Okay - After waiting forever (at least it seemed that way) for UPS to deliver all the parts for a new build (my first), I set out to assemble the components yesterday:
CPU- AMD 3700+ San Diego
Motherboard - Epox EP-9NPA+SLi
Case - Antec Sonata II, w/ 450W PSU
HDD - Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L080M0 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA150
DVD/CD ROM - LITE-ON 16X DVD-ROM 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM 1.5M Cache IDE Combo Drive
Memory - pqi TURBO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System
Video Card - evga 7800gt
o/s - windows xp home
Monitor, mouse, keyboard - fro m an old HP pavillion
So I set out to put the components together in accordance with the various user manuals, and after lurking in the build threads for a couple days. Assembly was pretty smooth, at least I thought, then I power up and - all fans on, the MOBO LEDs on, the combo drive spinning (put XP in there as a to use as a system disk) - nothing on the monitor, no beep and a big fat "FF" in the post port. It didn't cycle at all. Alright, gave me something to do today at work - try and find out what the heck was going on.
So I find a recommendation in a forum to build outside the case first - d'uh - that is such a good idea and such common sense, but I missed that before starting. Anyway it looks like the problem is either the processor, motherboard (possible short due to mobo screw- least serious problem - which is what I was hoping for), or something else that should be diagnosed outside of the case. So I get home from work and disassemble last night's previous work - to set out from scratch. And so I disassemble, I loosen the CPU heatsink to remove, and the CPU comes up with it when I take it off. Now I look at the CPU and see that it is really attached to the heatsink (via the thermal pad) - I mean really attached tightly.
So here I now sit - afraid to pry the CPU off the heatsink for fear of doing some damage, all the while knowing that I have this "FF" error hanging over my head. I did inspect the CPU pins and see that they are all looking good, pointing straight down.
Looking for some advice regarding the CPU/Heatsink dilemma, as well as any possible insight into the FF thing. Thanks in advance for any help.
CPU- AMD 3700+ San Diego
Motherboard - Epox EP-9NPA+SLi
Case - Antec Sonata II, w/ 450W PSU
HDD - Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L080M0 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA150
DVD/CD ROM - LITE-ON 16X DVD-ROM 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM 1.5M Cache IDE Combo Drive
Memory - pqi TURBO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System
Video Card - evga 7800gt
o/s - windows xp home
Monitor, mouse, keyboard - fro m an old HP pavillion
So I set out to put the components together in accordance with the various user manuals, and after lurking in the build threads for a couple days. Assembly was pretty smooth, at least I thought, then I power up and - all fans on, the MOBO LEDs on, the combo drive spinning (put XP in there as a to use as a system disk) - nothing on the monitor, no beep and a big fat "FF" in the post port. It didn't cycle at all. Alright, gave me something to do today at work - try and find out what the heck was going on.
So I find a recommendation in a forum to build outside the case first - d'uh - that is such a good idea and such common sense, but I missed that before starting. Anyway it looks like the problem is either the processor, motherboard (possible short due to mobo screw- least serious problem - which is what I was hoping for), or something else that should be diagnosed outside of the case. So I get home from work and disassemble last night's previous work - to set out from scratch. And so I disassemble, I loosen the CPU heatsink to remove, and the CPU comes up with it when I take it off. Now I look at the CPU and see that it is really attached to the heatsink (via the thermal pad) - I mean really attached tightly.
So here I now sit - afraid to pry the CPU off the heatsink for fear of doing some damage, all the while knowing that I have this "FF" error hanging over my head. I did inspect the CPU pins and see that they are all looking good, pointing straight down.
Looking for some advice regarding the CPU/Heatsink dilemma, as well as any possible insight into the FF thing. Thanks in advance for any help.
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