Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 29

Thread: So I'm stuck building a computer.....

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
    Posts
    13,181

    So I'm stuck building a computer.....

    for a friend of mine who only had money to buy some components.

    I have it all together, new ASUS motherboard, new AMD AM2+ 2.1 Ghz processor, 4 Gb of memory and the such.

    I power it on and I get No Video and No Beeps to say something is wrong.

    Ok...it's been over 10 years since I have built a computer from parts.

    What could be wrong if I have no video at all....no even with the bios startup.

    Does the motherboard need to be isolated from the chassis?

    I have double and triple checked all connections and it all looks good.

    SATA 1TB drive, and Samsung CD/DVD-RW drive (also SATA)

    I pulled the processor tonight and there aren't any bent pins that I could find.

    Any advice?
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Hill Country Texas
    Posts
    941
    Try and remove the battery and clear the CMOS via the jumper on the board. Make sure its not shorting out on anything. Try firing it up with only a single stick of RAM, move between slots if it doesn't work. Do the same thing with another stick in case you grabbed a bad one. Try starting it with only the processor, RAM, and video card installed-no HD's or anything else connected. Make sure you have the power plugged into the video card (a lot of cards nowdays require their own 6 pin power plug...mine actually requires two!). If you have another power supply, try it. Double check the RAM type/speed is correct for that motherboard. Make sure your power supply fan is plugged into the correct plug on the motherboard-if the motherboard doesn't detect speed on the CPU fan sometimes it won't boot as a safety measure.

    Try to assemble the whole thing outside the case on a piece of cardboard or something non-conductive. Sometimes cases do weird things.

    Also look for puffed capacitors on the motherboard. They should be flat on the top and the bottom. I've sworn off ASUS boards because I've got a few that had puffed caps from the factory.
    Last edited by Bryan Morgan; 09-05-2010 at 12:49 AM. Reason: dyslexia

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Allen, TX
    Posts
    2,017
    does it have a video card or using the on board?

    if it has a video card, that's the most likely culprit. if the video card isn't seated just right you get no beeps and no video.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
    Posts
    13,181
    Most everything is "onboard". No video card or anything like that. It all was purchased from TigetDirect as one of those 'bare bones' systems on sale.....$219.....so it came with case, power supply, hard drive, CD/DVD, memory, motherboard (M2N68-Plus), cpu, and cooling fan. It all has power...cpu fan, motherboard power indicator works, power switch works, CD/DVD and the hard drive power up. I just don't have any video feed out to my monitor to indicate that stuff is working as it should.

    Bryan, I'll have to look it all over again today after church sometime.

    Every once in a while, I get myself in trouble like this just because I'm trying to be helpful to those that can't help themselves or just aren't technically inclined enough to even start working on their own computer.
    Last edited by Dennis Peacock; 09-05-2010 at 6:24 AM.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis Peacock View Post
    for a friend of mine who only had money to buy some components.

    I have it all together, new ASUS motherboard, new AMD AM2+ 2.1 Ghz processor, 4 Gb of memory and the such.

    I power it on and I get No Video and No Beeps to say something is wrong.

    Ok...it's been over 10 years since I have built a computer from parts.

    What could be wrong if I have no video at all....no even with the bios startup.

    Does the motherboard need to be isolated from the chassis?

    I have double and triple checked all connections and it all looks good.

    SATA 1TB drive, and Samsung CD/DVD-RW drive (also SATA)

    I pulled the processor tonight and there aren't any bent pins that I could find.

    Any advice?
    No video. No beeps. Are you sure the motherboard's got power? Any LEDs that are coming on?

  6. #6
    I just read your last post. I guess it all does have power. It wouldn't be the first time I've had a dead motherboard delivered. A good place to start is go through every jumper setting and make sure you have something that makes sense. Yanking the battery may help too but it's suspicious to me that the BIOS doesn't appear to even be getting to the POST. That's sort of one of the basic things you just expect to always work unless something is physically configured improperly.
    Last edited by John Coloccia; 09-05-2010 at 9:48 AM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis Peacock View Post
    Most everything is "onboard". No video card or anything like that. It all was purchased from TigetDirect as one of those 'bare bones' systems on sale.....$219.....so it came with case, power supply, hard drive, CD/DVD, memory, motherboard (M2N68-Plus), cpu, and cooling fan. It all has power...cpu fan, motherboard power indicator works, power switch works, CD/DVD and the hard drive power up. I just don't have any video feed out to my monitor to indicate that stuff is working as it should.

    Bryan, I'll have to look it all over again today after church sometime.

    Every once in a while, I get myself in trouble like this just because I'm trying to be helpful to those that can't help themselves or just aren't technically inclined enough to even start working on their own computer.
    Quote Originally Posted by John Coloccia View Post
    No video. No beeps. Are you sure the motherboard's got power? Any LEDs that are coming on?
    Uh....John......
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  8. #8
    Could be a DOA part.

    Disconnect everything from the motherboard except the power cables and the front panel connectors, but disconnect anything that may be connected to the reset pins on the motherboard.

    No hard drives, optical drives, etc., should be connected to the motherboard or power supply while you're trying to diagnose POST (Power On Self Test) issues.

    Make sure you have TWO power connectors going from the power supply to the motherboard. There is a 24-pin (2x12) and a 4-pin (2x2). They BOTH need to be connected.

    Make sure your RAM isn't bad. If you're using more than one module, drop down to a single module at a time and test each of them.

    Make sure the CMOS jumper isn't in the CLEAR position, but is jumpered for NORMAL.

    Pull the AC feed from the power supply each time you make a change.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551

    Memory question

    I've built a few PC's but not in the past few years. Don't some of the multi-core processors need memory sticks in pairs?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    2,036
    Dennis,
    If you want very specific advice, tell us the motherboard model. People will be probably be able to find the manual online.
    Last edited by Stephen Tashiro; 09-05-2010 at 10:43 AM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Mid Michigan
    Posts
    3,559
    Dumb question, check the monitor on off switch, is it on? Try another monitor.
    David B

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Curt Harms View Post
    I've built a few PC's but not in the past few years. Don't some of the multi-core processors need memory sticks in pairs?
    You'll get better performance in pairs, but it isn't required.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
    Posts
    13,181
    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Tashiro View Post
    Dennis,
    If you want very specific advice, tell us the motherboard model. People will be probably be able to find the manual online.
    Copied out of my previous post:

    motherboard (M2N68-Plus)

    I'll try some more tomorrow.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    2,036
    The manual that I found for that motherboard doesn't show any onboard video. It shows that the motherboard could use a PCI type of video card. Is there a video card plugged into the motherboad?
    Last edited by Stephen Tashiro; 09-05-2010 at 10:55 PM.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Mtl, Canada
    Posts
    2,379
    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis Peacock View Post

    I have it all together, new ASUS motherboard, new AMD AM2+ 2.1 Ghz processor, 4 Gb of memory and the such.

    Any advice?
    which AMD processor is it exactly? The Phenom or the athlon?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •