New PC issues, not a clue what it is

G

Gourry25

Well even with all the support I have been getting from a friend over the phone involving issues I am having with my new PC build that was finished at the end of December I still would like more viewpoints on just what the heck might be the issue. so here goes first the specs of this PC build.

Motherboard: Asus Extreme Design Mobo model M4A77TD
CPU: AMM Athlon II X2 250, 3.0 Ghz True Dual-Core Design, 2.0 Mb total cache, socket AM3 with heat sink fan
Ram: 1333MHz 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3
Video card: EVGA Nividia Geforce Gt 240, 1GB DDR5 PCI-E 2.0
HDD: 1 320 gig Sata Primary HD parttioned to two drives and 1 500Gb Sata secondary drive for storage, games and programs,
PSU: LSP Ultra 550w ATX PSU

Ok now with that aside here has what has been going on and stuff I have done..

When i finally got the last pieces of the build being the hard drives i started to hook one up and put the Os being in this case for me sadly Win XP home 32 bit version(yeah i know not getting the whole 4 gigs used out of it ), and it took a while for the bios to see that there was a HD there before and after i was able to install the Os on the hard drive. Well after i got the first one in and it seemed to be reading it fine, I went and put the 2nd in and i had to move it from different Sata ports till finally the bios saw both as well as the Dvd-R, but still i was also getting issues with it not recognizing a keyboard or mouse I thought well it has been well over 10 years since i had a brand new PC so things change and never know.. Well after talking with my friend and getting everything sorted out I was doing fine, able to play games i could not, and things loaded quickly, no issues.

Well one night i fell asleep with my PC on and for me I'm not the type of person who likes to leave a PC on long and go back to doing stuff. So i restarted it through the Windows restart system. That is when the problems first started... it did not boot up at all, after some trial and error i manged to get it so it saw as far as reading the Ram be it one stick or both, I eventually ended up sending in my mobo and when it got back still no change, I could not even get anything to come up as far as i can tell.. Well i was like ok maybe by chance it was the CPU, So i sent that out, got a new one with a note said they did test the one i sent in and it did work, which got me thinking about the mobo. So i called up Asus and found out they sent the same board i sent in back to me but repaired it.. So i was like ok it must still be broke, So i requested a replacement and recently just got the new one and guess what. no change.

Now i am able to easily test the hard drives, and the video card on my old Pc , but i have no way to test the Ram. The cpu was pretty much ruled out and chances of getting a mobo dying on me that is new one first install is rare , and they did sent paper work saying they even tested the thing before sending it to me.

Now that based on my father who is not well versed in the current PC hardware and software as well as my friend who has helped me a ton over the phone. it comes down two the following things they.. more so my friend thinks it could be.

1: Keyboard.. his solution to rule this out is try a USB one, which is easy enough since i planned to get a USB one to sue with my laptop since the keys are not clicking so good these days.

2: two bad sticks of ram, this he doesn;t think is the case since i've made sure to kepe it in teh cases they came with when the Pc was out of action like now as well as how it read both sticks by themselves at that point.

3: Bad mobo, simple enough but with what i said he thinks its unlikely,

4: The PSU.. this is what my dad and him as well as myself are leaning towards. I mean my tech knowledge might not be like some but i know one bad cable can make it seem worse than it is. I plan on sending it on for a test and replacement depending on what they say over the phone as well as info you all might provide.

Now Aside from the Case and PSU, all parts are just under 6 months old if you don't include the replacements sent.

I have tried all methods i can think of from having 1 stick of ram and no hard drives in to nothing.. but from what i gathered this mobo doesn't have a Pc speaker so as far as the warning beeps i cannot hear them until i either grab the one form my working system and test it or just get one which is pretty cheap if not free for me because of where my dad works.

Lastly I still have one thing i was suggested to try, which is press the key that gets me into Bios whether i can see anything on a monitor or not it might do something. but with how most monitors use that power saving mode I have no idea.

Well there you have it as much info as i can think of. Now hopefully some out there can read and give feedback on your viewpoints and thoughts with your knowledge.

Thanks in advance.
 
