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Same as the guy below me, system build help, no post

InsaneMorphius

Golden Member
Hey all,

Quick question for ya. I upgraded my son's computer as an xmas present. He was using a dated celeron 1.3ghz and is now starting to do some light gaming. I got him the below:

Semptron 2800+
512MB DDR 400
MSI KT4A-V
40GB WD 7200
GeForce FX 5200
New case and 400w PS

The only thing that is not new is the CDRom.

Now my problem is I cannot get the dang thing to post. The fans CPU/Case do spin, so i know the mobo is supplying power. HDD will spin up if the IDE cable is not attached, but will not spin if it is attached. Cannot get into bios because i cannot see anything. I have tried 2 different video cards, to no avail. I also returned the mobo, ram and processor.....same results

Anybody have a clue, I have also taken it out of the case and tested it to see if the case was shorting out the mobo, but no go.

It has been over a year since i have built a computer so it is possible that i have overlooked something, but i cannot figure it out

I think it may have something to do with the case pins to the mobo but cant be sure.

Thanks for the replies
 
bad motherboard.

i have personally "used" that same motherboard 3 times, every single time it had IDE problems. RMA it.


also, the 5200 is an awful video card, even for light gaming. I would return it and pick up a better one.
 
let me guess... your using the generic psu that came with the generic case? and you got a stick of the cheapest generic ram possible?

your problem is very likely power supply and/or memory related..

try replacing both with quality name brand alternatives: Crucial memory and Enermax Power Supply rated at 300w or greater
 
Also, be aware that Western Digital hard drives have four jumper settings: Cable Select, Master, Slave... and Single Drive. If it's got its own data cable, guess which setting you ought to be using? 😉 Yeah, Single Drive (accomplished by simply removing the jumper cap from the pins and leaving it off).
 
Thanks for the replies fellas,

Power frst, it is a power supply that came with the case, its 400w, but it is cheap

I swapped ram with some cosair XMS, still same problems

I have the cap off the pins which should be Single Drive, no go
 
I'm going to try to research the mobo's Sempron support situation, could take a while on 56k 😛 In the meantime, do you have a high-quality power supply you could try in there? Make sure the ATX12V cable is hooked up.

Also, if the case has front USB, unplug it from the motherboard, and consider an out-of-case benchtest like illustrated here.
 
Mech,

ATX12V cable is plugged in

Will pull it out again to do an outside bench tomorrow sometime

Will try to find a different PS also

BTW, thanks so much for the replies
 
I had the exact same problem with my motherboard that came into today. I tested everything on the machine and couldn't get the bios to display on the moniter. I have narrowed it down to the motherboard not working. It's a pain this has to happed right before Christmas but oh well and good luck!
 
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