System Built. NO LIFE.

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CASTLECASCADE

New Member
Guyz....

I built a system for the first time. And then, it was the time to boot up my virgin system.

And......... = NO POWER. It won't start. I press the power button on the front and no response.

I know that:
1, The Power supply 520 watts is working fine.
2, The CPU and heatsink with fan are all set.
3, The Power Switch connector (coming from the power button in front) is
connected to the two pins that say PW+-. I tried it both ways
(interchanging + and -).
4, The main cable is connected from the PSU to the motherboard in the proper way. Also the 12V
connector (from PSU) is also connected in the right place.

What else could be the problem (all items are brand new)?

I may be overlooking something. First time......so.......please advise :(
 
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OldOneEye

New Member
Sounds like you're doing everything right. I just built my first a few weeks ago, my problem was that I forgot the extra power pins next to the CPU but it sounds like you found that. Just look all over the board for something you may have missed. Read your motherboard manual if you have too. But I'd think you'd be getting some kind of power. Does your motherboard have any lights on it that should light up if given power? If it does you can use those to help you find the problem.
 
mep916

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
I had the same problem. See if you have a power button on the mobo. After an hour of troubleshooting, I found the button, pushed it, and everything started up. :D
 
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CASTLECASCADE

New Member
oh sh*t............

a lot of INFO for you guyz:

Lemme say what exactly happened.

I removed the PSU to check it out. Then connected it back and a SUDDEN SPARK and a SOUND from the motherboard :eek:
At first, I could only figure out that the spark came from somewhere in between the Ram and the IDE, Floppy Connectors.

I thought my motherboard was fried :eek: I switched it back on and it won't boot. There are 3 connections (it is a modular PSU) to the PSU. I tried switchig on by removing 1 connection at a time. Found out that, when one of the 3 connections was plugged in (to the PSU), it won't boot. I checked that connection and found that it leads to both the floppy and a 3 pin connector on the motherboard (exactly where the spark came from). Under the 3pin, it says "system fan" "power fan" on the motherboard (it is the connection for one of those fans). There is a capacitor next to it and a small black square chip next to the capacitor (the chips name is something like "BA7....". This chip has a crack in the middle (i am very much sure it is a crack).

Now I unplugged the connection to the fan connector (there is no such fan present; all the fans present are already plugged in to other slots on the motherboard). Then I plugged in all 3 connections to PSU and the system boots fine..........FOR THE FIRST TIME......so much for my FIRST SYSTEM :eek:

So I got all these question for you:

I just spent $1500 for all the parts. I spent more than a day to build the system. Should I replace my motherboard (it has warranty) and do all the work again.....after waiting for it to arrive. I really have so much work to do in the computer. Would this be an insignificant problem or would it cause harm to my motherboard now, or in the future.

I really hope this is a small enough issue to ignore. Or is there some way I can check if everything is working okay? What should I do?

Is this the only problem this SPARK and Fracture would cause: I cannot install any addition fan in the future?

HELPPPPPPP :(
 
ThatGuy16

ThatGuy16

VIP Member
Well i would run it for a while to be sure nothings wrong, maybe run orthos for a few hours. The chip you say looks cracked, its not because if it was fried or cracked the system wouldn't be running right now.
 
mep916

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
CASTLECASCADE said:
This chip has a crack in the middle (i am very much sure it is a crack).
Click to expand...

Well, this "chip" is necessary for the mobo to function. I don't know WTF it does, but you need it. As ThatGuy16 stated, I don't think you would successfully boot if it was "cracked." You should post a picture of the area on your mobo you are concerned about and let people take a look.
 
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CASTLECASCADE

New Member
Hi guyz

After what you said, maybe I am not 100% sure if it is a crack. But I am posting PHOTO. Your take.

In any case, the spark (it was a big spark.....i thought something serious happened) came from this area. By this area, I mean the space between RAM and the IDE cable slot. Plz check out the photo. It shows EVERYTHING that I am talking about, namely:
1, The 4-pin slot to which I "HAD" connected a cable from the PSU.
2, The WRITING near the above slot: "SYSTEM FAN 2" "POWER FAN"
3, A Capacitor next to the 4-pin slot
4, And MOST IMPORTANTLY...............The CRACKED (???) CHIP RIGHT next
to the capacitor.

