problem with new homebuilt :(

Anyway I recieved the components on monday (after waiting a month for them to arrive) and i assemled the computer on tuesday with windows xp.

core 2 duo e6600
HIS 1900gt (ICEQ3)
gigabyte965p-ds4
seagate 7200.10 320gb
enermax liberty 500w.
(EDIT)generi 512mb ddr2 533 mhz @4-4-4-12 (1.8v i think as its generic at 533mhz)

The problem is that the system will turn on and work fine but othe times it wont even post, this means i dont get any beep codes. Although i did once get a beep code that meant it was a power isue for a few times, but that seems to have gone away. Due to the fact that there seems to be no power (as the fans dont turn one and i dont get any beep codes) it could be the psu.

Please help, I suppose this is a power failuiure as the motherboard suggested however it is a reliable psu so im not quite sure. :?

well if ya have a spare PSU kickin around id say try that if its givin ya a beep code for a power issue

okie dokie ill be back in a mo.

clearing CMOS ddin't work but i diddnt think it would because i cant get it to post anymore

checked the power jumper (and other jumpers eg hdd jumper etc)
didnt work, anyway i had alredy fiddled about with the jumpers a few times beforeto try and get it to work.

When you say flash the bios you mean get the floppy and do it like yeah? Problem is that the system itself (fans, psu fan, everything) won't turn on

it worked before but only a few times, now most of the time it doesn't now (last 20 odd times) i guess nothing was DOA.

You're probably right with it being the PSU, check your PSU's owner's manual to see if your motherboard is compatiable with your PSU. I've got a PC Power & Cooling 510w PSU (actually its a 650w but its rated for continuous use at 50 C and up) and in the manual there's a list of none compatiable motherboards. Also, if you have a 20+/-4 pin connection from the PSU for the motherboard that can cause problems. I know that one of the major complaints with ASUS ATX 2.0 compliant motherboards is that a 20+/-4 pin connection causes system instabilities.

If your fans and other items turn on your PSU might not be to blame, but be sure for future builds to use straight pin connections (i.e. no 20+/-4 pin PSU motherboard connection).

As others have and probably will say again: check your jumpers, reset the CMOS, check all your power connections, and if necessary do a BIOS update.

Just to be sure that it isn't a PSU issue try the following:

1. Pull out all non-essential hardware and strip it back to basics: CPU, VGA, 1 HDD, 1 stick of RAM. If you have POST issues change RAM sticks, could be bad RAM.

2. If you have an EPS 8 pin supplemental power connection (located near CPU socket) an adapter is in order. Most PSU's have a 4 pin connector.

3. If you have a SATA HDD jiggle the wire on the back of the HDD and on the motherboard interface itself. Also, if your SATA HDD supports it, use a 4 pin power connector instead of the avaliable SATA connector. This was what was causing problems with my PC after I first assembled it.

4. If your motherboard has an onboard SLi or Crossfire controller card, make sure that it is set for the correct VGA configuration. My first ASUS board came with it set for SLi and I think that's what fried it the first time I turned my PC on.

5. If nothing is turning on when you push the button, including the fan inside of your PSU and your jumpers are correct, then you need to have someone look at your PSU to determine if it's bad and if it checks out then it is your motherboard most likely.

6. If you've overclocked your CPU/motherboard/VGA, reset all speeds to factory settings. This will help alot.

I've noticed that you have a Core 2 Duo and an X-1900 GT. These 2 components together account for about 300 watts of the avaliable power your PSU has. Don't get me wrong Core 2 Duo is efficient on a per core basis power wise but not as a whole. Core 2 Duo pulls about 65-80 watts (total) and that X-1900 GT is pulling around 200 watts. Could just be that your PSU isn't big enough for your system.

Just be patient, calm, relaxed, and keep diagnosing it and you'll get it fixed.

------------------

My system:

AMD 64 X2 3800+ OC'ed to 2.2 Ghz, BFG 7900 GTX 512 mb OC'ed, ASUS A8N-SLi Deluxe, 2 Gb Kingston Value RAM CAS Latency 2.5-3-3-6, Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4, Westen Digital 74 Gb Raptor ADFD, 2x Western Digital 250 Gb Caviar SE, 3x Thermaltake Hardcano 14 HDD coolers, Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU cooler, Zalman VF-Cu 900 Blue LED VGA cooler, Thermaltake Extreme Spirit Northbridge cooler, and a PC Power & Cooling 510w PSU.

oh and iut has enough amperage

dual 12v rails @ 22a each = 32amps on 12v rails

Are the power LEDs on in the failure mode?
An intermittent power/no power problem might be the PC case switch.
Can you switch the power on from the motherboard?

no unforntunatly, the only motherboard that i know of that lets you turn on from the motherbord is the intel bad axe 2

i thought it could also be the case switch, i'll try annother swtch tommorrow if i can , again thanks for the input, keep it up


..please ...

you can short the two pins on the motherboard where the power button is connected. Just touch them with a screwdriver briefly

The Enermax Liberty is a modular PSU. Double check the cable hookups on the PSU itself. Try to boot with just CPU, if you get beep codes boot with CPU + RAM, if you get beep codes then boot with CPU + RAM + VGA. Also, make sure you didn't mix up one of the 4-pin plugs, there should be three of them... 2 for the CPU power and one for the 20+4 main.

im prettysure it's the psu, because if you connect it to for example, my dvd rom drive ONLY, it doesn't turn on, usually it would work, *

*NB: noitce that ths is only thing conected to the psu, i will test using a multimeter to see if there is any voltage/current coming from the molexconnector and 20+4 pin connectors in a bit.

Hopefully this'll prove whether the psu is dead or not, eg if its dead no voltage/curent should be produced right?

And then i can RMA it if its broke and not have to cycle through each peice of harware

sorry about that i'll change it, i actually have ram, 512mb generic 533mhz @4-4-4-12. its the only ddr2 i have, its from my other PC)

oops, thouh that cant be the problm seeing as you should stilget a bep code to say that you have faulty ram....

what is he problem?!?!?!PSu i think, i'm quite sure, i need to test this further you see im guessing it could have been short ciricted and thereforeno current/ voltage is flowwing.

(I guess)


EDIT:

After testing, i found that no voltage and no current was being outputted by the psu, and i believe it to be broken, i need to get a new power supply unit. The enermax liberty 500w cost £70 now i dont have much money left seeing as i upgraded my e6400 to a e6600... (£60 more !!!!!)

Yes it will.
I think that external video card power supply is a bad idea and a waste of your money comparted to getting a decent PSU in the first place.

Is there really such a thing?
Why can't you just exchange the broke Enermax Liberty 500w for a working one?