Having Issues with a Custom Built PC

brockocoli

New Member
If in wrong forum, please excuse and move.

I've been having an issue with a Custom built PC of mine, which i have been assembling for the past few months. Before i get to the problem, ill state that i have taken a few classes at my Technology high school about troubleshooting PC's, and passed my A+ certification hardware exam, so my tech knowledge is moderate, ALTHOUGH THIS IS MY FIRST BUILD.

Parts list:

Asus P5GD1 Motherboard (from ebay :( )
80GB SATA HD
Sony DVD combo drive
Intel P4 520J 2.8Ghz processor
ATI Radeon X1300 Video Card PCI EXPRESS
Various Fans, case (obviously), 500 W Power supply, CRT Monitor

On the back of my Video card is a regular 15 pin male VGA port and a HD video port. I have the monitor plugged into the 15 pin port (the montior is tested and works with other machines), but i am getting no signal (even when trying another monitor...

As for motherboard beeps, i am getting none, but my motherboard DOESNT HAVE A SPEAKER, i bought one, but there is apparently no port on the motherboard for a speaker...the only one with the same pinset is one labled "CD" (4 pins). All components are recieving power.

The only thing i can think of is to get an old PCI video card, and try to see if it will work on that. My motherboard has no onboard video.

http://www.bgslevi.cz/image/AsusP5GD1Pro.jpg

^ Picture of my motherboard.

Any ideas/thoughts would be appreciated
 
Ram Could be the cause mate, Dont always assume its a Video Card issue,

Remove all Ram, Try one stick at a time in first slot

Make sure all dust and crap is off GPU

Re-insert GPU

It will most likely be a Ram related problem

Mitch
 
I would first re-seat all of the cards, ram and CPU to make sure every thing is nice a snug. Next If you can get your hands on another video card you can try that, or another reason I have seen for no video is the Power supply, Make sure it's on 110v and not 220. You also might want to make sure the Power supply is good because when the power supply is weak video is often the first to go.
 
The 110V and 220vs Depend on where you live, if you bought YOUR psu in YOUR Country, then i warn you, DO NOT play with the power supply settings. Not only do you risk blowing computer, but also doing serious damage to yourself..

That was pretty bad idea Vampiric Rouge... (the power supply bit)

I completely agree with everything else he said to do.
 
That was pretty bad idea Vampiric Rouge... (the power supply bit)


Hey now not all ideas are bad. I'm in America and as a prank or something some kids will change the switch on the back of the power supply from 110 to 220 and this results in having it appear to boot but getting no video, I was not trying to tell him to switch it, just simply check to make sure it was on the same one. Sorry for any confusion.
 
Now, In Australia, If the Red Power switch is Flicked, It Gets too many volts going through the computer, and Bang.

All good mate, Now back to this guys computer.

How is it goin?
 
Reseated all cards, tried it with one stick of ram in slot 1, no change.

Switched Power supply from 480W to 500W, no change.

My keyboard is recieving power, and after i turn the computer on, i can tap the num lock or caps lock key, and can tell it is recieving power (the little green led), however, after EXACTLY 5 times tapping the num lock or caps lock or scroll lock key, the keyboard seems to freeze, and wont recognize that i am turning the keyboard on or off, it just stays wherever it last was (lit or unlit). Not sure if this is relevant, but in any case, i still haven't picked up a pci card to try, which is my next move.

EDIT: btw, from physics/science, i have a basic understanding of electricity, and in the US, we use 110V to power everything. One power supply is on 110 (the alternate being 220), and the one i just put in (the 500W one), has 115 (with a 230V alternate). I didn't switch any of them at any time to the alternate settings.
 
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Smart Move on the last thing.

Umm, Quite a Wierd problem, have you done what we said to try?

Reseating all cards?
 
i would say his mobo could be dead, but he said he can get into bios or no?....maybe a bad HDD? just my 2 cents...:P
 
Reseated all cards, tried it with one stick of ram in slot 1, no change.

Hmm...Have you tried using the other stick of memory all by itself. Sorry if you have. Just the way you wrote it seems like you tried one stick and it didnt work and moved on from there. Make sure you try both(?) sticks of ram individually. If you only tried one and it happened to be the one that crapped out then you may not notice any difference inthe reaction from the pc...

And to ^^^
He cant see anything on the screen. nor can he hear any beeps. Makes it pretty difficult to see if he got through post and into bios. Not being rude, just, I know i would have a hard time trying to figure out if i got into bios without being able to see anything on the screen.



hmmm. no onboard....I woulda said plug it into the onboard vid slot, and get into bios and set it to read from the pci-e...but thats not applicable. Although Ive seen that issue happen many times where someone adds a graphics card to their pc and doesnt change the settings in the bios. hmmmm...

Try testing each power supply that you used with a tester...Sure your tech department should have one. if you still go to that school that is.

Try both sticks of ram individually. Id be hesitant about borrowing a buddies ram, because we cant narrow out a mobo issue yet, and dont wanna fry your buddies ram if somehting is wrong in that department.

All the pins on both connectors look good and straight? none broken or anything?...prob are fine, just good to check.


I second a notion from before as well...try getting your hands on an old pci gfx card and testing that. dont go spending money on it, just if you can get your hands on one.

What i recommend, to anyone in the field and likes to tinker with pc's is to go to the dump and grab up some old computers. Good to have a decent amount or variety of parts that you know work(verify before assuming lol) and can test on a pc without worrying about losing it or somehting happening to it(you got it for free...if you have a good dump =) ).

Try those things and check back in with us. Ill see what i can dig up for other things i can think of causing issues.
 
Hmm...Have you tried using the other stick of memory all by itself.

Yep. Tried both individually, and in different configurations as stated by the motherboard manual.

Try testing each power supply that you used with a tester...Sure your tech department should have one. if you still go to that school that is.

Just graduated ;)

I second a notion from before as well...try getting your hands on an old pci gfx card and testing that. dont go spending money on it, just if you can get your hands on one.

Will do.

As for the bit about the fried MOBO, my motherboard WAS bought USED, but it included almost everything from the box. I cant get in contact with the seller, but all components are recieving power...still, that has been lingering in the back of my mind too.
 
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