New build not starting

[dj_morton]

First...I read the stickied boot issues thread.


Would the fan turn at all if it was plugged in? This is my first build, I'm 99.5% sure everything is plugged in correctly.

 

[hunter315]

Full system specs please. If the CPU fan is plugged in it should atleast attempt to spin up.

 

[dj_morton]

LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA Model iHOS104-06 - OEM52600568

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM52600568

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM - Retail52600568

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX945FBGIBOX - Retail52600568

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Retail52600568

SAPPHIRE 100269HDMI Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail52600568

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail52600568

 

[masterasia]

What happens when you try to turn it on?
Do the fans turn on? Are there any lit LEDs on the Motherbord?
Do you hear any beeps? Do you smell any smoke?
Try shorting the connectors on your motherboard to turn it on,
maybe the wires on your power switch are loose?
Is the switch on the power supply turned on?
Are you using motherboard standoffs in your case?
Try starting it with just ram and processor plugged in to see if you get any activity.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

First...I read the stickied boot issues thread.

It's nice you read the sticky, but did you actually perform EVERY step in the checklist? Most people coming here for help with a "no boot" problem say they read the sticky. The resolution to their problem was usually in the checklist all along. Your description of the "problem" is very vague at best. Please answer all of masterasia's questions. What exactly is the problem?

 

[dj_morton]

What happens when you try to turn it on?
*The light on the mobo turns on then goes off instantly. It flashes I guess you could say.

Do the fans turn on? Are there any lit LEDs on the Motherbord?
*I don't see any LEDs on the motherboard. There are LED's on the fans that light up for a second.

Do you hear any beeps? Do you smell any smoke?
*No beeps, just a click. No smoke.

Try shorting the connectors on your motherboard to turn it on,
maybe the wires on your power switch are loose?
*I double checked all connections, everything seems secure.

Is the switch on the power supply turned on?
*Yes.

Are you using motherboard standoffs in your case?
*Yes. I put them in the correct places that lineup with the appropriate holes. I loosened each screw and put it back in.

Try starting it with just ram and processor plugged in to see if you get any activity.
*Did it, same thing happened.

The best way I can describe is that its like when a breaker in your house flips. It makes that click sound and comes on for a split second.

I went through the entire checklist. I don't think it's a PSU issue.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Sounds like a possible short. Did you perform the breadboarding step in the checklist where you build the system with the motherboard outside the case on a non-conductive surface?

 

[masterasia]

Sounds like bad capacitors to me. Once it turns back off, can you turn it back on
and get the fans to light up again for a split second or do you have to wait a minute or two in order to turn it back on?

Is the motherboard new? check the capacitors on the MB.

Antec usually makes decent power supplies, but maybe you got a bad one?
Earthwatts is not Antec's most reliable power supply series. I've had a few
of them die on me in the past. I've had better luck with the True Power and Neo Power series.
Do you have another power supply to test it?

It's not RAM or CPU, because usually your computer will still turn on and
the fans will still spin.

One more question. Does the light on the motherboard stay green with the power off? or does it only light up when you turn it on? With most motherboards, that light should be green when ever the computer is plugged in.

If it is not green, when you have the computer plugged in you might have a bad PSU or bad motherboard. I would test with a known working motherboard first.
My experience with Gigabyte boards have been rock solid so far. The motherboards have always out lived the power supplies (most of the time).

 

[dj_morton]

I have to wait a minute or so to try to turn it back on. It lights up for a split second then goes out again.

Everything including MB is brand new.

Unfortunately I do not have another computer asides from my laptop. No lights on the MB power up. I honestly haven't noticed them light up at all. The only lights I see flicker is the fans that came with case.

This is actually my first build, so I could of screwed something up. I followed all included directions and read numerous articles. Nearly 100% sure I didn't do anything wrong.

I bought everything from Newegg. I assume I can send the MB and PSU back for replacement?

 

[masterasia]

Use a volt meter to test the power supply. I'm pretty sure there's a thread here to show you how to do that. But it's pretty common sense if you know what you're doing.

But if you don't want to, just RMA everything back to Newegg. They'll take almost anything back without asking you any questions.

I've had that exact symptom before on one of my computers. Turns out, it was a bad motherboard, bad cpu, and bad psu. I started out by first RMA-ing the motherboard, then the power supply, then the CPU. Something must have fried everything in my computer.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

But if you don't want to, just RMA everything back to Newegg. They'll take almost anything back without asking you any questions.

Don't just randomly RMA everything. Any monkey can randomly replace parts until they accidentally solve their problem. I still think you should breadboard the system to rule out a short. If you're not willing to do that, I don't know what to tell you. Troubleshooting has to be methodical, not a random shotgun blast.

 

[dj_morton]

Shortstuff,

Didn't have a chance to breadboard yet. I'll do it tonight when I get into work.

All I need to hook up is the PSU and the motherboard...nothing else correct?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You should build the complete system outside the case. Leave the CPU and RAM installed in the motherboard when you take it out. I guess you don't need a hard drive if you just want to see if you can get into the BIOS. Just make sure to plug in both the main 24-pin motherboard power connector as well as the 8-pin CPU power connector when you breadboard the system. You can just use the integrated graphics.

By the way, have you tried booting the system without the GPU installed yet? You may have to turn off the integrated GPU in order for the system to use your 4890. You do have both PCI-E power connectors plugged into the 4890, right?

 

[dj_morton]

I did the breadboarding on my boring midshift tonight. After 30 min or so, I finally isolated my problem.

I connected on of the pins from the PSU to the SYS_FAN slot on the MOBO.

Everything is working great.

Thanks for the help guys.