This is my first build. Please Help

[joshxt]

I am at the end of my rope with this build. I cant get a signal from this build to my acer 20" widescreen. I've tried all that I know to do. (switching ram slots, different ram, moving GPU to different slots, put the mb on a cardboard surface and tried to post with just psu, ram, gpu, and cpu, even RMA on MB and CPU). I was told that it could be the original gskill 1600mhz ram that I purchased.. so I ordered Balistix 1333mhz..just tried that and still wont post.. or even give a signal to the monitor But everything powers up. It would appear to have no problems other than no signal to the monitor. This will be the second RMA on the mb and cpu.. is that really necessary or am I missing something? I just dont understand what the problem is guys. Can someone help me out? Maybe I'm missing something. Here are the parts Im using in this build. FYI this is my VERY first build.

MB - MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard(debug flashes FF but FF does not appear in manual)
cpu - AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz
gpu - ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
psu - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
case - Antec nine hundred
cooler - corsair h50
hd - western digital cavier black 1tb 7200rpm
dvd/cd - LG super multi SATA
ram - crucial ballistix sport 2x4gb 1333mhz

 

[Outlander_04]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[jsc]

Review this to make sure you didn't leave something out:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274745-13-step-step-guide-building

If your system does not have a case (system) speaker installed, get one. You really need it with a nonbooting system.

Then go through the thread Outlander linked to.

Then if that doesn't help:
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.

 

[joshxt]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

Ive gone through both of these lists.. about the speaker.. It's silent. Not even a beep, but ive also tried different ram. *sigh
Can you tell me if the parts Ive listed are compatible? Im almost tempted to either call geek squad or just send it all back and buy a premade, but I hate the idea of failing with this. Are these parts even compatible?

 

[joshxt]

Review this to make sure you didn't leave something out:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274745-13-step-step-guide-building

If your system does not have a case (system) speaker installed, get one. You really need it with a nonbooting system.

Then go through the thread Outlander linked to.

Then if that doesn't help:
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.

Ive gone through both of these lists.. about the speaker.. It's silent. Not even a beep, but ive also tried different ram. *sigh
Can you tell me if the parts Ive listed are compatible? Im almost tempted to either call geek squad or just send it all back and buy a premade, but I hate the idea of failing with this. Are these parts even compatible?

 

[Outlander_04]

are you 100% sure there is a case/motherboard speaker connected?
You may have to get one

 

[joshxt]

are you 100% sure there is a case/motherboard speaker connected?
You may have to get one

Originally there wasnt. I purchased one.. plugged it in to where I believe was the correct spot. Some pins near the front panel. I just tried my old 600 w psu. Still not a signal to the monitor. Swapped out monitors.. nothing. Ive seen others use the msi 890 with the 1100t so I know it can be done.. what am i missing here?

 

[Outlander_04]

any fans turning on in the computer?

If they are [ the psu /case fan etc ]

then you may just have a dead motherboard .

 

[joshxt]

any fans turning on in the computer?

If they are [ the psu /case fan etc ]

then you may just have a dead motherboard .

yes. the fans turn on.. the mobo lights up. It all seems like it should be working fine.. and I have the replaced the board and cpu once already. Is it worth doing it again? Id rather figure this out than have to call someone like geeksquad lol