No input on fresh build

I just finished putting this computer together:

http://www.computerforum.com/137214-budget-build-my-dad.html

The computer gets power, and so does the monitor. The monitor says there is no input when the computer is connected. All connections are snug and there's no weird things happening with them. The only thing out of the ordinary besides the no input issue is that I can't turn the pc off with the power button, I have to use the switch on the power supply. It will turn on with the power button though. If these are unrelated just worry about the no input issue, I will make a separate thread in the correct area for the power button issue.

Any help is appreciated. I'm thinking about putting the video card in my computer to see if it may be faulty, but if there is a simple fix that would be a lot better than having to take them apart. Thank you.

I think you need to reinspect all wiring coming into the board from the power, reset, led light for HD and power to see if anything is reversed or cross plugged on the board itself. Look closely at the board diagram seen in the user manual for that and get in there with a small pocket light and magnifying glass. It's simply too easy for beginners to cross wire those.

Agreed, I was very careful plugging those in due to a previous experience with them and my mom's build. I will double check them though, and I'm assuming that that has to do with the power button issue? After that issue is fixed I still need to get an image on the monitor so that I can install windows, etc. Thanks!

Try reseating the video card since that's likely not any high end model needing the additional power feed just in case that isn't down fully. The inspection will reveal if you did happen to get something reversed seeing the power on or you could simply have a bad button on the case itself. Usually only one wire will gum up the works however.

I reseated the card, still no picture. You are correct it does not need additional power from the power supply. The card's fan turns, and is connected to the card itself, not a different source. I also redid all the HDD LED, Power switch, etc. wires, with no benefit. Now I have another issue, the CPU fan (stock with the processor) only turns about 10 times then stops when first turned on. Then when turning the computer off it spins about 3 times, like it has a clutch or something. This leads me to think the motherboard is defective, if all three of these problems are occuring. Again, if they are unrelated then disregard them. I am more focused on getting a picture on the monitor through this thread - I will post different threads for the other issues in their respective forum.

If the cpu fan isn't spinning fast enough most systems won't even boot. Does it sound like you getting past the post tests and Windows is making the effort to load up? If not the protection circuit on the board could be preventing a normal boot.

The stock fan may be seeing a blade tip stuck or simply be defective motor. The worst would be finding out nothing is wrong with the fan but the board has a bad cap or something there putting a halt on things. If the system was simply shutting off after only a few seconds then that would generally be the thing most likely.

lowcar100 said:

I just finished putting this computer together:

http://www.computerforum.com/137214-budget-build-my-dad.html

The computer gets power, and so does the monitor. The monitor says there is no input when the computer is connected. All connections are snug and there's no weird things happening with them. The only thing out of the ordinary besides the no input issue is that I can't turn the pc off with the power button, I have to use the switch on the power supply. It will turn on with the power button though. If these are unrelated just worry about the no input issue, I will make a separate thread in the correct area for the power button issue.

Any help is appreciated. I'm thinking about putting the video card in my computer to see if it may be faulty, but if there is a simple fix that would be a lot better than having to take them apart. Thank you.

Click to expand...

Are you sure you got all the standoffs under the board in the right places?

PC eye - On the separate thread I have for the HSF Stildawn brought up that it could be a power saving feature, and the fan spins freely when it does spin. So I will have some more testing to see if maybe it just needs to heat up some so that it will have a reason to turn on. I couldn't tell you if it sounds like it is trying to boot into windows because I haven't even put the disc in to install windows. I have had no picture since I pushed the power button the first time. The system will stay on as long as I let it, but with the HSF issue I was being safe and shutting it off after only a few seconds.

Strangle - The standoffs are the typically bronze colored "screws" that the motherboard attaches to correct? If so the case only came with four, and the motherboard came with no extras. I put the four that came with the case on the four corners. Would I need more so that I have more grounds? Why would that have an effect on the issues? (Just curious, not trying to be rude)

What he was referring to there was accidently having fastened a mount in the wrong hole and that touching something on the board itself other then the flat round silver area around the holes on the board itself causing a short to ground. With only 4 mounts I doubt you are seeing a short to ground however. Placing a non conductive washer inbetween mount and board can help rule that out.

