Brand New Won't boot

[PositiveD]

I just bought all the components to build my own PC.
I put everything into place but I'm having problems and I can't identify the source.

Here is the list of componients.
ASUS P4B533-V W Audio
Pentium 4 2.0Ghz
1 DIMM 512Mb
IBM Deskstar 40GB
GEFORCE4 MX440 64Mb
Liteon CDRW 40x12x48
Case 300W
Modem USR Internal

When I Turn on the PC nothing shows up on my monitor.
And I receive no POST error messeges.

The LED on the Motherboard is on. The voltage protection LED for the Video Card is OFF.

I thought it might be the Video Card, so I took out the video card and connected the monitor to the on-board card and get the same result.
The Floppy, the HDD and the CDR all receive power.

I tried removing the DIMM and I do get an audible POST messege, but still no visual.

Any suggestions ?

 

[Rentvillas]

Try going into your BIOS and making sure that your video is pointing to your AGP slot. Boards sometimes get confused when you first put them together and may not know which video device you want to use.

 

[mudskipper]

From the oringial post, it looks like going into the BIOS is out of the question right now.

You might, instead:
-look for any kind of clear CMOS jumper, ensure that it is in the proper position. You might even clear CMOS for good measure.
-make sure that your CPU fan is plugged into the proper connection on the motherboard (some boards will not boot if it is in the wrong one, but I don't know about your board specifically).
-ensure that you are not shorting out (most common is an extra, or a misplaced, case standoff underneath the motherboard.
-make sure that you are using the extra power tap to the motherboard. Some Asus boards give you the option of using the little 4 wire ATX auxillary plug or a standard power tap (like the one that goes into a hard drive). Also make sure that you don't have BOTH of the extras plugged in.
-make sure that your IDE cables are not backwards. This can cause no video. Easiest way to find out is to unplug them and try to power on.
-take off all of your front panel connectors, short out the power on pins momentarily. Could be arranged wrong, or your reset button could be stuck.

If all of that fails, then I would take the motherboard out of the case, breadboard it with the RAM, CPU (and fan), MB, and power supply. IF you get no video still, then start to replace parts until it works.

Good luck, and please post back! Mudskipper
___________________________________________________________________________________

Groucho said it best- "A four year-old child could understand this! Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"

 

[bkonline]

Also, double check the motherboard's jumpers by refering to the configuration manual. A misplaced jumper can cause the board not to boot, in some cases may even fry the board or other add-on cards. goodluck
bkonline@comcast.net

 

[Cynide]

I'm having a similar problem, but I can't even get to the point of any system initialization... comes up for about 0.5 sec, then goes down...I would say hardware, but I've been seeing alot about how the newer BIOS step in, even at startup.

I'm swapping a P-4 and board into a perfectly good P-3 system with a 300W power supply. Could bad RAM shut it down so soon? I would say bad board if this was an older system, but I'm not so sure now...

 

[PositiveD]

mudskipper...

There is only 1 connector the CPU fan fits in. I checked the manual. It's the correct one.
I tried disconnecting all the IDE cables.
If there were a short somewhere, wouldn't the motherboard not come up at all ? Mine is powering up (the LED is on).

I haven't trid the other suggestions but I know that the case fan is conncted to the ATX auxiliary plug. So I'll have to disconnect that fan.

Keep watching for further posts.

 

[PositiveD]

Is 300W enough ??

 

[Rentvillas]

300W should be enough. To check plug in only your mobo and Hard drive. Leave everything else unplugged and see what happens. I dont know about your board but mine needs the 4 pin 12v connector. Most of the newer p4 boards do, make sure you PS has one of these. if you see an empty 4 port spot on your mobo you might need a new PSU

 

[mudskipper]

Yeah, 300w should be enough. And to answer your question, yes a short sometimes causes the system to not power on at all, but often results in fans and LEDs working, but no video. By the way, also ensure that the RAM is in the correct slot.

Good luck! Mudskipper
___________________________________________________________________________________

Groucho said it best- "A four year-old child could understand this! Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"

 

[capitano]

Make sure your RAM stick is plugged into slot #1. Some motherboards are very picky about plugging your RAM into the correct slot. They should be numbered on the board, if not then in your manual. I've had the exact problem as what you've described: no power on, no post, even though the m'board light was on. I unplugged my RAM, and plugged it into the correct slot, and .... "lights, camera, action!"

