Emergency First Build

[darksidedragon]

Yeah, you normally RMA through the people you brought the product from. If you can put extra motherboard risers in, then do so - I think some of the riser contact points are needed to ground the motherboard. Also, if you have a camera, that would be really really useful for us to see.

 

[deadhead_matt]

Yeah, you normally RMA through the people you brought the product from. If you can put extra motherboard risers in, then do so - I think some of the riser contact points are needed to ground the motherboard. Also, if you have a camera, that would be really really useful for us to see.

Right on about the standoffs I PM him on this must have posted that when i was PMing him. (did he even get bio's post?)thinking not but may have missed it.

 

[Stickboy46]

Before you RMA did you plug in the CPU power plug?? I had the same problems you are having last night and i just didnt noticed the 2 x 4 pin CPU power plugs that needed to be plugged in lol. The last build i did didnt require a CPU Plug lol

Ryan

 

[EXT64]

The only suggestion I can give is to check all of you connections again. Also, it would be helpful if you had a speaker (find one in an old comp), because, I know for my MB, the comp will tell you what is failing ("failed VGA Test", "failed ram test", etc.) Ten hours!?! Thats rough. I guess a have torn apart and rebuilt my comp so many times I am used to it.

However, I do feel your pain. My MB/Case also came with atrocious instructions for lights and buttons. I somehow fiqured it out the first time, and ever since I have kept a notebook telling me how to put it back together.

Try reseating the ram and the card. I really don't know how those new Intels are supposed to insert, my FX-60 was the old design where it just dropped in without pressure.

 

[c999]

I could probably put another screw in my mobo to make it 6/9 filled. I don't even own a drill, so making it 9/9 just because it might not be grounded isn't realistic.

My old GFX card is AGP and my mobo doesn't have AGP, so that is out of the question too.

Using the PC speaker from my old case will involve cutting a bunch of wires and ruining the case. It might tell me that it is the mobo or the vid card.. but I am about ready to give up at this point and take it to get serviced...

@stickboy: I am not sure what you mean by CPU power plug. Best I can tell the only plug near my CPU at all is the one coming from the zalman fan. The mobo instructions don't really define the difference between NB_FAN/CPU_FAN/SYS_FAN/PWR_FAN....

2 of these plugs have 3 pins (like the Zalman has 3 pins) and 2 have 4 pins.. Maybe it isn't posting because the mobo wants something plugged into a 4 pin slot... got me. I tried the "PWR_FAN" slot and the CPU fan still ran but my problem didn't go away.

I definitely don't recommend this setup for a first time build because the instructions leave you guessing at every step. Hopefully I can get the RMA process started today and maybe get a new card next week.. I am going to see if any shops can take a look at it on a Saturday. If anyone knows a trustworthy shop anywhere near East Baltimore, that would be great. I wish that I just wasted more money on a complete system that would have worked straight from the box. :/

 

[darksidedragon]

Once you've built one computer and got through the pains of things not working, you'll be fine to always build it yourself. It's just something you need to learn. If you can put pictures up of all the connections inside the case, that will really help. Last time someone did that, the problem could be seen really easily.

 

[Stickboy46]

If you dont know which plug im talking about, its probally your problem, because thats exactly what mine did.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...l+P965+Express+ATX+Intel+Motherboard+-+Retail

That is a picture of your mobo. The plug is on the right hand side, its only 4 pins(its labeled 4-pin cpu power connector). You should have 2 x 4 pin plugs on your PSU that are labeled CPU1 and 2 if you have the OCZ gamexstream 700w like i have (i think i saw that you have that). Make sure that one of those are plugged into that plug or it wont do anything. Thanks

Ryan

 

[avarice]

I would suggest that you get a new hard drive and not do anything with your old hard drive until you get the system up and running. There is a danger - slight though it is - that you will end up wiping out all of your data if you install the OS incorrectly on the old drive.

Just be safe - get a new 200-500 gig drive, and do a fresh install. Once done, hook up the old one as your D: drive.

Get your files copied off to the new drive (any discrete folder will do) then you have 2 copies of the important files which you said you need to finish a project.

I would not endanger something as important as project files if I could avoid it - and this is something you can avoid.

If you want advice on parts - see my signature - otherwise the previous folks have done a good job.

Cheers.

 

[EXT64]

Good find there stickboy. After looking over that picture it looks like you are probably right, assuming he seated the ram, GPU, and CPU correctly. As long as that four pin is hooked up, the 24 pin is hooked up, and you have RAM, GPU (and GPU power), and CPU; the computer should post. You do not need any fans, drives, etc. If it still doesn't post, start RMAing.

 

[Mondoman]

Something I noticed from the OP's description on the first page: it sounds like he maybe connected a power connector from the PS to the north bridge fan header on the MB. That could definitely fry things or make things not work.

OP: It sounds like there are at least 3 issues:

1) MB not mounted correctly. You will need to take out the MB and make sure there are standoffs matching each screw hole in the MB. Also, remove any standoffs under the MB area that do not match screw holes in the MB.

2) Power cables not connected properly. The MB manual and graphics card manual will have instructions (and almost always photos) showing what power connectors to attach where.

You need to make sure that ONLY the following wires from the PS are connected to the MB:
a) 24 pin main power cable. Some PSs provide this as 20pin & 4pin connectors that should snap together to make the 24pin connector. In that case, make sure you have the correct 4pin connector, as there is at least one other 4 pin connector.
b)4pin "ATX12V" power cable. This plugs in at the edge of your MB next to the CPU. Some PSs have two of these connectors (for MBs with side-by-side 4 pin connectors); for your MB, just use one and tie the other out of the way.

Your graphics card will need the following wire connected from the PS:
a) 6pin "PCIe" power connector. Your PS should have at least one of these. The video card package includes a Y cable with one of these - DO NOT use it. That is only for use if your PS does not have a PCIe connector.

Finally, your CPU cooler's power connector needs to be plugged into the 4-pin CPUFAN power connector on the MB. NOTE: the CPU cooler DOES NOT get connected to the power supply, just to that MB connector!

3) CPU cooler issue: many MBs, as a safety feature, will not turn on if they detect the CPU cooler's fan spinning too slowly or not at all. Therefore, it is important to plug the CPU cooler's fan into the CPUFAN connector, not the NBFAN or other connector.
Also, many aftermarket CPU coolers have fans that spin so slowly, the MB BIOS thinks the CPU cooler fan is not working properly. Therefore, it's always best for novices to first install the OEM CPU cooler, and worry about changing to a different cooler later.


Here's some info on assembling a computer: http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1184072#1184072