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new build won't POST

C

cdt24

Junior Member
I recently ordered up a bunch of new parts for an HTPC to sit under my new HDTV. Man was I excited...

However, after finally getting all my parts together and assembling the system, the thing won't POST! I first put everything together in the case and the system didn't always actually power on (no fans, nothing). It did sometimes turn on the CPU fan and the HD would spin up, but nothing ever showed up on screen. In those instances when the fans and HD did power on the keyboard and mouse also came on (num lock worked, the mouse light came on). So I suspected a faulty component or a short, so I began removing pieces from the system until I'm left with just the mobo, 1 stick of RAM, and the onboard video hooked up. The mobo is sitting outside the case on the static bag it came in. Now it powers on consistenly, but it doesn't do anything beyond what it was doing before. I'm all out of ideas - if anybody has any good ones, please send them my way!

My specs in my minimal setup:

Foxconn 946GZPL7MA-1.1-8KS2H motherboard using onboard VGA
1GB OCZ DDR2 800 RAM
Intel E6550 Core 2 Duo processor using stock heat sink/fan
PSU is by FSP Group Inc (came with my In-Win chassis) 300 W


I've tried flashing the CMOS already. Unfortunately this thing has no onboard speaker or speaker hookup, so I don't know if it's trying to beep or not. I'm starting to suspect the PSU at this point.
 
I just tried the same minimal setup but with a power supply I know to be good. Same results :-(
 
Almost every board has a speaker or an internal speaker header if it's produced currently, have you checked the board's manual? I had trouble in the past finding speaker headers but they almost always are there...
 
I took a closer look and it turns out the board does in fact have a little speaker built in. I have yet to hear anything from it, however :-(.
 
One thing I'm not very experienced with is the various power connector configurations. My PSU has a 20 pin connector + a dangling 4 pin connector (I assume to complete the latest 24 pin power connection) as well as a 4 pin power connector that I assume hooks up next to the CPU. The mobo supports the 24-pin connector, but then has an 8-pin connector next to the CPU. The mobo documentation strongly recommends using an 8-pin power connector there but says that a 4-pin connector is satisfactory. Could this be the problem? Would a 4-pin to 8-pin adapter help, or is this a non-issue?
 
You might want to lay the board on cardboard for your testing. Also, have a look at the jumper for clearing the CMOS and confirm it's in the "run" position, rather than the "clear" position, just in case. You got the cables figured out correctly. Also, if you have some "plain vanilla" DDR2 you could try in there, it couldn't hurt to try that.
 
I double checked the CMOS jumper settings - no problems there. I am trying to track down some DDR2 for testing - hopefully I can rule some things out that way. Thanks for the response mechBgon.
 
Seems I'm mostly just having a conversation with myself here... 🙂

One other thing I thought of - I'm using DDR2 800 while the board's official specs say it supports DDR2 667/533. I was under the impression that memory would work fine at slower speeds, but maybe this is my problem?
 
jackschmittusa, I think that might be the problem! I just looked up the specs on NewEgg for the RAM I bought and it says 1.9-2.1v. My board says the memory banks are 1.8v. I will try to find some memory that is 1.8v - hopefully that will solve the problem. Thanks!
 
Well, I just tried some 1.8v DDR2 667 RAM. No luck. Same results. No beeps or anything. Any other suggestions from the experts out there? They would be much appreciated.
 
Well if the board doesn't beep when there is no ram in then I'd have to say the board is defective, you have run it without any ram in right? If not, try it asap and if the board still doesn't beep then its defective.
 
Yeah, I tried that early on and nothing happened. So the mobo is defective if it doesn't even beep at all with no RAM present, huh? That really stinks, but fortunately newegg is easy to deal with for exchanges, right? 🙂
 
Well I would assume it's defective, some people have this problem and even with new boards it doesn't post, hard to say what the exact problem is but RMAing it isn't too bad, as for NewEgg and exchanges, I've read mixed stories, and personally I never ordered any computer components from them :x
 
Actually I got it from xPCgear.com. Their exchange process seems straightforward enough. We'll see how it goes over the next few days...

Thanks again for the help everybody.
 
Originally posted by: cdt24
I took a closer look and it turns out the board does in fact have a little speaker built in. I have yet to hear anything from it, however :-(.
Click to expand...

The closest model I can find to your board is this one. I even DL'd the manual, and couldn't find an on-board speaker mentioned.

Can you see the little ah heck, or maybe you have a different board, or maybe they just don't mention it?
 
Yeah, I went back and searched the documentation because I couldn't see a place to hookup the case speaker on the mobo. It pointed me to where the speaker was hooked up and I looked there and sure enough, there is a little speaker, probably 1 cm across. The picture of the board on newegg shows it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...+ATX+Intel+Motherboard

It is the small black circle next to the PCI slot on the edge of the board. At least, I think that is a speaker. It looks like one to me, albeit one that can pretty much do nothing but make small beeps 🙂.
 
Not all beeps are problems. The speaker can sound like a siren on some mbs for cpu overheat. There are some DOS apps that can send audio through the thing too.
 
<<<One thing I'm not very experienced with is the various power connector configurations. My PSU has a 20 pin connector + a dangling 4 pin connector (I assume to complete the latest 24 pin power connection) as well as a 4 pin power connector that I assume hooks up next to the CPU. The mobo supports the 24-pin connector, but then has an 8-pin connector next to the CPU. The mobo documentation strongly recommends using an 8-pin power connector there but says that a 4-pin connector is satisfactory. Could this be the problem? Would a 4-pin to 8-pin adapter help, or is this a non-issue?>>>

Have you found an answer?If so,which power config did you use?
 
The static bag that the MB came in IS electrically conductive. That is how it protects the circuitry from static electricity. You probably don't want to run the board in that, because it could cause a short.
 
Just picked up another mobo today to put the nail in the coffin, so to speak. The new mobo works fine with my other components, so this one is going back!
 
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