Just built a PC but it doesn't work

[BonRouge]

I followed the guide here: http://www.mysuperpc.com/ and put my parts together.
The parts:
[*]Case: Antec Sonata II
[*]CPU: AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice
[*]CPU cooler: ThermalTake Silent 939 K8
[*]Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo-F
[*]Video card: ATI All in Wonder X1900
[*]Memory: 2 x Crucial PC3200 512MB
[*]Hard disk: WesternDigital WD2000JS
[*]DVD: Sony DW-Q120A

So, like I said, I put it together as best I could, but I don't get any BIOS beeps or picture (I attached a monitor I have to the socket in the back from the video card, with an adapter).
I change things around, like I remove the DVD, for example, and I keep getting different results. The best I've had is that all the lights come on, the fans work and I'm able to open and close the DVD player.

One thing I noticed was the extra USB bracket at the back. There are 4 LEDs on it and the manual says what each pattern of lights means. What I get is 4 red lights. The manual says that this means that the CPU is either damaged or not installed properly. I took the cooler of the CPU, picked up the CPU and had a look at it. What can I say? It looked fine.

I'm thinking I need to go and take the whole thing to a repair shop or something, but I don't really want to do that - I'd rather try and get this sorted out by myself (well - with your help, obviously).

Thanks for any advice.

(By the way, I know next-to-nothing about this whole computer-building lark, so please bare that in mind. Cheers.)

 

[cyborgtrader]

I had a similiar issue when I built mine. Try taking out your memory cards and make sure they are in correctly, that was the issue with mine. Everything else was working, but I couldn't get the BIOS to beep. I have memory 4 slots and 2 memory sticks, I just assumed that I could put them side-by-side; however, they had to be left with an open slot between them in order to register.

good luck

CBT

 

[jackschmittusa]

I am still an advocate of trying the mb, cpu/hsf, ram, and vid card on the bench first (you might include your bracket too). Makes it mush easier to troubleshoot.

 

[BonRouge]

cyborgtrader,
Thanks for the idea. I removed one of the memory cards and made sure it was in OK, but I still got no bios beeps or picture. It's so frustrating, because everything else looks cool - all the fans are whizzing around, the hard disk is moving, I can open and close the DVD drive and the reset button works. As I said though, the USB bracket shows those 4 red lights which seems to be bad news...

jackschmittusa,
I'm not so sure what you men to be honest. I should try each part 'on the bench'? What does that mean exactly?

 

[drum]

he means just try the bare essentials outside of the case. put them motherboard on the bag it came in or a piece of cardboard. put the CPU+heatsink in, a stick of ram, and the video card and see if it beeps. and the PSU of course

 

[GuitarDaddy]

check all your connections.

did you connect the 4pin square auxilary power to the motherboard?

did you connect the 6pin PCI-e power to the graphics card? Is the fan on the graphics card spinning up?

 

[BonRouge]

drum,
What you're saying there sounds the same as what I've been doing, except the things are outside the case rather than in it. In the case, the video card is attached to the motherboard with the CPU/heatsink and a stick of ram. I guess I could detach the HDD and the DVD and see what happens, but I was thinking that they were working OK because, as I said, they seem to be working - with lights, spinning and all that. Would physically removing the motherboard make a difference if the connections are the same? I'll try it, but I'm wondering why there might be
a difference.

GuitarDaddy,
Yes, I have those things connected and the fan on the graphics card is spinning. I have four fans spinning in that case, lots of LEDs on, disk drives spinning/opening, but no bios beep and no output to the monitor.

I'm wondering about all the little connectors - like the power switch, speaker, etc. I'm not really sure which way up they're supposed to go. Trial and error got me to where I am right now, but... I haven't really noticed a rule.

Thanks for the continuing help.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

The reason they are suggesting taking the mobo out of the case and putting it on cardboard or the antistatic bag is to eliminate the possibility of shorting to the case, which is a fairly common problem. And try with just CPU/HSF, 1 stick of ram(try all slots), video card
No HDD, No DVD
Another possibility although a long shot, is a dead CMOS battery. If you have a battery tester it's easy to check, or you may have one around the house they are pretty common button batteries

Once you eliminate those things your down to faulty hardware. Unfortunately at this point unless you have access to components to swap test with, you will probably have to take it to a shop to figure out which component(s) are bad

 

[BonRouge]

Well, what do you know, eh? I took the motherboard out of the case, and I finally got a beep. I connected the monitor, and I even had a picture. Now everything is working fine. Thanks a lot for your help everyone.