everything dead

[Phroenyx]

Am having a bit of trouble with a PC build - everything is connected up as (I think/according to the manual) it should be, but *nothing* is happening. I'm not just talking POST or whatever, I mean zip. no fans, no lights, no nothing.

Yes it's plugged in, yes the AGP graphics card is seated properly - there's also an onboard graphics, so I've tried it without. still nothing.

Surely, even if the mobo was dead, <i>somehting</i> wouild happen? I've tried it on different power supplies (which I know work). Its a combi-type one, onboard sound, AGP and lan - PCCHIPS M810LR. Any suggestions?

than Q! (in advance)

<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[jlanka]

1) Is this a brand new out of the box board? Or did you get get it secondhand or something?

2) Did you double and triple check the Power switch connection? Sounds to me like that is the most likely culprit. (I'm talking about the 2 pin black connector that attaches to the mobo in "jumper" fashion)

3) (Probably most important) what are you messing around with PCChips garbage for?

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Phroenyx]

1)brand new

2) I thought it was the power switch too. Until I messed about with them for three hours. It still might be, of course - the manual diagram says that the Hdd led (or whichever has 3 pins, I cant remember) should go on 2 pins, so who knows. so one of the pins is sort of hanging off the edge... - and yes I tried it in the 'wrong' config, with all three connected, but still no response.

I just read that supposedly they ship new boards with the "CMOS-Clear Jumper" set, to conserve battery power. so now I have to wait till I get home to try that out. I'll keep fiddling with the power switch too though, if it doesn't.

3)it was 40 quid (UK) with sound, 128bit agp graphics, modem (alright, AMR..)and nic. plus - the main bit - it ain't for me!

thanks guys.
I'll come back and moan some more if nothing works!

p


___________________________________
<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[Kelledin]

Is your power supply hard-switched? There are a couple of different types of ATX power supplies; some have a heavy black cable with four large crimp-style connectors that go to a "hard switch," and some don't. Those that don't are meant to be turned on and off purely through an ATX "soft switch"--a switch that connects to a two-pin connector on the motherboard (the two-pin connector looks for all the world like a jumper block).

Some power supplies without the big, heavy, black "hard switch" cable actually have a "hard switch" built into the back, next to the power plug.

Whatever the case may be, if your power supply is "hard switched", it won't turn on until that hard switch is turned on. Hard-switching a power supply on or off has the exact same effect as plugging or unplugging it from your A/C outlet.

Another pitfall with this bit is how the motherboard responds to a power supply being "hard switched" on. Almost all motherboards are adjustable; they can be set to "keep off" (meaning never turn on until the soft-switch is hit), "turn on" (meaning always turn on when a hard-switch is turned on), and "last state" (meaning re-assume whatever power-on state it was in when the power supply got hard-switched off). This is usually set by either a jumper on the motherboard, or a setting in the BIOS.

There's a chance that your motherboard was set to "Keep off" when you got it--in which case, it will never turn on until you soft-switch it or change that setting. If that setting isn't set by jumpers, then you'll have to soft-switch it after the hard switch is turned on. If your case's power switch is actually a hard switch, you can still soft-switch your motherboard by shorting the two pins where a soft switch would normally connect. You should only short these pins for a second or so. You can sometimes do it with a screwdriver, but the surefire way to do it is to do it by slipping a jumper over the two pins with a pair of needle-nose pliers (once again, only for a second or so).

Kelledin

"/join #hackerz. See the Web. DoS interesting people."

 

[Phroenyx]

I tried the board with 2 different power supplies - an old one (which works fine with a different board but not with this new one) and a new one, which I have only tested with this board, so for all I know it might not work. Both are ATX...

The new one does have a switch at the back, and I did turn it on before I tried 'soft-switching' it.

I'll admit though, that I'm not too sure on what you mean by the shorting of the soft-switch: do you mean to keep the jumper on, or take it off... + is this while the hard switch is on?

I'll look into the hard-switching <i>element</i>, but I'm hoping its as easy as flipping the CMOS jumper. I guess that's more likely, too, as it didnt work with a non-hard-switched PSU.

thanks anyway, Kelledin- I'm learning more as I go along!

p

___________________________________
<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[jlanka]

3)it was 40 quid (UK) with sound, 128bit agp graphics, modem (alright, AMR..)and nic. plus - the main bit - it ain't for me!

And you get what you pay for - 20 quid savings, multitudes more headaches! Probably have to spend the savings on Tylenol!

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Phroenyx]

c'mon then...

For 40 - okay, 50 - including delivery - pounds (probably works out to about 90-100 dollars, if applicable) what else can you get that includes sound, graphics, modem + nic?

I'm not actually going to use the graphics or sound at the moment, but in case I want to shift things about later on, I have an almost fully functional (ahem) self-reliant board. Seriously though - is there anything out there that does the same job for much more? I am actually interested, as I thought this was a good deal for the price.

yours, intrigued,
p

___________________________________
<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[Phroenyx]

Sorry, but I've got to come back to the subject at hand...

My CMOS jumper setting made no difference, and although I toyed with the power switch/HDD led, etc connectors, I'm still not 100% sure if they're in right, but nothing worked anyway so it could be them.

Anybody had this before? where for what it looks like you might as well not have the power cable in?

what were your solutions?



___________________________________
<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[khha4113]

Did you test it outside the case? Its ground might touch to metal case.

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[Phroenyx]

I didn't... I will though..! Would that actually stop it from operating completely?

I have a nice TFT 15" arriving today. yippee!

___________________________________
<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[Kelledin]

You need to keep the jumper on for only a second, then take it off. The soft-switch basically does the same thing; it normally "rebounds" when you take your finger off of it, so that the shorting of the pins only lasts while you hold the switch down. This needs to be done with the hard-switch turned "on."

Best of luck!

Kelledin

"/join #hackerz. See the Web. DoS interesting people."

 

[Phroenyx]

thanx kelledin, but I'm afraid the simple solution worked somehwat better! - khha4113's 'try it outside the case' worked annoyingly effectively. I thought I had the spacers in there alright, (and I did!) but one of the screws was connecting it to the chassis.

So - wicked. I now have my 900/256 puter going, all for under 200 pounds! ..also have my tft screen, so I'm quite happy!

thanks ever so much for your help people, I probably would have continued asking for replacements if it weren't for you!

thanks again,
p


___________________________________
<b>free hot birdy with <i>Phroenyx</i></b>

 

[khha4113]

Would that actually stop it from operating completely?

Motherboard will automatically shut off to prevent damaging its components if it's short to ground.

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.