Originally posted by Brif

So it won't post if there is no RAM in it?

If you put the chip in and put the heat sink and fan in and plug it up, Turn on the power on switch, if the fan on the heat sink spins up, it posted and the mother  board is getting power.

Sytand offs go in the little holes of the case  to support the motherboard :

Originally posted by Brif

 

I've just built my system but it doesn't seam to boot.
I don't get any beeps and no signal is getting to the monitor.
I have removed the RAM, but nothing changes. No beeps still.
I have tried removing all other components like the HDD and CD/DVD drive but still no luck.
I have tried booting with 1 stick of ram at a time in different sockets but no boot.
I have removed the motherboard from the case and re-seated the processor and all other componants but still no boot.
I have removed the cmos battery to clear it but still no change.

 

Check your Video Card. If you have an onboard video card and are using a seperate pci express card make sure you disable your onboard card in your bios.Make sure you have connected your HD cables correctly and that they are in the correct slots.As stated above verify that your HD is working. I am pretty sure your Ram is not the issue,I have rarely ran into Ram issues in past Computers I have built.Check your Monitor and make sure it is operating as well. Another thing that can cause you to see nothing is if your Video Card cooling Fan is not operating check to make sure it is on and cooling.In your Bios make sure you are booting up from the correct slot. In your bios you can name what you want to boot up 1st. Most people have their PC's boot up from CD Rom nowadays,but a few still boot from floppy if you have an older system. Hope this helped:P

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Originally posted by solareus

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Originally posted by Brif

So it won't post if there is no RAM in it?

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If you put the chip in and put the heat sink and fan in and plug it up, Turn on the power on switch, if the fan on the heat sink spins up, it posted and the mother  board is getting power.
 
Sytand offs go in the little holes of the case  to support the motherboard :

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It's possible to have the fans spinning and the motherboard never actually reach POST. What happens is the motherboard is constantly resetting until it receives a Power Good signal from the PSU (signifying the PSU has stabilized after a cold boot). During this time the fans are spinning, but since it never gets the go ahead from the PSU it doesn't do anything. This is usually because of a bad PSU.

Now, without any RAM in the mobo you will not get any video signal at all. The mobo needs RAM to start addressing hardware. Some BIOS's will give an error beep when no RAM is present and some don't beep, but you definitely will have no video signal though the fans will be spinning. This is one of the first steps of POST and it fails it, so I guess I would call this 'doesn't POST' or 'doesn't pass POST', never really thought about it before :)

Originally posted by Brif

 

I've just built my system but it doesn't seam to boot.
I don't get any beeps and no signal is getting to the monitor.
I have removed the RAM, but nothing changes. No beeps still.
I have tried removing all other components like the HDD and CD/DVD drive but still no luck.
I have tried booting with 1 stick of ram at a time in different sockets but no boot.
I have removed the motherboard from the case and re-seated the processor and all other componants but still no boot.
I have removed the cmos battery to clear it but still no change.

 

Hmmm, if you get no power, did you reverse your Chassis' wiring on the panel connections on the motherboard?  No power usually at the beginning makes me wonder if you have your grounds plugged into the positive.  Reverse them and see if any power comes on (and try this barebones, no hd, no components yet).

Edit:  Black or Red, or one set of color is usually the grnd wire.  If you have multiple colors those could be the positive.

Make sure the pc is plugged in and you hit the on/off button, I heard it works wonders.

Originally posted by wayubb

Hey there Brif,

Did you use standoffs as the poster a couple posts above asked as t hey are needed so Mobo does not ground itself out.

Also as another poster mentioned using a vga and dvi plug on one monitor is unheard of usually its one or the other, or did you mean you were hooking the vga into a dvi adapter then into the vid card?

 

Also make sure you have the power sw,reset sw all seated on the right jumpers in the right way(negative/postive)

And im sure you have done this but did you apply t hermal grease correctly if you used that as to heavy or to thin can cause computer to post for a second then kick itself off.

also did you say you have a floppy drive as well?  try leaving it off the mobo as sometimes a bad pin on those can stop you from posting when it goes to detect the hardware.  I'm sure you have done all the above but just checking and computer should post to the point when it  detects the ram then let you know it has no memorty or not enough the messages vary.

I used standoffs.

I didn't have the vga cable all the way in my monitor so I thought I needed both.

All the jumpers were correctly seated.

I just opened the box and set the mobo on a long non conductive piece of plastic and only put in the ram, processor,  CPU cooler, and video card.

When turned on, the ram light does not come on, I tried several ram combinations but none of them work.

No beeps are heard through the speaker when turned on.

The mobo is DOA, i'm positive.

Would like to see a picture of the basic system build outsie the case.

no beebs means no mem.

probaly got nice looking uselsss incompateble memory ?

do the fans turn on (cpu) video card.

I just make the comment but i guess you have done  so.. the p4  and video power plug on the right place ?

I had the same problem with my new PC. It was a loose chip on the motherboard. The chip looked fine untill i pushed down on it and felt it snap into place

Brif,

Check this out. One thing you want to definately take a look at is make sure that there are 2 POWER connectors for you motherboard. Back then when i built my first motherboard i was having the very same issues you were. I messed around with just about everything and that's when i noticed that the smaller connector on the Motherboard wasn't actually sitting all the way in from my power source. I then took it out and placed it back in and sure enough the everything powered on instantly

One thing to also note. If you have the bigger connector of the two seated then you should see the Motherboard light turn on once you apply power to your system. if that does not come on then your guess is probably correct your MB is DOA. if it does come on then your motherboard is just fine. Try the above and let me know what happens. Also, if you could provide me with the motherboard model I could probably explain this so much better. Sorry i'm still new at the terminology but I know my computers like the back of my hand.

