Built my own PC, but it won't power up... siiigh..

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
28,824
21,601
146
LOL Good deal! Do you even have the speaker connected? If so, do you get any audio beep codes? Have you tried reseating the vid card a few more times? That board is infamous for the vid card and ram needing to be seated and reseated many times to "break the slots in". Anyways I'm glad to hear you're toughing it out and learning from your trial and error Post back with an update.
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Great!! Now, as Dapunisher said, pull that video card and reinstall it a few times. Make sure it is fully seated EACH time. The last time you do it, hook the monitor cable to it first so that once it is in you won't be messing with it. Then give it a try again. Good Luck! We're happy for you!
 

earthman

Golden Member
Oct 16, 1999
1,653
0
71
I would have said right off that 66mhz ram won't work, but someone else caught it first. It may be time to try a new board. How old the video card is shouldn't matter, I have some over 10 years old that post fine. You should get the BIOS screen if nothing else. It's possible all the handling and banging around damaged the board.
 

noiie

Junior Member
Aug 12, 2002
12
0
0
okay, well, I reseated the vid card a couple of times (although, I think I might have not fully seated it, I'm really tired tonight), and am still not getting anything on the monitor, although I think I will try again tomorrow morning when I have some sleep in my brains. I think I'm getting some audio beep codes, because I finally hooked up the speaker, and now it's beeping at me. A bunch when I first start up the machine, and then a decent pause, and then a few more little beeps. What do you mean by audio beep codes? Pardon my confusion.

Also, this is something that I should probably know already, but when I finally get this all working again, will I have to re-install Windows XP (the OS I had on my old comp)? I'd think that I would, but I'm not sure... and if I do, it means I need to track down whoever it is who has my copy. Grumble...
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
It's really difficult to tell without more explanation, what your Beeps are telling you. For a better explanation you can go to this site and make sure you are looking at the "AMI" beep codes. See if you can put the pattern of the beeps to something there.
As far as whether or not you will have to reinstall Windows or not; that is anyone's guess. A few people have had decent luck moving their HDD from one system to another but that is rare; not the "norm" as far as I have seen. If I were you I'd start an intensive search for my CD and "key".
Don't worry, you are at least headed in the right direction now. Make sure and reseat that video card tomorrow. Place your thumbs on either end of the card (once you get it in position on/started in the PCI slot) and press gently from side to side until the card is fully seated. Make sure of course that the metal tab on the card is between the MB and the case.
 

JustinLerner

Senior member
Mar 15, 2002
425
0
0
If you get the hardware working, yes, you will need to reinstall XP if you have a new board. The HAL and OS installation is particular to your hardware, including the motherboard.

---

BTW people, rocking any card (AGP or PCI) into a slot is never recommended because rocking increases the propensity to have the card incorrectly inserted. The card should always be inserted (final insertion) straight down, with no rocking, using firm equal pressure to ensure the card is seated properly. Do it this way even if it's difficult and you will have better results.
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
rocking increases the propensity to have the card incorrectly inserted.
Sorry but with this board and it's (known propensity to have) really tight AGP slots this has been a "tried and true" method for some time. Yes, in an "ideal" world it would be better if you could just insert the card straight into the slot but with this particular board, it sometimes just doesn't work; actually it is a likely to fail as it is to work. Add into this the fact that she has already had some trouble that is very possibly related to proper insertion and seating of components and this method makes the most sense and has the highest probability of success.
 

JustinLerner

Senior member
Mar 15, 2002
425
0
0
This is how to migrate XP from one motherboard to another using the builtin NTBACKUP.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314070

----

Buz... On seating boards:

First of all, when you work on systems with add-in boards costing thousands of dollars, you don't rock them. Rocking can cause ESD damages since the devices are electronic, may have residual potentials built-up (induced by the air or other reason) and the traces are designed for particular pins/contacts in spite of using proper personal, workstation ESD protection.

Unless you work for a manufacturer of components that is substandard, I suggest you find a manufacturer that recommends what you suggest.

The proper way to work with boards that are extremely tight is to set the board on a strong, firm, flat, ESD safe surface and using ESD precautions, insert the board using firm pressure on both corners of the board, or at spots respectively aligned above the corners of the AGP or PCI slot.

