new computer powers on, but no display/no beeps

[zskillz]

my friends in another lab are building a new computer. I know that this will be a bit vague, but I don't have the details of what the components are....that being said

They have set it up with

mobo
ram
proc
vid card
cdrom
hdd

and that is all. When we plug in the keyboard+mouse in and a monitor and power the system up.. the fans start spinning (on the mobo and the pwr. supply), but the little LED indicating power doesn't come on (maybe it's just defective.. who knows). more importantly, I'm getting no signal to the monitor (little light stays orange). Furthermore, I'm not getting any beeps or anything to tell me what the problem is. I have made sure that the speaker is correctly connected (of course if that is defective, I have no way of knowing).

Now I really have no idea what the hell the problem is... the one thing that bothers me is that they don't even have a floppy drive hooked up to the system. I figure that it's possible that the computer just won't boot without one attached (at least the first time). other than that... i have no clue


ideas??

thanks
-Z

[DoctorReno]

1) Have you set the BIOS up correctly?
2) I am fairly certain that if no Floppy drive is detected that the the POST stops at that point. Install a floppy drive and try it then.

[DoctorReno]

The wave of the future is to do away with floppy drives and many mfg's are shipping machines w/o floppies. But in your case I'd make a bet that in your BIOS, by default, that there is supposed to be a floppy. Install a floppy or disable all floppies in the BIOS.

[ragtop]

It would be helpful to get specs on the components - but in general, the problem could be MB/RAM/Processor or Vid Card. Any problems with HDD/CDROM/FDD should still at least give you a monitor signal during POST.

First try clearing your CMOS using the jumper, or by removing the battery. If that doesn't help, the best bet is to pull everything out of the case and rebuild it on a table to eliminate the possibility of some kind of short (just MB/Proc/RAM/Vid Card). If it still doesn't work, hopefully you have some spare parts & can try replacing one part at a time until you find the culprit.

Your comp will boot without a floppy attched. the bios setup is not the question because it won't go that far. If your not getting any beeps its going to be hard to tell But I'd say start with the video card. Double check to make sure everything is connected properly


edit: as ragtop said clear the cmos and double check to make sure its not already set on clear {i've done that a time or two}

[DoctorReno]

I stand corrected... RicheemxX is correct. Look at your video card first and make sure it is correctly seated.

[Omardeth]

did they hook up the case wireing correct ?

[Linck]

zskills,I had exactly the same thing yesterday after changing the CPU. The only other thing I removed was the graphic card for a little working room. First time around I had the same symptoms as you. So I reseated the CPU and the graphics card, and then bingo, it worked. Dunno which it was, but it doesn't matter, it works!

[Siliconjunkie]

Also try taking the mobo out and powering it up on a piece of cardboard and see what happens, add componets one at a time till it pukes.

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Is the processor known good? has the board been used and known good? the symptoms are quite familiar to.

1: CPU is blown or bad, not seated properly (except the power light would come on)
2: Bad BIOS flash, If you connect a floppy and the floppy lis accessed while trying to turn it on, Then you should post more information on the make of the motherboard so we can post further instructions.
3: blown board, Could just be a bad board.
4: Power supply too small, try a larger powersupply. (3.3 or 5 v rail too low)