Problem with new comp

[vital]

I have been buying parts over the last two weeks for my new computer i was building. Everything is new minus the hard drive, which i get a new one tomorrow.

I wanted to try hooking up my old hard drive to see if i could get everything up and running, but when i hit power, nothing comes up on the monitor.

Parts:
RADEON 9800PRO
1GB TWINX1024 Corsair RAM
P4/3.0CGHz
INTEL 875P D875PBZLK Motherboard
ANTEC TrueBLUE480 Power supply

All the case fans come on, the motherboard led lights up, the video card fan comes on. I get no beeps.

I was hoping nothing was bad besides maybe the hard drive, but even if it was bad, wouldnt something come on the screen?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[muisejt]

make sure everything is seated correctly and try booting without the hard drive, you should get the screen where it tells you what motherboard, how much RAM and what IDE devices are attached

[vital]

with no hard drive i get nothing still. im thinking about taking it to a shop real quick to see if they can test if something got fried somehow. i have no idea what else it could be.

Anyone have any ideas other then that?

[Fluid]

First things first....
(For all you newbies out there, this is a good step by step process if you are having problems with booting.)

1.Get a nice piece of cardboard about the size of your motherboard.

2.Firmly seat your CPU + Fan, Memory, and Video Card on the motherboard. (attach your monitor to the vid card at this point)

3.Hook up your Power supply so that it is plugged in and connected to the motherboard. (yes take the power supply out of the case if you need to)

4.Once those components are corrected installed onto the motherboard, go ahead and use any metal object to turn on the computer by touching the two pins that normally connect to the power button cable.

5.The fans should turn on, and if these core components are working properly, your machine should boot up and show BIOS (or the motherboard company logo). You will probably get an error about "System Disk not found", which is normal. (you need a Hard Drive + OS)

Now, should things not go as I have laid them out, here are some often overlooked symptoms:

-With the new Intel chipsets (865,875) you must install the memory in every-other slot. (in most cases) Make sure and read the motherboard manual about how your memory should be inserted. (Most often with two sticks of DDR, you would put 1 in Dimm slot 1, and one in Dimm slot 3.)

-Make sure there is nothing touching the motherboard that would be shorting it out. Many times, when first time users screw their motherboard into the case, it will short out (don't ask my why, but I have done it more times then I can recall). Remedy this by screwing the board into the case again, but not making the screws incredibly tight. (straining the motherboard is NOT a good idea)

If these problems don't help you, try the video card on a different machine if you can, and test each component seperately.


In your case vital, I am guessing that your memory isn't in the proper slot configuration.

Good luck,

Fluid

[vital]

nah, it actually turns out im just a moron and forgot to plug in the processor core voltage connector.

thank you for the help though, and im sure some people will be able to use the useful info from your post.

[Fluid]

Live and Learn.

[bromide]

Originally posted by vital
nah, it actually turns out im just a moron and forgot to plug in the processor core voltage connector.

thank you for the help though, and im sure some people will be able to use the useful info from your post.

haha, gotta hate those little things that you overlook when you are excited about new toys....happens to me a lot.