Problem with video.

[Skookem]

Hi there,
im putting toger a 2.8 p4 800mz fsb on a ecs 661fx-m mb. now i put everything all together and nothing works. i tested the memory in another and it works. what happens is the system turns on, the fans spin, the heatsink is blowing, the psu is working. but no video to my monitor. i have the onboard video and i bought a geforce 5200fx. now i figure the geforce is worthless without first turning off the onboard video so what do i do? any solutions?

 

[clarsson]

It all comes down to basic troubleshooting.

Strip your computer down to the basics. That means just RAM, CPU and onboard video. Disconnect everything else including your hard drives. See if it posts. IF you get video and it does the memory check then put things back in 1 by 1 to find out where the problem is.

If it does not start then you most likely have an issue with RAM. Reseat the modules or even try a different slot/combination if you can.
Failing that you can try to reseat the CPU, but most video issues I have seen have to do with the RAM.


Clarsson

 

[geecee]

I'm assuming that your memory is seated correctly and you tried the setup with the onboard video and it worked already? If so, after plugging in the 5200 and seeing that it did not work, did you try powering down, reconnecting the onboard VGA and seeing if that came on (while the 5200 is still plugged in)? If so, it might mean that your video card is not seated correctly. You might want to power down the system and try re-seating the video card again. Also, if you do get something from the onboard video, check your BIOS options. You can probably go into the BIOS from the bootup screen and find an option to disable the onboard video in one of the menus (though i believe this is usually done automatically). If that fails, the procedure of the poster above is excellent in isolating problems.

 

[Skookem]

okay now i tested everything in my other computer. the processor, ram, everything. everyhting checks out, so doesnt that mean that the intergrated video on the mb is shot?

 

[Skookem]

okay right now the whole setup is in an antec p160 with some generic 400psu. i tried a 420watt one too but no results. i did everything suggested, i tested the cpu in another board. i swapped memory with the memory in my computer, i disconnected everyhting and ran only the psu, mb, cpu, ram, and still nothing. i tried removing the mb out of the case and putting it on a noconductiive surface,. i checked the cmos clear and its set right, i switched ram spots, ive basically done everthing possible expect throw it againts a wall, what next? thanks for your guy's help btw.

 

[geecee]

If the board won't even post with just the cpu and the memory using two different quality psu's, then I would guess your next step is return/RMA. You can try reseating everything one more time to be sure, but it looks like getting a new board is your best bet. If it was just the onboard video that was bad, your use of a video card should have circumvented that. I hope it turns out well for you.

 

[geecee]

Hmm. I had a thought - is your CPU a prescott? If so, you may have to check to see if your mb supports it or if, perhaps, you need to flash your BIOS. Not sure about this but I would think that your board would still post even if it couldn't ID the CPU though. Then again, I can't really say for sure either way. Maybe someone else here knows?

EDIT: Looks like you need to flash your BIOS to support a Prescott perhaps? (see link) Still, your board should post either way. If you have another P4/Celeron around, you might want to try that. If that doesn't work, return/exchange the board.

ECS 661FX-M BIOS page