What is 'acceptable' or commonly done by individuals in personal experience or some shops is not recommended or encouraged by any manufacturer or anyone with knowledge of electronics and ESD or latent electronic damage.
 

earthman

Golden Member
Oct 16, 1999
1,653
0
71
If what I am seeing in her pictures is correct, the reset switch and some of the other case connectors may not be correctly installed. I came to this conclusion after looking at the manual. The power led (green white should go on the upper two pins. Since this is a 3 pin connector, you may need to move one of the connectors to a different slot and let it overlap on the end. For some reason alot of cases seem to have a connector that is incorrect for this LED. However, this is not stopping a boot, in my opinion...its hard to tell from the picture though. I would verify that your jumpers are in the right positions, as well. The CMOS one appears to be, it should be toward the edge of the board the ram slots are closer to, but there is also a jumper near the ide connectors that I can't see in the picture. Did you have any luck deciphering the beep codes?
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
What is 'acceptable' or commonly done by individuals in personal experience or some shops is not recommended or encouraged by any manufacturer or anyone with knowledge of electronics and ESD or latent electronic damage.
Why don't you re-read my post again. I am talking about personal experience using this board; what works and what doesn't. I also mentioned "in an "ideal" world it would be better if you could just insert the card straight". I think I covered what needed to be said. No one was looking for a debate on ESD, it causes and cures. I will guarantee you that the "danger" of "latent electronic damage" is not significantly increased using that method. Period. I have NOT HAD ONE SINGLE FAILURE doing this. We were talking about what works and what doesn't with this particular board. Nothing more and nothing less.
And WTF is this?:
Unless you work for a manufacturer of components that is substandard, I suggest you find a manufacturer that recommends what you suggest.
Excuse me??!!?? You need to calm down a bit and try to get into the spirit of what is going on here. This is "real world" users helping people that need it. Keep to that. BTW, how many systems have you built with this particular MB? Any?? I have; many!
You certainly have a right to disagree with what I or anyone says here but if you want to be effective, try staying away from personal attacks in situations that don't call for such actions. Or, (pardon my weakness, but I couldn't resist) (Edited out my "non-professional" comment here)
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
28,824
21,601
146
What is 'acceptable' or commonly done by individuals in personal experience or some shops is not recommended or encouraged by any manufacturer
What's your point? neither is overclocking, who cares
noiie count every beep, the pause and the beeps after and post them if you have trouble figuring out what they mean on your own Hang in there I think you are almost home
 

JustinLerner

Senior member
Mar 15, 2002
425
0
0
Buz-- and DAp--- If you look at HER posted pictures, http://www.geocities.com/noiie10110/DSC00740.JPG you should be able to see that the board is sitting on top of a FEDEX box in some situations. In the picture, the back side of her video card appears slightly higher than the front edge, but this may be caused by wider angle lens distortion for the picture.

The motherboard should not be set on a fexible surface when inserting cards, espcially when card slots are tight. My recommendations are still correct - she needs to set the board on a flat, strong, ESD safe surface.
She also needs to ensure the motherboard has it's back edge aligned above the support edge of the support surface so that any card can be inserted without interference between the support surface and the case mounting bracket of the card inserted in the slot.

I've also worked with new boards that are extremely tight like this board. There may be a tendency to try to loosen the PCI or AGP slot, but this is not necessary. When using a flat, strong surface and my method as described, any card of any difficulty can be properly inserted in the most difficult slots.

You say rocking is better for a person having a lack of knowledge of PCI, AGP devices and slots, but until you see and know how much the person is lightly, loosely, or actually rocking the component, how can you assume this will produce a better result? Although rocking a component or connector may appear to produce the desired end result much of the time rocking insertions produce more stress to the components, although it is often physically successful. However, rocking insertions are more likely to damage components and electronic devices than straight insertions. (Although I've never damaged a device using either method, I've seen others do so.) Once again, straight insertion is the best method for anyone and is the only method recommended by manufacturers.

