[Ravenrose]

Hi every one. I just built a new computer and I need some assistance. Here is what I got
ATX 400 watt case
ECS Mainboard P4VXAD
P4 1.9GHZ with fan
512 MB DDR 266 PC 2100 un-buffered
ATI All-In-Wonder 8500 video
100 GB Western Digital HD
A-Drive
CDRW & DVD drives have all been disconnected for trouble shooting.
I tried to start up for the first time and the screen stays black with no indication of booting up. The video, Memory, & hard drive have all been tested.
Any suggestions out there?

 

[SPEEDO]

Hello Ravenrose and welcome to Tech Support Forums

Lets start here, Do you get any beeps and do any of the fans come on?

Also what version is the motherboard? There should be a sticker on the motherboard if not it should be in the manual or on the cover somewhere.

 

[HeatIsBadMan]

Same thing happend to me with my older comp..... The cpu got fried instantly cause the ppl i got the board off of are a-holes and had the board cranked up. I hope thats not ur case...doubt it. So thats sitting in my closet now collecting dust. heh I dint know exactly what was wrong at first cause the fans kicked on and (acoring to the book) it was doing the right amount of beeps. It was a Atholon T-Bird with asus A7V. Dam coputer show ppl, there like carnies....

 

[JAMMAN]

With all due respect Heatisbadman, the first thing you do when firing a board up with soft menu bios is check the settings as you would have checked the jumpers on older boards. The asus A7V is an excellent board and the adjustments that fried your cpu are part of it's glory- to provide advanced users a means for experimentation. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe clearing cmos and setting it to "cpu defaults" will automatically read whatever you have in the socket or slot and set bus, multiplier and core voltage accordingly.

 

[Valiant]

JAMMAN:Yup... the A7V will reset to the factory defaults for the CPU that is detected
HeatisBadMan: if your CPU truly fried on startup BEFORE POST, then ...WOW....hmmm... you should read the manual and manually set the controls to accomidate your CPU (get it Manually set the controls from the manual...get it? HAHAHA)

Sorry, I think I'm suffering from sleep dep.

 

[HeatIsBadMan]

It was my first put together. I learned from my mistake . I bought it and the jumper settings where cranked, and yes its my fault i didn't double check it b4 i fired it up, but its them dam a-holes that opened it where i got it's fault . It looked like it would have been an awsome board though I think I tried to check it but I read the manual upside down I guess....

 

[JAMMAN]

The board is more than likely still good. Get another cpu and check the settings before letting it boot. And with the AMD use a good fan, because heat is bad, man.

 

[HeatIsBadMan]

I told AMD my delema and they sent me another cpu. I checked the settings very thuro and then again. Popped that mofo in and nothing. I got black screen, but the board showed power(light went on) plus all the fans kicked on fine. So i have no clue If you know something I dont please share

 

[SPEEDO]

Is the CPU fan plugged onto the proper header?

Some of these boards won't run unless it detects a fan on there..

Also when inquiring about your own problem it would be polite to start your own thread in the future...

 

[JAMMAN]

What happened to Ravenrose?

This is what is called hijacking a thread, and we should try to keep it to a minimum. However, it sounds like the vid card might not be communicating with the monitor, if the beeps are correct as you say. The card is talking to the board if beeps are right. I had one situation where a pin on the card was pushed in and monitor didn't respond. I would borrow an old vid card (I keep an old pci 2meg on hand for testing such things) and see if that might be the problem.


I started writing this prior to Speedo's post. I just type really slow!

 

[HeatIsBadMan]

Oops...

Sry raven. I guess it got out of hand....

 

[Ravenrose]

Hi guys sorry it took so long to reply I live in Hawaii and my time zone is way behind your guys so I just got up for the day.
My video card is good to go I tested it on my older system.
I read a previous thread about pulling the board out of the case and hooking up the bear minimums. The guy got his to work because the case was shorting out his board so I'm probably going to try that.
My board automatically detects the CPU so I dont have to set jumpers for that. the only jumpers I have are the Clear CMOS and the BIOS flash protection jumpers.
I believe the board is a 1.0. the book says it is but I'm re-searching that right now. I dont see any visable stickers on the board that say different.
This is my 3rd computer I have built so I'm not brand new to this. Thanks again for all your assistance.

 

[Ravenrose]

I get no beeps but all the fans do kick on. The board is version 1.0 by the way. The monitor just stays black. I tried a different Video card and different memory but I get the same result. A black, blank screen like nothing is happening. I Know the monitor is good too. Possibly a short in the case? Bad CPU? Bad board? I E-mailed the board manufacturer but have not received any feed back.

 

[SPEEDO]

Check jumper JP1 to make sure it is on pins 1 and 2 first.

Then lets try the old out of the case routine..

Disconnect everything off of the motherboard except the CPU, Heatsink and Fan.

Take the motherboard out of the case and lay it on a phone book or something non conductive.

Hook up the following items only.

Hook up the wire that comes from the power button on the front of the case to the correct header, See manual.

Hook up the the power supply to the motherboard.

Insert one stick of ram.

Insert the video card all the way.

Hook up the monitor.

Hook up power to computer.

Turn on the monitor.

Turn on computer.

You should have video on the monitor.

This sounds like a lot of work but it narrows down the devices to a few.

Try this and post back with the results, Relax and take your time...

 

[Ravenrose]

I will try this when my son goes to bed tonight and post my results. Thanks.