# PC Builders



## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

Advise please

Tonight I have built a PC for the first time. Everything went nicely until I switched it on and .......... NOTHING........ no lights no beeps no fans nothing nada nil nuthink 

Now I am hoping that its just the power supply but i cant test that until tomoz when I can steal the one outta my daughters and try that one in the new PC.

Is there anything else that I could be causing this liflessness though ????


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## DubbedUP (Oct 2, 2007)

Evil Twin said:


> Advise please
> 
> Tonight I have built a PC for the first time. Everything went nicely until I switched it on and .......... NOTHING........ no lights no beeps no fans nothing nada nil nuthink
> 
> ...


Try the basics first. The fuse in the plug?


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

will try another power lead first good idea


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

(not being funny) have you switched the PSU on? Usually a switch on the back near where the lead goes in.

Otherwise, check all connections particularly PSU>Mobo as the PSU won't run if two pins aren't shorted out at the Mobo end.

S


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

yea looked for the on switch as my first hope:thumb:


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

If you're getting litterally nothing, not even a fan spin up or a light come on. You would want to start by checking all cables for a start, a different kettle lead would be a good start. double check the pins that you've put the power on button to are the right ones to begin with, and then that they're secure. what u can do if your not sure the button is up to much, is make a connection on both pins with a flathead screwdriver and it will bump it on having the same effect, this is out we test alot of them at work, after that before trying your daughters one is to unplug everything apart from the mobo power 20/24 pin and extra 4pin if it has one. just to see if u get power, leave gfx off the board, and any other expansion cards, also ram. you should get power anyways, u will then need ram in the board, and if you are getting it on by this point u will want to check for post beeps, you might find something is faulty or the board doesnt like something so therefore will not allow u to power on at all.


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

if u dont get any power what so ever, after trying all of this, including the screwdriver on the powerbutton pins, just incase the button is shot, i'd be looking at the psu being at fault. have u seated the cpu correctly on the board?


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

yea it slotted in nicely. I didn't force it in but the "cage" shut nicely on it


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> yea it slotted in nicely. I didn't force it in but the "cage" shut nicely on it


id suggest running a flathead or a metal source over the pins to see if u can bump it in to action, as ur getting a much better connection through that. although i wouldnt imagine looking at ur situation it will help things much


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

where abouts are u located?


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

lincolnshire


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Unplug everything you don't need. So no hard drives, no DVD drives etc. Just boot with 1 stick of RAM in the first slot, check the manual to see which slot this is, it changes per manufacturer/chipset, graphics card (if not built in).

Make sure the power button is connected to the motherboard, if not you can short out the 2 pins with a flat head screwdriver.

Also make sure none of the metal bits of the molex connectors are touching the metal on the case.

Also make sure that the 4 pin connector from the PSU is connected to the motherboard as well as the 20/24 pin connector.

Reseat the CPU if necessary.


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

jamest said:


> Unplug everything you don't need. So no hard drives, no DVD drives etc. Just boot with 1 stick of RAM in the first slot, check the manual to see which slot this is, it changes per manufacturer/chipset, graphics card (if not built in).
> 
> Make sure the power button is connected to the motherboard, if not you can short out the 2 pins with a flat head screwdriver.
> 
> ...


I feel as if i've just repeated myself again without typing.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

samurl said:


> I feel as if i've just repeated myself again without typing.


Sorry sir.

I had obviously opened the thread before you had posted your reply.

I will remember in the future to refresh each thread 10 times before I post to make sure you have not posted an identical post with poor grammar.


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

jamest said:


> Sorry sir.
> 
> I had obviously opened the thread before you had posted your reply.
> 
> I will remember in the future to refresh each thread 10 times before I post to make sure you have not posted an identical post with poor grammar.


Give yourself a pat on the back. :lol:


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## jinx (Oct 29, 2008)

Try the power switch on the back of the PSU


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

no power switch on back of psu


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Have you tried all of the above suggestions, Evil Twin?

If you're really stuck and finding it hard to diagnose the problem with everything in the case, you might be better off taking the board out and laying it either on the anti-static bag it came in or a peice of cardboard so you know it isn't shorting out anywhere. 

Make sure the CPU is seated correctly on the board, and that you have the fan power attached. You will only need the 4pin(I'm gonna assume that your board has this being new) and the 20/24pin connected to the board to get power. 

Try then using the flathead screwdriver and make sure you touch both power pins on the board at the same time.

You can of course do all of this in the case, but you may find it easier out.


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

Will be trying all the suggestions tonight mate. If I had left one of the mobo case posts out (don't think I have) would that cause the board not to earth properly ?


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> Will be trying all the suggestions tonight mate. If I had left one of the mobo case posts out (don't think I have) would that cause the board not to earth properly ?


Hi,

No thats absoloutely fine, some people prefer to go for a real tidy look and run certain cables along underneath the motherboard and out through the pre-drilled holes in the back, which sometimes means you can't make use of every single one, however it is reccomended that you use as many as you can.

Aslong as the board isn't sagging in one corner, and you think you've got them all you should be fine.. you will see the open holes from the top of the board anyways if you have with no risers underneath.


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

I like that running cables underneath the board idea gives me more incentive to strip it down and start again if I need to:thumb:


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> I like that running cables underneath the board idea gives me more incentive to strip it down and start again if I need to:thumb:


If you do, becarefull of what you end up running underneath, if it's an ide cable make sure it lays flat against the case, the same stands for a s-ata cable. If you want some ideas, or ever need to ask anything pop over to www.hardforum.com I've been on there since about 2004 and it's been a great source for ideas..

