Newly assembled pc by first time builder won't boot at all

[Sanae]

My newly assembled pc won't boot whenever i press the power switch on the case. None of the fans work, nor is there any sound to be heard. Nada.

I assembled my first ever homebuilt pc based on this newegg tutorial on how to build a pc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls. To be honest, I skipped the part in this video where you have to perform a test-boot outside of the case as I was adamant that I did everything correctly according to the tutorial. Turns out I was horribly wrong.

PC SPECS

Note: All components are newly purchased

CPU Intel Core i5-2500k LGA1155
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z68P-DS3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM 2x Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9/4G (8gigs total)
CPU Cooler Scythe Mugen 3
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Power Supply Corsair 650W TX V2
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EARS, 1.5TB
OS Unable to install yet
Case Antec One Hundred

General view

All steps I've done so far:

Every step listed in this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261145-13-read-posting-boot-problems

1. Re-read the motherboard owners manual.

2. Plug in the 4-pin CPU power connector.

3. Standoffs under the motherboard didn't need to be installed because they were already at the right spots.

4. Video card is fully seated.

5. All power connectors are attached to the video card.

6.booting with one stick of RAM. Haven't tried this yet.

7. all memory modules are fully inserted.

8. Did you verify in the owners manual that you're using the correct RAM slots? Yes they are in slots DDR3_1 and DDR3_2. Both white coloured slots

9. Did you remove the plastic guard over the CPU socket?
Yes, the CPU is in the CPU socket.

10.Did you install the CPU correctly?
Yes

11.Are there any bent pins on the motherboard/CPU? None as far as I can tell.

12.did you get any thermal paste on the motherboard, CPU socket, or CPU pins? I've applied some thermal paste onto the grey metal part of the cpu and spread it even across the entire surface. Not a single drop has been spilled on the mobo,cpu or cpu pins.

13. The cpu fan is plugged into the right place on the motherboard.

14. Are any loose screws laying on the motherboard, or jammed against it? Are there any wires run directly under the motherboard? No

15. Did you ensure you discharged all static electricity before touching any of your components? Always touched a metal part of the case before handling any of the components.

16. I do not have system speaker yet.

17. I've read the instructions in the manual in order to connect the front panel plugs correctly.

18. Power Supply is turned on.

19. motherboard is compatible with CPU

20. I am fairly hesitant to reset the BIOS/CMOS, because I might make things worse than they already are. So no resetting yet.

I've considered disassembling everything, then doing everything back from scratch, this time including the test-boot outside of the case. What else could I do to solve this problem?

 

[rolli59]

Have you tried booting it with shorting out the power on pins on the motherboard with a screwdriver? (just in case you have a bad power button.)

 

[jsc]

You really need a system speaker.

Try a complete disassembly, breadboard the system, and test it in stages.

The following is an expansion of my troubleshooting tips in the breadboarding link in the "Cannot boot" thread.

I have tested the following beep patterns on Gigabyte, eVGA, and ECS motherboards. Other BIOS' may be different, but they all use a single short beep for a successful POST.

Breadboard - that will help isolate any kind of case problem you might have.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU.

Make sure you plug the CPU power cable in. The system will not boot without it.

I always breadboard a new build. It takes only a few minutes, and you know you are putting good parts in the case once you are finished.

You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to. You should hear a series of long, single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence indicates a problem with (in most likely order) the PSU, motherboard, or CPU. Remember, at this time, you do not have a graphics card installed so the load on your PSU will be reduced.

If no beeps:
Running fans and drives and motherboard LED's do not necessarily indicate a good PSU. In the absence of a single short beep, they also do not indicate that the system is booting.

At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire (standby power supply): 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

A way that might be easier is to use the main power plug. Working from the back of the plug where the wires come out, use a bare paperclip to short between the green wire and one of the neighboring black wires. That will do the same thing with an installed PSU. It is also an easy way to bypass a questionable case power switch.

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.

If the system beeps:
If it looks like the PSU is good, install a memory stick. Boot. Beep pattern should change to one long and several short beeps indicating a missing graphics card.

Silence, long single beeps, or series of short beeps indicate a problem with the memory. If you get short beeps verify that the memory is in the appropriate motherboard slots.

Insert the video card and connect any necessary PCIe power connectors. Boot. At this point, the system should POST successfully (a single short beep). Notice that you do not need keyboard, mouse, monitor, or drives to successfully POST.
At this point, if the system doesn't work, it's either the video card or an inadequate PSU. Or rarely - the motherboard's PCIe interface.

Now start connecting the rest of the devices starting with the monitor, then keyboard and mouse, then the rest of the devices, testing after each step. It's possible that you can pass the POST with a defective video card. The POST routines can only check the video interface. It cannot check the internal parts of the video card.

 

[ltrazaklt]

yeah, speaker can help , but seems like your not getting any power at all , (no fan spin up) ..check the connectors from the case power button(front panel connects) , to the MB , they are not always clearly indicated as to exactly which pin goes where ..make sure those slotted and Seated correctly .. you might have the connections reversed ..

 

[ltrazaklt]

also ..are you sure you can put the MB , in with No stand-offs ..I am not 100% familiar with that case and MB , but maybe I am not up on the latest tech , but I am not sure thats the best (safest?) way to mount the MB, I have always used standoffs on mounting a mb (although I have seen systems dipped in cooking oil that still ran, lol) ..maybe theres something with the case touching the mb , (maybe one of little soldered pieces that stick out the backside of the mb is are touching the metal case and causing a problem ? maybe , not sure ..but might try mounting it with the standoffs

 

[Sanae]

Thanks for the feedback everybody, appreciate it very much!

Firstly I've disassembled every component. Afterwards I assembled RAM, cpu, cpu cooler and video card onto the mobo. Connected 4pin CPU connector and main mobo connector from the PSU. Then I tried out a test boot outside of the case by shorting the power on pins. Everything works fine now, fans spin, and the system POSTs successfully. I heard a single beep as well coming from the PSU. Please do correct me if I'm wrong.

By now, I'm fairly certain there's nothing wrong with all the crucial parts attached to the mobo. I think I'll test the front panel power button for now. Would it be a good idea to install the mobo back into the case? If I secure the mobo too tightly onto the standoffs, would that prevent me from booting the system? What if the SATA cables aren't connected correctly?

edit: front panel power button works fine as well.

 

[rolli59]

Single beep means successful post. Mount it back in the case and make sure there is not anything shorting it out. You do not have to make the motherboard screws really tight.

 

[Sanae]

I've mounted the mobo back into the case and it doesn't boot at all, while it did boot outside of the case. What could indicate that something is shorting it out? All I've done is secure it with screws to the standoffs, all six of them, and snatch it with the I/O panel.

 

[rolli59]

That indicates a short, maybe to many standoffs!

 

[Sanae]

I've slightly adjusted the motherboard's position and secured it with 5 instead of 6 loose screws. POSTs perfectly, ready for the OS to be installed!

I can not thank you enough for your kind help! A thousand thanks to you all!
Cheers and have a nice day!

 

[dontexist]

I can't beleve this motherboard.
My probably with this board was that I can't get passed the BIOS logo.
it will not recognise a ps2 or usb keyboard..

Now it's back to booting and rebooting...

I'm ready to throw this out the window..

Any suggestions..?