New build, no signal to monitor

[rhizaowns]

I just got my new build in, put it together, and I'm not getting a signal to my monitor. I tried everything I could think of. I initially thought it was my old, crappy Antec SL-450, so I went and bought an Antec Basiq 500, but it has the same results. I tried reseating everything a couple times as well. Here are my specs.

Abit IP35e
C2D e6750
eVGA 7900GTX
2x1gb Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800
Antec Basiq 500

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[robisbell]

okay the basics, you have both the 20/24 pin power connecter snugly plugged into the board and the 4 pin 12V rail as well? does the video card need power to, and is it plugged in?

I've been seeing alot of those model mobo's having issues here lately.

 

[rhizaowns]

yes, I'm sure everything is connected correctly. Should I send the board back? Is it possible that it could be my CPU?

 

[robisbell]

well, could you recheck just to be sure. it's too soon to say for sure. take one thing at a time. could you try using a different card if you have one? this model does not have onbaord video, if I remember correctly.

 

[rhizaowns]

I've reseated and reconnected everything a few times.. with two different power supplies. I haven't tried another card because I don't have one, and you're right about no onboard video. I also tried removing a stick of ram and all of the other devices that have nothing to do with signal to monitor, so right now it's just my video card, a stick of ram, cpu, and motherboard.

 

[rhizaowns]

update: I borrowed a friend's monitor and video card, still no signal. so I've narrowed it down to either CPU or motherboard. or I guess RAM, but how likely is it that two separate sticks of ram are causing no video?

 

[robisbell]

it could happen if they are cheap ram. I'm gonna probably say based on the number of the model having issues lately, that it's the motherboard.

 

[rhizaowns]

I just got my new motherboard in, and it's doing the same thing. One thing I failed to mention is that when I power it up, the CPU fan spins, then stops, then both the CPU and video card fans start spinning. It's like it resets itself after powering on.

Also, my power supply only has a 4-pin 12v for CPU, and the motherboard has an 8-pin slot. The motherboard booklet seems to think it's ok to only use 4-pin, it tells you which 4 of the 8 to use if your power supply only has a 4-pin connector. Could this be the problem?

 

[robisbell]

you need a PSU with a 8pin 12v rail cable.

 

[rhizaowns]

ok, I'm trying it on a PSU with 8pin 12v and the vid card isn't getting powered up, and also it just keeps restarting every 5-10 seconds. The PSU is a Seasonic SS-600HT.

 

[robisbell]

and does the video card require power too? you may have damaged the board when you did not use the proper power on the 8pin. it should be enough to run your system, how sure are you that it's in 100% working order (the PSU)?

 

[rhizaowns]

It runs my friends similar system, he's never had a problem with it. Actually, I just hooked my Antec back up and it's doing the same thing as the Seasonic now. Reboots after a couple seconds.

 

[robisbell]

hmmm, the new board is it the exact same model as the other and revision? I will admit, this one has me a little perplexed. I am wondering if you were right to question the ram, but will await your response.

 

[rhizaowns]

Yes, exact same model. What are the odds that two Crucial Ballistix sticks are bad though? I've tried swapping them in and out for each other.

 

[robisbell]

it'd be the 1st time I've seen it happen, without the board being fried from a power strike. can you run the memory in your friends pc?

 

[rhizaowns]

I wish. He has a DDR/AMD motherboard, which is why I haven't tried the RAM or CPU to make sure they work.

 

[robisbell]

he can run the video card in his machine without issue, correct?

 

[Fardringle]

The 8 pin power plug shouldn't be an issue. The IP35e is designed to run with a 4 or 8 pin plug.

The fact that you are getting no video signal at all indicates that the system is not even getting to the initial POST startup sequence. This could be a power supply problem, a video card problem, an issue with the RAM or CPU, a failure in the motherboard, or a short circuit or improperly installed/seated component.

You went over some of these already so I'll just skip to the things that you haven't done yet.

When you turn the computer on, are there any beep error codes or does it just spin the fans for a few seconds then reset?

You mentioned that the computer still reboots itself if you only have one memory stick installed. Have you tried both sticks in each slot one at a time to see if either of the slots/sticks will behave?

Did you check to make sure that the CPU heat sink is firmly and evenly seated on the CPU? If it is not making good contact with the processor the CPU could be overheating very quickly and causing the system to shut down before permanent damage is done.

Have you tried booting the system with the motherboard outside of the case? Quite often with new builds, the motherboard can come in contact with the case itself if it is not attached properly to the standoff screws, causing an electrical short which prevents the system from booting properly.

If you can get your hands on a basic PCI video card for testing, that will help eliminate a problem with the GTX video card or the PCIe slot.

 

[rhizaowns]

Originally posted by: robisbell
he can run the video card in his machine without issue, correct?

Yes, both video cards that I tried work in his machine.

Originally posted by: Fardringle
When you turn the computer on, are there any beep error codes or does it just spin the fans for a few seconds then reset?

No beeping, it just spins the fans and resets.

Originally posted by: Fardringle
You mentioned that the computer still reboots itself if you only have one memory stick installed. Have you tried both sticks in each slot one at a time to see if either of the slots/sticks will behave?

Yes.

Originally posted by: Fardringle
Did you check to make sure that the CPU heat sink is firmly and evenly seated on the CPU? If it is not making good contact with the processor the CPU could be overheating very quickly and causing the system to shut down before permanent damage is done.

The heatsink was a pain but unless I've put it on wrong every time, it's fine. It's firmly seated, you can't move it without spinning the legs to unseat it.

Originally posted by: Fardringle
Have you tried booting the system with the motherboard outside of the case?

Yes, I usually set up builds outside of the case first.

Originally posted by: Fardringle
If you can get your hands on a basic PCI video card for testing, that will help eliminate a problem with the GTX video card or the PCIe slot.

Don't have a basic video card, but I did try a different PCIe card.

 

[robisbell]

well, it's either the cpu, or the memory, or a combination there of because you've ruled out the PSU, Video Card, Motherboard.

 

[rhizaowns]

Thanks for your help, robisbell. I guess I'm going to be RMA'ing some things, so it'll be a while before I update this thread with my next problem.

 

[robisbell]

hopefully your next update will be from a fully functional battle....err....computer.

 

[rhizaowns]

robisbell, got it fixed. I ordered a new motherboard, the GA-P35-DS3L, and everything worked fine from the go. I'm still baffled, but after all, I'm gonna have to say I'll never buy another Abit.

 

[robisbell]

I'm glad, so everythings running smoothly now.