First time build, fails to Post

[Laura_lovely_locks]

Hi there,

I'm sure you get tonnes of threads like this every week but I've run out of ideas. A friend of mine assured me that building your own pc was he best/cheapest way to go about getting computers and assured me he could build it for me. However now that I've bought all the parts and he's tried putting it together, it fails to Post or even show any signs of life. The first time I tried to turn it on, all the LEDs lit up for a second and it quickly cut the power. There was a faint smell of burnt electronics (no bang or any strong smells) and no visible damage on any of the components.

We've systematically worked through everything in the troubleshooting thread and am now stuck with what to do next, I'll list the specs below.

We'd appreciate any help you guys could give us...


ASUS M4A77TD
AMD Phenom II X4 955
2x2GB DDR3 G2 Series
LiteOn 24x Int. DVDRW Black SATA + S/W
250GB Blue SATA6 7200 32MB
EZCool PS-890 700W Modular Black PSU
Genesis Tower ATX Case (Gloss Black)

Laura.

 

[christop]

Burnt smell could be something shorting out. I would disassemble the whole thing and resemble it on a table and see if it will boot.

 

[jay2tall]

Electronic shorts are rarely as dramatic as everyone thinks they will be. Usually its a short pop or faint "zzzzt" sound.

Smell the power supply at the vents. They always smell like burned electronics when they are fried. Take the motherboard out and look at the back and front for any place that looks burned or discolored. As Christop said above, assemble it on a desk. I'd leave out any parts you don't really need like drives and such. See if it boots. Chances are it's the power supply. That is usually what goes. I never heard of an EZcool.

 

[deathengine]

My vote is the PS. However, make sure the Mobo didnt short anywhere and make sure no standoffs were installed in the case where the mobo doesnt need one. Could cause a short as well.

Good luck

 

[Proximon]

All good advice. You should never buy junk PSUs, regardless.
The system you listed, though, is missing a video card. It's a 770 board so has no onboard video.

If you really worked all the way through the thread you will have breadboarded by now and ruled out many things. Given the smell replacing the cheap PSU with a decent one would be a good next step. You do not need a 700W PSU, but what you do need I can't say until you list your video card.

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

Thanks for all the quick responses!

We were under the impression that all motherboards had some basic video...

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

Posted itself before i finished typing...darn macs.

Thanks for all the quick responses!

We were under the impression that all motherboards had some basic video... shows how much we know. I was going to leave the graphics card till i could afford something like a radeon 6870 or a geforce 560. Would the lack of graphics card be in anyway related to the PSU breaking, or may it be DOA?

 

[Proximon]

What did you plug the monitor into? There's nothing there even remotely like a VGA port.

The board won't post without a video card in place. Put one in, connect it to the monitor, and cross your fingers before turning the PSU on.

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

Thanks everyone, it was the PSU that blew straight away when plugging it in, i was cheap so i bought a corsair GS700, i also bought an ASUS geoforce GTX550 Ti DirectCU 1GB graphics card, it now posts fine but there is no signal on my CRT monitor with a VGA to VGA cable.

Could anybody help as to what might be the problem?

Thankyou

Laura

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

the cpu is making a quiet whirring noise like someone is revving an engine, i dont know if this is a normal sound too....

 

[Raiddinn]

It wasn't mentioned anywhere, but if you aren't using the separators that sit between the motherboard and the case then you absolutely must put them in or your computer will never work.

Just thought I would mention that in case someone who didn't use them comes on here to figure out what is wrong.

If you can POST, that is most likely not your problem.

Anything with a fan should make some sound even if it is pretty quiet.

Also, you might want to consider asking if any of your other friends know anything about computers if the friend doing this stuff doesn't immediately point out that you need a video card when you don't have anything to plug a monitor into.

Just sayin.

 

[Proximon]

it now posts fine but there is no signal on my CRT monitor with a VGA to VGA cable.

If there is no signal how do you know it POSTs fine?

Just describe what is actually happening.

