Computer won't power-up

[realprostunna]

About a month ago, I ordered parts off TigerDirect and NewEgg. My setup is
A64 3500+
Chaintech VNF4
2x512 Corsair Value RAM
Radeon X800XL

So I connected everything, plugged in the power, flipped the PSU switch, hit the power button, and nothing happened. I thought it was a PSU problem at first because I used a stock case PSu, but I bought an Antec 420W TruePower PSU and still nothing happened. After tweaking with it and asking people on this forum as well as another, the conclusion was that the motherboard was dead.

I RMA'd the thing, but TigerDirect wound up returning credit to me instead of sending another board (I have no idea why; I specifically asked for a new board). Anyway, so I went on NewEgg and ordered a new board instead. This time, I got the Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 board. Once again, I connected everything, plugged in the power, threw the switch on, and again, nothing happened.

I took the board out and tried to boot it up from just the bare essentials of RAM, video card, and CPU. Still, nothing. I've cleared the CMOS, tried inserting the RAM into different slots (and made sure they were in all the way), basically, I've pretty much checked everything.

Am I so unlucky as to get two consecutive dead motherboards? Or is something else - namely the CPU or the RAM - the problem? The thing is, I don't have another socket 939 CPU to test on the board. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[ohnnyj]

When you say nothing happens, do you mean absolutely nothing? No lights, no sounds, etc.? With the power cord inserted into your PSU and the switch on the PSU switched to the I (on) position do you see any lights come on (specifically the motherboard)? Have you tried each stick of memory individually?

 

[wseyller]

Did you plug in both power connectors to the motherboard. There also a four pin power connector that your mobo needs that people tend to forget about.

 

[realprostunna]

When I say nothing happens, I mean absolutely nothing happens. No lights, no beeps, no anything. And yes, I just tried each individual stick of RAM, but still to no avail.

Yeah, I plugged in both power connectors.

Two consecutive dead motherboards will be frustrating. Especially considering this is the first computer I'm building for myself. (I've built a few other computers in the past, but they were for my friends or brother.)

 

[wseyller]

Is the switch on your power supply on. I would disconnect everthing that is not needed to power on like floppy drive, hard drives, cdroms, soundcard, and memory, then try to power it on. Maybe the case switch or wiring is bad.

 

[MrBossman]

I can think of 2 possible problems:

This might seem like I'm grasping at straws, but try another video card if you have one. Just try to rule it out. A smaller card is recommended because it could be a power draw problem.

The other idea, is your RAM specifically approved by the motherboard manufacturer? I have an ASUS K8V SE Deluxe and that thing drove me insane with various problems at first that made me seem like it was the power and/or motherboard. It turned out, that my mobo can only use a very limited variety of RAM. The underhanded thing to do is go to and get/buy a stick of approved RAM (Crucial or Kingston, usually work) and see if the system responds at all with that new stick. Don't destroy the packing and you could just return it and claim it didn't work. I know some places have a 14 or 30-day unconditional return policy that I had to use when an older computer could only use PC-100 and I tried PC-133. It could also be a quirk with the RAM. My motherboard/chipset required that I use Double Sided RAM and the sticks that did not work were single sided. I don't understand the why, but I know it worked.

Either way, it's possible, but I'm doubtful of the motherboard being bad....AGAIN. heh.

Good luck and keep us posted.

-Bossman

 

[realprostunna]

Nothing else requiring power (optical drives, hard drives, etc.) are connected. I'm attempting to boot off just the CPU, RAM, and video card, and still it won't turn on. I've considered it might be the case wiring being faulty. If so, there's no way of fixing it is there?

Unfortunately, I don't have another video card. (Well, I have others, but they're all AGP, and this board is PCI-e.)

I'm looking at Gigabyte's website now, and it turns out the Corsair Value RAM I have is not on the recommended list. The only Corsair memory it lists is some brand of Hynix, and is double-sided.

Speaking of which, what's single- and double-sided memory? Or what's the difference? I haven't heard about it until now.

 

[wseyller]

If you did have bad case wiring it would be possible to fix if you just find the problem. The system should power up even if the ram was removed, you would just get an error. I must say that i've built couple hundred pc and never had a mobo that would not do anything. I had bad ones but they would at least function somewhat. I've had a few dead power supplies though, but the one you got is a good quality power supply. This type of problem is a very frusturating one especially when you don't have a barrage of compatible pc parts laying around to switch out. Try leaving the memory and the video card out as well and see what happens. Other than was what was mentioned already I was assume mobo, power supply, or cpu is bad.

 

[montag451]

IF nothing is happening - the first place to look would be your power supply -

Change the psu. Get a good brand - TAGAN [my fave], Antec, etc etc

 

[I Saw OJ]

I've had bad CPU's and bad mobos before, but I still got some power indication when I turned everything on, ie. fans would turn on, or some lights. I would check your PSU, make sure the switch on the back of it is flipped in the right direction. Also double check your power switch wires that you have connected to your mobo, makesure you have the right wire for the right jumper.



seth

 

[MrBossman]

As odd as it sounds, double sided memory just has the chips on both sides of it; hence, single sided has the chips on one side of the memory. As I said in my post, I don't understand the "why" with this logic, but it was just something I came across on a forum that someone had listed as a potential problem. If I was your tech, I would lean towards the memory (which can prevent the system from starting) or the PSU (even good ones can fail).

Now that we're talking about it, maybe someone else can back me up here, but even if the computer won't boot, there should be some little green led light on the motherboard that should be on if it is getting power. The system doesn't have to work, but if the board has power that led should be on. Can anyone back me up on this or am I wrong? If that's the case, try another power supply or call Antec and tell them that you suspect you may have a faulty unit. By now I'm sure you've flipped the PSU switch a hundred times right?

-Bossman

 

[SlitheryDee]

Have you tried shorting the power pins on the MB with something metal, like a screwdriver? Two dead MB that won't do ANYTHING is a bit of a stretch for me. I think it's the case power switch.

Edit: Oh yeah, and the OP said that he'd replaced the original power supply, and I'm very skeptical about him getting 2 faulty power supplies as well.

 

[realprostunna]

Maybe I should check my PSU with another computer to positively say that it's all right. But I'm pretty sure it's functioning. When I turn the PSU off, I hear a little "zip" sound that sounds as if I turned it off.

I'm really beginning to assume that the CPU is bad and I'll probably RMA the thing with AMD.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: realprostunna
Maybe I should check my PSU with another computer to positively say that it's all right. But I'm pretty sure it's functioning. When I turn the PSU off, I hear a little "zip" sound that sounds as if I turned it off.

I'm really beginning to assume that the CPU is bad and I'll probably RMA the thing with AMD.

You can try that but I think that you should be getting spinning fans and such when you hit the power button even if the cpu is faulty.