Computer Won't Run
I just built a new machine and plugged it in and - nothing.
As long as it's plugged up it ought to make some kind of noise
shouldn't it?
It reminds me of the time Kaos told me to take the ram out of my
Microtel and read what it said on it. I did and found out what
kind I needed but it wouldn't do anything after I put the ram back.
I found out I had hit the PSU switch and cut off the power.
It's just like that, nothing, not even a sound. It's got one of
those switches but I've tried it in both positions to no avail.
It's just like it's not plugged up.
I suspect the new PSU but wonder if it could be something else.
Any opinions?
Thump
As long as it's plugged up it ought to make some kind of noise
shouldn't it?
It reminds me of the time Kaos told me to take the ram out of my
Microtel and read what it said on it. I did and found out what
kind I needed but it wouldn't do anything after I put the ram back.
I found out I had hit the PSU switch and cut off the power.
It's just like that, nothing, not even a sound. It's got one of
those switches but I've tried it in both positions to no avail.
It's just like it's not plugged up.
I suspect the new PSU but wonder if it could be something else.
Any opinions?
Thump
Comments
-Q
happens, do you get a spark or something? I almost bought a
PSU tester for $30 a while back but figured I wouldn't need it
anymore and didn't.
I've got a friend who's taken some pinball machines to an
auction right now who said he'd help me Tuesday or Wednesday.
I know a lot more than him about most things computer wise but
he's built two or three. He had me work on his when his PSU
died though cause he didn't know much about that.
I've got away from it now for a day or so 'cause it's too
stressful but I'm still thinking about it. It caused me to need
some rest time.
Thump
-Q
real helpful.
Thump
Anyway, have fun and I hope it works.
-Q
advice and try not to post while I'm drinking.
I plugged it in somewhere else and still nothing. It's hard to
defend but I'm pretty sure I'd know if the power was there. The
power is not getting inside to the PSU I think and it's probably
a bad PSU switch. I've just about always been able to detect
when power is present. I'll fool with it some more later, I'm not
alone right now.
Thump
work. Maybe tomorrow. Anyway it went to the PCChips site
and checked the General Faqs and they had this for one that
wouldn't boot or anything:
1. Clear CMOS
2. Change to another memory
3. Change to another AGP card
One of those looks like a good idea so I'll check the ram.
I never used one of those 240 pin sticks before but I'm
pretty sure I got it in the 0 slot.
And I've put ram in before and it didn't work right off and I've
had to reseat it. I'll try that again and then I'll swap the slot
I have it in. If that doesn't work, I'll put in the 512 stick with
184 pins and try that.
I've been having Curly put in the ram for me for quite some
time now but I wanted to build this one myself.
<edit>Curly, who was my back up plan, had a heart attack and
is in the hospital so I'm on my own I guess.
</edit>
Thump
Good advice, but you can generally tell if you need to change the video card. If you get the standard PC startup noises, you're probably OK and just have a bad video card.
Sorry to hear that.
-Q
was answered was:
"Q:
My M/B could not power on or after power on there is no display. What shall I do?"
It was just the closest one to what I was trying to find out.
I really doubt the CMOS needs clearing but I suppose it would
give me a dialogue or do something if that was all it was.
Thump
does nothing. I took it out and put in a DDR stick and nothing.
Oh well.
I shouldn't even be trying this probably. I just told my wife that
the new micro food processor was no good and she put it back
together and fired it right up. You just had to really press hard
on the button.
Thump
Thump
-Q
and the DDR at the same time. It said it in a complicated
way but I understand that is the usual and not a surprise.
I just realized that I didn't try to change the PSU switch when I
was testing it and it's not marked and I have no idea how it's set
at this time. My wife took the kitchen now so I'll have to wait.
I'll do that when I can get back to it and if that don't work back
to the PSU I suppose. It's just dead dead dead.