I would like to concur with an earlier post by earthman: ". . . How old the video card is shouldn't matter, I have some over 10 years old that post fine. You should get the BIOS screen if nothing else. It's possible all the handling and banging around damaged the board."
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
JustinLerner, before this gets too far off topic, (remember why we're here?) I'll say that in a perfect world, everything would be perfect. We are not in a perfect world though. If you are, let me know and maybe I'll move. There are a lot of things that we could tell her about dos and don'ts. The fact is that we are not there: she is. If we spent time going over ESD precautions, proper system building methods, component compatibilities, tool choices and whether or not she should be wearing shoes, we would never get to the actual problem of getting the board to boot. One has to try and let each individual be responsible for his or her own behavior sometimes and stick to the root of the problem at hand. As to what is the "best method for anyone and is the only method recommended by manufacturers.", we are not "manufacturers" here. Nor are we trying to be. As Dapunisher said, manufacturers also don't recommend overclocking. But people do it on a daily basis. Most of the folks here are probably just simple home users building either a first (as in this case) or one of a few systems. Or possibly even just "tinkerers" doing an occasional upgrade. Some may be system builders in the private arena (like myself). Some people might benefit from some system building classes or lessons where they can learn the "proper" techniques but that is not what is offered or asked for here. This is a situation where someone has a problem and needs some assistance with it. I'd suggest we stick to that and leave the other to the individual. Gee, just like I said before, "This is "real world" users helping people that need it. Keep to that." Now, let's hope we can get back to helping her if/when she reposts and needs it.
How about an update, noiie!
 

JustinLerner

Senior member
Mar 15, 2002
425
0
0
Buz---, are you an idiot?

In my last post I pointed out that she has the board sitting on top of a FEDEX box.
Can you imagine that she might be trying to insert a PCI or AGP card into a motherboard with tight slots all while the motherboard is sitting on the FEDEX box?

Now, stop acting like an idiot, since this is obviously a 'real world', imperfect situation and help recommend a proper process that will give the board support when inserting a new card into the MB.

For her sake, for the sake of getting the job done correctly, I hope she takes this advice.
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Buz---, are you an idiot?
You just don't learn do you?? KEEP TO THE PROBLEM AT HAND!! No where in these posts have I resorted to personal attacks, although tempted. If you cannot refrain yourself then I would suggest you either reread the rules of this forum in reference to personal attacks or take your crap elsewhere where it might be wanted. It would also help you to read the posts better before you react and "shoot from the hip". Case in point sir, (and I am now using that term loosely):
"There are a lot of things that we could tell her about dos and don'ts. The fact is that we are not there: she is. If we spent time going over ESD precautions, proper system building methods, component compatibilities, tool choices and whether or not she should be wearing shoes, we would never get to the actual problem of getting the board to boot. One has to try and let each individual be responsible for his or her own behavior sometimes and stick to the root of the problem at hand." (Bold font added for emphasis)
This dialogue between us is NOT helping her at all. Either stop the crap or take it elsewhere. I will no longer address you directly in this thread. If you wish to continue your crap, take a look; my PM's are enabled (as always). Some of us know that this is where your BS belongs.
 

JustinLerner

Senior member
Mar 15, 2002
425
0
0
Since there is no video, but there is power the problem is probably with either the video card, RAM, motherboard, or a conflict between the MB BIOS and videocard - and a BIOS problem is not likely since she's probably not using a professional workstation video card. If there is bad RAM or a bad board (motherboard or video) then there's not much that can be done except exchanging the problem devices.

Since there is no video, but there is power, there are two possibilities that we can assist with: properly reseating the RAM and/or properly reseating the video card.
While the primary problem is still no video, a symptom of an improperly seated video card, the attempted correction is to properly seat the video card. Since there is power but no video, this is the most logical path to pursue.

So the primary problem at hand is to reseat the video card AND ensure that noiiie's equipment is also protected regardless of whether it's damaged and assuming that it's not.

-----

noiiie, since your experience with PC's is very minimal, follow these instructions and precautions.

Most newer motherboards have support for On-Now technology. Since the motherboard can turn on if any component (AGP, PCI, RAM, etc) is installed or removed while the power supply is connected, you must ALWAYS DISCONNECT the power supply cord between the electrical outlet and case while working on newer motherboards. Otherwise, components and the motherboard may be damaged if the motherboard powers up while you insert/remove components.

You should never work on carpet because of the static that is generated by carpet (even if you can't feel it, it's always there).

If you work in the following way, you can expect the following results.
If you press at an angle, the board is likely to move and the board is not likely to seat properly.
If you do this on carpet or flexible surface, the carpet or support compresses as you insert the card and the card may not seat properly.
If you do this without having enough clearance for the card bracket, the card will not seat properly because of the physical interference of the card bracket with the surface below the motherboard.

