Help with the PC I just built, computer newbie.

[PinjaNirate]

I'm not sure if this is in the right forum, mods, feel free to move it if its not.

Heres my problem. I ordered all the parts for a new computer a little while ago, and it took me a long time to put them together becuase I really don't know all that much about computers. In retrospect, I probobly should of bought one pre-built, but thats besides the point. So I hook everything I know how to up, and when I go to turn it on, nothing happens. So my dad calls his freind over, who works with computers, and he hooks everything up. The motherboard gets power, but the 2 DVD/CD drives don't. Also, nothing shows on the moniter when the computer is on.
He said it may be an issue with the power supply (450 watts), so I should go to compusa, get a new one, and see if thast the problem (I could always return it if it's not). I just want to know what else I should try and do. I ordered all the stuff from www.newegg.com , and it's been more than 30 days so I'm pretty sure I can't return most of the parts.
The parts I got are:

Case:
Mines just like this one, except without the lights on the side-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811202002

CD/DVD Burner Drive
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3520A BK, OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-035&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
And this sony drive:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106819

Hard Drive
Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive Only
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=22-135-106&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

Memory
Corsair Value Select Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-480&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

Motherboard (AMD)
GIGABYTE "GA-K8N Ultra-9" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-283&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

Processor
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 512K, L2 Cache, Socket 939 Windows Compatible 64-bit Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-514&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

Video Card
Connect3D ATI Radeon X700 PRO Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "3018" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-142-043&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

Anyone who can help, thanks. My dads really on my abck abour me getting this fixed, which is understandable.

Thanks.

 

[Harbinger]

I know it sounds silly but did you remove all the motherboard mounts that where not going to be used. And sometimes when you install the cpu you need to put pressure on the cpu as you close the lever. For a easy test to make sure you not shorting out something. Use the motherboard box and put the mother board ontop and install everything includeing ps. So it would look like you have a pc with no case. Then try to turn it on. First with no drives attacted, and if it boots the test with drives. To turn it on when it is on the box just use a screwdriver (I assume no resonsablity if you stab your board and kill it) to connect the power on jumper. Just short it for a sec.
It is funny how many of my friend build there first computer and some how short it with the case. Ex; lost a screw, left unneed mounts, screw board in with no mounts, and the list goes on.
Hope that helps.

 

[jinshifu]

First off, for that system, 450W is enough.

Check to see that all the power connectors on the motherboard are connected, including ez-plug if you got it. Dunno about the dvd/cd drives. If you connected the power and they still don't work, maybe the powersupply is broken?

 

[johnww2]

You probably do not have the 4-pin power cable plugged into the motherboard. It's the connector next to the mouse/keyboard ports. If it's not plugged in, the cpu fan will turn on but no peripherals, no video and no cpu. If your power supply doesn't provide this connection you can buy an adapter like this <A HREF="http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=925&sku=27314" target="_new"> one </A>. I'm pretty sure Compusa carries these at a nice mark-up.

 

[Starfishy]

What PSU do you have currently?? Are you using the one that came with the case?

 

[Harbinger]

Ohh yea and also check to make sure the clear cmos is not jumper closed. And if the ram is in wrong it won't boot, so test it with just on stick in slot 1 or 3. I found also some think the duel change is one stick next to the other, or one apart,(each mobo is wired difrently) but on that mobo it is slot 1 and 2 is duel chanel.

 

[Starfishy]

Yeah RAM config is often a problem with boot errors. You should definitely try using one stick. Or at least make sure that you read that portion of the manual over again. The comp guy that came over to help you might have assumed that the duals go in slots 1 and 3 (like most boards) but some boards use 2 and 4 (i'm not sure about yours... if I wasn't so lazy I would look it up).

Ok, I got a second wind of energy and looked it up. You will be using slots 1 and 2. They will be labbled like this:

DIMM1 DIMM2

Some times this writing is hard to find on the board, but it is there... and the slots are the same color.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Starfishy on 06/21/05 06:12 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[dunklegend]

All those are good suggestions, try the easy ones first and be sure to check every connection and the motherboard mounts. The manual should tell you which holes should have a mount and a screw.

And don't get discouraged you did the right thing by building it yourself, either you saved some money or you got more quality parts, plus I think you're going to learn a lot from this experience.

Do some of the stuff the other guys suggested and then post the results.

Good Luck

<font color=blue>If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don't know what the hell is going on</font color=blue>

 

[Todd_a]

Pull everything out but one stick of memory, the graphics card, and CPU and only have the CPU fan plugged in. Make sure everything is seated good and the heatsink and CPU are mounted correctly and clear the CMOS. This should be enough to boot the system up and get into BIOS. Check the voltages and temps. Add a few parts like the hard drive and one CD and see if it still boots. Install Windows. Add the other parts one at a time until you get issues.

Now if you do not get a boot with the minimal parts it, then take the board out of the case and try setting it up an a non-conductive surface. If it still does boot then you will need to swap out parts. Does the system beep (assuming you have the speeker hooked up to the motherboard or the board has one built it). These beep code can tell you what is wrong sometimes (or diagnostic LEDs if you have those).

 

[Ned_Flanders]

As said above:

Try setting up the basics (CPU / RAM / Grahpics) outside the case, just so you can get to POST. If you still can't post then it may well be a hardware problem.

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