Hello all,
Having a bit of a technical problem. Actually, to add to the complexity it isn't even me who's having it, it's my brother. Of course with his computer out of commission he can't browse the forums so I thought I'd post on his behalf.
He bought a brand-new Dell Inspiron 530, and upgraded to 3 gigs of memory & the 24" LCD flatscreen monitor. He bought a BFG 8800 GT OC and a Logisys 575w power supply. The power supply was installed at a computer store after the computer arrived, as was the graphics card.
Here's where his troubles began:
He is not the best computer guy out there, he knows some basics but more enough to get himself into trouble then anything else, I'm not hugely better myself.
He originally attempted to install the card while using the base 300w (350w?) powersupply the Dell 530 ships with. He believes he did so correctly, but the computer wouldn't start. While taking the card out he managed to knock off the two small, blue bridges on his motherboard.
After taking the computer to a shop and having the new 575w Logisys powersupply installed and the BFG re-seated, the guy was not sure where the bridges should be placed. By contacting Dell he was able to find the correct positions and reposition them. I even looked up photos from people doing their own installs to see if his was matching the location of other Dell 530's, I think they are on there correctly.
So now as far as we can tell everything is hooked up & seated correctly. The power supply should be sufficient to run the machine.
However when he goes to start the computer he has two issues right away : first, the monitor defaults to the "No Signal / Color test" message, both in Analog & Digital modes. This pretty much stops us cold, but he's also found that the power button on the front of the computer won't turn it off. It occurs to me this may mean he's not holding it down for long enough, but I like to think he's smarter then that.
So I'm trying to compile a list of things he can do to find out where the problem lies. I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have. From other forums of people having a similar problem I only have these two suggestions:
A) Restart and listen for the POST boot "beep" to make sure it's even starting up.
B) take out the memory & reseat just 1 stick instead of both
C) hold down "DEL" and see if he can access the BIOS (seems unlikely as he gets no signal at all)
Anything else? It's days like this I wish I were a tech guru. Poor kid's at the end of his rope trying to get this to work.
Having a bit of a technical problem. Actually, to add to the complexity it isn't even me who's having it, it's my brother. Of course with his computer out of commission he can't browse the forums so I thought I'd post on his behalf.
He bought a brand-new Dell Inspiron 530, and upgraded to 3 gigs of memory & the 24" LCD flatscreen monitor. He bought a BFG 8800 GT OC and a Logisys 575w power supply. The power supply was installed at a computer store after the computer arrived, as was the graphics card.
Here's where his troubles began:
He is not the best computer guy out there, he knows some basics but more enough to get himself into trouble then anything else, I'm not hugely better myself.
He originally attempted to install the card while using the base 300w (350w?) powersupply the Dell 530 ships with. He believes he did so correctly, but the computer wouldn't start. While taking the card out he managed to knock off the two small, blue bridges on his motherboard.
After taking the computer to a shop and having the new 575w Logisys powersupply installed and the BFG re-seated, the guy was not sure where the bridges should be placed. By contacting Dell he was able to find the correct positions and reposition them. I even looked up photos from people doing their own installs to see if his was matching the location of other Dell 530's, I think they are on there correctly.
So now as far as we can tell everything is hooked up & seated correctly. The power supply should be sufficient to run the machine.
However when he goes to start the computer he has two issues right away : first, the monitor defaults to the "No Signal / Color test" message, both in Analog & Digital modes. This pretty much stops us cold, but he's also found that the power button on the front of the computer won't turn it off. It occurs to me this may mean he's not holding it down for long enough, but I like to think he's smarter then that.
So I'm trying to compile a list of things he can do to find out where the problem lies. I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have. From other forums of people having a similar problem I only have these two suggestions:
A) Restart and listen for the POST boot "beep" to make sure it's even starting up.
B) take out the memory & reseat just 1 stick instead of both
C) hold down "DEL" and see if he can access the BIOS (seems unlikely as he gets no signal at all)
Anything else? It's days like this I wish I were a tech guru. Poor kid's at the end of his rope trying to get this to work.