Here is the "rate my cables" thread, it's been around for a while now, and it's kind of like the equivelent of the ocd with car cleaning


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

What case did you purchase btw? you might actually find that if it's not a case produced for the modders market it might not have as many holes behind the board for cables to run through, you could always drill little holes out the way with a circular saw.


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

cheapy galaxy 3 case


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> cheapy galaxy 3 case


Looks like you will probably be ok for cable routing though, and tbh the case's reviews from people who matter aren't too bad.

I would get the system completely up and running first before hooking the lights up, just incase they cause any problems!!


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

just had a revelation while walking the dog. When I plugged the keyboard in last night a LED lit up so there must be some power getting in


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> just had a revelation while walking the dog. When I plugged the keyboard in last night a LED lit up so there must be some power getting in


have you connected the power on switch upto the mobo correctly?


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## Judas (Jul 3, 2008)

did you push the 24pin in fully, are you running a p4 or p8 connector is it in properly?


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## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

few things

Big long power connector and usually a 4 pin next to it
then another 4 pin ATX connector somewhere

also make sure all the posts are used, if the mobo is shorting against the case you will have this prob


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

IT WORKS !!!!!!!!!

musta been either the 24 pin or 4 pin connector. Opened the case disconnected everything but those connectors gave them a push and shorted out the on pins and nothing.

Took it all out of the case and assembled it on the tabletop and hey presto it all fired up so put it all back in the case and connected one thing at a time and kept checking that it all still fired up until everything was connected and it still fired up nicely.


THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVISE GUYS !!!!!:thumb:

Configured the BIOS but now the dvd drive I installed seems to have died. It opened once but wouldnt close so I pushed it shut but now it wont open at all. It does show a power led at system boot but then nothing


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Well.

Serial ATA drive?

Check the cable again to make sure it's firmly connected at either end.

Simply plug in the drive to one of the s-ata power outlets from the psu alone, the data cable aswell if you like, but you should be able to get it open and closed again without this.

You can use an unfolded paper clip and push it in to the tiny hole on the front of the drive probably just below where the drive opens if there is a cd in there jammed, this will force the mechanism to pop it open

hold it in your hand and see if you can feel or hear it spin up.


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

IDE

Nothing stuck in it


gonna try a different molonex tomoz

but well satisfied to have a working system for tonight


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Yeah I'd try another Molex connector, it's so quick to swap one over there is no argument about doing so tbh.

Try all the combinations you can think of. See if you can see it in the BIOS at all. If you can hear it spin up but the drive door won't open, use the method I mentioned with the unfolded paper clip in to the little hole on the front, this will force the drive open. 

You mentioned it opened, and hasn't since, what have you changed for it now not to open, apart from probably putting a CD in the drive?

You might find that by just disconnecting it and reconnecting it again it will jump in to life, thats PC's for you


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Or the CD/DVD drive was cheap and has really crap gearing that has broken due to being pushed in (especially if the computer was off at the time). Paper clip method should be used as little as possible, especially if you want to use the drive again.


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

You will find that the drive opening is pretty much independent of the OS in terms of the tray functioning as it should.

If it's jammed, you will most likely find that the rubber band has slipped off, thus not opening. 

Like I mentioned you should hear it whir if it's getting power, even more so if there is a disk inside, but of course you will find that it will still not open.


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

Well I have tried other connectors on the drive and still nothing. BIOS can see the drive. Opened the tray with a drawing pin and put the OS boot disc in and pushed the drive shut but it isn't reading either so I am guessing its a dud drive :thumb:


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> Well I have tried other connectors on the drive and still nothing. BIOS can see the drive. Opened the tray with a drawing pin and put the OS boot disc in and pushed the drive shut but it isn't reading either so I am guessing its a dud drive :thumb:


It would seem it.

piggy back it on to your daughters machine if you like, and see what happens with it then.. you will soon tell if it's a dud or not.. what brand is it? I suppose I must have been quite lucky with drives over time I haven't had a dud so far *touch wood*


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

oredered a new one now.


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> oredered a new one now.


RMA the old one. you could claim it was dead on arrival(DOA) if you have no life in it what so ever and you're 100% sure it doesn't work full stop.

Where have you been ordering from. Who manufactures the drive?


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

Its a samsung drive but its one of only 2 components that I ordered from a private seller on ebay so no RMA I am afraid. Not gonna fuss around with ebay claims as I didn't pay much for it. Lesson learnt :thumb:


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## samurl (Feb 9, 2009)

Evil Twin said:


> Its a samsung drive but its one of only 2 components that I ordered from a private seller on ebay so no RMA I am afraid. Not gonna fuss around with ebay claims as I didn't pay much for it. Lesson learnt :thumb:


Yes, you're probably right, although to be honest mate if the item was described as working then you should put a claim in, unless you can't be bothered full stop 

I always go brand new with PC parts, unless it's something you can trust second hand.

Get the new one up and running and away you go.

Feel free to PM me anytime you like regarding anything else, I'm always checking throughout the days so highly unlikely to miss anything


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## Evil Twin (Jun 15, 2008)

Bought the CPU off of the bay also but from a very reputable seller and all was good with that. I gotta admit to my heart dropping when it didn't all fire up to start with mind you lol


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