New build, "No Signal"

it is the video card, either the power is not plugged in or card not seated. I think the card takes a direct cable from the PSU. Other things...drivers, is onboard graphics turned off (if the MB has them) bad monitor cable.

Mobo does not have onboard graphics so no problem there.

I know (or think rather) that the GPU has power because its fan is turning. It is possible it is not seated correctly so I will pull it out and back in and make sure.

Bad monitor cable is possible...tomorrow afternoon I will try to hook up the monitor to my old computer and see what i get.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Make sure if you are using the dvi connection on the monitor that it is on digital :trophy:

Just to double check, this would be a switch on the back of the monitor? It was late last night when I got everything together so it's possible I overlooked something as simple as this.

Okay, a few things off my checklist. The monitor and cables work on my old computer so the problem is not on the monitor side. My old CRT also is not getting a signal from the new build. I'm half scared my mobo is dead but things that are connected through the mobo are working, the keyboard lights up and the HDD light is working for example.

I was unable to fit the optional fan on my Scythe Ninja on, could the fact that I don't have a CPU fan plugged in be causing this? Also, I pulled the mobo battery out for a few minutes last night and that made no difference.

I'm going to pull out the GPU and reseat it now. Any other ideas?

As was mentioned earlier, the 8800s have an external power connector. 6 pin if memory serves. That has to be plugged in for the card to work properly.

hey, i got the same problem but with a totally different setup, http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/workstation-bui...

so frustrating!!!!!!!!!!

going to keep an eye out for ideas and will let you know if i fix my problem.

Thanks man, will do the same.

@ Jeff -- I double checked and the 6 pin connector is indeed hooked up.

When you turn it on, does it beep? If so, what kind of beep?

i'd know what it was if it would just beep, all that info is in the manual 1 beep = blah 2 beeps = blah blah etc, thats what makes it so strange.... i tried different monitors, different graphics cards, nothing works. read the manual inside out. i'm pretty sure all the hardware is working correctly just something i'm missing. (like a brain!)

No beeps? That could be bad news bears. Unless something isn't connected properly, your PSU could be faulty. Hopefully not motherboard. Can you get another PSU from somewhere to test? maybe bring it into a local shop and ask to use one of their PSUs to test it. If I was a clerk I wouldn't have a problem with that, but then again I'm not a clerk.

No beeps for me either. I've started this thing several times and never gotten a beep.

I just tried reseating the GPU and that didn't do anything.

I read in a few places that the memory could be a problem but I switched out the sticks and tried them in all four slots and it made no difference. When I left both sticks out, the computer would turn on and then shut itself off a few seconds later. It would start itself up again and repeat that until I shut it off.

i've been through everything and the only thing i'm not sure about is the power supply, your suggestion backs up the idea that something might be a miss with the power. however i'm pretty sure that my power supply is fully operational but it isn't plugged in properly or is unsuitable.

the motherboard i have is the asus p5w64 ws pro which has a 24 pin connection...my power supply ... has a 20 pin connector amongst others. i have tried allsorts of combinations but i am really not sure what i should be doing, the manual is vague.. it says that a 20 pin powersupply will work but i have tried it in conjunction with a 4 pin elsewhere on the board and allsorts of combo's but nothing has worked so far although the board does power up!
thanks for the help so far.

Mine actually uses a 24 pin and then the separate 4 pin for mobo power.

I don't know what I have in the way of a decent back up power supply, I'll have to check.

With no memory installed you should be getting beep codes... strange. Have you checked to make sure the motherboard isn't grounding out somewhere on the case? If you have the time, try to start with the motherboard out of the case laying on a non-conductive surface such as an anti-static bag. This does sound like a power issue though... or the motherboard

i have a 20+4 power supply, so i guess i put the 20 pin and the 4 pin into the 24 pin slot on the motherboard....

then i am somewhat confused... i have 2 more 4 pin connectors labelled cpu 1 and cpu 2, there is a slot on the motherboard to take an 8 pin connector but it will take a 4 pin as half of it has a small plastic cover besides that i have tried all possible combinations...

the way i understood from the manual its best for me to add just 1 of those cables but then i can't help thinking the powersupply company have been trying to be clever and make the 8 pin connector into 2 4pin connectors.

very confused right now! going to try different combo's again but think i've tried them all already...

on a random note i only signed up today, people seem really helpful on here!

People here really are helpful, I agree.

Thanks for the idea about building it outside the case. No sooner did you post that then I came across this link: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=168456

I'm going to give it a shot and see what I get.

......going to have to try that too. not looking forward to it though, such a mission! good luck

I was hoping to come up with a solution without having to tear everything down and start over but it's probably for the best. Good luck to you too.

i'd love to say that it worked but it hasn't. still playing around with it, see what happens. think i'm going to try taking my ram out as i know i got some beeping sounds when that happened but i thought that was purely refering the fact i took the ram out. still, it's easier to work with outside the case.

