How do I know if my computer boots correctly?

[CGameProgrammer]

Forgive me if this is the wrong forum, but it is a motherboard issue. Basically I'm building a new system and I have a motherboard, PSU, CPU, and RAM. The motherboard does not have integrated graphics and the 3D card and other components are in the mail. I would like to find out what I can about my system as it is, instead of waiting 5 days for the graphics card to come so I can see things.

I turned it on and the motherboard doesn't beep at all, but that surprised me because I thought it was supposed to if no graphics card was found. There's also no hard drive but I know one isn't required (indeed, I plan on running a Linux live CD before I get my HDD).

I assume the motherboard would beep through some onboard speaker if there was a problem, and the silence means there is not? While on, the power LED is on and the CPU, exhaust, and PSU fans spin as they should, but that's probably meaningless.

By "problem" I mean like bad RAM, bad CPU, or even bad motherboard. I hope the stench of n00b hasn't asphyxiated you guys yet, and I'd appreciate any feedback you can give. This is my first time putting a system together, and I'm 25. Sad, huh? I've nearly always used laptops before so I never had the occasion to assemble a system myself.

 

[TAZ]

you probably haven't got the speaker connected to it.

it would have come with your case most likely, although sometimes there is one supplied with the mobo.

in either case, if you take the time to look at the manual it will tell you which jumpers the mobo speaker should be connected to, if it ain't connected then there's your problem.

personally i think that if you don't know what you are doing then you should not be trying to boot the system until it's actually ready to go - leaves less opertunity for you to do something stupid.

have fun.

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[endyen]

First off, enjoy your task. 25 is a good time to start.
The system speaker gets plugged in right by where you plugged the power switch in. I'm guessing you didn't plug one in.
Your psu is called a switching power supply. It's called that because it switches itself off, if there is a problem. It hasn't switched itself off, so that is a good sign. I suspect that everything is fine at this point.
If you do plug a speaker into the mobo, it will make some nasty noises, that wont really tell you anything at this point. Just relaxe, everything sounds good so far.

 

[CGameProgrammer]

You were both correct; I didn't realize the speaker was part of the case. I connected the speaker cable and the motherboard emitted one long and two short beeps, which the manual says is a display card error. That's exactly what it should have done, so all is well.