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New Computer wont stay on

M

Mahone

Junior Member
I just built my first computer and needless to say this is my first post on Anand tech:
P4 2.53
ASUS P4PE
1GB Corsair 2700 RAM
GeForce 4200 TI 128MB graphics card

I havent installed any of the other things just to trying to get the computer to boot up with these things.

I've only installed the cpu, fan, heatsink and the graphics card, ram and motherboard in the ANTEC case. I've attached all the connections from the front of the case to the places on the motherboard too. When i turn on the power to the power supply (430w Antec) the green light comes on the motherboard saying that the its on or in standby mode. When i push the button on the front of the case to start up the computer the 2 fans on the back and the cpu fan (as well as the green light on front) all start for like 1 second but then just quit like it lost power or something. I've tried different configurations with the front switches but nothing seems to work.

Please let me know if i havent provided enough information regarding my setup.

I'm not sure if this is a motherboard problem or if something is loose in the case wiring. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
hi,
try hooking up the speaker as well. if there are errors, there will be beeps that will indicate the problem.
write back when you try this. see page 3-1 of the manual for the beep codes.
good luck.
 
FooFoo

Thanks for replying. I had originally had that hooked up and have tried booting up with that hooked up and not hooked up. To give you an idea of how quickly it shuts down...i'm not even getting to the first beep on what would be the boot up. So i cant do any diagnostics with that.

Mike
 
hate to say it but this sounds like it may be the power supply. do you have another (known good) one that you can try?
btw - welcome to the anandtech boards.
 
Thanks...I dont have another atx power supply that i can try. I didnt originally think it was that since the board's led was showing green but it definitely could be. I guess i can run down and get another one tomorrow...this one came with the case. Would it be worth it to try or should i contact Antec customer support and see what they say?

I havent tried reseating the ram yet so i'll also try that.
 

I didnt originally think it was that since the board's led was showing green but it definitely could be.
Click to expand...

this was a problem that i have had before, i think that the led only shows that the +5v rail is good, not the other voltages.

i think that trying the swap with another known good ps id the only reliable way to test. do you have a good friend that you can borrow a ps from?
good luck
 
I'll just run downtown and pick one up tomorrow. It's way too frustrating to not know so at least i knock one thing out by doing that. Thanks.
 
I hear this so much from people that have bought antec cases.

Your culprit might be your power button.

Try disconnecting all the leads from the front of the case to your mb.

Take the reset button lead and connect it to where you normally would put the power lead.
So what you will be doing is using your reset switch as the power button.

Try using only one stick of ram.
Make sure it is seated, over and over again. You can't always tell.

Try reseting the bios. Your motherboard manual should show you how. It's usually a jumper.

Last case scenario. Try setting up everything outside the case and see if you can get it to start.


I don't have an Asus board right now, but my Epox board won't start unless I have a hd or a floppy hooked up.
 
Thanks Dug...i'll try that out....so should i only connect the reset lead or should i also connect the power to the reset lead?

I have tried resetting the ram but not just one stick. I also havent connected the hd or floppy so i'll start working my way down and see if that helps. Thanks.

Mike
 
Ok i've tried everyone of those things and none of them seemed to work leading me more and more to believe that in fact it may be the power supply. One think i did notice was that another light came on by my usb ports on the motherboard when i would turn on the power supply. When i hit the power switch on the computer i was getting the same result but then that light was going off. I doubt this has anything to do with the problem but do you guys think that i could have a short in my motherboard somewhere or something defective with it? I would much rather have it be the power supply but now i'm really starting to get worried that maybe its the motherboard...what do you guys think? Thanks.

BTW, I owe all you guys a guinness!
 
Thanks Dug...i'll try that out....so should i only connect the reset lead or should i also connect the power to the reset lead?
Click to expand...
I meant just connect the reset lead from the front of your case to the power pins on the mother board. (Note- there's two different sets of pwr pins on the motherboard. One is for power to turn your computer on (which you connect the reset lead to), and one is just to display a light on the front of your case (which you don't need to hook up)

I would still try taking everything out of the case. Put the motherboard on a piece of wood along the side of the case and connect everything to it. If you still don't get anything I would try switching out your ram into different slots.

Don't forget to reset the bios. I've heard of the problem your describing from people just adding new modules to their system, and reseting the bios usually helps.

I've run into this problem before and its been solved from different things. So I'm sorry I don't have an exact answer. Just keep fiddiling around with things. The fact that you have a green light on your motherboard is actually a good sign. That means you are getting power..

Edit: Probably wouldn't hurt to try reseating your cpu. Make sure you push down lightly on the cpu as you push down on the locking mechanism. Make sure the heatsink locks in place too.

 
Thanks! I reseated everything for the 4th time and something obviously finally decided to grace me with working and i now have continual power. Of course now i have several new problems lol...I'm starting to think that Dell solution wasnt too bad afterall 😉 :

1) No post beeps: I have attached the speaker to the motherboard and nothing when i power on.
2) Obviously nothing coming through my graphics card...i tested it on one of my other computers here and it works fine still.
3) I cant turn the computer off by pushing the power button again.

I have reset the speaker connection...the graphics card and the ram and nothing. Cant get anything out of it but at least i now have power to the boards and all my fans work!

Thanks for any help
 
you may have some typing of grounding issue. try running the mobo outside of your case. just make sure the board doesn't touch any metal on the case. just place a piece of cardboard underneath the mobo.

As for the power button, it maybe set for soft shut down which makes you have to hold down the button for a few seconds.
 
Thanks, i'll try running it outside the case. I was hoping to avoid that. 😉 I have tried holding the button to no avail. Will let you know whta happens since i'll probably have some other problem after this lol.
 
I finally got it working! Will miracles never cease! I really appreciate all of your help! Of course i have another question now but i'll post that under a more relevant topic. Thanks again for all your responses...this forum kicks @$$.
 
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