problems with 1st boot

[subgenius]

I just finished building my first system, turned on the computer, and although the computer seems to be operating fine, there is no video output to the monitor. I know the monitor works because I'm using it to see as I'm typing right now. The motherboard, CPU, power supply, and the three fans all seem fine. My best guess is that it's one of the following:

The Video Card (Matrox G550 - green light is on, but could be incompatible)
The Hard Drive (no activity that I can hear)
THe Floppy Drive (there isn't one. Do I have to HAVE one to set up the system for the first time?)
Jumper Settings - I went through the MB manual several times, but I could have missed something


Here's my setup:
Antec Sonota Case
Asus A7N8X Deluxe
AMD Barton 2500+
1 GB Crucial RAM
52x Lite-OnCD-RW
160 GB Maxtor HD
Matrox G550 Video Card


I have other devices, but I don't plan on installing them until after I get the barebones system up and running.

 

[VictorLazlo]

I've had mobos that wouldn't post until I used the reset switch (didn't matter how often I turned them on and off, it had to be reset to post the first time).

I've had boards that wouldn't post until the bios had been cleared via jumper.

Usually, the solution comes from wiggling things around until it posts. Reseat the ram. Reseat the vid card. Get rid of everything unneccessary until it works. Check the 110/220 switch on the power supply. Try the ram in a different slot. Try a different vid card.

make sure your case speaker is connected so you can hear any diagnosic beeps. If I remember correctly:
1 long, 2 short beeps = vid card
continuous short beeps = ram.
(This isn't always the case, and it doesn't always identify the REAL problem)

Do the lights on the keyboard flash once when you turn it on? If yes, it's probably a video problem. If no, it's probably a power problem.

Finally, make absolutely sure the heatsink is seated firmly and properly on the CPU.
I'll shut up now.

 

[amdskip]

Clear the bios, reseat the video card and the memory.

 

[subgenius]

The lights on the keyboard came on briefly, then shut off. How do I clear the BIOS? I haven't seen any Post messages yet, let alone reached the BIOS for the first time with this system. Do I still need to clear the BIOS?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[amdskip]

Yes, there should be a jumper near the CMOS battery on the motherboard. There are three posts if you will, move the jumper to cover the one post that is not covered and the center one that is covered. If you don't have a jumper, you can always remove the cmos battery for five minutes or so.

 

[VictorLazlo]

clearing the bios certainly can't hurt in your situation.

Unplug the computer, and find the jumper on your motherboard labeled something like "ccmos". The actual location of the jumper, and procedure for clearing the bios should be documented in the motherboard manual.