Troubleshooting new build startup

[Freddybear]

Putting together a system based on this article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/18/sbm_mid_cost_system/

I get the yellow "stand by power" LED when I plug it in and turn on the PSU, and when I hit the power-on switch, the fans start and the KB LED flashes, the green "power on" LED lights up on the mobo, but that's it. I installed the MSI d-bracket gizmo to see if the LED's there told me anything, but they don't even light up. MSI documentation seems to be saying that they should at least all show red if the processor is damaged.

I have tried reseating RAM and video and the CPU chip, no change.

Any ideas?

 

[pman78]

I had the same thing happen to me. I had an Intel 6850 processor which is only specc'd for 1333FSB but the board i was trying to use (an older one i had laying around) only supported up to 1066 FSB. I had to either buy a new MB or new CPU. I bought a new board and it booted to bios fine.

 

[akhilles]

^^^ That should've been done beforehand. Go to the manufacturer's side for the specs & read some reviews, then shop around for the best deals.

If the keyboard lights flash once, it means the bios is loaded & passed most every test. It could be the cpu incompatiblity. Check your mobo site for cpu list & the compatible bios version. Verify this against your bios version on the bios chip. It should be printed on a label on the chip.

Is the clear cmos jumper on normal?

 

[Freddybear]

I chose the MSI P6N Platinum and the Intel Core2 quad Q6600 Ghz CPU specifically because of the specs of the "mid priced system" article.
MSI says the 1066 FSB CPU is supported on the m/b.

There is a "clear CMOS" button next to the on-board battery, no jumper. I tried that, no difference.

I just double checked and yes, the KB lights flash when I press the power on switch.

 

[jsc]

Try replacing the power supply. Or if you can borow a DMM, carefully check the pins.

You can use a DMM to check the PSU outputs - ground lead to a black wire on the main power cable. The yellow wires should read 12 volts, red wires should read 5 volts, and the orange wires should read 3.3 volts. If you have a white wire, it should read -12 volts. This is all common knowledge.

Here is what isn't: As soon as all the outputs are present, the PSU sends a control signal called something like "PowerOK" to the motherboard. If this signal is missing, the PC WILL NOT BOOT. The lights may come on, the fans may spin, the hard drives may start to spin up, but the PC WILL NOT BOOT.

This signal is found on pin 8 (grey wire). It should rise to around 3.5 to 5 volts in less than 1 second after pressing the power switch.

 

[akhilles]

Next thing I'd do is try each stick of ram in each of the slots, starting from the slot furtherest from the cpu.