Fist time PC build problem

keltic1701

I'm making my first attempt at building a PC and I've come across a problem. I installed my power supply (Thermaltake Toughpower 700W) in to the case (Thermaltake Tsunami Dream). Then I placed the CPU with the heatsink and fan on to the motherboard (ASUS A8N- SLI Premium) and mounted that in the case. I also added a video card (EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS). As far as I know I have all the power connectors in the right places but when I plugged it in to see if the PS and all the fans worked I got nonthing. Not even the fan in the power supply started. I tried using different power sockets and different power cords but no luck. Anyone have any idea what the problem(s) would be and/or solution(s)? Thanks in advance for any help.

Pynda

Did you flick the power switch to 'on' on the power supply itself (before using the case switch)?

Did you make sure to only use the correct points on your motherboard for the standoffs (you may be grounding out a circuit if not, and may have damaged your motherboard)?

Check the motherboard manual again and make sure you plugged in all the auxillary wires (like the start switch) to the correct pins and that they are in the right orientation. Those things are mighty small. The pins can also get bent over if you are not very careful when plugging stuff in.

GL

rarraf

You have power going to the graphics card just a thought

Orca

There should be an extra power plug on the end of the card, which is fitted a 8 small holes(16 volt plug).

But it should run without that extra power, so that can't be the problem.

Have you installed the ON/OFF button wire, and all the other small wires correctly on the motherboard? Read the manual for the motherboard thoroughly, and make sure the wires are installed correctly.

Does the Power/Sleep/Idle button light on the case? If not, then there is your problem.

keltic1701

Originally posted by Pynda


Did you flick the power switch to 'on' on the power supply itself (before using the case switch)?
Did you make sure to only use the correct points on your motherboard for the standoffs (you may be grounding out a circuit if not, and may have damaged your motherboard)?
Check the motherboard manual again and make sure you plugged in all the auxillary wires (like the start switch) to the correct pins and that they are in the right orientation. Those things are mighty small. The pins can also get bent over if you are not very careful when plugging stuff in.
GL

I did try flicking the power switch for the power supply with no juice. The thing that I can't figure out is that even the cooling fan on the power supply doesn't start up. I'll double check the points and the auxillary wires as well. Thanks for the advice.

Pynda

Modern power supplies don't activate simply by turning on the main switch on the back of the power supply itself anymore (although having and leaving this switch on is a prerequisite for operation). Power supplies secondarily need to get a signal (low voltage relay) from the case switch to turn on, and the operating system software to turn off*.

* If the operating system locks up you have to press the case switch down and hold it down for a few seconds to actually do a manual shutdown these days. Or alternately, hit the case's manual 'restart' button instead.

I dunno, not even getting so much as a failed boot you could have a bad piece of hardware (in this case it would almost certainly be the motherboard, the power supply, or the case on/off switch). But I'd guess you've probably screwed something up. I'll throw out a few ideas in no particular order. But it's hard to tell what a new builder might have overlooked or misunderstood.

- You've checked that you have juice in the wall socket you're using, hehe? Sometimes those things are rigged to a light switch for household lamps to use, etc..

- Is the voltage switch on the back of the power supply set to 120v (for the US), or err 220v or something for Europe?

- You've carefully looked at the auxillary pin assignments in the motherboard manual (I'm talking about the narrow bank of pins that you plug the case on/off switch into, the hard drive activity light, the reset switch, the case mini speaker, etc.), and you're sure you are getting the orientation right as you plug those (mainly case wires) in? Do you also have the correct wire color for each little plug aligned to the correct pin according to the schematic? Because sometimes those plugs will fit in two different directions.

- Did you end up having four wires left over on the main power supply lead to the motherboard (newer power supply but older style motherboard plug), or do you have four empty pin holes showing on the motherboard power supply connector (older power supply with a newer motherboard). There was a change of power supply standards a few years back - so old components don't necessarily fit with new anymore. There's ways to use adapters, but...

- All cables, cords, and plugs are snug? The power cord plug into the power supply is pushed in up to its (usually) beveled edge? Sometimes that particular plug can be a bit stiff to get in all the way.

- You used brass motherboard standoffs for grounding the motherboard to the case in the correct places (grounding mount holes should be indicated in the motherboard manual, but usually they are fairly obvious because these holes on the motherboard have a flat, circular area of metallic finish around their outer, underside edge). Nylon standoffs are usually only used if especially called for in a specific location.

Note: brass standoffs can be dangerous if you put one into the wrong place on (the many) holes you have in a typical case. If you use say six brass standoffs, then make sure they are all aligned correctly and accounted for with the prescribed holes on your motherboard.

I don't seem to be coming up with much else (but I'm not a true geek either). You might try going to the forums at anandtech next if you're still having trouble. There's some real pros who hang out there. GL.

http://www.anandtech.com/

daelnor

First thing I'd do is remove anything not essential...like the video card. Put a stick of ram in. Double check your leads going to the power switch and reset switch to make sure you have them in properly.

Make sure your psu is connected to the motherboard properly. When all that is done, plug in the psu and switch it to on. You should have some kind of led indicator on your motherboard to show that it is getting power.

If you do, try the case power button again. If you still get nothing, try popping out the cmos battery and putting it back in (or even replacing it.)

If you don't get so much as a beep you may have a dead psu or dead motherboard.

(also make sure your cpu is seated properly with the cooler properly locked in place.)
D.

keltic1701

Ok. With the advice I got here I have made some progress since I first posted. It turns out that the reason I saw getting no power was that I connected the panel wires to the wrong part of the motherboard. After pouring over my MB manual I was able to find the right jumpers pins to put them in. I how have power to the MB, the CPU fan works and the switches and LED's on the front panel working. The only thing that I need to do now (until the next problem pops up! ) is the case fans. Do I connect them to one of the power leads from the PSU since the fans have Molex connectors? Also, Can I connect the front fan with the back fan and then connect the power leads or do I have to use a selerate lead for each fan? I want to get the case fans working before testing for the POST and adding any more components. These may sound like really dumb question but this is my first attempt at this and it is a learning process for me. Again, thanks for any and all input!

CleffyII

Ohh you had problems with the jumpers.  I wonder why I didn't think of that since I usually mix up the jumpers too.

For your fans.  Ideally you should connect the molex to an individual cord to ensure maximum power.  However, you cannot always achieve this.  So what I do is chain some together.  The lower thier importance the greater I am to chain them.  Like the front and back of case fans are the most important, while a side or top vent I would chain together.

daelnor

For now, I'd just get your front and back fan going, the rest are no big deal if they are all molex connectors. They'll probably get in the way if you still need to install your hard drives, etc.

You don't really need them anyway until you are booting up to install the OS and get it all running.

The big thing right now is to make sure you put your fans in correctly.

I.E. the front fan is blowing air INTO the case, and the rear fan is acting as an exhaust. Additionally, I would have the side fan working as an intake, with the top fan (if you have one) working as an exhaust.

Remember. Lot's of fans are cool and all, but airflow is more important than how much air you are pushing. If all you end up doing is blowing hot air around inside your case, it defeats the purpose.

Good luck with your build.

p.s. You can daisy chain the fans if you need to, but like the above poster said, ideally you want them on their own leads so they have as much power as needed. Fans don't really draw that much juice though, so you're ok with more than one on the same lead.

If having two on the same lead allows you to have cleaner wiring inside, I say go for it. Messy wiring inside the case is almost as bad as having no fans, because it messes up the airflow. Make sure you bundle up the excess wiring and tie it up out of the way, and off of the motherboard.

D.