My new system - help please

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Reido

26 posts

Geek

#35085 3-Jun-2009 15:14

HI,

this is my second System i've put together. a rather budget one but still

Intel E5200
2gb DDR2 800 ram (soon to be 4)
ATI 3870 512
320gb HDD
silverstone 500w PSU

anyway, just finished putting it together, pluged it in and turned it on..
LEDs light up, fans start going etc. but nothing on screen
does this for 5-10 seconds then everything goes off
another 3-5 seconds go by and it tries to turn on again.. LEDs fans etc. then turns off.

Any Ideas?

Thanks

Reido

Ragnor

8218 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#221330 3-Jun-2009 15:23

Use a process of elimination until you find the problem.

Unplug everything that is not essential to get to a bios screen eg: unplug the hard and, dvd drives, only use 1 stick of ram. Can you get to bios now?

Try re-seating the video card and ram.

Try a different ram slot, try a different PCI-E slot for the video card.

Try a spare video card from your other system, try different ram from your other system

etc

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221343 3-Jun-2009 15:51

i sold my last system ages ago. sadly.
moved ram and unpluged HDD, DVD drive etc. screen still doesnt come on.
i cant move the card, as theres only one slot for it =[

took the GFX card right out, still shut off after 5-10 seconds

Arachan

85 posts

Master Geek

#221413 3-Jun-2009 19:14

Hello,

I am in a similar situation to you. I think that mine is at least partly due to my budget 250W PSU, which doesn't have a 4-pin connector for CPU. My motherboard manual said that it won't boot without this. Does your PSU have this? Did you plug it in?

Hope I helped,
Arachan.

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221415 3-Jun-2009 19:17

yes, i've got a decent 500w PSU, and the 8pin connector is connected.
im pretty sure its a DOA mobo

Ilmarin

94 posts

Master Geek

#221431 3-Jun-2009 20:21

Is the system speaker enabled? It can sometimes be disabled via a jumper setting. You would want it to be enabled in case there were any beep codes to listen for. Some motherboards have debug LEDs as well.

Check that the CPU heatsink is properly seated (i.e. contacting the CPU), with thermal interface material applied. Also double check that the motherboard is properly grounded (i.e. no conductive material connecting motherboard and case other than the screws and insulated power/data connectors)... you could place the motherboard on a non-conductive surface outside the case and try to boot it from there to be certain of this.

Maybe reset the CMOS for good luck. Also, state your motherboard's model, in case anyone here knows of any issues/caveats with that particular model.

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221437 3-Jun-2009 20:42

its an "Asrock P43DE ATX MB, Intel P43+ICH10"
http://uec.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27&products_id=39105

i have it out of the case sitting on some cardboard. still starts up. runs for a little bit then turns off..

whats this about SMOS? first time i've heard about it.

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221440 3-Jun-2009 20:51

when started without ram inserted, it stays on and beeps.

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stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#221442 3-Jun-2009 21:22

Reinsert one DIMM at a time, try different slots. If it beeps continuously, that's not terribly helpful, if it beeps 2 or 3 times then pauses and repeats, then that tells us what hardware is the issue.

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221445 3-Jun-2009 21:26

2 quick beeps, pause, 8 really quick beeps, long pause 1 beep.
seems with the other stick of ram it doesnt beep and shuts down

Ilmarin

94 posts

Master Geek

#221446 3-Jun-2009 21:32

Check your motherboard's manual for the location of the CMOS clear jumper. With the PSU switched off, if you switch the jumper to the clear position for a period of time (say 30 seconds minimum... some people go as far as taking out the battery and leaving it for several hours, though that seldom makes any difference), then switch it back, the BIOS will load default settings on next boot. Chances are that default settings are already loaded and not corrupted, or wouldn't be causing your problem anyway, but it never hurts to make sure.

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221447 3-Jun-2009 21:42

same thing, 2 beeps, pause, 8 beeps, 1 beep

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221450 3-Jun-2009 21:51

umm apparently its working now? cheers guys

Ilmarin

94 posts

Master Geek

#221454 3-Jun-2009 22:01

Interesting. Was there anything in particular you did prior to it working? i.e. what have you changed between when it was switching off after 5-10 seconds and now?

Reido

26 posts

Geek

#221457 3-Jun-2009 22:22

one less ram stick is in
once its up and running i'll stick the other in.

ummm so i dont really know.. i think the CMOS thing helped.