Homebuilt system; fans and lights work, but no display or POST

[cybertronic]

Hello all,
A few weeks ago one of my friends and I decided to build a PC for my dad, we both have minimal experience but my friend has built PCs before, I've helped others design PCs but I've never physically built one. Anyway, I checked everything out to make sure it's all compatible, technically it should work but we've run into a few problems.

After connecting everything to the appropriate terminals and turning on the machine, I noticed that all of the fans, including the CPU fan, were in perfect working order, the case LEDs hooked up to the mobo work fine, and the mouse and keyboard light up when the PC is turned on. However, there is no response from the Disk Drive or Hard Drive, and the monitor claims there is "no incoming signal". All of the hardware is brand new, straight out of the box, so I'm not sure what the problem is. Any suggestions are most welcome, as I have four days to finish this thing.

Here are the specs.
There is no graphics card because my friend informed me that the particular CPU we picked out has HD graphics onboard meaning we wouldn't need a graphics card. The monitor is rather old and has a D-Sub connector, but it was working well last week and the mobo I picked out is compatible with D-Sub.
CPU:
Intel Core i3-2120

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Disk Burner:
ASUS DVD/CD Player/Burner

Tower:
NZXT Source 210 Elite White Steel

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)

Hard Drive II:
Seagate Barracuda 250GB

Power Supply:
Corsair 430 "CX Builder Series"

 

[Buckshot420]

There is no onboard video on that board. Not sure why your friend told you that, cpu has nothing to do with it. You will need to add a graphics card to fix your problem. Here are the board specs.. If you can exchange the board for it's z68 counterpart (paired with your i3) you could than get onboard graphics and not need a GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128527

 

[cybertronic]

Thanks so much, I was wondering about that, and that really does make sense.

What would you recommend as far as troubleshooting the Disk Drive/Hard Drive not working properly?

 

[Buckshot420]

When you boot with the Windows disc in the drive it will start. You just can't get past POST until your mobo gets a video check. Once you add a GPU, you can even get a cheap/used 512mb DDR3, your computer will boot fine.

 

[cybertronic]

Again, thank you.

But the issue with the Disk Drive is that it doesn't open at all, and the hard drive doesn't spin at all. Both are brand new, right out of the box, as is the mobo (and everything else). I don't think this has anything to do with the GPU but I know practically nothing so feel free to correct me.

 

[Buckshot420]

Do you have cables (probably SATA) hooked from the mobo to both the DVD drive and the HDD and are both connected to the PSU? Are you getting any beeps when you turn it on?

 

[cybertronic]

I do have SATA cables as well as PSU cables hooked up to both. It didn't come with the case/mobo speaker so I'm not sure about beeps.

Everything else hooked up to the motherboard works fine (Front Panel Connectors, CPU fans, USB devices light up, mouse and keyboard light up) so I'm not sure if that can be used to indicate motherboard issues or not. Could it be possible that just the SATA ports aren't working?

 

[mailpup]

You do have onboard graphics. While the motherboard itself does not have onboard graphics, the graphics processor is built into the Intel CPU. When you combine the CPU with the appropriate motherboard (which you have), you have onboard graphics.

The hard drives should not be the reason for your no signal condition since it should post and give you a video signal even if you have no hard drives installed at all. Try disconnecting all your hard drives and optical drives to see if will at least post. Remove all but one RAM module. Try each RAM module one at a time.

Your motherboard speaker should have come with the case, in the package of hardware. If not, you can buy these separately. I've done so myself.

 

[Tedster]

start with the basics, ensure the motherboard is on a piece of cardboard. hook up only the MD, RAM, video, and graphics card. then boot.

is the MB correctly installed in the case? it is not shorting on the standoffs? use plastic standoffs when possible.