Newbuild with no post..help?

scottie21uk

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Nov 15, 2007
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Sorry for the generic post title!!

Ok heres the deal this isnt my first newbuild..Ive done a few before although it has been 5 years since the last one..lol

Heres the parts list

ABPower LC-8320BTX 300W PSU
AMD X2 4000+ 2.1GHz 2x512KB L2 cache 65Watt AM2 Socket
ECS Geforce 6100sm-m MATX AM2 DDR2 VGA LAN
Rendition 1GB 667MHz PC5300 DDR2 Memory
NEC 5170A 18x DVDRW Double Layer Black OEM Drive
DiamondMax 21 80GB PATA 7200rpm 2MB Cache Hard Drive

Basically this is just a really super budget system for a friend...Remembering some of the mistakes from my previous builds i started of simple and set up the mobo in the case connected the power and monitor and attempted a post test. Got no bios on the monitor and no beeps whatsoever..However you can hear the psu working and the case lights are on.
Now i couldnt remember if you needed memory installed for a post (although i didnt think you did ) But tried installing some anyway but i still get the same result.

Now i didnt want to go any further in the build until i diagnose either a mobo or psu fault...however with the power "seemingly" working it looks like the mobo. Ive tried moving the cmos jumpers just incase (the manual isnt overly clear on what is reset and what is normal).

Also an unusual thing i hadnt seen before is the mobo comes with a little speaker with a little 4 pin connector although again the manual makes no mention of it and i cand find a socket on the mobo for it to fit inot..the closest we have is the CD IN socket. Again with no speaker im thinking how can it POST anyway.

Any help would be much appreciated before i go sending the MOBO back.

Cheers in advance

Scottie

 
The speaker can help you diagnose the system. Connect it to the speaker pins on the front panel section.
If you are getting beeps it means that the system at that point is working. No beeps, something is wrong.
Check that the heatsink is properly mounted. Make sure you did not install any extra standoffs.
You might want to take the motherboard out of the case and test it on a pice of cardboard with the minimum components. Look for beeps, continue adding components until you get no beep.
 
Usually the speaker connects to a couple pins that are either part of the header that the case switches and LED's connect to or close to it. It connects to motherboard unless the motherboard has builtin piezoelectric beeper. It does not go on the sound card.

I do not know if the AMD motherboard needs a 12 volt aux connector for CPU power like the Intel boards do... The motherboard manual should say.

I know the PC is a relatively low spec system, but your PSU seems inadequate. I recommend swapping out the PSU first.

After that, try this:

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Troubleshooting+a+New+Build

It's kind of long and a fair amount of work, but it may help.
 

scottie21uk

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Thanks for the help so far guys..Im not having any joy locating a speaker socket for the little one that came with the mobo..tried connecting speakers to the sound car outlet and headphone outlets but still nothing. Just to confirm i should get a bios screen with just power and the monitor connected to the mobo shouldnt i? Or does memory and cpu need to be intalled before ill get the bios up.
 

roadrunner197069

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Read the DIRECTIONS and put it together exactly like it says. If you learn how to read you will see where to plug the speaker in at when you plug in the power and reset buttons. You would be better off trying to turn it on before taking it out of the shipping boxes. LOL. You cant get a POST without a CPU or RAM or Video especially with no speaker plugged in.

If you can read this then read your manual and put it together like it says.
 

tlmck

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Try building it outside the case first. Just put the MB on the foam it came with, and set it on the MB box. Install the ram, and video card. You can leave the PSU in the case and just pull it close enough for the cables to reach.

If all goes well, check the case for any extra standoff(only one per MB hole). Also, double check hole alignment before tightening screws. This way you do not get a short.
 

occdavid

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FYI: if the pictures on Newegg and in the online manual are correct the speaker is onboard already - should be the black cylinder right next to the 2 sata ports. I know you may have already checked these, but you do have the 24 pin ATX power and the 4 pin CPU power plugs plugged in? Also - I think I've read where some MB will not post with out a cpu fan installed until turned off in the bios. As in if you where going to water cool the cpu you would have to plug in a fan, go into the bios to turn off the cpu fan, then you could run it without a cpu fan. So you may want to check that too. I would do like the others have said, read the manuals and build it outside the case with cpu, hsf, and memory.
 

scottie21uk

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Hey guys thanks again..Very helpful apart from the funny boy who wishes me to read the documentation...coming to a forum was my last port of call boy!

Anyways yeah im guessing that is the speaker but still no workie..Ive built it up outside the case..but still no no avail..the fan is getting power no probs..Im guessing the mobo is goosed!
 
hmm. I'm not sure I would give up on the mobo yet. try to assemble the parts one at a time like one poster suggested. start with mobo, power supply, ram, and processor with fan. Power up-If the fan starts, you've got power to the mobo. Then try to add the video card, hard drive, cdrom etc one at a time trying to localize any bad parts or connections.

The last pc I put together about 2 months ago wouldn't post and I had beeps going on. I figured out I had a chassis intrusion alarm going off, which I had to disable thru bios. never had THAT problem before! heh heh.
 

sprucebr1

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I would follow the sugesstion of taking the Motherboard out of the case, and then test it with just the main components. (CPU, RAM, Power), if you hook up a speaker to just that, then you can see if the motherboard is the problem. One thing you should check is the motherboard manual, it will tell you where everything plugs in. And yes, the RAM is required for a successfull POST. good luck.
 
Let's try this again. Out of the case, install CPU and HSF. Plug in PSU. Now turn it on. You should get some kind of beeps indicating unsuccessful POST because of memory problems. Motherboard, CPU & HSF, PSU, and a way to turn the PSU on is the absolute minimum to run the POST.

At this point, silence indicates that the POST did not start. This means that either the PSU, CPU, or motherboard is bad. Odds are that the PSU is your problem.

The fans can spin up. You can have all of the power outputs. There is also a control signal that the PSU sends to the motherboard. If the CPU does not detect it, the CPU will not start.

A thought just occured to me. Your user name suggests that you are in the UK. Check the back of the PSU. There should be a little slide swich labeled 115/230 to set the input voltage. If you are in the UK, it should be set to your AC mains voltage (I think that is the correct expression). If it was set to 115, plugging the PSU into 230 volt probably fried it.

Again , try changing the PSU first.
 

scottie21uk

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Ok guys obtained a new 400w psu today and same result..power to the fan but no post beeps etc etc..hence forth the motherboard is packaged up and on its way back...my mate will just have to wait a week.