New Build, turn on fans spin for a sec then shut off

[meekers]

Just putting a brand new system together. When I turn it on the cpu and system fans spin for a second or so then immediately stop. Nothing else happens.

After this happened once I took everything apart and put it back together and got the same result.

Any ideas on what might be going wrong?

 

[WR2]

Hello meekers;

Run through the "System won't boot" checklist

 

[meekers]

I ran over everything on that last. I did find one extra standoff that I removed. Now when I turn I can hear a lot more going on. Case lights come on and everything start working for about 4-5 seconds then it shuts off again.

 

[meekers]

I played around with it some more. I can now get the fans/lights to stay on but nothing else seems to be running. My monitor can not detect a signal.

 

[hcstnfrd]

Post detailed system specs?

 

[meekers]

CASE NZXT| GAMA-001BK RT

VGA SAPPHIRE| 100253HDM HD4650 R

2Gx2|MUSHKIN 996586 R

PSU ANTEC|430W EA-430D GREEN RT

DVD BURNER SONY

HD 500G|SAMSUNG

CPU AMD|ATH II X3 450 3.2G AM3 RT

MB BIOSTAR A770E3 770/SB710 R

 

[WR2]

Your making some progress.

Have you done a close visual inspection of the motherboard, especially on the back side where the extra standoff was contacting the motherboard, probably shorting out the system.
A bright light and a magnifying glass, if available, can be very helpful.

What results did you get when you ran with just 1 stick of RAM, and without the video card?

 

[WR2]

Nothing in your hardware list jumps out and looks scary. All good choices in your hardware.

 

[meekers]

What am I looking for on this inspection?

My motherboard also does not have onboard video. SHould I still take it out and see if I can hear more running?

I have swapped the ram into every combination on the motherboard with no different results.

 

[meekers]

Well since I had nothing better to do I started playing with the ram again since I had not done so since last night. With 1 stick it is now booting.

What is my next step with the ram? They are rated to run at 1.5v which means it should not be a power problem. Is it a faulty stick then?

Thanks a lot for this help. This computer is for my brother who wanted to buy a store brand and I talked him into letting me build it. he ahs been quite upset over this, so the help is very appreciated.

 

[WR2]

There is no guarantee a prebuilt Dell or HP might not have had the same problem out of the box. UPS gorillas, etc.

Try the 2nd stick and see if that one boots. If not, you have your culprit.

 

[meekers]

It booted fine with the other stick in the first slot as well. Still can not get anything to happen with both of them in. I double checked and the voltage is set properly.

 

[WR2]

What slot were you testing the 2nd stick in?
You could be looking at a motherboard with a bad slot.

 

[meekers]

I put the second stick right next to the first one, according to my manual that is how I am supposed to. It also says I can put them in the 3rd and 4th slot and leave the first two open. I will try that now and see if anything changes.

Just tried and did not boot with the ram in 3 and 4.

 

[WR2]

Let me check your MB manual. Usually it's slots 1&3, 2&4.

 

[WR2]

You were right. On your board 1&2 or 3&4.

Next thing to check is the RAM voltage spec.

 

[meekers]

The ram specs lists itself at 1.5V...bios is listing itself at 1.568

 

[WR2]

I'd try boosting the RAM voltage to 1.6v and see if that can help make things stable.

 

[meekers]

When I am turning it on now it is taking me right to "Hardware Monitor" and repeatedly asks me to insert boot media. This is where I am getting the voltage from but I am not sure how to get into this BIOS from here.

 

[WR2]

Try the 1 RAM stick boot and work in BIOS from there.

 

[meekers]

I am in the bios now. It was already set at 1.6 though it was only reporting 1.568 on the hardware monitor. Should I bump it up to 1.65?

 

[WR2]

Yes, try 1.65. But that's as high as I'd test.
It's normal to see a lower number reported so that's not a concern.

 

[meekers]

Tried 1.65 with 2 sticks and would not boot.

 

[WR2]

I think you need to kick this up to the MB tech support guys if you haven't already.

Boots with 1 stick and you have tested two good sticks.
Tested all the approved dual channel modes.
Tested with RAM @ 1.65v

 

[WR2]

You might run this by the Motherboard forum.
There might be some guys hanging out over there that have seen this before and understands what it means.