Trying to upgrade

[Iamlucky45]

Hello,

I need some help trying to upgrade my computer. I have a Dell Dimension 4600i and I purchased the p4 3.0 ghz socket 478 processor with
hyper-threading. I put it in the stock dell mobo and powered it back up and get nothing. Get green light on the board all the fans spin on psu, video card, etc., etc., but my screen stays dark. No boot screen, no beeps, nothing. Concerned I put the 2.8 back in it and it does the same thing, nothing. Im a little lost here please help. Thanks in advance.

 

[nickslick74]

Have you tried reseating the graphics card? You could have bumped it when you were working in the case.

 

[Iamlucky45]

Have you tried reseating the graphics card? You could have bumped it when you were working in the case.

Yeah I tried both p4's twice and nothing.

 

[nickslick74]

Didn't mean the CPU (your P4's) but the graphics card. If you have a graphics card installed in one of the add on slots, there is a chance you may have nudged it loose from its slot. If you have integrated graphics then this would not be the cause of a blank screen.

Also, is your mobo able to handle the p4 with hyper threading? Did you keep yourself grounded while you were working inside the computer? And did you apply the thermal paste correctly when you installed the cpu's?

 

[Iamlucky45]

I pulled the graphics card before I installed the p4, then installed it after seating the cpu. I hooked it up to both the vid card and the intergrated graphics. not sure about the h/t.... yes a good layer of artic 5.

 

[Iamlucky45]

sorry not to thick of a layer yet not to thin, and i held onto the case to keep me grounded.

 

[nickslick74]

Okay, sounds like you diid good. Just trying to get the most obvious but easily overlooked items out of the way. I don;t know if this will help, but have you tried clearing the CMOS?

 

[Iamlucky45]

No not yet just heard about that this morning. Its the jumper near the board battery. I just dont understand how that is going to help boot up? I also must tell you I only have a 250 w psu would that make a difference?

 

[iss]

Dell and other prebuilt systems can "lockup" at times when you change components. the first thing to try is reset the Cmos by removing the battery after unplugging and holding down the power button for a few seconds. let it set for about 10 mins then put the battery back in, plug in, and boot up.

you might also want to see if there is a newer bios available.

if the above does nothing then strip the system down to just the CPU. boot then shut down and unplug following the procedure described earlier, ( holding in the power button for several seconds to drain residual power.) then add ram, plug in and boot up. continue this procedure until you get beeps and or post.

 

[nickslick74]

I don't know if clearing the CMOS would help, so scratch that idea for the moment. Your psu may not have had enough juice to power the new processor. You can test this if you have or know someone that has a spare, more powerful psu that you can use on your system to test with. Another possability is that somehow your mobo got damaged. I'm sure some other members will chime in with some good ideas as well.

EDIT: That CMOS idea was what I was originally thinking, but since I'm here at work right now I lost my train of thought and forgot about that! lol

Good afternoon iss!

 

[Iamlucky45]

ok Thank you I will give it a try when i get home from work tonight and I will leave a reply on this letting you guys know how it works out. Any idea if the stock dell mobo will accept h/t? havent found anything yet.

 

[Iamlucky45]

ok guys thanks for the help the CMOS jumper and battery did it! you guys are great. Thanks Again.