asus a7v8x-x building first computer

[jcfreer]

I am building my first computer (with the help of some more experienced friends) and am having a problem.

Here is the equipment list
Asus a7v8x-x motherboard
AMD Athalon 2600+ chip w/ heat sink
Samsung DDR ram (512) (matches the mobo requirements)
Casegde case with 300W power supply
Western Digital 80G HD (7200)
Maddog CD-RW (52x24x52)
Video Card (Vidia Riva TNT2, it came out of my 3 year old Dell)

I have mounted the Mobo and installed the chip and RAM and Video Card. Originally I had installed the HD, CD, etc but have since removed them. I THINK I have all of the case cables/wires are attached correctly. When I plug in the computer the green light on the mobo lights up. When I hit the power button, the fans spin for a second and then stop. No other sounds or movement. If I change the switch on the back of the case to 230 (rather than 115), the fans continue to spin but that's it. No BIOS, sound, video of any sort.

Having looked into it on sites like this, there are some things that come up. They are heatsink problems or power supply problems. The heat sink is the one that came with the chip. I am told that "it should be" enough power with that power supply.

I am hoping that I am simply missing something simple but am not sure what to try. Any ideas out there?

[Gettinbye]

First off, unless you're in Europe somewhere, leave the power supply set to 115.
Second, you will want to make sure that your "clear CMOS" jumper is set properly (not set to "clear CMOS"...)
Third, you may want to isolate the motherboard to a non-conductive surface (wooden table, ect...)to make sure you're not grounding out on your case.
Also, you might pull the heatsink off of your CPU and examine the CPU very closely. Look for any discoloration and/or cracks and chips on the CPU core.
It sounds to me (given that your CMOS jumper is correct) like your RAM or (more likely) your CPU has gone south.

[jokostel]

what gettingbye said as well as a piggyback to it.
take ALL of you cards out all drive cables.
everything except for the power connection to the mainboard.
reseat that as well
reseat your memory
seat the video card again.
check the processor or cracks,ect(you see shards on the heatsink if you cracked the chip.. it is porcelin btw. if that the case buy another chip.
if not lay the heatsink on the chip with the rear catch on first... be careful to lay it level. take a needlenose or somthing that will give you secure leverage. hold the heatsink down with some force... not a lot. and lock down the front catch.
hook up the power for the fan on the heatsink
trybooting it up with the memory & the video card in(ONLY) and connected to your monitor of course.
If it boots GREAT! move on to another card. keep doing this until you reach a point of where it dosent boot. then you found your problem.

[John Prophet]

first I would just try "reseating" the video card and also the ram....sometimes you have to "reseat" them a few times to get them to work....I had a ram stick the other day, I had to take it out and put it in like 4 different times before it finally worked. (be careful with static etc, dont touch the actual pins or contacts)

[RedFury]

check to make sure you have the cpu fan connected to FAN1...if it isn't , it will shut down for lack of a fan signal.

[jcfreer]

Thanks for all the replies.
I switched the power switch back to 115 (not in Europe here).

I have removed the mobo and tried it on a non-static surface. Just the chip, network card and mobo. Same response (brief fan spin). I have reseated the chip, RAM and power supply a bunch. I inspected the motherboard and the cpu very carefully and see absolutely nothing to indicate any problem. The CMOS jumper is in the default (Non-reset position).

I put my Dell back together today and was worried when it had the same response as my new one. Fan ran and that was it. I realized that I hadn't attached the power cable labelled P4 and then all went well. Is there something on the asus board that I have (Av78x-x) that is like that? I don't see anything but figured it was worth asking.

I don't have an extra chip to try and don't want to buy a new one if this one will work (unless I have to).

Any other ideas out there?

[Brangwen]

jcfreer:

Do everything above plus after reseating the vidcard clear the CMOS again! I believe in the Asus Manual the CMOS is called the RTC (Real Time Clock). 300W PSU should power that configuration. Is it (the PSU) AMD "certified?" Not mandatory, just curious.

If all else fails, your mobo may be shorting out on your case. Remove entire assembly and set on piece of cardboard, rewire, clear CMOS again then power up. It's "oh so simple" to short a board!

Good luck & don't give up. The answer is likely staring you in the face.

Brangwen

TechIMO is THE place to get help. Welcome!

Darn! I was posting sametime as you! I'll look in my Manual.

[Brangwen]

jcfreer:

Hook up your HDD (any IDE device) to provide a "load." I recall that is necessary for some power supplies.

Brangwen

[someone16]

Did you put spacers between the mobo and the case? That doesn't seem very likely though because you have friends helping you.

[Gettinbye]

Just as a thought...try starting it with the CMOS in the "clear CMOS" position. The documentation on some motherboards are wrong (the M925 being a prime example).
You say you have another computer as well? If you can swap the memory and power supply (one at a time) you'll be able to prove or disprove whether or not the RAM or PSU is at fault.
RedFury had a great point as well...if the CPU fan is plugged in on the wrong connector or is backwards on the connector, you won't generally be able to boot(or even P.O.S.T., for that matter), qalthough given the location of the power leads for the CPU fan and chassis fan, I doubt that is the case.
Couple questions: (A)is your video card AGP or PCI? Personally, I don't think it's a video problem because your fans should still operate even without video-you just wouldn't see anything and your computer probably wouldn't fully boot, and (B) did you use thermal compound or a thermal pad when you put your HSF onto your CPU?
You'll also want to check your overvolt jumpers to make sure they are at default settings.
After that, however, I think you'd be looking at trying to get ahold of another CPU to see if that is the problem as I doubt the motherboard is at fault (not unheard of, but unlikely).