please help! new system (almost) completely dead..

[fpoverflow]

Hello everyone,

I've been working on this new system for the last month basically, and I just cannot get it to work. If you could point me in the right direction I would be eternally grateful

Basics:
Abit NF7-s rev2*
XP2500+* (sk-7 and panaflo)
GEIL pc3200 RAM
Radeon 9500 or g4 mx440*
Antec 3700 case upgraded to 430w true power

I have had the same exact problem right from the start-- when I turn on the power, all system, CPU and video fans spin up. The red and green leds on the motherboard light up. But, there is never any output to the monitor. Also, there are no beeps whatsoever.

I don't have any spare parts, so replaced each part with an (*). I figured with the symptoms I had the mb, processor or video card had to be at fault. But when I replaced all three of these components I got the same exact result! The whole RMA process has taken weeks and I'm getting quite frustrated.

Currently I have the system setup in this very basic fashion to troubleshoot:
1) processor installed with thermal paste, heatsink and fan. fan has a 4 pin molex adapter which is hooked into one of the normal power cables from the PSU. There is no cable connection between fan and MB (does this matter?).

2) motherboard in case, with all screws on posts

3) just the 2-pin power cable from the case hooked up to the power pins on the motherboard. no other case cables hooked to mb.

4) both 20-pin and 4-pin power source from psu hooked to MB (have tried just the 20-pin)

5) video card securely in slot hooked to a monitor (have tried two different video cards, no difference. also, without video card there is no beep as well)

6) ram in slot 3 (have tried without, again no beep)

I have set up several systems in the past without trouble, but this one is really challenging me.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[minendo]

See if it boots while the mobo is removed from the case and sitting on a desk.

 

[fpoverflow]

Ok, I took the motherboard out of the case and placed it on top of a cardboard box. Hooked up the 20-pin cable from PSU, inserted video card, RAM, hooked up panaflo fan to PSU.

I started the computer by shorting the two power pins with a screwdriver.

First time I did this I actually saw the video bios for mx440. But the system hung at that point.

I restarted 5 more times, and each subsequent time the video bios never came up again.

Tried removing the RAM and restarting. No difference.

 

[mechBgon]

Is the heatsink oriented in the correct direction? See the guide in my signature if you're not 100% sure.
If it's been reversed, and you keep starting the system up that way, you can kill the CPU through sheer determination

The other "gotcha" is that the SK-7 can slide back & forth on its clip. After reviewing the other guide, also look closely at these two photos: photo 1 and photo 2 The second photo shows the SK-7 properly installed, and clear of any contact with the raised, solid-plastic end of the CPU socket.

If you happen to have a shim inbetween the CPU and heatsink, take it out too.

 

[fpoverflow]

mechBgon:

I read your guide to double-check my installation.

To be honest, when I first laid down the heatsink it was backwards and I wondered wtf until I noticed it was backwards. (I never clipped it backwards)

But then I reversed it and it laid down properly. I just checked from the arm side of the socket and it is completely flush and almost perfectly centered on the CPU, so I don't think that is the problem.

Just to be sure, here is the process I followed:
1) put cpu in socket.
2) applied thermal paste to raised center of cpu. smoothed it with my credit card.
3) seated heatsink backwards and noticed it was wrong. wiped bottom of hs clean, reversed and clipped down.

Thanks for your suggestion. Any other ideas?

 

[Ant001]

Try swapping the RAM.

 

[50]

Originally posted by: Ant001
Try swapping the RAM.

Yeah, I have had many problems with GEIL ram especially the value series.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Also, make sure your power supply switch isn't on 220V. I made that mistake once and the fans would spin but nothing else would happen. Also, you might reset the bios. Take the battery out for 15-20 minutes and then try booting.

 

[fpoverflow]

Thank you all for the suggestions!

First off, time for admission of a small oversight of mine which you all should have caught

I said I only had the power cable from the case hooked to the MB, so of course I was getting no beeps After I realized this, I decided to hook up the case speaker for better diagnostics, but still leave the MB outside the case. Following the suggestions that the RAM might be bad, I just removed it entirely Lo and behold when I powered up I get my first set of beeps (long beep repeated every second or so). I was just incredibly happy to have the computer do anything-- I could really sense the power of my XP2500+, the beeps were wonderfully clear

So, next I put the memory back into dimm socket 3, AS RECOMMENDED IN THE NF7-S MANUAL. System reverted to absolutely no beeping, although video would be come up about 50% of the time.

So, I decided to try the memory (pc3200) in slot 1-- the damn thing finally booted and went to the BIOS!!! The memory check passed swimmingly.

Does this mean the MB dimm3 socket might be bad? Or perhaps it's working as advertised? Could it be the memory? I'm not really concerned either way, just curious.

Thanks again for all the help.