Start at the Monitor. Does it work on another PC using the same vga cable as you have been using? Even as a second screen on a laptop? Prove that first, so you can rule it out as a problem.
If ok, connect back up to new pc. Connect a keyboard and mouse. Power on, does the fan run in the PSU? Does the fan run on the CPU? Do any LEDs show on?
Anything on screen now? Such as 'no input' ? Or 'no O/S recognised'?
If NO to ALL above, I would suspect the PSU.
 
Start at the Monitor. Does it work on another PC using the same vga cable as you have been using? Even as a second screen on a laptop? Prove that first, so you can rule it out as a problem.
If ok, connect back up to new pc. Connect a keyboard and mouse. Power on, does the fan run in the PSU? Does the fan run on the CPU? Do any LEDs show on?
Anything on screen now? Such as 'no input' ? Or 'no O/S recognised'?
If NO to ALL above, I would suspect the PSU.

Well i use the same monitor for my old PC which is the one i am able to still use luckily, I use the same cable as well. Now tried it on my laptop yet not thought about that.

As far as the fans go the CPU fan runs, video card fan runs, the two fans on the back of the case run and the PSU fan works.

Now as far as the LED"s go the motherboard has a light that when power is on will light up, the front panel does light up as well. the keyboard i need to re-check to see if i get the caps lock, num-lock and f-lock to light up at once. but that should be very quick to do So i can reply asap just nee to quickly test. those. But even before that knowing what you know Power supply is best bet?

Btw I have another question to add.The PSU is a 6 pin Pci-E connector, but the mobo uses a 4-pin, and there is a 4 pin connector on a Y-split cable that fits into the Pci-E slot, now the Pc has worked. I was playing games, web browsing but is it at all possible that i need just a 4-pin?

My friend said instead of sending this PSU back i should just get an Antec and to be honest my old Pc has an Antec which sadly will not work with the New pc but its been strong. Only thing isI would need to find one that has a 4 pin connector. Though i plan to ask Antec unless my question is answered about the Y-split cable i mentioned containing a 4 pin connector.
 
Are you able to get the system running sometimes or never?
What exactly do you observe - see and hear - when you try to boot?

Restarting should not create the issues you list, unless perhaps you have a virus issue or installed some new, conflicting software or updates.

If you can get system running:
1. Check for viruses
2. Check device manager to see if there are any hardware conflicts or if all devices are working properly.

What version of XP are you running? Or in other words, have you done the service updates - I think they had 1 and 2. As I recall, the original version does not recognize USB devices, inclduing mouse and keyboard, untill after the system loads - so you can't use to get into BIOS.

Memory
1. Is the memory on the mobo compatibility list? Or the mobo on the memory list?
2. Did you ever test your memory with memtest once system was running?
3. Did you say you have tried starting with only one stick of memory, and then tried it in the other slot, and then tried the other stick of memory by itself in each slot?

Power
You seem very confused about the PSU connectors. Review your PSU manual - make sure you know what each type of connector is for - there are graphics showing the ends of them on pages 6 and 7. Then make sure you connected them all as shown in the instructions on pages 1 and 2. If you don't have your manual you can download one:

http://mail.ultraproducts.com/product_resources.php?cPath=103&pPath=653&productID=654

Particularly make sure you have both mobo power connectors in - the 4 pin and 24 pin connectors. Once you are sure about all - for all components, pull out your mobo manual and double check against its directions for connecting power.
 
Ok so all of your fans are running, and LED indicators are active. Monitor sounds as if reliable and working.
Your 550W PSU is enough I would have thought (?), and if the graphic card has the connector for extra power, then it must be used with the correct connector.
But do you get any info on screen? Or just black?
If it was mine, I would get it all running without the graphic card in PCI-E slot, and prove it's all ok using the 'on-board' graphics.
I will assume your board can be switched to that option, it may be automatically switched,~(when you remove the graphic card from the PCI slot), or it may need to be selected in the BIOS.
So...While the power is off, move the monitor cable from the graphic card, to the blue vga socket on the motherboard. Remove the PCI-E card.
Then power on, and access the BIOS. (you may know the key, but check the manual, could be F2 or Esc or Del, or now if working you will see a message on screen after about 3 seconds of pressing the power button. Look for 'F2 to enter setup' or similar message.
You need to look for 'On-board devices' and in there will be 'int-graphics', you just need to select 'enable', or if on 'auto' leave it on that, then (usually) press F11 to 'save and exit'.
If all is well, it will carry on and boot windows to the desktop stage.
If you have the manual, paper or download version, check for any extra connectors the motherboard needs.
Once you have it running with the 'on-board' graphics, and proved all else is working, then you can power off, and add the PCI-E card, swap the monitor cable back to the card, and try again.
 