Find a table or countertop to work on which is both stable and rigid and a piece of cardboard at least as big as your motherboard and some strong tape. Setup a temporary work area on the table or countertop. You should securely tape the edges of the cardboard to the working surface with duct tape or some other strong tape to ensure the cardboard doesn't move while you work on it. Then place your case on the working surface and your motherboard on the cardboard. The back edge of the motherboard (the edge where the keyboard, mouse plug into and that would sit at the back of the computer case) should align with or slightly hang over the edge of the table/countertop by no more than 1/2". This will ensure that when you insert an AGP or PCI card that the card bracket doesn't interfere with your working surface and will allow the AGP or PCI card to seat fully in the slot. As mentioned before, when inserting a card, place the thumb of each hand over the top edge of the card to be inserted such that each thumb is over each end of respective slot of the AGP (or PCI) slot so that proper pressure is applied evenly on the upper edge of the card where it most matters. Then press firmly downward while being careful not to slip or apply uneven pressure -- don't be afraid to apply enough pressure to make the board move into the slot.

As for the remainder of the setup, the only connections you need from the case are the wire connector from the power switch to the motherboard and from the power supply to the motherboard. Remove any LED connectors or any other attachments. Only a CPU, CPU fan, power supply, RAM and video card need to be connected to the board. You don't need a mouse or even a keyboard to get an initial video post. You will still need the power switch connector on the case chassis to startup the computer.

----

In the future, concrete or cement floors (like in a garage) are much better than carpet because of the lack of static and grounding capability of concrete. If you ever try this again, setup a temporary workspace in a garage (over bare concrete) if possible.

In the future if it's not possible to work on concrete, find a table or countertop that is both sturdy and rigid (not a card table) and preferably not on carpet.

For your work surface, place a piece of flat cardboard or a piece of unstained, unfinished plywood which is at least as large as the motherboard (and 3/4" thick if possible) on the table or counter. Use this place to work on your board. Since you don't have ESD training, before you touch anything in your PC, always touch the chassis (unpainted metal parts) to ensure you don't have static. Any body movement (arms or legs) generates static potentials that can cause Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) damage to any electronic component. Some ESD damage causes nearly immediate component failure, other damage doesn't cause a full component failure but causes component degradation by partial failure. This last type of damage is pernicious and frequent by amateurs and is called latent damage, because it's often not apparent until later or because the partial failures cause intermittent problems. Because of partial component failures manufacturers always recommend ESD protected work areas and personal protection when working on electronic components.
 

noiie

Junior Member
Aug 12, 2002
12
0
0
*biiiig grin!*

Success! Again!

I just recieved my new video card in the mail today. Went downstairs, hooked it up and... no go. I thought that it might not be properly seated, but it didn't want to go IN anymore, so I thought maybe I was doing something else wrong. I came back upstairs (where the internet connection is), and read the newest posts (including the interesting developement of a semi-feud between Buz2b and Justin.. what was that all about?). I followed Justin's instructions of seating the card outside of the case on a hard, stable surface, which I probably should've done in the first place, and voila! The card went in pretty easily, and settled in quite nicely. I put the MB back in the case, turned on the power, and MAGIC! lol, or not. Anyway, the comp booted up just fine, and now I'm getting ready to put everything back in. Is there anything else I should know before going ahead with my plans?

Thanks again to all of you for your help. I'm going to have to take a look at the website about moving XP from one MB to another.

And lastly, here's a pic of what it looks like right now:
http://www.geocities.com/noiie10110/DSC00817.JPG

Yay!! I'm so happy, I'd do a jig if I knew how.
 

WarCon

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2001
3,920
0
0
I am happy for you. Only advice I can give as your putting it back together is to be make sure you have the right number of standoffs on your motherboard tray. In other words for every hole in the motherboard you should have a standoff and no extras.......

As far as migrating XP, when I changed mobo's I had to boot off the CD and I choose Install, then instead of doing a new install I chose to repair my previous. It may require activation again (it may even make you call, it did to me when I enabled my highpoint controller).

Good luck, it was a long build but you will feel good when its finally done.
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
28,824
21,601
146
Go on with your bad self noiie With windows XP you will probably not need to install any drivers except if you want to update your video cards drivers to a newer version than XP provides. Anyways, way to hang in there and make it work Have fun with your new toy and don't pull a hammy dancin' that jig EDIT: my bad for not remembering about you using XP!
 

