please help! computer won't boot up - nothing on screen

[hetz]

I apologize for the bad English
my problem is this, I built a brand new computer myself the motherboard is DFI Infinity C51PV-M2 and the CPU AMD Athlon x64 3800+ and a cheap OEM 400W 24 pins PSU. after connecting all the connectors to the motherboard assisted by it's manual....I went to power up my system, the PC case is Silverstone LC14 HTPC case which has no internal speaker in it. anyway, the PC powers up, all the fans are spinning but the front power light is blinking and the CRT screen is completely black (the MOBO has an on board Gforce 6150 video card)...because I have no internal speaker I don't know if it's beeping too. Tried disconnecting the drives and internal connections on the board, even removed the memory DIMMs nothing helped, it's still boots UP but the screen stays black…..the only thing that's working is the keyboard's NUM LOCK key, I can also power down the system with the power button....does anyone have any idea what can the problem be ? could it be a bad motherboard? thanks

 

[shadowduck]

Cheap OEM 400W PSU is a good place to start.

 

[KlaasVaak]

Maybe:
-Test your monitor on another computer and see if it works
-Make sure you have connected all the wires

 

[Boggerslosh]

Cheap OEM 400W PSU is a good place to start.

I agree. If you have another graphics card you can try using that to troubleshoot the monitor issue. Also, does the CRT light ever turn green for a second or is it completely nonresponsive and orange the whole time?

I bet it is the PSU though. Since you have a CRT I don't think it could be a refresh rate issue.

 

[hetz]

Cheap OEM 400W PSU is a good place to start.

I agree. If you have another graphics card you can try using that to troubleshoot the monitor issue. Also, does the CRT light ever turn green for a second or is it completely nonresponsive and orange the whole time?

I bet it is the PSU though. Since you have a CRT I don't think it could be a refresh rate issue.

thanks for the replies
I don't have another graphics card at the moment nor a better PSU...going to have to take the computer to a friend who has.
anyway, of course the CRT monitor works on another computer
also the CRT light stays orange all the the time as if it's connected to nothing
it's not the first I build a computer on my own so I'm pretty sure I assembled and connected everthing correctly (I was very careful and followed the motherbards manual)
I'm going to try a different PSU and Graphincs card as soon as I can...
my feeling is I got a bad motherboard though
does anyone know what could the blinking power light on the front of the computer means? Thanks

 

[Boggerslosh]

I'm not sure what the light means, but I'd check your hard drive connections and jumper settings also. How is your computer configured? I may be able to help more if you provide more detailed information.

 

[hetz]

I'm not sure what the light means, but I'd check your hard drive connections and jumper settings also. How is your computer configured? I may be able to help more if you provide more detailed information.

thanks for the reply Boggerslosh
my computer is build on this

CASE: Silverstone LC14 HTPC case (no internal speaker for some reason)
PSU: cheap OEM 400W 24pins
CPU: AMD ATHLON 64 X2 DUAL CORE SOCKET AM2 3800
motherboard: DFI INFINITY C51PV-M2 (on board Geforce 6150 VIDEO)
HARD DISK: WD Caviar® SE16 7200 RPM SATA (WD2500KS)
CDRW: LITEON SHW - 160P6S
RAM:Kingston 512MB DDR2 533MHz CL4 X2 VALUE RAM (Kvr533d2n4/512)

The drives are connected probably, but even if I disconnect them there is still no feed coming from the VGA port on boot up, the screen just stays black, Removing the memory DIMMs hasn't helped too

 

[hetz]

I'm not sure what the light means, but I'd check your hard drive connections and jumper settings also. How is your computer configured? I may be able to help more if you provide more detailed information.

I also didn't change any of the jumpers on the board (they're all at their default positions)...
an interesting thing is when the CDRW is connected and the power is on...the door won't open when I push the button.....the CDRW is connected to an IDE controller "jumpered" as MASTER.....the SATA HD has no jumper on it(I don't think it needs one....anyway as I said, even when I'm disconnecting all the internal connections still there is no VGA feed from the onboard VIDEO CARD

 

[blunc]

Is it possibe that there might be a jumper on the system reset pins rather than the reset switch? That might account for the blinking power light and blank screen.

 

[Boggerslosh]

Yeah, SATA does not have jumpers.

Let's see... is your 4 pin 12V connector attached to your motherboard? I don't think your dumb or anything it's just one of those things that is easy to overlook sometimes. I've done that a few times...

Does the SATA have on OS on it or anything? I'm assuming no since it's a new build but if there is one it likely won't work with a new mobo.

Other than that I am leaning torwards a bad PSU. If I think of anything else I will be sure to post it.

 

[Boggerslosh]

Is it possibe that there might be a jumper on the system reset pins rather than the reset switch? That might account for the blinking power light and blank screen.

That's also a possibility.

 

[hetz]

Is it possibe that there might be a jumper on the system reset pins rather than the reset switch? That might account for the blinking power light and blank screen.

no jumper on the reset pins...I connected all the front panel connecters exactly the way the manual said...and as I mentioned before the power switch and the power light are working ok....sadly they're the only thing that's working .... I think I was stupid to go with DFI and not ASUS...have no choice but to take the computer to a proffessional for a check

 

[hetz]

Yeah, SATA does not have jumpers.

Let's see... is your 4 pin 12V connector attached to your motherboard? I don't think your dumb or anything it's just one of those things that is easy to overlook sometimes. I've done that a few times...

Does the SATA have on OS on it or anything? I'm assuming no since it's a new build but if there is one it likely won't work with a new mobo.

Other than that I am leaning torwards a bad PSU. If I think of anything else I will be sure to post it.

thanks for your replies Boggerslosh
Yes I also connected the 4 pin 12V connector and the 24 pin one too
Believe me I went over the MOBO's manual 5 times to be sure
it's also a brand new SATA HD but that's for sure isn't the problem
I guess it's either a faulty PSU (which I really doubt cause it's brand new)
or it's a problem with chipset responsible for the on board VIDEO
I guess I have no choice but to take the computer to a professional for a check

 

[Boggerslosh]

That's a bummer Always sucks to pay for a checkup...

One more thing though. It's weird but may work. My case was actually responsible for a number of problems like this. Try only using two screws with the motherboard. I get weird interference with all the screws in my mobo and it won't even boot. Took out some screws and voila! Only using two screws to hold my board in which is enough. Any more and it won't boot anyway!!

It's worth a try I guess...

Good luck!

 

[jimw428]

Does the SATA have on OS on it or anything? I'm assuming no since it's a new build but if there is one it likely won't work with a new mobo.

Even if it has an OS on it, the system will still post and output to the CRT. So the problem is not the HDD.

 

[hetz]

took the computer to a proffesional
turned out everything was fine except for the memory DIMMs which weren't pushed all the way in their slots.....apparently there was some "mismatch" between the memory sticks and them DIMM slots and some excessive force needed to be used to put them in place....that simple lesson learned the hard way
it wasn't the power supply nor the motherboad...anyway the computer is just great even, even though it is relatively cheap. runs Windows Media Center which is quite cool

thanks to everyone who tried to help