I did find the front panel for USB and one audio plug, it was on
the side of the machine and I just didn't find it until now. I
plugged in the USB header but can't find the audio so far.
The rear case fan's wires are too short and I need to have some
wire spliced into the middle of it but I don't know when Curly
will be able to do that for me.
Thump
-Q
WinBoards and build a computer. I'm beginning to wonder if it's
this one though.
I hooked it up again and tried it to no avail, switched the power
supply button to the other position and nothing. I'm going to
open it up and clear the CMOS the first thing.
Curly has spliced the rear case fan wires for me to make them
long enough and it's hooked up. I have everythng but a hard
drive and this thing should boot to a live CD and run, it just
doesn't.
Picture of the computer:
Open showing the inside (Not well)
And here's one of the two sets of wire from the case that I
haven't found anywhere to plug up. Not a good closeup but
it shows them held by a clothspin:
Thump
Make model of mobo? RAM / CPU etc...
The first thing I do when I am working on a non booter, is disconnect everythig that doesn't NEED to be there.
Unplug every floppy and IDE cable from the mobo, remove ALL LED wires and even the wires for the case front power switch.
You should have the motherbooard WITH ONLY the following installed.
CPU/Heatsink/fan
One single piece (stick) of RAM
Video card if not onboard video
The actually power supply cables attached to the mobo - both the ATX and supplementary 4 pin for P4 and above.
Don't have the power hooked up to any drives or floppies.
now since you manually unhooked the front case power switch, I usually just short across the power switch headers on the motherboard with a screw driver and see if the unit turns on or the LEDS on the motherboard glow or a CPU fan fan spins. This switch only needs a moment of contact to turn ona PC and if it starts just pull the driver away. You reshort the same jumper to stop the computer. If you don;t like the screwdriver method you can just use a spare jumper as I do....
Doing this step eliminates a lot of potential fault areas. By getting to the minimum required to boot, you can often though not always eliminate points of failure.
If this post lacks clarity anywhere, please feel free to ask for more definitive descriptions.
Edit : Then again the picture is blurry, those could be your front panel wires for LEDS and power
One stick of DDR2 1024 MB
Uh, I've already plugged up the front USB wires and they looked
something like this:
:::::
One of these wires looks like it has ....
and the one with a black wire and a white wire only look like..
Trying to follow the motherboard manufacturer's instructions but
there no lever beside the CMOS battery and there's no clip on top
and I can't get it out.
I'm studying what you said and trying to provide the info as I
can find it.
Thump
going to start what you said.
First off, what model of hardware are we dealing with?
Make model of mobo? RAM / CPU etc...
Thump:
1. Power Up Black 302 ATX Mid-Tower Case with Fron USB and Audio Ports - $29.99-$20 rebate=$9.99
2. PCChips P23G v3.0 Via Socket 775 MicroATX Motherboard - $49.99-$10=$39.99
3. Intel Celeron D 356 3.33GHz OEM Processor - $59.99-$20=$39.99
4. Intel Socket 775 Cooling Fan - Price unknown
5. Power Up 450-Watt Power Supply - $19.99
And I have in a Centron 1024 MB stick of DDR2 in at this time
but I've tried a 512 stick of DDR as well.
/Thump
The first thing I do when I am working on a non booter, is disconnect everythig that doesn't NEED to be there.
Unplug every floppy and IDE cable from the mobo, remove ALL LED wires and even the wires for the case front power switch.
You should have the motherbooard WITH ONLY the following installed.
CPU/Heatsink/fan
One single piece (stick) of RAM
Video card if not onboard video
The actually power supply cables attached to the mobo - both the ATX and supplementary 4 pin for P4 and above.
Don't have the power hooked up to any drives or floppies
Thump: Done /Thump.
now since you manually unhooked the front case power switch, I usually just short across the power switch headers on the motherboard with a screw driver and see if the unit turns on or the LEDS on the motherboard glow or a CPU fan fan spins. This switch only needs a moment of contact to turn ona PC and if it starts just pull the driver away. You reshort the same jumper to stop the computer. If you don;t like the screwdriver method you can just use a spare jumper as I do....
