First Post.. need some help!! :)

[phishflavr]

Hello everyone.. this is my first post to these forums after reading them for quite some time. I was just wondering if I could get some help. I have recently purchased parts for a new computer and I can't even get it to turn on. I'm using a MSI K7T266 Pro2 and I'm pretty sure I have all jumpers right. I also am running an XP1700+ with a Coolermaster HS and had just one stick of 256DDR2100 ram in there for startup. The only card I have in is my AGP radeon graphics card and hooked up the harddrive and floppy cables. I can't get the dang thing to power up. Is the motherboard fried? Am I doing something wrong? What are some things I can check to make sure what I did is right... I'm starting to pull my hair out of my head.. .. any help would be great.. Thank you. Have a good day.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Welcome to Anandtech phishflavr. Let's see what we can do here. Does anything happen when you hit the power switch? Do the fans spin up? Do you hear any beeps? When you mounted your mobo did you use standoffs, or were there raised "tits" on the case backing? Did you unlock the XP?

If I were you, I would check the back of the mobo to make sure nothing is shorting against the case. I would also reseat your AGP card, DDR and check the orientation of all your cables. It might be a good idea to short the CMOS clear jumper to reset the defaults.

 

[phishflavr]

Thanks for the welcome . Aye.. I used those little things (standoffs) before I put the screws in.. mounted the 4 outside screws.. didn't mount the inside two.. I'm pretty sure the bottom isn't touching but I'll look. As to anything turning on.. nothing turns on so it's just like hmmm. Do I have to be worried about the motherboard being shipped dead? Or should I just check around with things first?

 

[MrHelpful]

Did you plug in your power supply connector? (The one that goes to the motherboard)

 

[phishflavr]

The big 20 pin connector?? Yah I did that... I thought I knew what I was doing.. I guess I was wrong lol

 

[MrHelpful]

Do you have any replacement parts to switch the parts already in the machine?

 

[phishflavr]

I have my dad's old computer but what parts could I test to switch out?

 

[MrTux]

Make sure that you have the switch that connects from the outside of the case to a little two pin place on the mobo (Most likely lower right hand corner) connected properly. If you have it in the wrong place or on backwards, pressing the power button will result in nothing. I have built a few systems and this has happened to me before. Look in your motherboard manual, it should show you exactly where the cables go. Also make sure that the cable is plugged into the mobo the right way, and not flipped around.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

MrTux brings up a good point. You could easily have your power-on switch connected to HDD LED pins or some such, resulting in nothing happening when you press the power button. Also, is the PSU switch on the back set to the "1" instead of the "0" (off)?

 

[phishflavr]

aye.. the power sw cable is in the right spot.. tried flipping over to see if was on backwards too.. Sometimes when I push my power button in.. my lights on my keyboard light up.. so some power must be goin through... just nothing turns on.. hmm!!

EDIT: Yes.. turned to the 1 as well

 

[MrTux]

What brand and how big of power supply are you using? It is possible that the power supply is dead.

 

[phishflavr]

My barebones system can be viewed at this link My Barebones! with a different al case.. the 4388+ESL case.. that's what I'm using... hope this can help a bit

 

[MrTux]

So I gather then that your case came with the 400w Sky Hawk model shown on that website? Since you got a different case, you should check the power supply that you have. On the side there should be a label that says how many watts it is, and who made it. I have never heard of a Sky Hawk power supply...so it is likely that it could be bad. I don't even hold much stock in brand name power supplies these days- I had a 1 month old Antec 300w ps die on me a week ago.

 

[phishflavr]

hmm yup that ones.. it.. I'm going to take the whole thing apart and try again.. is there anyway to test if the ps or mb is toast?

 

[MrTux]

<< hmm yup that ones.. it.. I'm going to take the whole thing apart and try again.. is there anyway to test if the ps or mb is toast? >>



What other kind of system do you have laying around? If it has an ATX motherboard (Generally a PII or greater) then you could swap the power supply into that system and see if it boots it up. If not, then you know you have a bad power supply. And if it does, then you know something else is the problem.

 

[phishflavr]

got a power supply in the old athlon 900 I could try swappin out.. let me play with it a bit.. brb..
EDIT: Should I put those little circular round things under and ontop of the mb when I screw in btw?? I just had them in on the top.. if the mobo is shorting will that be why it's not powering up? I had a bag with so many screws I didn't know what to use.. I used the longest ones btw..

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

hmm yup that ones.. it.. I'm going to take the whole thing apart and try again.. is there anyway to test if the ps or mb is toast?

Well, after reviewing the manual, all I can say is, "why did MSI make such a crappy manual?" Do you have the HSF connected to the CFAN1 header? Some mobo's will not start up if a HSF is not detected on this header. Do you have it connected to a PSU lead by chance? Since your keyboard LED's are lighting, the PSU is not my primary suspect, although one of the rails could be too low or too high, preventing boot.

 

[phishflavr]

Yup I have that connection... hmm.. lemme re-read that crappy manual hehe.. BTW thanks for all the help.. this is pretty frustrating

 

[phishflavr]

Is the brass standoff screws the little brass ones.. maybe I have the wrong screws in?

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Yes, standoffs come in either brass or plastic. The plastic ones usually punch through the case holes provided or have to be modified to do so. The brass ones should screw directly into the holes or "tits" if they're not high enough. From there, place the mobo onto the brass fittings standoffs, and use case screws to secure the mobo to the standoffs. You will see a metal ring around each hole. This allows proper grounding between the motherboard and the case.

 

[phishflavr]

that's my prob.. thought standoffs(brass) were on.. I completey forgot to put them there.. guess I was shorting out.. I have these lil rubber rings.. should I put the rubber ring down first and standoff over them.. than place the mobo ontop of the standoffs? or forget about the lil rubber ring things?

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

The rubber rings are unneccesary IMO. They're used to prevent damage to the board by the pressure of the screws. The standoff will still make contact with the metal ring around the hole on the back of the mobo. I don't use the rings because I've never applied enough pressure to damage the PCB.

Just screw in your standoffs. Lay the motherboard over the standoffs, and screw the mobo down to the standoffs. While you're doing this pray to God that you didn't damage the board while it was in a shorted condition.

 

[phishflavr]

Put em back on.. guess I shorted the board.. UGH

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Why don't you enable PM's (private messages) so that I can give you more advice without populating the thread.

 

[veryape]

Take the board out of the case completely so you can tell for sure if it is grounding itself out. When you have it out but still all connected put it on something non-conductive like wood or something like that and power it up, it should boot. If it doesn't then the problem is not it shorting out and you need to check something else.

It's process of elimination and sucks when it's your first time and you have problems, which almost always is the case with first time builders