Need help with new build, PC not posting :(

[DenniSTi]

parts:
motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813157130 no onboard video
cpu: q6600, lapped, bought off ebay used (I'm scared this is the problem)
RAM: corsair 4gb ddr2 800
video card: x800gto (this I know works 100%) until I get my 8800gt in the mail
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817339012
Case: http://www.firingsquad.com/hw/...elle_Plastic_ATX_Case/ (old case from 2003)


Problem: there is no video when booting up, the fans power up, the mouse lights up, the keyboard does not, there are no beeps, I know the case speaker works but it's not working for this motherboard


Things I've tried: I've tried booting without ram, 1 or 2 sticks, without the cpu, without the video card, resetting cmos, plugging 1 or both of the 20 pin or 4 pin atx power plugs, reseating the cpu, starting with no drives hooked up


Things I haven't tried: swapping out parts (my old system isn't really compatitable, but I can try another PSU), removing the CMOS battery (the motherboard manual makes no mention of what purpose it would serve), anything else I haven't thought of


Things of concern: this old case's system headers don't have places to hook up to on this motherboard, like the Power LED plug takes up 3 slots and the motherboard only has 2 to plug into. There is also a header that takes up 3 slots entitled VCC, D-, D+ and another one attached called Ground that also has no where to hook up to on the motherboard. The Reset and HDD LED headers also do not appear to be working because the blue LEDs on the front of the case aren't working (they normally do) and the reboot button isn't working either. Also another thing to note, if I have just the 4pin atx power plug hooked up it won't power on; same if I have the both the 20pin AND 4pin plug it wouldn't power up except after I had the jumpers set to CMOS reset which I thought was odd. Any other time the only way it powers up is with just the 20pin atx plugged in.


Questions: This motherboard is advertised as PCI-E 16x 2.0 in some places and PCI-E 16x in others. Would this old x800GTO have an issue with this, and is perhaps the reason why I'm not getting video?
Also, would it boot up with a screen without a CPU seated if everything else was working?


My guess in order of likelihood: bad motherboard, incompatible video card, something hooked up incorrectly or not hooked up, incompatible case, bad cpu, or bad psu.



Please help me guys! I haven't built a pc in about 4 years, but I'm not a complete newb and this is SOOOO frustrating. Any help, ideas, suggestions would be great. My main concern is if it is the used Ebay Q6600 then I need to know right away so I can get my money back. Thanks in advance.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Well you need to get a working speaker on the board. But first pull everything out of the case and set it up on the motherboard's box. Then power it up again. This will rul out any possible shorts in the case. If that doesn't work then there is a very good chance the CPU is at fault. But untill you get a speaker hooked up to the board so you can here the beep codes you won't know for sure if its the CPU or not. But there is a good chance you picked up a dead CPU. That is one item to stear clear of at ebay. You never know if your getting something that works or not.

 

[DenniSTi]

Thanks for the advice I'll try that later. What exactly is a "short in the case" though? I know the case itself is in working condition prior to the build. Also, how do I turn on the PC without the case hooked up to it?

Also, would a bios normally not post without a CPU inserted or one that is not working properly? Thanks.

 

[mpilchfamily]

a short would be a motherboard standoff in the wrong place making contact with the underside of the board. This could cause damages to the board. You could even find a screw up under the board doing the same thing.

The first thing that happens when the system turns on is it checks for the CPU, then the RAM then for a video output. If it finds one or more missing or damaged it will shoot out a beep code indicating the problem and will not go into the BIOS. The Bios has to have the CPU in order to even get itself up and running to send a signal to the display so you can see it on the screen.

 

[DenniSTi]

Thanks for answering that. Unfortunately this case's speaker doesn't seem to work with this motherboard. I may end up buying a new case soon, but I'll try assembling the components out of the case first.

Half of my family's last name is Pilch. I wonder if we're related.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Half?

Mine's Pilcher whats yours?

I don't see how the motherboard wouldn't be working with the speaker unless its not connected right. You may have to mod the connector on the speaker to work. its a 3 pin connector and the board needs 2. So take a pair of side cuttersn and cut the cwenter out of it. Then you can easily plug it into the motherboard header.

 

[DenniSTi]

Erm, I meant half of my family has the name Pilch.


Cool I'll have to try that.

 

[DenniSTi]

Ok, so I'm even more discouraged now then before. I tried everything: running bare system outside the box on cardboard, putting in an old 775 p4 that I know works, using a different PSU that I know works, trying multiple video cards that I know work, different cpu fans... and still no post. Which would made me think it was the motherboard.

THEN when I tried testing my old system components (different motherboard) on the cardboard box I got the same exact thing. Now I realize after further research I should have used an anti-static bag on the cardboard box. After researching electric static discharge I'm even more paranoid I could have damaged multiple components. Also I have no clue whether I should start with the cmos jumpers set on default or not. I'm not sure what else to try but it looks like it's either a bad motherboard, cpu, or something I'm doing wrong.


I'm so frustrated and close to giving up and going to a local PC shop..
At the very least I need to buy a working pc speaker or a new case so I can hear if this thing is beeping or not.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Cardboard is an insulator not a cunductor. Thats why i suggested it. No anti static bag needed. Now here is a possibility for you. If the CPU is damaged it could have damaged the motherboard as well. The motherboard may have been fine to start with till that CPU was used. Then in turn the motehrboard may have damaged your P4. So get a new motherboard and a new CPU.

Oh and i should have seen this earlier. The PSU you have is crap. Yeah its a 500+W unit but it doesn't supply enough amperage to support what your system needs. Never cheap out on the PSU. A crap PSU puts you at a high risk of killing otehr components when it dies. Get yourself a good quality 400W or better PSU. Exspect to spend about $80 or more on it. Your trying to put together a high end system using a very crappy PSU that can not support a quad and even the most basic video card.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
Oh and i should have seen this earlier. The PSU you have is crap. Yeah its a 500+W unit but it doesn't supply enough amperage to support what your system needs. Never cheap out on the PSU. A crap PSU puts you at a high risk of killing otehr components when it dies. Get yourself a good quality 400W or better PSU. Exspect to spend about $80 or more on it. Your trying to put together a high end system using a very crappy PSU that can not support a quad and even the most basic video card.

I read the first post and came here to post this.

A $21 585W PSU? Haha, I don't think so. If it looks too good to be true it usually is. Get yourself an expensive and reliable power supply from a reliable brand like OCZ, Corsair, Seasonic, Antec's higher end models, PCP&P and a few others. Never ever cheap out on your PSU; it's like buying a sports car and putting a really dodgy 1L engine in it and wondering why you're not always getting to the start line let alone winning the races.

 

[DenniSTi]

I'm going to get a new power supply and case soon, but I finally got everything working! I was dumb and apparently never plugged in both the 12pin and 4pin atx plugs into either motherboards which is why they never fully booted. I even got the speaker on my case working.

The only thing I have to resolve is my motherboard has only one case fan plugin and I currently have 5 case fans and only 1 plugged in. Can someone point me into some daisy-chain case fan extension of some sort please?

Thanks for the help.