Thump:
I started crossing the pins with a screwdriver and the PSU fan
came on. The power supply isn't plumb dead anyway. Couldn't
get the fan to stop by crossing the pins again so I cut the
power, I'm not sure which ones I crossed to start with.
/Thump
Doing this step eliminates a lot of potential fault areas. By getting to the minimum required to boot, you can often though not always eliminate points of failure.
If this post lacks clarity anywhere, please feel free to ask for more definitive descriptions.
Thump: I think I got it /Thump
It's lying on it's side and I'm up on a ladder. I didn't turn it any
special way to take the picture.
I can't work much longer today, it's time for me to prepare
Dinner.
Thump
right I don't think.
The pins on the mobo header look like
::::.
And the connector looks like
::::.
looking straight in at it. So when you turn the connector over to
plug it in instead of just staring into it, the blank is on the wrong
side. I must have not noticed that the pattern was reversed and
thought I'd had it plugged in properly.
Gotta quit for today and put it up and put my wife's stuff back
on the counter and wash the dishes. Maybe I'll get a earlier
start tomorrow.
Thump
Now that you got it turned on we will have to clear the CMOS to get it to boot most likely. I downloaded the manual so I can describe this process better for you.
I know you won;t be working on it till tomorrow, but I will likjely post the next steps tonight.
know how I'll resolve the connector problem. I doubt now that
I'll have to clear the CMOS after I do something about that.
Even though I've lost my workspace for now I'll certainly be
thinking about it tonight myself. I might look at my new Antec
case and see if the connector on it is the same. One of them
is messed up, either the case or the mobo.
I want to thank you for what you've done and I'm happy it's
shown it's first sign of life now and I can feel a little more
optimistic about it.
Thump
the connector problem is easily resolved.... truly
In this photos of the connector setup from the manual
You can clearly see where each of the front panel connectors is located. You mentioned your case has a specific connector that looks like this but because of the pictures being blurry I am not sure what wires are coming from the front of your case.
The arrangment is as you have noted , namely
2 4 6 8 10
. . . .
. . . . .
1 3 5 7 9
With 10 missing entirely as the key
The one we are concerned with is the front panel power switch and it shorts across six and eight. Therefore shorting these two jumpers turns the PC on and shorting them once more turns the PC off. Typically the wires that come from the front of case are actually labelled, Usually (not always the power switch wires are grey/white or black/white.
Question: did your case come with a piece of paper that has the pin outs on it that you can show us? Scan or photo?
Question: Is there any labels on the black plastic connectors of the wires that come from the case front and if so what are they?
Anyhow, if necessary, you can always pop the front off the case and see what two wires are going to the power switch. The front panel comes off the case either with four plastic retainers or four screws and you can gently set it back from the front of the computer without pulling it too far away from the rest of the case.
When we get it so the power switch sworks we can get to the CMOS issue IF it needs the CMOS cleared to boot (and it may).
Edit: I think that thing you have been connecting to the header on the motherboard is the front panel audio connection though I could be wrong, I can't get a manual off the web anywhere for your case and I can't see the wires in the piccy's so I am guessing a lot on this rig.
sheathed sets of wires of unknown quantity and color and it
has a little tape thing on it that says USB. It doesn't fit so I
guess we can just forget about it for now.
On closer examination of the other wires I think I've found a
winner. There is a little writing on the hard connectors and
one says
1. RESET SW and looks like : and has a white
wire and a black wire or dark blue
2. POWERLED . and has a green wire only
3. POWERLED . and has a white wire only
4. H.D.D. LED : with a red and a white wire
The remaining wire is a white wire and a black wire twisted
together and it says POWER SW and looks like :
Looking Good ! I gotta stop and fix lunch.
Thump