aluren

I just put together a new desktop together, but it won't turn on when I pressed the on switch. I'm pretty sure I've plugged everything correctly. The only thing I see when I turn it on is a red light on my motherboard. I suspect that it's not enough power, but I can't really confirm. I have a BFG 650W PSU, and given the list of items listed below, would that PSU be able to power my computer?

I have the following:

Intel Q9300 Quad Core 2.5ghz
MSI P45 Platinum Motherboard
Corsair XMS2 4Gb (2x 2Gb) SDRAM DDR2 800
BFG GeForce 9800 GTX Video Card
DVD burner and DVD drive
2 hard drives

So would a 650W PSU power that? If not, please let me know the watts needed. Or if anyone knows what that red light on my motherboard means, that would be helpful too. I'm a noob to building a PC, and this is my first try, so any help would be appreciated!

dai

650 or 750w
bfg psu have a habit of failing and are not recommended
look in your manual for what the red light signifys
from memory,on some boards it means you are only running 1 video card and the second slot is empty

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aluren

Ok, I took everything out of the case and tried to boot up and it worked! The fans are spinning, all lights are green on the motherboard (read the manual and that means everything's good). However, when I put everything back into the case, it won't boot again. I made sure every screw was in the motherboard and nothing extra's hanging in the back of the motherboard. So now what could be the problem?

dai

check you have a standoff for each hole in the m/b
no more
no less
make sure they line up with the holes in the m/b
when you put it back in the case just have
cpu
video
ram
speaker connected
if you get post then install the other components

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aluren

ok, i tried what you mentioned, and still no boot up. motherboard has nine screw holes and i installed nine standoffs for it. i have an antec three hundred case. could the case be shorting something on the motherboard?

dai

it's shorting somewhere to the case
try fibre washers between the bottom of the m/b and the standoffs

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aluren

i haven't got a chance to get fiber washers, but i was wondering why this is happening. is it a faulty motherboard or there's something wrong with the case? i bought both of them brand new, the motherboard was sent in through the mail and the case i bought at a local store. is there a possible explanation to this? (obviously something is shorting, but i guess my question is more of why it is shorting when the stuff i bought is brand new). sorry for the noob question, but thanks for your help so far, dai.

dai

if it's working out of the case ok it should rule out the faulty m/b
check the m/b is fitting squarely into the case
if you don't have fibre washers which are usually included in the screw packet use some electrical tape

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aluren

i removed the rear I/O panel and now i got everything to boot. so it must have been something in that panel that's shorting the motherboard. so i didn't bother putting the panel back on. i guess i haven't removed all the metal plates on that panel. should i do so?

dai

i usually knock them out,it sounds like you either haven't cliped it in properly or the m/b is not sliding into ok

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aluren

you're right, thank you so much for your help. this forum has been extremely helpful!

dai

glad you have it sorted

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