New build! Having a major problem... won't even turn on :(

[Shawfujikawa]

Hey guys, I got my new motherboard (ASUS P7P55D), processor (Intel i5-760), and RAM (G. Skill 2x2gb), and new case (CoolMaster 310 Elite). I installed everything in the new case, including my two HDD's from my last computer, my nVida 8800 GTX+, CD/DVD drive, and my Rosewill 550w PSU. I plugged in all the cords in the same spot as my last computer, had a little trouble with figuring out which order the little plugs that came with the case (coming from the front of the case) and whether they're plugged on the pins the right way.

So anyways, I went to put my computer on the ground and plug all the USB/extra cords into the back, and then finally the power cord, pressed the power but, and nothing. No sounds at all, no fans running, nothing. However, there is a green LED on my mobo that is lit when the power cord is plugged in, but thats the only thing I can see that has power to it. I'm really confused on what to do right now and I really wanted to get this new build working as it is my first. Please help! Thanks!

-Blake

 

[gkay09]

Perform these steps one-by-one without skipping any of those...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[Shawfujikawa]

Yeah, I looked at those.... unfortunately, I forgot to install the Standoffs... but what does that green LED light mean?

 

[gkay09]

^ Green LED ? where on the mobo ?

 

[Shawfujikawa]

In the picture, its on the bottom left, near the SATA cable plug-ins.

 

[gkay09]

Did you check in the manual ?

 

[gkay09]

It seems to be the Boot device LED, to give the status of the HDDs I guess...
Anyways check the manual...

 

[Shawfujikawa]

Check it for what? My friend and I had been looking through it to see if we left something out. Couldn't find anything. But after reading up a bunch, I found that the standoffs need to be installed... and I hadn't done that.

 

[gkay09]

^ For the info on the Green LED...that is what you are asking for right?

 

[Shawfujikawa]

Well yes and no. I'm asking if I've screwed my self by not putting the standoffs in and worried that I've shorted the board, however, seeing that the green LED lights up, that means the board is getting power, correct? Though, none of the fans turn on when I hit the power button.

 

[gkay09]

EDIT: ^ Yes, it means it the PSU is supplying the power to the mobo as jsc pointed out...But did you follow those steps in that thread ? Try breadboarding...

 

[Shawfujikawa]

Yeah, I will. I'm at my friends house tonight, but tomorrow morning I'll go back to mine and take out the mobo and just see if I can boot it up on a piece of cardboard. Thanks for your help

 

[jsc]

The green LED is simply telling you that your PSU is plugged into the wall and turned on. It has nothing to do with the major portion of the PSU that provides operating power to the system. It has nothing to do with boot devices. You can unplug all of your drives (after turning off the power to be safe ), and it will still be on.

Work through our standard checklist and troubleshooting thread (the one that gkay linked to):
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-problems
I mean work through, not just read over it.

Breadboard - that will eliminate any kind of case problem you might have.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

The breadboarding thread has a paragraph about how to build and test a PC in stages.

Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU. You do have a case speaker installed, right? If not, you really, really need one. If your case or motherboard didn't come with a system speaker, you can buy one here:
http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html

You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to.

You should hear a series of long, single beeps indicating memory problems.
Silence indicates a problem with (in most likely order) the PSU, motherboard, or CPU.

If no beeps:
At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if
it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.

If the system beeps:
If it looks like the PSU is good, install a memory stick. Boot. Beep pattern should change to one long and several short beeps indicating a missing graphics card. Silence or long single beeps indicate a problem with the memory.

Insert the video card and connect any necessary PCIe power connectors. Boot. At this point, the system should POST successfully (a single short beep). Notice that you do not need keyboard, mouse, monitor, or drives to successfully POST.

Now start connecting the rest of the devices starting with the monitor, then keyboard and mouse, then the rest of the devices, testing after each step.

 

[Shawfujikawa]

I appreciate that long post. And I will definitely go through this when I get home in a bit. However, I want to make sure that I'm not screwed because I didn't put the Standoffs in. Do you think I still have a chance of recovering everything and having it all work well like its supposed to?

 

[Shawfujikawa]

Alright, I figured everything out, thanks guys!