Not getting a post beep with multiple configurations, help?!

[rashod0]

I recently purchased the following:

Intel P4 Cedar Mill 3.0ghz LGA 775 Proc
Asus P5VD2-VM SE Micro ATX Mobo
Kingston 1gb 240-pin DDR2 677 (PC2 5300)

I already had a case a 500watt ps (20+4pin config) it's a cheap power supply called Turbolink and I think this guy is
my problem but let me tell you what happened.

After I got everything installed I booted up the computer and got nothing I tried multiple things. Checked the stick of ram in another computer it booted up fine so it's not a ram issue. This mobo has onboard video so I know it's not
a video card problem. Long story short I ended up buying a different power supply a antec 500watt with dual 12v rails and that didn't help either. I thought maybe something was wrong with the Asus P5VD2-VM SE mobo so I RMA'd it back to newegg.com and purchased a different motherboard:

Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 Micro ATX mobo

I set this thing up today and i'm getting the EXACT same problem, no post beep but the power is on. Also when I initially went to boot this board up I had to switch the power supply from 115v to 230v so I'am wondering if this is a power issue but I hard returned the antec 500w ps so I was unable to test it on this board. It has onboard video and still nothing comes up on the monitor. I even pulled a second speaker off of an old case and plugged it in just in case my case speaker was shot still nothing. I tried plugging the speaker cable in different ways on the boards jumper.....nothing. I also did try putting different 1 gb ram stick in this thing and that doesn't help either.
Does anyone have any idea? I'm desperate here, I've built over 10 computer and have never ever had this trouble before! I can't think of any other ideas....it doesn't make any sense since i've used 2 mobo, 2 ps, different ram,
video isn't an issue yet due to onboard video and I have a hard time beliving this is a cpu issue.

THANK YOU!

 

[roadrunner197069]

Is the 4 pin CPU plugged in?

 

[rashod0]

Yes the cpu fan is plugged in and the 4 pin to the mobo is also. I'm really thinking this is a ps problem.....anyone else care to weight in? I also just tried using 2x1gb sticks or ram and tried clearing the cmos, i'm sure this is a hardware issue and it's gotta either be the cpu or the ps

 

[tlmck]

Have you tried building it outside the case? Remove everything from the case, and lay the MB on the anti-static stuff it came in. Plug everything in and see what happens. If it works, you have some sort of grounding/shorting issue with the case.

 

[rashod0]

Grounding issue? Seriously? I've used this case before, with a different mobo of course and this is technically the 3rd mobo i've used in this case....the first time I used in the case for a while with no problems and then recently with the 2 micro atx boards i haven't had any luck. Does this actually happen? If it is a grounding issue how can I resolve it?

 

[randomizer]

Well it happens if you don't use the brass (or sometimes plastic) standoffs that come with the case (and usually a few with the mobo too).

 

[rashod0]

I did use the brass stand offs and but i'll try it right now and see if it works.

GREAT! It's actually booting up now so I am using the brass stand offs so this is a grounding issue. Now how can I prevent this from happening? I do have some really thin nuts that I could put on top of the stand off and then place the mobo on top would this help with the grounding issue? I have no idea how to prevent this problem....but the damn thing does work so thank you for the advice. Now just gotta get this last part figured out. I do have those plastic stand offs so i'm gonna give those a whurl.

A million thanks thus far!

I feel like an idiot now but using the plastic stand offs worked just fine. Now that I think about it in retrospect I did have the brass standoffs from a regular atx form factor in the case prior that weren't in use by the micro atx board so i'll bet that was why I was having grounding issues. Well thanks alot for the advice!!

 

[tlmck]

I always use plastic/nylon standoffs now with nylon screws, if for no other reason than to eliminate this as a troubleshooting possibility. Supposedly, using the little red felt washers under the screwhead still works as well, if you can find them. Also, some standoffs are "snap-on" style not requiring a screw. They do work, but can be a pain when removing a board.

I think the problem is that some MB's and cases are a little loose in the spec department.