What part is bad?

[ivseenbetter]

I am trying to put together a new computer and bought all new parts. I have done this before but now within the last couple of years. Anyway, I put together an SATA WD hard drive with a MSI NEO 4 SLI Platinum Mother board. I intalled an Athlon 64 3000+ and 1 GB of OZC DDR. I also intalled an ATI x800 video card. I plugged it all in and powered it up. All the fans turned on and the lights lit up but nothing else happened. The monitor acted like nothing was being sent to it. Now I have to figure out what part is bad or what connection is messed up. I know it isn't the monitor so it has to be one of the new parts. I am thinking it has to be either the MB or the Video Card. Anybody have any tips on how I could figure this out?

Thanks Chris

 

[fuzzynavel]

Try components in a different machine if available......

Are you able to access the bios?

Try the components 1 at a time......i.e if you have 2 sticks of ram the run using 1 and then swap them over.....leave the HD drive unplugged....you don't need it to get to bios...

 

[ivseenbetter]

None of the parts can be run in my other machine because it is sooo old. I tried unplugging the hard drive and that didn't work. I haven't been able to get to the bios at all yet. I figue it has to either be the MB or the video card. Like I said, all the fans are running but nothing is being sent to the monitor. I was thinking of getting another video card and plugging that in. If it works than I know it is the video card that is broken. If it doesn't than I know it is the MB. Would the BIOS come up if the CPU I installed was bad? I don't know how to check that one.

Thanks for the quick response.

 

[MTDEW]

Would the BIOS come up if the CPU I installed was bad?

No. no bios if cpu is bad, pc has to "post" before you can see bios at all.

Take your video card out completely.
Unplug the hard drive from the motherboard.
Use 1 stick of ram.
Reset the bios using the CMOS jumper to be sure you're at defaults.

Now with just your cpu and 1 stick of ram in, try to start your pc.

You should get a "no video card installed" Beep warning.(several quick beeps)
If you do, good, that means your motherboard is good.
now re-insert video card.

Try to start pc.

You should hear a "post beep" (its a single beep) that indicates the cpu is fine.

If you get a post beep and no video signal, be sure you have a power connector connected to the card. (if that card needs externel power, i'm not sure)

You dont need the hard drive to get to the bios, just cpu / video / 1 stick of ram.

Lets try to get it to post and to the bios 1st before claiming anything DOA.

Post back your results.

 

[brikis98]

Ok, first important question:

what kind of PSU do you have? and, more imporantly, how many amps on the +12V line(s)? you need at least 18A on the +12V for modern systems, if you don't have it, you might just not be giving the system enough juice to boot.

after that, your best bet is to try booting the system incrementally, starting with essentailly NOTHING hooked up.

the general procedure:

1. start with the motherboard lying on an antistatic bag on top of a non conductive surface (so you know it's not shorting out on your case)
2. NOTHING should be in the mobo - no CPU, no RAM, no vid card, no HD, nothing
3. Hook up the PSU to the mobo - the 20/24 pin connector and the 4 pin connector
4. From your case, hook up the power button and system speaker only. Make sure they are hooked up properly, if you do it wrong, they might cause a short

Push power. You should get a beep warning code. Look it up in your manual: it should mean either "No CPU detected" or "No RAM detected" or "No Video Card detected." If you get this, it's a good sign your mobo is ok.

Now, add the CPU and heatsink fan. Push power. You should get the beep code for no RAM or no vid card. Add 1 stick of RAM in the first slot. You should get the beep code for no vid card. Add the vid card. Your system should boot.

If some step along the way fails, you can usually guess what the component is. Also, if your system has a D-bracket (a metal bracket w/ 4 LED's on it, and often some extra USB ports), this will let you read warning codes from the LED's rather than listen to the speaker. Finally, a CMOS reset before you begin this procedure might be useful - while your system is powered off and unplugged, either push the CMOS button (look up in your manual if the mobo has it) or pull out the CMOS battery for a few minutes.

Good luck.

 

[ivseenbetter]

Ok, I did all the tests. When it boots with only one piece of ram and no video card it gives out a long beep....waits a few seconds and then gives out another long beep. It will keep doing this until I shut it off. I reinstalled the video card and it still does the long beep. It never did the quick short beeps. I looked at the power supply. I think they sent me the wrong one. I specifically asked for a 450w and I think I have a 300w. with a 14 on the +12. This is getting frustrating.

 

[brikis98]

long beeps? i don't remember exactly, but that sounds like a RAM issue. check your manual to be sure. or hook up the D-bracket and look that up. also, have you tried each of the sticks separately? maybe just one is faulty.

as for the PSU, the overall wattage is far less important than the number of amps on the +12V line. there are 300/350w PSUs with 20+ amps on the +12v line. however, you say yours has only 14, which is just not enough. especially if you plan on using SLI!

 

[fuzzynavel]

Originally posted by: brikis98
long beeps? i don't remember exactly, but that sounds like a RAM issue. check your manual to be sure. or hook up the D-bracket and look that up. also, have you tried each of the sticks separately? maybe just one is faulty.

as for the PSU, the overall wattage is far less important than the number of amps on the +12V line. there are 300/350w PSUs with 20+ amps on the +12v line. however, you say yours has only 14, which is just not enough. especially if you plan on using SLI!

He has an X800....no SLI!!

Even 14A should be enough to post with just video, RAM and CPU!! that is partly why I told him to remove HD...Power hungry at startup..


Try taking out the CPU and see what noises you get!!

Do you have an old PCI graphics card? or even an alternative AGP card?

 

[ivseenbetter]

I don't really plan to use the SLI any time soon. I just wanted to have it. Do you think the wattage is too low and that is what is causing it? Also, I don't think the Video card hooks up to the power supply. It is a Sapphire ATI x800. If anybody knows for sure let me know. I see one plug on the card but it doesn't look like a power plug it looks more like a fan plug.

I will check the memory thing though. I couldn't find the code in the manual. Maybe the website will have it posted. This whole process is starting to suck! Oh well. I guess I am just impatient.

You have been great in providing me good info.

 

[brikis98]

even if he isn't using SLI, 14A is not enough for his system. even if he gets it to post, i wouldn't be surprised if he had instability or random reboots, couldn't OC worth a damn, etc.

go out and get a good PSU. there's plenty of threads on AT that list respectable PSUs. do not cheap out on 'em, or you'll regret it (looks like you already do).

check your vid card's manual to see if it requires a power connector directly from the PSU. if it does, hook it up.

 

[ivseenbetter]

Well, I went and got all new memory and video card for the problem. I tried each of them and it still didn't work. For some reason it would turn on, all the fans are running including the one of the video card, and the only thing that happens is a long beep followed by a pause, then another beep. The beep and pause pattern will continue until it is shut off. It does this even if I remove all ram and the video card. I think it is the MB so I am going to request an RMA on it. I think I am going to shop around for a better powersupply too. If anybody has any other ideas I am all ears. I appreciate all the help each of you have given me already.

Chris

 

[fuzzynavel]

Lol...the system in my sig was running OK on a 276watt generic PSU that came with the case when I got my old athlon XP...it only had 15A on the 12V rail!!! god knows how it worked but it did....

needless to say it was unstable if I tried to overclock at all or evn run BF2....don't think it liked the big power drain when the X800XL kicked into full flight....but it did run!!

 

[ivseenbetter]

That is good news. I will wait to see if I have the same problem with the MB they send me back before I buy a new power supply. Like I said, I tried new memory and video card and it still wouldn't boot so I am hoping it was the MB. I am pretty sure it couldn't have been the processor because I don't think it would have given me the long beep pattern.