First Build Computer Won't Start

I press the power button and I get nothing, no lights no beeps. The power supply doesn't spin up or anything and I connected the the power switch, LED, HDD LEd, ect according to the motherboard's instructions.
I bought all the parts from newegg. Here are the specs:


Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115017

Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controller/Heatsink - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply -

Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Maybe I was too ambitious for my first build. I made sure all the connections are secure. Any suggestions of what I should try next?
Reply With Quote

You left out the most important part, and the most likely culprit if you bought 1066 memory.
Soooo....what kind of memory?
Did you try with just 1 stick?

If your PSU doesn't start up, recheck and double check the connections to the power switch on the case.

Most 1066 memory is volted at something higher than the motherboards default voltage settings, meaning sometimes memory rated at say, 2.1 or 2.2 volts will not work at the default 1.8 most boards use. Trying with only 1 stick will usually allow you to at least boot into the BIOS and reset the voltage correctly. If it does not work, you will have to find an old or cheap stick that works at 1.8 volts to get into the BIOS and reset your voltage correctly.....if this is your problem.

But, if the PSU won't even come on, you either have a bad motherboard, bad PSU, or you have something connected wrong.

I get the sneaking suspision that this is the case because whenever I unplugged previousi computers in the past then plugged them back in the PSU would spin.

I just wish I was sure.

In the motherboard manual it says the memory is set to auto in the BIOS unless you change it. If it was the memory wouldn't I get some kind of reaction?

Well, if you have a semi recent computer that you are currently using, try putting the PSU in that computer to see if it works.

Does the fan on the PSU move a little when you plug it in, or when you flip the switch on the PSU?

The PSU fan never moved at all and it never made any sound.

try shorting the power button on the motherboard. just use a screwdriver or something. It might be a bad power switch from the case?

This sometimes happens but check to make sure the power switch on the psu is turned on. Flip it both ways when trying to turn it on. Seen this work before.

You could also try shorting out the PSU to see if the fans spin up. just need to take a paperclip and bend it open and put one end in one of the black 20/24 pin connectors and the other end into a different color. If the PSU still works then it should spin up. The other option is if you have a digital multimeter you can just use that to make sure you're actually getting voltage. not sure if you've tried these yet, but it's something that really only takes a couple seconds and can narrow down if it really is the PSU or not.

Have you checked to see if possibly the voltage on the rear of the power supply is set to 240? Sometimes it will be set to 240V from the manufacturer or could have possibly been bumped at some point.

Try to switch to 115V.

Did someone hire you to kill me? lol My connector looks a little different from the gif. One of the holes is empty, so I'm not positive what hole corresponds to what number.
But,
I tried it, nothing happened.

It's an active PFC PSU. That means no voltage selector.

This is well past the point where you need to RMA the PSU. Corsair 650TX is a top of the line unit. You just got one that was jarred too hard in shipping or some such. Contact newegg.

It's a very long shot, but try swapping the case power and reset switches.
Case switches have been known to be bad.

You have a better than average PSU, but any PSU can be DOA.

Some Antec cases do not come with a system speaker, so you have no way of listening for beeps.

You can also try building the computer outside the case to eliminate any possibilities of the case causing problems.

Then this:
Disconnect and unplug everything but the PSU, CPU & HSF, power & reset switches, and the system speaker from the motherboard. When you turn on the PC, you should hear a series of long single beeps. This will indicate a memory failure. (You do not have any memory installed, remember?) In a way, this is very good. This tells you that your PSU and CPU are good, and the motherboard is probably good.

If you get silence, either the PSU, motherboard, or CPU is bad. The only practical way to determine which is bad is to test by substitution. Most likely failure (in order) is PSU, motherboard, and CPU. One other possibility is that you have something installed improperly in the case and it's shorting out the PSU. Only way to test this is to remove the motherboard from the case and reassemble everything on an insulated surface. This is called "breadboarding" (from the '20's).

If you hear the beeps, turn off the PC and install one memory module. Turn on the PC and you should hear one long and two or three short beeps indicating a problem with the video card. Silence indicates that the memory module is shorting out the PSU. Long single beeps (my GA-EP35-DS3P and eVGA 680i motherboards) usually indicate a really bad memory module. (Your BIOS codes may be different.) Test and install the rest of the memory.

Turn off the computer. Install the video card and plug in the monitor. Turn on. System should boot and pass POST (single short beep), and you should see messages on the screen. If not, your video card or monitor is bad. A bad video card will usually generate something like one long and two or three short beeps. If you get silence, your video card is probably shorting out the PSU. Again, your BIOS codes may be different.

If you see messages, turn off PC and plug in keyboard and mouse.

If this works, start plugging the other components one by one.

LOL I thought the outlet might be bad too, so I pulled out my lamp which was working fine and plugged it into that one. I guess we think alike.