Computer won't boot to BIOS

[theantidavis]

I built my first computer today. Everything seemed to be fine, until I plugged it into my monitor. I can see that the cpu fan, gpu fans, and the two system fans are spinning. I, however, don't get any reception on my monitor. I was wondering that since I don't have an optical drive or windows yet, will that prevent it from going to the BIOS?

 

[Paperdoc]

No, not having those items will not cause this.

From what you say, I assume your monitor screen shows you nothing. Or maybe, just a short note from the monitor itself telling you it has started and is receiving no signal. But there is nothing indicating any computer action, right?

When you boot up, is there any beep sound a short time after it starts? Now, if you don't have any tiny "speaker" attached to your motherboard, you won't get any sound at all. But if there is one, you should get some beep code. The normal one indicating complete success at booting into BIOS is a single beep. If you get any other beep pattern, that is an error code. Write it down and post it here, along with the exact manufacturer and model of your motherboard. We may be able to tell you what the code means and what to look for.

If you get the one-beep success code, there is one other common problem on a new build. This occurs IF you have a graphics chip built into the motherboard BUT you also have installed your own graphics card in a PCI slot. If that's your situation, the normal temptation is to connect your monitor to the great graphics card you installed. BUT the mobo will default to using its own on-board graphics chip and ignore the card. So IF that is your situation, plug your monitor into the video output on the back of your machine where all the other mobo connectors are. Then you should see its output when BIOS gets going, and you can use the BIOS Setup software to change the system to use the added video card as its output device. If you do make such a change, remember to use the SAVE and EXIT option as you end the session with BIOS Setup. THEN you can connect your monitor to the add-on video card and see output there on the next reboot.

 

[i7Baby]

Go through Tom's Checklist - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

 

[theantidavis]

Ah, I had the monitor plugged into the video card. The on-board graphics booted me to BIOS. Thanks, guys.