Help! It won't boot!

[turbinz2spd]

I am stymied.

I studied the guides and forumz for my first build. I ended up choosing:

Core 2 Duo E6600
MSI P965 Platinum Mobo
MSI NX8800GTS Vid card
2GB Corsair Dominator DDR2-800
WD 150 Raptor SATA HDD
Antec Nine Hundred case
Antec Trio 650 PSU
Lite-On CD/DVD
ViewSonic VX922 DVI Monitor
Logitech G15 kbd and G5 mouse and X-530 spkrs

I read all the manuals. Laid everything out on the table on a big beach towel (using an ESD cuff to be extra careful). Then started assembling.
I took my time 'cuz building is almost as much fun as gaming. But when it came time to throw the switch, I had a blank screen.

I thought it started a little odd -- power on to everything for a second while I had my finger on the button, then off for three seconds when I released, then it powered up by itself. All seven fans run (I think this sucker could hover in place if it weren't for the cords). Hard drive spins up, DVD cup holder will pop out. But no video signal or keyboard or mouse lights.

Obviously I suspected the video card so I have reseated that several times. I have also tried the other PCI-E power cable. Today I tore everything out and checked for defects, cracks, burns, etc. Even though I heard/saw/smelled nothing out of the ordinary. I put back what I thought was the bare minimum. Mobo, Vid card, 1 RAM and the front panel connections. No fans, no drives. I just wanted to get to POST and BIOS. Nope, same result.

I've been scavenging for video cards to test but the 2 I could find around here were AGP. The new monitor works on my old machine. When hooked to the new one I get the the normal nothing - green LED then No Signal displays then amber LED. I have tried changing the power switch, reset switch and HDD LED though only the HDD should matter on polarity.

Any ideas???

My next step would be to try my vid card in my brother's machine (he won't let me try his in mine without a cash deposit). He's not back till Sunday and I have a new game sitting here looking at me.

 

[akhilles]

Do you mean when you press power to turn it on, it goes on for a few seconds & off? Everything is spinning & lit up during the few seconds?

Move the barebone out of the case onto a cardboard
Reseat everything
Try another psu
Try ONE stick of ram in EACH of the slots

 

[turbinz2spd]

Yes, on for 1 sec, off for 3 secs then on for good.

I had the RAM in slots 1 and 3 like the manual suggested. 1-3 or 2-4 but not 1-2 or 3-4. Last try was just 1.

 

[nvalhalla]

I would agree that there is something wrong in the video card dept. You should get a beep if something is wrong with the RAM, plus the video cards info would appear when it first powers on. So does it stay on with no video or is it only on for a second?

 

[nvalhalla]

And you already answered that, next question. Double check the power to the card and the monitor's cable. Does the on screen display show up to confirm the monitor works? I know it's dumb stuff, but you have to start with the obvious.

 

[cutthroat]

If you get no POST beeps at all, you likely have bad power or motherboard or connections. You should get a series of different beeps if either your CPU, memory or video is missing or bad.

Can you return the motherboard easily? I always buy my motherboard in person just before I build so I can return it easily. I have returned about 50% of the motherboards I have bought for my builds, rarely anything else though.

It's not uncommon to get DOA motherboards.

 

[akhilles]

The manual may be right about THEIR own tested memory. You have to try EACH stick in EACH slot. Not just stick A in slot 1, then quit. 8 tries in total. MSI mobos are kinda picky about ram.

Is the video card's pci-e power connector plugged in?

 

[turbinz2spd]

On one of my attempts I forgot the PCI-E power connection, THEN it beeped. Silent on all other tries.

I connected a D-bracket (diagnostic?) which has 4 LEDs to help diagnose boot problems. It shows two patterns during startup. The first is red-green-red-red which is Memory Detection Test ( testing onborad memory size. The d-led will hang if the memory module is damaged or not installed properly. It quickly goes to green-green-red-red which is Decompressing BIOS image to RAM for fast booting. This is where it hangs.

The monitor does work on my other machine and does display "No Signal" on the builder.

I will try different RAM positions.

Thanks.

 

[akhilles]

D-bracket is exclusive to MSI. If the mobo stops at any stage the D-bracket says, the problem is related to the stage. I'd say clear the cmos with power cord, mobo & cpu power cable unplugged. Clearing cmos is the 1st thing to do after removing the mobo from the box/antistatic bag cuz someone might have used it & set bios settings incompatible with your parts.

 

[boganzo]

D-bracket is exclusive to MSI. If the mobo stops at any stage the D-bracket says, the problem is related to the stage. I'd say clear the cmos with power cord, mobo & cpu power cable unplugged. Clearing cmos is the 1st thing to do after removing the mobo from the box/antistatic bag cuz someone might have used it & set bios settings incompatible with your parts.

I am having almost the exact same problem and have tried this many times to no avail. I've been following this thread for advice and I have cleared the CMOS a bunch of times whilst following your steps. It says to slide the jumper over for about 5-10 secs and then move it back. Nothing.

However, when I set up my new computer my old one began encountering the same problem. Resetting the CMOS is what got it to work. This is awful.

 

[turbinz2spd]

I think it's bail time. I'm going to RMA the mobo. The diagnostics say it's not getting to the BIOS or video enable step. So it's either the mobo or the RAM. I've checked the RAM and its good. I'm not sure yet if I'm supposed to go thru ZipZoomFly or MSI. I'm about to find out.

 

[akhilles]

ZZZ first. & is the fastest way. Turnaround is days. MSI = 4-8 weeks. Like another mobo makers.