Yes, some motherboards have an 8-pin (4x2) connector for CPU power and some PSU's have the 8-pin plug split into two 2x2 plugs. If you have all eight pins, you should take the cap off of the motherboard and use both CPU1 and CPU2. They are keyed so that they will only fit one way. For the record, my motherboard has the 8-pin CPU plugin and my PSU has two 2x2 plugs and both are being used.

It's all about making things compatible: If you have a PSU with one 2x2 CPU power and a motherboard with 8-pins, they cap off half of it to show you where to plug the one in. If you have a PSU with two CPU power connectors and a mother board with only a 4-pin, the plugs are separate so you can plug it in without the extra 4-pin connector.

so in short i should plug in the 20 pin connector and the 4 pin connector. and also the two 4 pin connectors labelled cpu1 and cpu2.

ok, so thats one less variable when testing things out. really am not sure what the problem is though. i know that atleast one of the graphics cards i tried was working the other day and pretty sure they both work.

not having much luck! ;0(

Okay, latest update: still not working.

I pulled everything apart, even took the CPU out of the socket and cleaned it up, installed the stock intel heatsink, arctic 5 and back in. Added RAM, GPU, and hooked up the PSU and monitor. (outside of the case) I jumped the power connection on the mobo and the PSU started running, a second or two later the 8800's fan started turning and still no signal on the monitor.

That eliminates the mobo being grounded in the case and leaves what? Faulty PSU and possibly the mobo? There were never any beeps so that would seem to suggest mobo. I am going to try and scrounge up another PSU and give that a shot. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

Edit: Sometimes when I power it on, inside the case, the fans and lights come on and then go out for a split second and come back as if nothing had happened. It starts up fine after that little blip. This mean anything?

Yes, shutting down if the CPU fan is not spinning fast enough (i.e. failed) is often set "on" by default in the BIOS.

Can you list the full names of the parts you have as I want to go to website of the manufacturer of the motherboard especially as well as the rest, just to see what you have and maybe I may offer a suggestion to your problem

Remember that you can only hear a beep if you have a speaker connected to the MB "speaker" pins on the appropriate header (this is different than the front panel audio out).

Also, since you are using a power-hungry 8800 graphics card, what is the model number of your power supply (so we can look up its +12V rating(s))?

Hey guys this is my first post here, I hope I can help

I'm in the middle of my first build and I have been having the same problem, I finally gave up and took it into the shop. They tested the PSU (Thermaltake toughpower 750W) and found that the 4 12v rails were only running at 9v, hence my problems. I also have a 8800gts and it was enough for the fan to turn on but not for it to send a signal to the monitor

Just a thought, hope it helps

THe power supply was another thing I am hoping to get its model number as the last two posts correctly look at it and if you can get your hands on a graphics card that does not need extra juice from a psu it would take your motherboard out of it and put the focus on your p.s.u. as the source of the problem.

Ok, hopefully I can touch on everything mentioned here.

I plugged the Ninja's fan in just to see if that was causing my problem and it fired up and I still got no signal. I did not know about the mobo speaker, I had hooked up some small speakers to the I/O panel but if I read you correctly that is not going to do it for me. What would I need to test that out? Newb question, but does it have anything to do with the 4 pin connector that is supposed to go from the cd/dvd player to the mobo? I didn't have one and was wondering if I even needed it.

Complete parts listing:

CPU - Intel E6300
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E1681...

Mobo - Gigabyte 965P S3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

GPU - EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

RAM - G. Skill DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E1682...

HSF - Scythe Ninja
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1683...

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E1682...

Optical Drive - Samsung
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1682...

PSU - Corsair 520w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

Case - Antec 900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

As always thanks a ton for all the help and advice.

The Nija's fan likely spins too slowly to be a proper test; just plug in an OEM hsf (you don't have to mount it on the CPU) to the CPUFAN header.


Perhaps you can get one at Radio Shack, if your case doesn't have one.


Nope, you don't need it. It's one of those connectors around from the old days.

There's always the possibility that the CPU cooler isn't mounted properly.

I would think your PS is enough for the 8800, but it wouldn't hurt to try plugging in an el cheapo lower power card instead to check.

