New PC build, works until I plug in monitor

[Mikey52]

Im building a PC for my Dad with some new parts and some older stuff I had. I have everything hooked up, I can plug it into the wall with nothing else attached and it comes on just fine. When I hook up a monitor to the video card the machine comes up (I get no video), it hums for about 30 seconds and then I hear *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* for about 10 seconds and the machine turns itself off.

This has happened with two different video cards (GF3 Ti200 and a GF2) BUT Im not totally sure they both work properly. The clicking sounds like a playing card on a fan or...like tiny little sparks. I cant tell where it's coming from. I tried booting the machine with nothing attached and then pluging in the montior, no clicking but it STILL turned off.

Any help would be appreciated, I really dont know what's wrong or what to try first.

Abit motherboard
P4 2.4C
450W powersupply
512 MB DDR
200 GB WD HD

 

[montag451]

hi,
open up the case and see where the noises are coming from - could just be the cd spinning up.

how do you know that it comes on fine when there is no monitor attached?
can you hear the bootup windows tune if the speaker is on?

what os?
check that the header cables are connected right.
try the system with bare minimum hardware - only - psu/cpu/ram/vga
what happens?
what psu do you have?

 

[Mikey52]

Originally posted by: montag451
hi,
open up the case and see where the noises are coming from - could just be the cd spinning up.

how do you know that it comes on fine when there is no monitor attached?
can you hear the bootup windows tune if the speaker is on?

what os?
check that the header cables are connected right.
try the system with bare minimum hardware - only - psu/cpu/ram/vga
what happens?
what psu do you have?

Clean system, no OS. When I say comes up I mean it powers on but I never actually get any video (no BIOS). The problem is that as soon as I plug the monitor cable in, the machine makes this noise and shuts itself down. I get no beeps.

PS is actually a 500W unit, made by COLORSit.

 

[Mikey52]

Any other suggestions?

 

[rise]

dumb question i guess, but are you sure the monitor is good or is it one of your new items?

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Mikey52
I hear *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* for about 10 seconds and the machine turns itself off.

Tiny little sparks? Perhaps your motherboard is shorting out on something like a loose screw or loose motherboard mount... just a suggestion. I'd tear the whole thing down to barebones and try booting with only the necessary components. cpu/fan, proc, ram & video. narrow it down my brotha! if you can isolate what is making the clicking noise too, that would rock. you can even yank the mobo clean out of the case and set it on your mobo box and try booting that way - if it posts then you can work from there by adding one thing at a time. personally i recommend the little felt washers on each side of the motherboard to uber-prevent any shorts.

 

[Mikey52]

Monitor was/is working fine, it's actually connected to the old PC now.

The only reason I havent gone down to barebones is that I think Ive narrowed the problem down as is. By that I mean, it works FINE until that monitor cable gets plugged in and then *click* death. This tells me that it's either the video card or the port. I *hope* it's not the port since the mobo is a new item and of course I would have to rip it apart and buy a new one.

The reason I dont think it's shorting out is that it keeps coming back up after I turn off the power supply switch off and back on. Maybe Im only thinking about fatal shorts where it actually burns something (happened to me before a long time ago).

I guess my next step is to try the video card in a good machine and maybe try plugging it into a different monitor...after that Im stumped.