first homebuilt PC will not restart

[bartbrn]

I just fired up my first homebuilt PC (from a Soyo barebones kit): the pretty lights came on, it sounded like the drive was spinning up, and then, after no more than five seconds, it simply shut down. No attempt to restart it has been successful. I don't know where to go from here.

I *do* have my suspicions: though Soyo claims this is a 350 watt power supply, the specs checked on the side of the PS run like so:

Rexpower PX-350
Output:
+3.3V@20A
+5V@40A
Max: 200W
+12v@16A
-5V@0.5A
-12V@0.8A
+5Vsb@2.5A

This sounds pretty weak-dick to me.

Is there some sort of reset I should try -- CMOS clear, maybe?

The system:
Soyo K7VME/Athlon 2800XP+ (Barton)/Thermaltake TR2 M2, in Soyo's notorious power-supply-right-on-top-of-cpu-fan case
Ultra PC2700 DDR 333MHz 512MB x 2
Chaintech GeForce FX 5700 / 256MB DDR / AGP 8X
Western Digital Caviar 200GB HD (Default/Cable Select on IDE1) -- is THIS correct? The HD is the only device on IDE1, connected to the last connector on the ribbon.
52X generic CD-ROM drive (Master on IDE2)
Megastor (NEC) Dual Layer DVD Burner combo drive (Slave on IDE2)
Mitsumi FDD/multi-media reader

CPU FSB Jumper (JP3) set to 166MHz (for 333MHz FSB) -- is THIS correct?

And yes, I bought Microsoft Windows XP Home Full Version -- obviously not yet installed...

Help!

Bart Brown

NB -- I have used and modded Macs exclusively since 1991; business circumstances force me to have a PC for my hobby shop. What I know about PC hardware troubleshooting you could fit into a gnat's gnavel.

 

[pat]

Looks like a safety shut down...check if your heat sink is correctly mounted on your CPU and the fan is spinning. Is the fan connected on the CPU fan header? If not, and the board doesnt sense it spinning, then it shut down thinking of a fan failure. Mayne the fan doesnt have a speed sensor and , in this case, there is an option in BIOS to bypass the safety feature. I would put the cd rom slave on channel 1 and let the burner alone on channel 2. better for disc to disc copy. try with one memory stick, HDD and video card first to start the system, and once fully functionnal, add the other stuff

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!

 

[bartbrn]

Yep, CPU fan is connected and spinning, and there's definitely a speed sensor. I'll try the IDE drive switch and single stick.

Thanks!

Bart Brown

 

[Crashman]

Read the first post in the Motherboard's forum for diagnostic tips.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[bartbrn]

I read the FAQs, but they gave me no additional joy.

Thanks!

Bart

 

[Crashman]

Most common problem would be a shorted board. They get shorted when you have a standoff in the wrong location. Standoffs are those little mounting pegs. They have to line up with the holes in the board, if they don't, they short out the back of the board, and the board protects itself. Another not-so-common problem is tripping the power supply from overload. You'd have to make sure you had an adequate power supply, and it's possible to have a defective unit.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[endyen]

A good start, would be, ( after the standoff check) to try to run, with only 1 stick of ram, graphics, and cpu, hsf.
If it boots, add keyboard and mouse, then try again. Add ome component and try, until everything is in.

 

[pat]

"I just fired up my first homebuilt PC (from a Soyo barebones kit)"

Doesnt barebone kit come with motherboard pre-installed?

If it is not the case, then yes, shorted board is a good start.

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!

 

[sparky853]

I had a similar problem replacing an XP2200 with an XP2600. I installed it correctly, but was getting the shutdown after say 4-5 seconds.

I'm not sure why it worked, but turning off and unplugging the PSU from the wall socket, then reconnecting it, seemd to fix the problem...

Its simple, but it just might work...

XP2800+, Abit NF7, 1GB Dual-Channel DDR333, ATI R9800PRO 128MB, SB Live! 5.1 Digital, TT PurePower 420W, Samsung 120GB, Maxtor 120GB, LG DVD+-R/RW, WIN2K PRO SP4

 

[bartbrn]

<<Doesnt barebone kit come with motherboard pre-installed?

Yes, this one came with the motherboard pre-installed on a slide-locking aluminum base that covers the entire height, and most of the width, of the right side (looking at the front) of the case.

Thanks

Bart

 

[bartbrn]

I have checked the CPU heatsink/fan interface (with Arctic Silver 5) and connections, all jumpers, all connectors (including power and ATX12V), all pins, possible mobo shorts to the case and mobo mounting base... nothing out of snake so far.

I will certainly try the stripped-down test...

Thanks all

Bart