No Boot/Post or anything on new build-

[Guynmt]

I just built my first PC, plugged everything, and.... nothing!
After flipping the PSU switch on, and pressing the power button nothing happens. No fans (case fans, GPU, CPU, PSU), No beeps, no LEDs with the exception of a green LED on the MoBo saying it is receiving power.

My system specs are-
CPU--------------AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard---Asus M5A97 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory---------Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive-----Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card-----Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Video Card
Case-------------Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply--OCZ 750W ATX12V Power Supply

(Took the build off of reddit, here is a link with click-able links for the hardware)
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/marnq/build_help_yet_another_budgetish_rig_for_skyrim/

I went through the "System won't boot" and "no video output" checklist"
1- Yes, several times
2- I have triple checked this
3- Yes
4- Yes
5- Yes- My only confusion with this is on the PSU end of the cables, there is a 6pin & 2pin connector, on the PSU there are two 8pin ports, and two 6pin ports, I connected the 6pin/2pin connections into the 8pin port on the PSU. No sure If you would split the 6/2pin connectors between the 8 and 6 pin ports. Wouldn't make much sense but eh.
6- Yes
7-Yes
8-Yes
9-Yes
10-Yes Double Checked this
11- No
12----
13-Yes
14-Yes
15-No
16-Yes
17- Not appear to come with a system speaker
18- Yes
19-Yes
20- Can't
21- Yes- moved jumper, and also removed battery
22- No integrated Card
23- Yes

I've taken the MoBo out several times, reassembling from scratch several times, made sure the mobo wasn't shorting against case stand-off screws.

I Breadboarded it without luck, only using the PSU, CPU, and GPU.

I have also tested the PSU, but unplugging all components from it, turning it off, unplugging, and shorting the 'green' and 'black' wires on the 24pin mobo power connector, the PSU lit up and turned on. It did not do this when components were connected.
From this my assumption is that it is O.K.

I also shorted the front panel 'Power SW' pins on the MoBo using a screw driver, which was also unresponsive.

I'm about to break out the multimeter and check the output on the PSU and see if they're within range.



I have no idea whats wrong or going on, but I have a feeling with my luck I got a DOA mobo.

Thanks for your help and time!

 

[tlmck]

Your problem is the way you have the PSU hooked to the motherboard. Rather than go into detail, here is a link to the OCZ product page. You will note a list of connectors and their purpose as well as a link to the manual at the bottom of the page.

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-zs-series-550w-750w-power-supply.html

 

[dalauder]

I had a similar problem to this and it turned out I'd plugged one of my USB headers in wrong and the PSU's protection features kept it from turning on when connections were wrong.

It sounds like a DOA motherboard IF you're certain everything is connected properly. Try resetting the bios (button or battery removal) with only the PSU and CPU connected. Only connect the case connections that you absolutely must connect (power button if no onboard button).

 

[jsc]

With a nonbooting system, you really need a system speaker. Unfortunately, many cases no longer come with one.

First, double check the PSU cabling. Interchanging an 8 pin PSU cable with a PCIe cable will result in shorting 12 volts directly to ground. If you are lucky, the PSU will detect the overload and electronically shut itself down.

If the power cabling is OK, go back to the breadboard.

The following is an expansion of my troubleshooting tips in the breadboarding link in the "Cannot boot" thread.

I have tested the following beep patterns on Gigabyte, eVGA, and ECS motherboards. Other BIOS' may be different, but they all use a single short beep for a successful POST.

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

Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU.

Make sure you plug the CPU power cable in. The system will not boot without it.

I always breadboard a new build. It takes only a few minutes, and you know you are putting good parts in the case once you are finished.

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. Remember, at this time, you do not have a graphics card installed so the load on your PSU will be reduced.

If no beeps:
Running fans and drives and motherboard LED's do not necessarily indicate a good PSU. In the absence of a single short beep, they also do not indicate that the system is booting.

At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. 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 (standby power supply): 5 volts always on. The green wire should also have 5 volts on it. It should go to 0 volts when you press the case power button, then back to 5 volts when you release the case power switch. 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

A way that might be easier is to use the main power plug. Working from the back of the plug where the wires come out, use a bare paperclip to short between the green wire and one of the neighboring black wires. That will do the same thing with an installed PSU. It is also an easy way to bypass a questionable case power switch.

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, long single beeps, or series of short beeps indicate a problem with the memory. If you get short beeps verify that the memory is in the appropriate motherboard slots.

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.
At this point, if the system doesn't work, it's either the video card or an inadequate PSU. Or rarely - the motherboard's PCIe interface.

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. It's possible that you can pass the POST with a defective video card. The POST routines can only check the video interface. It cannot check the internal parts of the video card.

 

[Guynmt]

Ok, I got it going, I breadboarded w/out the GPU, it turned on, swapped GPU cables and it lives!
Thanks for all your help!

 

[dalauder]

Great! Let us know if you have any other issues.