So here's the deal. I'm trying to build comp for my parents. I got a K7S5A Pro with an Athlon 1700.
Volcano 7 CU
Geforce 2 TI
Case w/400w PSU
2 HD's from my comp
2 x 256 SDRAM from my comp

I put it all together and now i'm having problems. It ran for a few seconds the first time i tried it out and then quit. ever since then when i try to turn it on the light on the cdrom will blink but thats all the juice it acts like its getting. Can someone help?

Its been unplugged after every time that i have tried to start it up. Thanks for the post though...

Okay, let's go through all the basics just to catch us up to speed.

Checked all card and memory connections?

Used a good thermal paste (or at least made sure the paper was off the pad)?

Double-checked all switch connections (power, hd, hdled etc.)?

Also, what brand power supply is it and is the memory you pulled from your comp matched to what you're using?

Okie Dokie

I've taken out the video card and ram to make sure they were seated right.

I didn't use thermal paste. --Reason-- I didn't use it in my comp that i'm using now and it is fine. Everything in the one i'm building is basically the same except the mobo is a K7S5A Pro and mine is not a pro. The only difference in the heatsink/fan is mine is a volcano 6 cu and this is a volcano 7 cu.

I've unplugged all the connections (Pwr, Hdled, etc...)and even tried it with just the power button connected by itself.

As for the brand of the PSU, i'm not sure. It is 400W and came with the case i got.

And now for the memory, i took it out of my comp, and the only difference in mine and the one i'm building is the PRO at the end. So i would assume that it should be fine.

I just can't think of anything else that i can do. Pretty much just dumbfounded.

Are you handy enough with a multimeter (or voltmeter) to check the power supply to make sure you're getting enough on the 12V and 5V sides? Make sure you've got it under load (at least one drive plugged in should do).

Also, if there's no thermal paste or thermal pad, do yourself a favor and use some. It is "highly" recommended even though you've got one system that works with it. Face it....you got lucky on that one. You need a foolproof seat between the HSF and the processor.

The Volcano 7 probably didnt have a pad on it, and you didnt put thermal paste on there, so there is your prob [if it didnt have a pad]

Your PC wouldnt work without thermal paste, unless the Volcano6 had a pad, which it must of.

I'd take off the heatsink, see if a had is there. If there is no pad, nor paste, that may be your problem.

Otherwise, I'd point towards the power supply as Masque did.
If it came with the case you got [and you didnt pay extra for a better PSU], 1) it wont actually push out 400w, 2) Its the most generic thing you'll come upon, which means it may not be giving enough amps, enough volts, or could be giving too much volts. I had a generic PSU one time, that put 13v on the 12v line :dead:

There wasn't a pad on the heatsink, so i went ahead and put some thermal paste on it. I don't have a way to check the voltage so when i get a chance i'm just going to try out another PSU.

If all of the seatings, connections and settings are correct and you've checked to make sure all of the pins are unbent for the CPU, HDD, and FDD, you should have tried the PSU from your computer before posting the problem here, because that is most probably the cause.

Eric,
http://www.legge40.freeserve.co.uk/BuyerBeware.htm

Make sure that the mobo isn't shorting out (i.e. something metal on the mobo touching the case), that's the culprit in a lot of these situations.

So did you just now put the paste on, after running it without paste for awhile? If so you possibly killed your cpu from too much heat....

A Cpu without a pad or paste will reach very high temps. and you said your pc ran for a couple seconds them quit....Might want to physically check the cpu for any small burn mark around the core...

I've tried another PSU now and that hasn't helped anything. Still got the same problems. Is there any way to tell if the CPU is bad before i buy another?

I'm pretty sure its the CPU now. Someone told me to try booting up without the cpu in and when i did, the power and everything acted just like its supposed to, the processor just wasn't there for anything else to happen. Time to buy another, but thanks for all the suggestions.

The mobo should have shut down the system before the CPU got too hot and overheated, but those arent 100% anti-failure systems.. looks like it got the best of ya Hopefully you've learnt your lesson on using thermal paste though