As far as the cpu fan itself since no OS has been installed yet take a look at where on the board you plugged the fan. If not in the spot marked cpu that would explain the problems since that is a requirement not just any spot since the cpu fan is monitored by the board. That would be on the small white colored socket seeing that marked for cpu there.

lowcar100 said:

Strangle - The standoffs are the typically bronze colored "screws" that the motherboard attaches to correct? If so the case only came with four, and the motherboard came with no extras. I put the four that came with the case on the four corners. Would I need more so that I have more grounds? Why would that have an effect on the issues? (Just curious, not trying to be rude)

Click to expand...

Just make sure you dont push to hard in the middle of the board. Only use them under holes that look like this, with grounding strips.

Thank you for the precaution. I was being careful and the four holes I used had the grounding strips I've never felt too secure when the motherboard flexes even the slightest bit lol.

On some boards all you will see will be a small circular flat silver colored surface around the immediate opening and apparently not going to anything else like a common ground. Generally the board grounds through the supply while those are pointing out which holes are to be used to avoid any shorts having the tip of the mounts touching anything else.

If you still uncertain if that has been avoided many will simply place the board by itself on a non conductive surface seeing only the cpu, memory, video card, and supply for seeing if that's the problem. The board is then more or less kick started by touching the two pins for the power button with something simple like the tip of a screwdriver or paperclip simply for the momentary contact.

The slow speed seen with the fan on the stock hsf however seems to suggest having nothing plugged into the one marked for cpu. Here with a large 3rd party cooler in the fan mounted on the side cover is used for the plug on the board marked for cpu. That prevents the system from stalling meeting the minimum fan rpms there.

The protection circuits on the newer model boards have to see that in order to allow the system to start. If the fan there isn't any good you may have to do the same simply plugging in any extra case fan with that type of plug just to see if you then see a normal post.

Ok I will test my known working video card on my dad's computer to try to rule out if the video card works or not. If it still produces no picture I will try setting up the board on a non conductive surface as suggested. I'm pretty sure that the HSF issue is really not an issue, just a power saving feature.

When looking at where the cpu fan is plugged in on the board see if you see "cpu" usually in white text marked on the board right next to that plug or refer to the diagram seen in the user manual. Many boards simply won't run if no fan is plugged into that spot due to the onboard hardware monitor and overheat protection.

Another item to check in retrospect here is the problem I ran into simply swapping out power supplies on the last build and suddenly nothing would run while the fans still spun? http://www.computerforum.com/80790-bad-board-simply-need-replug.html

All that turned out to be was one loose contact inside the 12v cpu feed preventing a known working system from starting up. Hopefully that's all it is there for you. When simply unplugging the feed and very lightly replugging it back until the retainer clicked into place suddenly everything came to life!

GOOD NEWS! That plug on the motherboard (next to the CPU, labeled 12v ATX power) had room for 8 pins, but I had no more 8pin connections coming from the PSU. After a while I found a +12v power plug with only four pins coming from the PSU, and the shapes for the plug fit, so I figured what the hell, and wouldn't you know? Every issue mentioned was fixed! Thank you guys for your help, I couldn't figure out why there wasn't anything plugged into such an important looking plug lol. PC eye, your thread about the +12v connection being faulty triggered me to look more in depth at that connection on the motherboard. Thanks again!

At least you are now seeing a running system hopefully working out for you there. A loose contact or forgetting to plug everything in will do it every time! At least now you will know one more thing to look at for the next build.

Yes, I've been learning as I go, 3rd build completed to date, all reliable so far (knock on wood). I'm sure I still have a lot to learn though lol.

By the time you get into the next build you will starting all over again since that will be seeing a totally newer set of hardwares to work with. While some of the basics will remain the same you can see how you missed one simple change with the cpu feed there.