New PC build help

[TheDoswells]

Hi
Just putting together a new PC today (first for a while) and failed.
Anyone care to advise would be so good.
Started by not putting in all componets.
Relevant ones are:
case: Antext P160W
PSU: Hiper Power 580W
MB: Asus AN8 premium SLI (socket 939)
CPU: AMD 64 4000
Memory: Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2PT matched pair - total 1 Gb
GPU: XFX 7800GT Sli (only one for now)

Power comes on fine: PSU fans start up
CPU fan starts up
GPU fan starts up
Monitor says 'no input'
Re-check all the connections - no diff
remove 1 memory stick - no diff
take away 1 memory stick - no diff
disconnect everything and reconnect - no diff

I don't really understand how to tell if the motherboard is POSTing
It has a voice active POST - but I don't know how to use it
I've tried to connect my speakers to the onboard sound but I hear nothing
I can't even get a PC speaker Beep because I don't know what to connect to the MB

I've contacted the supplier (bought online in the UK - Ebuyer) but I thought I would see if anyone could recommend any other tests first. I don't have any other GPU etc. to try (i.e a PCI-E one) to see if it is that etc.

Many thanks

Steve

 

[themusgrat]

Make sure that any USB or Firewire header or cables are installed correctly. Take them out for now and see if that helps.

 

[BladeVenom]

Have you read the motherboard manual? The motherboard manufacturer is probably a better place to find answers than the supplier.

 

[TheDoswells]

Hi - thanks so much guys for the input.
I don't have any USB or firewire connected at this stage. Just the CPU, memory, and graphics and the power connectors (as defined in the manual).
Also, since the above, I have reset the CMOS, and also tried a new CMOS battery and made sure it was connected properly.
I've also taken the motherboard out of the case and tried it again to remove the likelihood of it being a shorting issue. Again, nothing on the screen and no BEEPs.
I guess I am thinking now that it is likely to be the motherboard or the Graphics card, so I think I may need to send those back under RMA.
However, the processor is now connected to the MBd.
So if they want me to remove this again, when I get my new bits, I will have to reconnect it, which would mean cleaning the existing CPU of thermal paste and applying new stuff, which I am not sure what that will do to warranty etc.

I've looked through the motherboard manual in detail and can find no other clues.
Interestingly there seem to be a lot of people who have had the same problem with this board. Some sort it out, and some don't.

Any further advice or help would be really great....

Thanks again

Steve

 

[orion23]

I have an A8N SLI Premium and many times I have experienced the same problem.
One way I have solved this issue is by removin the video card, turning the pc on then shutting it down. Put the video card in and turn the pc on again.
If your card has dual DVI out, try the other output.

 

[TheDoswells]

Thanks orion.
I've removed the video card a few times and re-set and also tried both dvi outputs to no avail....

 

[Bug]

Did you make sure that you plugged in the other power connector on the motherboard? I'm referring to the 4-pin connector besides the regular power connector?
Was there a 4-pin connector on the video card itself that was plugged in?

 

[HotWire]

I agree is the 6 point power plug connected into the back of the video card? as shown here: http://www.motherboards.org/imageview.h.../images/reviews/hardware/1559_p4_1.jpg
..... and you make no mention of the hard drive you are using...sata?

 

[TheDoswells]

Hi guys - sorry but not sure what you mean by the 'other' power connector. The Mb has a square ATX12V connection which I have powerered from the PSU. It also has what is known as an EZ_PLUG which looks like a normal 4 connection molex. The manual says this is required if you have a 20 pin PSU (mine is 24) or using 2 GPUs (I'm only using 1). I don't think this is required but maybe it is?
Not sure about a 6 point power plug in the video card but I have plugged in a normal 4 pin molex to the card..

can you advise more?

So many thanks

Steve

 

[HotWire]

When I said 6 points it was referring to this pic: http://www.motherboards.org/imageview.h.../images/reviews/hardware/1559_p2_4.jpg

.....*** That 4 pin molex connector from your power supply must be connected to the mating receptor on the motherboard behind your mouse/keyboard connections.

 

[TheDoswells]

Hi hotwire - my Motherboard (Asus AN* Sli Premium) does not have this type of connector. It has a square 4 pin one which I have connected and the Graphics card XFX 7800 GT has a normal 4 pin molex connector.
Thanks
Steve

 

[TheDoswells]

Since the above, the monitor has registerded just once (in at least 20 attempts), it briefly showed the bios details of the graphics card and then went back to standby. Nothing since then, does this suggest a bad connection?
ALso, my motherbaord has a 2 pin connector called speaker that the manual says is for hearing beeps etc. but the case doesn't seem to have anything to connect to it.
Thanks as always.
Steve

 

[HotWire]

What type of monitor are you using? Do you have another video card you can use in place of your current XFX? just for setup purposes?

 

[TheDoswells]

Hi guys - so many thanks for all the help - all now working.

I had to replace the memory (which works fine) with some old stuff which allowed me to get into the BIOS and update some settings which then allowed the new memory to work.

So many thanks again

Steve