So basically CAPACITOR in the centre; CHIP to the left and 4PIN to the right.




The system boots and says "BOOT FROM DVD/CD..." "DISK BOOT FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK....". So I guess I cannot test anything else till I install the O/S. Infact, this is the first time I am using SATA hard disks. I don't know if the above message means 'NO O/S' or 'Disk not detected'.

Anyways.........more important thing is about the SPARK. Plz continue.......


 
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holdenssx

holdenssx

New Member
That definetly looks like a crack! I'd get a new one under warranty. I just hope the sparks that occurred didn't and won't in the future effect your other components. (RAM, CPU etc)
 
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paratwa

New Member
Let me get this straight, you plugged a connector from the psu into the 4 pin connector on the fan 2 connector on the motherboard right?

Now a question, was the connector you plugged into the motherboard a connector for the fan in the psu? Or was it a plug that supply's power to something.

If it was a plug that supply's power, then you know your problem. That 4 pin point on the mother board supply's power to a fan, if you connected a plug that is supposed to supply power to something to it, then you created an over voltage condition on your motherboard there by frying that chip.

Either way, I would RMA the board to where ever you bought it from and tell them it came that way.
 
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CASTLECASCADE

New Member
Its true. I was an idiot.

Fan cables should have 'a fan' at one end and 'motherboard slot' at the other end, i now realize. That power cable (from PSU) was surely not intended for ANY kind of fan and I did plug it in there...stupid me.


So......I guess, I need to return the motherboard even if I dont' care about installing any additional fans??
(i just installed windows xp and it is working fine).

What do you think?
(i certainly plan to use this computer/this mother board/ for the next 3 years).
 
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paratwa

New Member
Most likely you just blew a transistor that was connected to that fan port, if everything else seems to be working, then keep it.
 
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CASTLECASCADE

New Member
Hi,

yeah.....i really wanna keep it if I can....but only if i can.

I installed xp and the computer works lightening fast. Two problems...i find already. I need to know if they could at all be related to the SPARK.

Usually......I format and install XP, I simply need to connect my ethernet cable to get INTERNET (broadband DSL). I did the same, and I am NOT getting any internet. Well, next I will try with a ethernet card; but still the onboard ethernet port should work.

Secondly........I have 4gb (4 sticks of 1gb) RAM. But in "my computer properties", it ONLY shows 3.25GB. Its a quad core processor, if that helps at all.

I'm gonna install some kind of system information program and see what it says about the RAM.

But what do you guyz say about all this?? (is my ram gone too :confused:
 
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PabloTeK

Active Member
If you're using a 32-bit operating system then your system can only address 3.25GB of RAM, and this sounds a bit odd but have you installed the latest LAN drivers?
 
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Jaffa Cakes!

New Member
32-Bit XP can only support 4GB RAM Max. But usually, you don't see all the RAM installed do you?

Is all the drivers for the chipset etc... Installed in Windows XP?

Guy above posted at the same time as me :)
 
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paratwa

New Member
PabloTeK said:
If you're using a 32-bit operating system then your system can only address 3.25GB of RAM, and this sounds a bit odd but have you installed the latest LAN drivers?
Click to expand...

Correct!

It's a thing with windows 32 bit OS. Anything over 3 gigs of ram is a bit of a waste with a 32 bit OS.

If you have installed your drivers for your internal lan card, then you might have to resort to replacing the mother board or install another nick card.
 
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CASTLECASCADE

New Member
I just love you guyz...............solved those 2 problems.

Like you said, I tried the MOTHERBOARD CD and the LAN drivers did the trick for the internet.
And also, 32 bit o/s reserves some of the RAM for hardware...for me thats okay, as long as the hardware gets enough memory(!?!) to run smoothly.

Anyways, the internet is working fine; computer applications are working fine, hard disks are being detected and all.

Replacing motheboard would take long and would be a hassle. So can I just continue with this.

I mean...........does NO problem being detected right now mean no problem in the future. The only thing I can see there is a single crack on a single chip. That problem is not gonna spread like a VIRUS to the other parts. I don't want my expensive RAM, HARD DISKS etc to be threatened :)
 
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