Buz2b

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2001
4,619
0
0
Excellent developments noiie! Now, just proceed carefully and make sure (as WarCon mentioed) that you place the correct standoffs in the case that match the mounting holes on the MB. If you have any that do not match when you mount the board, it will most likely fail so take your time here. Do not install EVERY component in the case (such as CD, CDRW, Network card, modem, etc) during the initial construction. Just install the basics at first, just like you have now. Start with the (already installed) CPU with the Heat sink, the floppy drive, RAM (you should be able to add both sticks now), video card and hard drive. Then go ahead and start the Windows installation. After you get that done, start adding any other components, one at a time. This way, if there is a problem with one item, it will be easy to see and correct. Make sure to boot the system at least twice between each hardware addition and make sure it is properly installed and working. If you have anything like Drive Image 2002 or Norton Ghost that will enable you to make some "restore CD's" every once in a while as you go along, that would be ideal, but not entirely necessary. At the very least, if you are using XP, create some "Restore Points" along the way.
Congratulations so far and good luck the rest of the way. Please keep us informed on your progress.
 

JustinLerner

Senior member
Mar 15, 2002
425
0
0
I agree with the other recommendations after you backup your previous data to another drive or partition from your origianl and fully functional XP installation.

This is a repost on migrating XP from one hardware platform to another. This method is the way Microsoft recommends to migrate XP from one motherboard to another and this requires you to perform a NTBACKUP with your original working XP setup before you attempt to re-install XP on the previous HD or any other HD.

To protect your backup and data, this should be done to another HD partition on your main drive or another HD, but never to the original partition where your XP boot and system partition [normaly c:\winnt] reside. I also would not do this to a partition or disk where DYNAMIC DISK is enabled. If you accidently delete or reformat over the MFT of a DYNAMIC DISK, you will not be able to recover your data without expensive recovery software.

To perform and NTBACKUP you really only need your original working PC and harddrive (HD) without any extra peripherals. The following are extra, unneeded peripherls for a backup: floppy drives, zip drives, cd/dvd drives, or network or firewires cards. Since all hardware is re-enumated using this process once your XP backup is restored your new XP installation, the original peripherals are unnecessary to create a functional backup.

This is the better way to migrate XP from one motherboard to another using the builtin NTBACKUP according to Microsoft.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314070
 
sale-70-410-exam    | Exam-200-125-pdf    | we-sale-70-410-exam    | hot-sale-70-410-exam    | Latest-exam-700-603-Dumps    | Dumps-98-363-exams-date    | Certs-200-125-date    | Dumps-300-075-exams-date    | hot-sale-book-C8010-726-book    | Hot-Sale-200-310-Exam    | Exam-Description-200-310-dumps?    | hot-sale-book-200-125-book    | Latest-Updated-300-209-Exam    | Dumps-210-260-exams-date    | Download-200-125-Exam-PDF    | Exam-Description-300-101-dumps    | Certs-300-101-date    | Hot-Sale-300-075-Exam    | Latest-exam-200-125-Dumps    | Exam-Description-200-125-dumps    | Latest-Updated-300-075-Exam    | hot-sale-book-210-260-book    | Dumps-200-901-exams-date    | Certs-200-901-date    | Latest-exam-1Z0-062-Dumps    | Hot-Sale-1Z0-062-Exam    | Certs-CSSLP-date    | 100%-Pass-70-383-Exams    | Latest-JN0-360-real-exam-questions    | 100%-Pass-4A0-100-Real-Exam-Questions    | Dumps-300-135-exams-date    | Passed-200-105-Tech-Exams    | Latest-Updated-200-310-Exam    | Download-300-070-Exam-PDF    | Hot-Sale-JN0-360-Exam    | 100%-Pass-JN0-360-Exams    | 100%-Pass-JN0-360-Real-Exam-Questions    | Dumps-JN0-360-exams-date    | Exam-Description-1Z0-876-dumps    | Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps    | Dumps-HPE0-Y53-exams-date    | 2017-Latest-HPE0-Y53-Exam    | 100%-Pass-HPE0-Y53-Real-Exam-Questions    | Pass-4A0-100-Exam    | Latest-4A0-100-Questions    | Dumps-98-365-exams-date    | 2017-Latest-98-365-Exam    | 100%-Pass-VCS-254-Exams    | 2017-Latest-VCS-273-Exam    | Dumps-200-355-exams-date    | 2017-Latest-300-320-Exam    | Pass-300-101-Exam    | 100%-Pass-300-115-Exams    |
http://www.portvapes.co.uk/    | http://www.portvapes.co.uk/    |