I have the same case no speaker at all in mine you seemed a bit confused on connecting the power on the motherboard and graphics card reading through the post.
1 x 20+4-pin ATX to motherboard main power should use all the
connector on the motherboard
1 x 4-pin +12V to power near the processor
1 x 8-pin EPS12V not used
2 x PCI-Express to graphics card your only using one of these so leave the other one
8 x 4-pin peripheral
2 x 4-pin floppy
4 x SATA

the other suggestion I mentioned in an above post would point towards p.s.u. as the problem as I do think is what is causing your problem if you check the right connection of power in your computer before you change the p.s.u.

so yeah i solved it, it was the dumbest thing ever, the motherboard would not post without a floppy drive connected....i don't want a floppy drive! after all that and it was something sooooooo simple! anyway thanks very much for all your help and i hope you continue to help out the other guy, i'll keep on an eye on this forum from now on...but i got a beast to build!

thanks again for the help! spend thousands which i don't have on this setup so i might be able to go freelance design by next year so it's a big thing for me! feeling pretty dumb right now. might even be back again with problems but i hope not!

Wow, I sure as hell hope that isn't my problem.   But I'm glad you got it going man, enjoy!

I'm going to run to Radio Shack right now and try to get a speaker to hook up to the mobo. I'm also going to scrounge up an old computer to maybe hijack the PSU and the video card.

I double checked all the power connections and everything is where it's supposed to be. I also took off the Ninja and cleaned up the CPU and put the stock Intel heatsink on, with Arctic Silver 5. Still nothing.

One thing I forgot to mention if you do get video from the other graphics card check out the bios revision and if there is an update instal it as I did see a bios update on certain motherboards in the past which did the same thing. Best of luck

It looks to me like your PSU might be under powered for the rig. I too had the same problem when I first built my PC and it turned out that the mobo was DOA. Got one thing for your to try though. Plug in just the 24-pin mainboard, the 4 or 8-pin connector for the CPU, and the VGA. Then power it on and see if it POST's. If not then I would think it to be a bad mobo.

Hope this helps!

Just kinda a random thought, make sure the wire is connected for the power switch. I had the same problem but I forgot to connect that so everything worked but obviously the monitor didnt show any signal even though the power was on.

Thanks guys, I'm going to give all these suggestions a shot tonight and I'll let you know what happens. One quick question though. I was looking over the mobo manual and there is nothing labeled as a connection for a case speaker. Anyone know where I should hook this thing up?

Your mobo probably came w/o hookups for the case speaker since there are very few cases with speakers anymore. I could be wrong though. Could you post the link to the manufacturers online PDF for the manual? That would be very helpful.

Sure thing, http://america.giga-byte.com/FileList/Manual/motherboar...

look on page 23, it goes on the front panel connector near SATA ports.

Thank you my good man. When I was reading through it before that was my best guess, but not being sure I wasn't about to tempt fate.

**New update: I just got a voltmeter on the PSU and am getting no juice from the 5v connectors and the 12v gave me readings between 9 and 10v. This sounds like a faulty PSU to me, but I don't know what an acceptable range is.

You need to measure voltages with a load on the PS, so you may be better off with one of the $10 PS testers from someplace like Radio Shack.

Make sure the switch in the back of the psu is on 120v if you are in the US, had that problem once   haha

haha, I was afraid of that but I checked and there is no switch on this PSU



I'll check it out, thanks.

Ok here's the current situation. Radio Shack by me is closed so I'll have to wait until tomorrow for the PSU tester. Although with only 9v on the 12v rail under minimal load, it would be not working as intended anyway, no?

With regards to the mobo, I hooked up a speaker and it made no beeps during several start ups. I also stopped by Best Buy and picked up a new PSU to see if that would make the difference, and it did not. Still no signal with the new PSU. CPU fan and GPU fan started up but that was it.

At this point I am pretty convinced the mobo is DOA and possibly the PSU as well, although I'm less sure about the latter. Any opinions?

I am going to get an RMA for this mobo. Since newegg is on PST I have to wait until lunch to call them, unless someone posts an alternative theory before then.

The problem ended up being that the stock heatsink/fan from Intel was applying too much pressure on the CPU. I replaced the heatsink/fan with the ASUS Silent Square and it fired right up. Note: I used a 24 pin and a 8 pin power connectors but your board should work with the 20 ping and 4 pin plugged in.

Good Luck.

Forgot to tell you that the way to test is to remove the heatsink/fan and turn your system on and see if you see it comeup on the screen.

Note: Do not leave it running without the heatsink/fan as it could cause your CPU to fry.

alright man, still no luck? well it looks as though i finally got my new rig up and running, had a load of problems on the way and when i eventually got an o/s installed, updated the bios to take a quad core processor, the memory running at the right speed etc etc i kept getting the dreaded blue screen of death until i learnt a bit more about the bios settings! i had some conflicts which are now... i think/seem to be/hope are resolved!

good luck with getting ur new pc up and running, definately recommend getting a pc speaker, take out your ram and listen to the beeps. then check out what the beeps mean in the manual, thats how i got to know what was wrong with mine.

i'll try and remember to check back here, hope u get it sorted soon, i gotta question i'm going to post elsewhere in the forum... better go do that now