And have a look at this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

I have double checked and tried everything in the above thread, the computer turns on and the fans are spinning on the CPU heatsink and the graphics card, the motherboards light is also on but there are no beeps coming from the speaker and there is no signal on my monitor from the vga cable on the graphics card.

The CPU fan is making a sound as though it is speeding up and slowing down but it is still visibly continuously spinning.

Sorry if i am giving confusing information, i know this means its not posting now, i have just ran out of ideas, thank you for all your help.

Laura

 

[Proximon]

This oscillation of the CPU fan, does it repeat or is it just once?

Is there any noise coming from the hard drive? Clicks, rattles, whirs?

The question here is whether your computer is posting and you just can't see it, or if it's not posting at all.

Your motherboard did not come with a speaker and your case probably doesn't have one either. You need to get one to hear any beep codes. They are very inexpensive, but not easily found.

I think you are in the UK so I found one on ebay for you
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PC-Internal-Mini-Onboard-Speaker-/270478425590?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ef9c53df6

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

I found out that the oscillation was infact coming from the graphics card, when i removed the PCI-E power supply to the graphics card the fan on the graphics card stopped oscilating and ran smoothly when i turned it on? I am unsure what this means?

The hard-drive seems to be whiring .
The cd drive also makes a reading noise when the computer turns on.

But the problem still exists, i have tried two VGA cables, a brand new one which when i plug in the monitor says check VGA input and one from my freinds computer which when i plug in says no VGA input.

I idealy want to run my computer from the hdmi port on the graphics card to the hdmi port on my tv in my bedroom, but this also says no input.

I have put a speaker in the motherboard because one came with the case but the seaker doesnt emit any beep coes when i turn it on.

 

[crewton]

Trying to summarize the issue here...so you built a new computer but the graphics card is not displaying anything to either your monitor or your tv. You are able to start and you aren't receiving the post beep from your motherboard or you can't tell if you get a beep or not?

Sounds like you are getting power to all your components and you have verified it's not an issue with your monitor or tv.

My guess is that you aren't getting to the post. Have you tried one RAM stick at a time?

Also, is your HDD a new or old one. Just making sure after we can get the post that you aren't using an old one and trying to use your old windows key for a new computer as that won't work.

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

No i have a copy of windows 7 at the ready, no beep or beeps are coming from the speaker on the motherboard.

I have tried one RAM stick at a time yes in each of the 4 slots, but that was before i removed the PCI-E power from the graphics card from which the fan was making a revving oscillating sound, when i removed the power it stopped doing this and the fan ran smoothly, i dont know what this means?

My HDD is a new hard-drive too.

Thankyou for your help

Laura

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

Latest update: When only the cpu is installed without the graphics card, the fan oscillates lightly.

When both the cpu and graphics are installed both the cpu and graphics fan oscillate the same way.

When the graphics is seated in the motherboard but NOT plugged in to the power supply, the graphics fan runs steadily at full power but the cpu fan still oscillates.

Laura

 

[Proximon]

Anything else is going to involve replacing parts to discover the problem, so I really think you need to get a speaker.

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

Anything else is going to involve replacing parts to discover the problem, so I really think you need to get a speaker.

i have got a speaker which i have installed, the exact speaker you linked me, it came with the case, it is just not emitting any beeps.

 

[Raiddinn]

When in doubt, try a different PSU. Preferably one from a name brand. Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, XFX, etc.

You can get one at Best Buy and take it back for a refund afterwards if you have to.

 

[Laura_lovely_locks]

When in doubt, try a different PSU. Preferably one from a name brand. Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, XFX, etc.

You can get one at Best Buy and take it back for a refund afterwards if you have to.

I have updated since the first post, i bought a new corsair 700w psu, but i am having other problems posting as detailed above

 

[Proximon]

If you remove the RAM and still have no beeps, either your speaker is bad or the board is fried.

 

[Raiddinn]

^ Make sure you can get the computer to beep in SOME way before trying to draw conclusions about whether or not things should be beeping.

If you never heard a beep out of the speaker before, don't draw conclusions from a lack of beeps.

 

[phatbuddha79]

700watts psu for that system???