Hope that works for you.

 

[edfair]

Cynide,
The half second is somewhat like what happens when the floppy power connector is plugged one pin off. Power tries to come up until it crowbars.
Of course , I've never done this so it must be hearsay. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[ceh4702]

This is usually caused by the motherboard grounding out to the metal part of the case. I hope you used the mounting studs and didnt screw the motherboard directly to the metal plate??

You should install only the motherboard, CPU with cooler/fan, RAM, Video card and floopy and boot the computer with a boot disk before you install all the other hardware. This enables you to test the motherboard before adding all the extra hardware. If you just install everything, you dont know what is causing the problem.

Make sure the CPU fan is plugged into the motherboard or it may not start at all. Also a P4 has more than one power cord that plugs into the motherboard!@!!!! If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[spelchek13]

Do what ceh4702 says but leave of the floppy and the video but make sure the pc speaker is connected, if you still get no post beeps (some of the asus boards need plugging into normal speakers) then you know its chip, ram or Mobo

 

[Cynide]

Wow! Thanks alot for support on this, guys,(gals out there too, maybe?...)! I needed to get a new power supply with the 4-pin Molex for the CPU power! DUHHHH! LOL!

But the fun doesn't stop...

I get the board to boot... hmmmm.... drivers won't load up under '98... WHAT??? I need to get a new OS? you read it right... So after the $90 power supply, I need a &100 XP upgrade. I have to say though... this system ROCKS! with a little help from my friends out there... THanks again for the awesome advice!

 

[Cynide]

BTW edfair... we all know its that FRIEND of yours that plugged in the floppy wrong, right? *wink* LOL

 

[PositiveD]

Thanks a lot for all the TIPS.
Unfortunatly i STILL haven't resolved my problem.

1) I made sure I have both the ATX power supplies in place.
RAM in slot 1 well inserted. I removed everything but the RAM, and CPU. Still nothing

I took the Mobo out of the case and laid it on the top of the paking that it came from (that's not conductive right ?). Tried it. Same results.

At this point i'm getting frustrated..... can you tell ???

So I let me immagintation wheels spin freely..
ASUS says that the P4B533-V supports up to PC2100(266Mhz)although all ather sources tell me that it does support PC2700(333Mhz). So maybe it just doesn't like this particular DIMM ?!?
I changed the settings on for the JumperFree mode and and adjusted the CPU frequency and Multiplier to whaty they should be for my configuration. NO Luck!
I also tried slowing it down as much as possible. No Luck.
I tried changeing them again so the Bus would be at 166Mhz just to make the RAM happy. Nothing Nothing Nothing.

At this point I'm about to give up.
I tried the RAM on another PC and it works great.
Now I have to test the CPU and the Mobo. Unfortuantly I don't have a spare PC and I have to go to a 'PROFESSIONAL'

Keep the suggestions coming.
Thanks

 

[edfair]

Yeah! once or twice in the dark. Think it is called the perfect crowbar. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[PositiveD]

OK...

Sorry I didn't resopnd until now... but i didn't get any progress until now.

I pays $30 to have someone try my machine. IT MAKES ME REALLY MAD.
He tried the CPU and it was OK, same for the MoBo.The momory too.
So I bought a new DIMM a 256Mb jsut to do test and updated the BIOS hoping it would work. Nothing!

I'm not sure it's good news or not.
Anyway. Thanks a lot for all your tips.

 

[jminchella]

I have the same problem with a P4b533-E w/ a V8440 graphics card P4-2, 512 ram. I Built 2 identical systems - one worked perfectly right off the bat - the other no video, no boot. I brought it into tech service and found it will work on TFT but not a CRT. At the suggestion of a few others I tried swappping parts between the two to identify the problem. Now both don't provide video. Tech has it now but is just as lost as I am. Have you found out anything new?

 

[PositiveD]

It works fine with the PC2100 DIMM i put in it, I'm waiting to get back the PC2700 DIMM I sent back for replacement to see if this one works.