Ok so all of your fans are running, and LED indicators are active. Monitor sounds as if reliable and working.
Your 550W PSU is enough I would have thought (?), and if the graphic card has the connector for extra power, then it must be used with the correct connector.
But do you get any info on screen? Or just black?
If it was mine, I would get it all running without the graphic card in PCI-E slot, and prove it's all ok using the 'on-board' graphics.
I will assume your board can be switched to that option, it may be automatically switched,~(when you remove the graphic card from the PCI slot), or it may need to be selected in the BIOS.
So...While the power is off, move the monitor cable from the graphic card, to the blue vga socket on the motherboard. Remove the PCI-E card.
Then power on, and access the BIOS. (you may know the key, but check the manual, could be F2 or Esc or Del, or now if working you will see a message on screen after about 3 seconds of pressing the power button. Look for 'F2 to enter setup' or similar message.
You need to look for 'On-board devices' and in there will be 'int-graphics', you just need to select 'enable', or if on 'auto' leave it on that, then (usually) press F11 to 'save and exit'.
If all is well, it will carry on and boot windows to the desktop stage.
If you have the manual, paper or download version, check for any extra connectors the motherboard needs.
Once you have it running with the 'on-board' graphics, and proved all else is working, then you can power off, and add the PCI-E card, swap the monitor cable back to the card, and try again.

unfortunately like this mobo though good for what I want doesn't have onboard video :/
 
Ah..ok no on-board video...
I will assume you bought the Graphic card new so it's 99% going to work.
If it needs the extra power plug, then you have to fit it, no getting around that.
It's possible your PSU doesn't have those extra PCI-E plugs... Look at this page;-
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/connectors.php?ProdID=04651
So you may have to buy another PSU, but see it as an investment (!). A good PSU will last you for many years....I have been through many cheap PSU's, they don't last.
 
Ok I have a big update for all who are helping me.

While i was talking to my dad, he suggested some things to try that i had not thought of and i was able to first get the monitor to bee sen on my laptop no issues at all, i then plugged in the keyboard, monitor and power to the new PC. well during my talk with my dad as well as my friend who i called to ask about the Y-split 8 pin connector with the 4-pin connector of of it, cause i was wondering if maybe i needed a direct 4-pin... Well i had unplugged that 4-pin and booted up the Pc and i noticed the keyboards lights flashed on and then off but it did not boot and i then realized oh i forget to put that connector in cause the mobo needs it to boot up. well once i put it in and started the pc up again. i watched the keyboard lights. they did not turn on at all. So i powered down and waited and powered up, no lights still.. So i like hmm let me unplug the 4 pin and try it, thinking the lights would light up.. they did not.

So after letting my friend know what happened he believes that it is indeed the power supply and even that it might be as simple as that 4 pin conenctor being bad. He suggested i instead of sending this PSU back to the manufacturer I jsut go get an Antec brand, but not the Earthwatt series of antec. He also said i should try to get one that is no lower than a 500watt and no higher than a 650 since i really do not need higher than that and should not go below 500.. Well i went to best buy and they had none, only thermaltakes and their own brand. I then went to staples and they had a Earthwatt series 550watt for $100, So looks like i will need to order one.

Now that being said, Can anyone maybe help me find a good Antec one that is a 550 to 650 watt that has the 4 pin mobo connector, whether it be direct or on a Y-split cable?

I've looked at Tigerdirect and they don't carry Antecs, I've checked Newegg and there is one i see but details on it don't have what power connectors is has, must be because it is a new arrival. I just checked a site for a store near Boston that has Antecs but the price for one is $130 and even my dad thought that was pretty high. I plan to check amazon and eBay for "NEW" Antec ones but If anyone has other places to search or even better a direct link to a good Antec one that has what i need and not too expensive please let me know.
 
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