doesn't stay on and I can open and close it no problem.)

The power supply is a 300w Antec.

Thanks for the quick response, this is so frustrating!

 

[mechBgon]

Ok, what precise model of 300W Antec? PP303X, PP303XP, SL300? Do you have the ATX12V cable hooked up?

Also, still try the other optical drive. It'll take less than five minutes to know for sure whether that's the problem. I have some general troubleshooting suggestions on this page (click the first link, it's a .RTF-format text file). Got to get to bed here, good luck!

 

[trutherd]

Antec SL300S. ATX12V is hooked up. I still don't have any video display thought which is the biggest problem...

I'll try the other drive for now, thanks!

 

[2cpuminimum]

Have you tried reseating the video card? Using a different video card? Does it make the little beep on POST, or is it quiet?