I know there are several threads similar to this, but I think they all have one or two differences that make them unique so I thought I'd tell you all about the problem I'm having and ask if you guys notice anything that I may be overlooking. I like to type a lot so I hope this doesn't get too long. 
I'm building a new system so ALL of my hardware is new:
-------------------------
Asus P5GDC-V Deluxe motherboard
P4 2.8Ghz LGA775 CPU (Prescott, 800Mhz FSB, 1Mb L2)
256x2 DDR400 Geil RAM (This RAM's model number was listed in mobo manual)
Seagate 80GB Hard drive (ATA100)
Enermax 350 Watt PSU (Model: EG365P-VE FMA)
--------------------------
The Asus board has onboard video, audio and LAN, so none of these can be removed when troubleshooting.
When I got everything assembled and pushed the power button, the board's LED came on, and the case's power LED came on too, but the monitor did not display anything, and the keyboard num-lock LED didn't come on either, so I think the computer did not acheive a POST. I tried again with just one stick of RAM and various RAM slot combinations only to have the same result. Next I even unplugged the hard drive and the result was still the same--no apparent POST. (and I tired the monitor on another computer--the monitor is operational)
The second major thing I tried: I took out all the RAM and hit the power switch to see what would happen if I powerd up with just the motherboard and CPU-- when I did this, the board made one long beep followed by two short beeps (the monitor and keyboard were still inactive). This beep combination was not listed in the mobo manual, but I assume that it means "no RAM detected."
I double checked all the important connections:
--The CPU fan was connected and the fan did start to spin when I hit the power button. The PSU fan was also connected.
--The 4-pin 12v CPU power connector was plugged in
--All the jumper settings were set to default
Like I said, all of my equipment is new so I'm not sure where to go from here since I have no proof that each of the components has ever worked. Since I got those beeps when I took the RAM out, does that mean that the motherboard is working properly and the problem might be the RAM, CPU or PSU? Is it possible that something could have broken when installing the heatsink? This LGA775 socket seemed pretty practical until I had to instal the heatsink which required a LOT of pressure to snap the pins all the way into place. But I haven't had much experience with other sockets, so maybe this is normal.
There is one more technical issue that I didn't even think about until I read a few other threads here that hinted at this:
The board's manual talks about a PSU with ATX12V V2.0, but my new power supply is ATX12V V1.3. I don't know what the difference between these two versions is, but the motherboard manual said that the motherboard would work with a 20-pin power connector even though a 24-pin connector will be needed for large loads (i.e. lots of PCI-Express devices, etc.) I'm using a 20-pin power connector and it is installed correctly. I originally thought that the version numbers were related to the number of main power pins. I thought that all ATX V2.0 PSUs had 24-pins, and if the manual said that a 20-pin PSU will work, then my ATX V1.3 PSU would be fine to use. But since I don't actually know what defines V2.0 and V1.3, I'm wondering if maybe the problem I'm having is related to the PSU. I had trouble even finding a V2.0 PSU when I was shopping online, especially one to fit my budget, so I really hope that the V1.3 PSU I bought instead isn't the problem.
So that's about it. It's scary to turn on a comptuer and not see anything on the monitor or hear any beeps, so I hope the problem is something I can fix soon! I'm used to working with older computers (PII, PI, 486) so this new P4 system has definitely been exciting to build--I can't wait until I can actually get something useful out of it! Thanks for reading. I'd love to know if anyone has any thoughts.
I'm building a new system so ALL of my hardware is new:
-------------------------
Asus P5GDC-V Deluxe motherboard
P4 2.8Ghz LGA775 CPU (Prescott, 800Mhz FSB, 1Mb L2)
256x2 DDR400 Geil RAM (This RAM's model number was listed in mobo manual)
Seagate 80GB Hard drive (ATA100)
Enermax 350 Watt PSU (Model: EG365P-VE FMA)
--------------------------
The Asus board has onboard video, audio and LAN, so none of these can be removed when troubleshooting.
When I got everything assembled and pushed the power button, the board's LED came on, and the case's power LED came on too, but the monitor did not display anything, and the keyboard num-lock LED didn't come on either, so I think the computer did not acheive a POST. I tried again with just one stick of RAM and various RAM slot combinations only to have the same result. Next I even unplugged the hard drive and the result was still the same--no apparent POST. (and I tired the monitor on another computer--the monitor is operational)
The second major thing I tried: I took out all the RAM and hit the power switch to see what would happen if I powerd up with just the motherboard and CPU-- when I did this, the board made one long beep followed by two short beeps (the monitor and keyboard were still inactive). This beep combination was not listed in the mobo manual, but I assume that it means "no RAM detected."
I double checked all the important connections:
--The CPU fan was connected and the fan did start to spin when I hit the power button. The PSU fan was also connected.
--The 4-pin 12v CPU power connector was plugged in
--All the jumper settings were set to default
Like I said, all of my equipment is new so I'm not sure where to go from here since I have no proof that each of the components has ever worked. Since I got those beeps when I took the RAM out, does that mean that the motherboard is working properly and the problem might be the RAM, CPU or PSU? Is it possible that something could have broken when installing the heatsink? This LGA775 socket seemed pretty practical until I had to instal the heatsink which required a LOT of pressure to snap the pins all the way into place. But I haven't had much experience with other sockets, so maybe this is normal.
There is one more technical issue that I didn't even think about until I read a few other threads here that hinted at this:
The board's manual talks about a PSU with ATX12V V2.0, but my new power supply is ATX12V V1.3. I don't know what the difference between these two versions is, but the motherboard manual said that the motherboard would work with a 20-pin power connector even though a 24-pin connector will be needed for large loads (i.e. lots of PCI-Express devices, etc.) I'm using a 20-pin power connector and it is installed correctly. I originally thought that the version numbers were related to the number of main power pins. I thought that all ATX V2.0 PSUs had 24-pins, and if the manual said that a 20-pin PSU will work, then my ATX V1.3 PSU would be fine to use. But since I don't actually know what defines V2.0 and V1.3, I'm wondering if maybe the problem I'm having is related to the PSU. I had trouble even finding a V2.0 PSU when I was shopping online, especially one to fit my budget, so I really hope that the V1.3 PSU I bought instead isn't the problem.
So that's about it. It's scary to turn on a comptuer and not see anything on the monitor or hear any beeps, so I hope the problem is something I can fix soon! I'm used to working with older computers (PII, PI, 486) so this new P4 system has definitely been exciting to build--I can't wait until I can actually get something useful out of it! Thanks for reading. I'd love to know if anyone has any thoughts.
