PC BUILDING RISKS? | Part doesn't work...

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louism98

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Sep 12, 2015
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I'm looking into doing my first PC build,
I have all the parts selected and know it is all compatible but what happens if one of the parts I get doesn't work, how do I know what part isn't working?
So if I build the whole PC and it just doesn't boot how do i know what part isn't working?
cheers,
Louis.
 
Solution
Jake Lloyd
There's no way you're going to know what is wrong right away if you're new build doesn't work right. There's just to many variables. If the fans spin but you get nothing on your screen then you just can't just assume it's going to be your GPU (unless it's on fire.. if something is on fire then it should be a bit easier to find the problem). Maybe the GPU is bad.. or maybe the PSU isn't giving the GPU the power... or maybe the PCI-E slot is bad on the MB... or maybe you didn't plug the monitor in.

The way you work though problems depends on the problem itself, the parts you have installed, and the parts you have laying around. I huge chunk of the questions on this site are related to tracking down a issue on a new build, one test or...
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Mattios

Mattios

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Jun 24, 2013
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Chances of something not working are low. However there are ways to diagnosing which part is broken based on exactly what goes wrong during the build/first boot. Best thing you can do is post here if something goes wrong.

Make sure to buy a PC 4 pin motherboard speaker, those are really useful for diagnosing problems.
 
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martinch

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Mar 21, 2014
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Generally the motherboard will issue a set of beeps, which can be looked up to identify the fault (hence why Mattios said to get the speaker). Alternatively, some motherboards have a 2-digit read-out that displays POST progress and error codes, or LEDs next to each core component which light green (OK) or red (fail).
 
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louism98

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Sep 12, 2015
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If the Motherboard Or PSU is faulty then how would I know?...
 
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Jake Lloyd

Jake Lloyd

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Feb 27, 2014
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There's no way you're going to know what is wrong right away if you're new build doesn't work right. There's just to many variables. If the fans spin but you get nothing on your screen then you just can't just assume it's going to be your GPU (unless it's on fire.. if something is on fire then it should be a bit easier to find the problem). Maybe the GPU is bad.. or maybe the PSU isn't giving the GPU the power... or maybe the PCI-E slot is bad on the MB... or maybe you didn't plug the monitor in.

The way you work though problems depends on the problem itself, the parts you have installed, and the parts you have laying around. I huge chunk of the questions on this site are related to tracking down a issue on a new build, one test or part swap at a time.
 
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Solution
mamasan2000

mamasan2000

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Step 1. Connect the wire from Mobo to case speaker so you can hear beeps if there are any.

Step 2. Google for the beep error, make sure you have the right BIOS down. Can be AMI, Award etc. All have slightly different beep codes.

Step 3. Start small. Only connect the necessities. CPU, 1 stick of RAM, GPU unless you have built-in. Test if that works. Then add 1 stick of ram if you have more of those. If that works, then HDD/SSD.

If it's a faulty motherboard, nothing should work. Takes longer to diagnose but you will get to that conclusion eventually.

I haven't had a PSU go down on me so I don't know exactly how that is but generally the PC randomly powers down. If it's really bad, the PSU can kill components and motherboard.
 
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