[PsyScott]

I've got a strange problem on my hands... A few weeks ago, I moved to a new house. Once I got moved in, I plug in my trusty PC only to find that it is completely dead. Since my computer was very old anyway, I decided to get a new 450W ATX power supply and a new motherboard. it was an ASUS CUBX. I hooked up just the ATX, the PIII CPU, and some SDRAM to the board. I plug in the power switch, press the power switch. nothing. i checked and double checked the power switch connection, and also tried jumping it with a screwdriver. the onboard power LED didn't light. since the board was used, i figured maybe it was bad, so i got a new Intel board. just received it today, and i have exactly the same problem. i'm really at a loss here. 3 bad boards all in a row. when i plug in the power supply, i can hear a very slight hum, so i assume it is working. the wiring in my house is quite old, so is it possible that the outlet doesn't have enough voltage, or something? my monitor and scanner function when i plug them into the same outlet, so i doubt the outlet is the problem. if anyone has any advice, id greatly appreciate it. thanks in advance.

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Welcome to G2G

Can you tell us the model number of the new motherboard you have & the rest of the system specs please? (e.g video & ram etc)

[Samm]

Welcome to G2G

Can you tell us the model number of the new motherboard you have & the rest of the system specs please? (e.g video & ram etc)

[Kurt_Aust]

I had a similar problem with my current computer (freezeing rather than not booting) due to low power supply.

I'm guessing that you don't have a multimeter to check your voltage, so can you "call a friend" and try it at their place, or perhaps at work?

Would I be right in assuming that you've tried new PSUs and Motherboards, but not new RAM or Video cards? Have you tried the old mix and match, just in case some of the components don't like each other?

Edited by Kurt_Aust, 18 October 2005 - 06:32 AM.

[PsyScott]

I will add the specs when I get home to see them. Im on campus right now, since its really the only place I can use the internet at this point.. I have not taken it to a friends house, but my roommates have computers hooked up in my house and they seem to work ok. I tried plugging my computer in in the bathroom outlet, but it still didnt work. I haven't tried a different video card, because I don't have a video card yet. My old computers video was built into the motherboard, so I have to buy one, but I don't want to do that until after I'm sure my computer will turn on. I have tried 3 different ram chips, and that doesn't seem to make a difference. In my experience, if the ram is the problem, the computer will still turn on, but youll just get repeated beeps. The PSU that im using was just purchased new. I tried using my old PSU with my new motherboard, my new PSU with my old motherboard, and my old processor in my new motherboard, and basically every other possible combination of components. Does a motherboard NEED a video card to turn on?

[Samm]

Does a motherboard NEED a video card to turn on?

Without a video card, the motherboard should power on but you should also hear a series of beeps due to the lack of video. Does the new motherboard have integrated video or not?

[PsyScott]

when i bought it, i thought it said there was integrated video, but there is no monitor port, so i suppose not.

[Samm]

Have you got your motherboard model & system specs yet?

[PsyScott]

the motherboard is an intel D815EEA2. the ram is PC133 128MB non-ECC 168-pin SDRAM.
the processor is a PIII 866/256/133/1.7V socket 370 and the psu is a 450W ATX.

[Samm]

OK, thanks for the specs. I've looked at the manual for this motherboard & you're right, it definately states that it has integrated video but if there's no vga connector on the back, then I guess not. Do you have an agp card (1x, 2x or 4x) that you could try in the board?

I also suggest you make sure the Clear cmos jumper is not set to the 'clear' position (some boards come shipped with this jumper set to clear as default).
Also, make sure you have nothing else connected to the board other than the agp card (if no integrated video available), the cpu + heatsink/fan, one stick of ram, system speaker, monitor & keyboard.

Also ensure that there is nothing shorting the board out on the case.

Try to boot up again & let me know what happens.

[PsyScott]

The jumper was not on the clear setting, I don't have an AGP board, because I'm only going to get one after I get this [bleep] thing working! I tried booting with just the CPU, CPU fan, keyboard, ram and speaker, and it still didnt work. i don't think anything is shorting the board, because its securely attached to the case using the riser posts that came with the case, and the appropriate screws. there are metal contacts on the screw holes, but i think that is for appropriate grounding? i guess there aren't any other possibilities aside from the motherboard being bad... again?

[Samm]

Am I right in assuming that you aren't getting any beeps even though theres no video card in the system?

Couple more things to try/check :

Make sure you haven't accidentally installed a spacer (riser post) in the case that doesn't line up with any of the motherboard screw holes. Its easy to make this mistake & a metal spacer in the wrong place can short the board out.

If you haven't already done so, clear the bios - disconnect the main ATX power connecter from the board first & leave the jumper in the clear position for about 30 secs.

I appreciate you don't want to buy a new agp card without knowing whether or not the motherboard is going to work, but do you have a PCI video card you could try instead?

Also, bare in mind that its possible that the faulty component here is actually the CPU, not the motherboard.

[PsyScott]

i checked for extra risers, no problem there..
correct in assuming there are no beeps.
yes, it could be the CPU, but i also tried my old CPU in the new motherboard, and the new CPU in the old motherboard, and both combinations do the same thing.
i don't have a PCI card either. since all my roommates are new people, nobody trusts me enough to let me use their PCs for the little diagnostic game i want to play =/ not to mention theyre all more computer illiterate than myself, and so just opening up the case at all makes them pretty tense. so im out of luck with that. my two good friends have macs so they cant help either.

[Samm]

Does the system beep if you remove all the ram modules, then power it on?

[Tyger]

Adding some stuff to check here, did you check the cmos battery, it should register just over 3 volts, and can cause all kinds of problems? Also, some older Intel boards have a jumper for configuration, you may need to change it to set things up correctly. Also, I would highly reccomend that you download the manual and any updates to it, but Intel in their infinite wisdom doesn't call it a manual, they call it the specifications, and it's in .pdf format like most manuals.

[PsyScott]

i tried two different cmos batteries, and the manual was pretty crappy actually, it didnt even have a troubleshooting section. it just showed where all the connectors and the cmos jumper was located. that jumper is the only one on the board, by the way. tried removing the ram as well, no luck. since im getting the feeling i need another board, does anyone have any good places to get a used socket 370 board, that supports a PIII 866 w/ 133 FSB, and an onboard video card? =) i'm losing faith in ebay on this one.