It sounds like you may have wired the case to the motherboard wrong with the Power switch , HDD LED light etc those wires if you got a motherboard that doesn't offer the bracket fitting to make it easier. Refit those wires but turn them the other way on to the pins. The other scenario is you've EMP damaged your motherboard during the build. Double, triple check all connections. Disconnect all case fans for the troubleshoot. Once you hear it can power up plug the case fans back in. Is your PSU suitable for your new build? Using your older PSU or brand new one?

Well, that light coming on doesn't necessarily mean the mobo is fine, just that there's power getting to it, and not that the power is even stable power or that the mobo is operational.. but he already shipped the mobo off so there's nothing he can do atm anyway.

Brif,

Most motherboards today have both a power button and an LED on the board itself for turning on the mobo outside of the case and observing the CMOS POST codes.

Looking at images online of your mobo, it appears to have both.

A simple out-of-case test on the mobo will tell you if it is DOA or not (I would recommend wearing an anti-static bracelet while doing this, but in most cases it isn't necessary, just a good general precaution).

1.  Take the anti-static wrap that the mobo came in and place it on a flat surface (like a table).

2. Place the mobo on top of the wrap; ensure that the mobo is solidly on the wrap and that there is no metal making contact directly with the mobo at any point.

3. Insert your CPU and attach the CPU fan; insert your RAM and make sure that it is properly seated.

4. Connect your PSU to the mobo.  Plug the PSU in to a wall socket.

5. Press the small metal button with the "power" symbol (circle with line through it) on it on the mobo.

6. Observe the LED display just above that power button.  If you see NO POST codes, the mobo is definitely dead.

7. If you do see POST codes, watch the LED and see when/if the POST process hangs (stops at a specific code).  Write that code down and look it up at ASUS' support or a site that lists the POST codes for your specific BIOS.

Doing your mobo test ouf-of-case minimizes the number of items that could be causing issues (fewer items attached to the mobo). The POST codes (if any) would indicate what you were having problems with (RAM or CPU).

If the POST codes show up and the mobo is receiving power, and everything else seems to be otherwise operating properly, power down the mobo and install a single video card.  Power up again and observe the POST codes.

I personally always recommend doing an OOC mobo test before assembling the system, so that you can track down potential hardware issues before they crop up.

If I missed anything above, my fellow tech dweebs should fee free to correct me!

Good luck!

Originally posted by Somnulus

I personally always recommend doing an OOC mobo test before assembling the system, so that you can track down potential hardware issues before they crop up.

Good advice. I am not so sure it is the MB in this case.

The test looks good to me too. just do it Brif :)

Originally posted by noquarter

 

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Originally posted by solareus

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Originally posted by Brif

 

So it won't post if there is no RAM in it?

---

If you put the chip in and put the heat sink and fan in and plug it up, Turn on the power on switch, if the fan on the heat sink spins up, it posted and the mother  board is getting power.
 
Sytand offs go in the little holes of the case  to support the motherboard :

---

 

It's possible to have the fans spinning and the motherboard never actually reach POST. What happens is the motherboard is constantly resetting until it receives a Power Good signal from the PSU (signifying the PSU has stabilized after a cold boot). During this time the fans are spinning, but since it never gets the go ahead from the PSU it doesn't do anything. This is usually because of a bad PSU.

Now, without any RAM in the mobo you will not get any video signal at all. The mobo needs RAM to start addressing hardware. Some BIOS's will give an error beep when no RAM is present and some don't beep, but you definitely will have no video signal though the fans will be spinning. This is one of the first steps of POST and it fails it, so I guess I would call this 'doesn't POST' or 'doesn't pass POST', never really thought about it before :)

I do the simple post, if the board is getting power, it is not dead. I will guess the memory is not supported by the Motherboard.

Yesterday I did an out of case test.

I put the mobo on the large piece of hard plastic that came with the case and made sure no metal was touching it.

I then inserted the cpu and attached the cpu cooler.

I put one video card in and connected my monitor to it.

I then put one stick of ram in and connected the mobo and the video card to the power supply.

When I turned the power supply on the motherboard's power and reset buttons lit up.

When I turned the motherboard on, all that happens is this lights up.

No other lights turn on.

I tried the other two sticks of ram in there instead.

I mixed the ram up with 2 or 3 sticks at a time.

Nothing ever happened.

Originally posted by Brif

Yesterday I did an out of case test.

I put the mobo on the large piece of hard plastic that came with the case and made sure no metal was touching it.

I then inserted the cpu and attached the cpu cooler.

I put one video card in and connected my monitor to it.

I then put one stick of ram in and connected the mobo and the video card to the power supply.

When I turned the power supply on the motherboard's power and reset buttons lit up.

When I turned the motherboard on, all that happens is this lights up.

No other lights turn on.

I tried the other two sticks of ram in there instead.

I mixed the ram up with 2 or 3 sticks at a time.

Nothing ever happened.

I'd be willing to bet it's your PSU that's DOA, I've had the exact same problem where the Mobo lights up but on power up there's a single spin from the CPU fan then nothing. Have you swapped PSUs with your other rig and tested out your setup with the other PSU?