New build problem

[DBissett]

Just finished putting together this system below. When I powered it up the first time the CPU fan would only "twitch" briefly every few seconds but not start up. Row of LED's on the mb all lit up. (Can't find any code to them in the manual. They are green,yellow, and red and they all lit up.) HD's sounded like they started. Reseated the CPU fan, then it would turn on but would shut off after maybe 5-6- seconds. I've pulled the MB from the case to do a bare bones test with everything disconnected except essentials and that had no effect. Anybody have any ideas about what the problem is or what to do next? THanks.

 

[Denithor]

Define essentials.

Set it on the desk with only mouse/keyboard/monitor plugged in. The only things mounted on the board should be CPU, 1 stick of RAM, and GPU. With PSU unplugged, clear the BIOS. Plug in PSU and boot and report back with what it does.

Hope you have some extra RAM laying around, those OCZ sticks often cause boot issues until you bump up the voltage.

 

[RapidSnail]

The same thing happened to me when I put mine together. I was frustrated because I thought I fried some component with static or something (first build). I got everything to boot properly when I cleared the CMOS.

 

[zerogear]

the last time this happened, it was my motherboard shorting out.

 

[DBissett]

The test with different memory worked fine initially. I posted OK using one stick of Ballistix DDR800. Found DRAM voltage setting and changed to 2.1 per OCZ Platinum specs. Saved and turned off machine. Stuck in one stick of the OCZ DDR1066 and the machine posted fine again. Turned it off and stuck in the second stick and it didn't post. I wanted to return to the DDR800 and was afraid to put it in at the higher volts so I cleared CMOS again. The machine now won't post with anything, and the LED's that indicate load on the CPU go out after a little while, whereas before they stayed on. I don't know what to do next except take the board back and have it tested to see if it's bad. I also have no other machine to test any of the memory in at this point. Suggestions?

 

[DBissett]

Update....the mb will post with all the memory sticks now one at a time, and with 2 sticks of the DDR800. It will not post with 2 sticks of the OCZ 1066 set as high as 2.1v. I think that's the recommended limit and don't know if I should go higher, or if the problem is linked to voltage at all. Recommendations?