Hi there, first time builder here, and after 20 or so hours I managed to get my PC together (I know; it was my first time, and I took it VERY slow, carefully triple checking where I plugged in everything). Unfortunately, my computer does not make any beep noises at all, i.e., no POST. The fans however, turn on, as well as the hard drive, and the chassis LEDs. I am going to go through some steps to troubleshoot this unfortunate situation, but I would like to know what symptoms would be expected from any damage caused by static, and if that in fact is the reason why I'm not getting my motherboard to POST.
Here is what I did that is making me worry about possibly causing static damage:
After one initial slip-up where I placed the motherboard (which rested atop its foam pad) on the carpet as I read its manual, and then upon reading in the manual the advice about carpets, quickly placed it back in its anti-static bag and moved to a glass table in a room with wood floors to continue working on it.
I put the fan, CPU, and GPU in the motherboard while working on a glass table, and put the motherboard back in the chassis on a granite table.
I then moved my build back to my room (which has carpets), and thought that it would be fine so long as I wore cotton (which I did) and grounded myself by touching the chassis. Unfortunately, only recently did I find out that the chassis actually had to be plugged in (but not turned on) in order to ground static electricity, and thus was plugging in all the components into the motherboard while not actually grounding myself properly.
Also, as a suggestion for this site, I think it would be beneficial to sticky a thread in these forums that, in the first post, specifically talks about static and how to avoid it. Even the Tom's Hardware "Step-by-Step Guide to Building a PC" doesn't specify that the case/chassis actually has to be plugged in in order to properly ground. Here is the one mention made regarding static in it:
"Remember from this point forward to ground yourself by touching the metal case before you handle any of your computer’s electronic components, it saves them from possible static discharge which can destroy hardware. Some people find it useful to use a Anti-static wrist band but I leave that to the individual, as I don't find them necessary, as long as you continue to touch the metal of your case."
It also doesn't even mention plugging in the PSU after a person installs it. Now, I'm not trying to harp on the guide, as it was very useful to me in getting everything together, but I had no idea about the need to plug in the PSU in order to ground myself through the chassis while reading it, and as this is a major site for computer information, it would be extremely beneficial to inform future builders of this.
Now, I get that a lot of people view grounding static electricity as common sense, but for a new builder whose only resources are manuals, the internet, and what other people tell them, it isn't all that clear. After my initial slip-up, I thought I was doing the right thing by not plugging in my chassis when I grounded myself, as I figured that having the potential for even bit of power to run through while I was building my PC would be catastrophic. Unfortunately, it might have been catastrophic to NOT do that, and I only wish that this would have been clearer to me.
Anyways,
I am going to go through some steps to troubleshoot this unfortunate situation, but would like to better understand what I'm dealing with here, and if in fact this problem was caused by my own stupidity, i.e., static electricity.
Thank you to any who respond.
Sincerely,
Nicholas
Here is what I did that is making me worry about possibly causing static damage:
After one initial slip-up where I placed the motherboard (which rested atop its foam pad) on the carpet as I read its manual, and then upon reading in the manual the advice about carpets, quickly placed it back in its anti-static bag and moved to a glass table in a room with wood floors to continue working on it.
I put the fan, CPU, and GPU in the motherboard while working on a glass table, and put the motherboard back in the chassis on a granite table.
I then moved my build back to my room (which has carpets), and thought that it would be fine so long as I wore cotton (which I did) and grounded myself by touching the chassis. Unfortunately, only recently did I find out that the chassis actually had to be plugged in (but not turned on) in order to ground static electricity, and thus was plugging in all the components into the motherboard while not actually grounding myself properly.
Also, as a suggestion for this site, I think it would be beneficial to sticky a thread in these forums that, in the first post, specifically talks about static and how to avoid it. Even the Tom's Hardware "Step-by-Step Guide to Building a PC" doesn't specify that the case/chassis actually has to be plugged in in order to properly ground. Here is the one mention made regarding static in it:
"Remember from this point forward to ground yourself by touching the metal case before you handle any of your computer’s electronic components, it saves them from possible static discharge which can destroy hardware. Some people find it useful to use a Anti-static wrist band but I leave that to the individual, as I don't find them necessary, as long as you continue to touch the metal of your case."
It also doesn't even mention plugging in the PSU after a person installs it. Now, I'm not trying to harp on the guide, as it was very useful to me in getting everything together, but I had no idea about the need to plug in the PSU in order to ground myself through the chassis while reading it, and as this is a major site for computer information, it would be extremely beneficial to inform future builders of this.
Now, I get that a lot of people view grounding static electricity as common sense, but for a new builder whose only resources are manuals, the internet, and what other people tell them, it isn't all that clear. After my initial slip-up, I thought I was doing the right thing by not plugging in my chassis when I grounded myself, as I figured that having the potential for even bit of power to run through while I was building my PC would be catastrophic. Unfortunately, it might have been catastrophic to NOT do that, and I only wish that this would have been clearer to me.
Anyways,
I am going to go through some steps to troubleshoot this unfortunate situation, but would like to better understand what I'm dealing with here, and if in fact this problem was caused by my own stupidity, i.e., static electricity.
Thank you to any who respond.
Sincerely,
Nicholas
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram