No display on new build - help!

[starbuck]

Just built my new rig with the following spec:

P5b deluxe wi-fi
E6600
Scythe ninja plus
2gb corsair xms2 5400 ram
HIS 2900xt 512mb
2x 50gb samsung spinpoint
x-fi music.
Enermax Galaxy 850 watt,

When I boot up, I get no display. Sys seems to stay powered on(and I have the ATX plug and the 12V plug plugged into the mobo), I have the 6+2 pcie power connector and another 6pin pcie connector plugged into the graphics card(so should have enough power), have taken out and replaced the ram and still nothing.

There are a couple of LED's on the back of the graphics card which light up initially when the system powers on then goes off. The fan on the GPU is spinning though.


Any suggestions?

[GSte]

Don't know owt about those GFX cards, but to start I'd take out the sound card and unplug 1 HDD... .are the HDDs IDE or SATA? Do you have them in RAID? What DVD drives have you got, have you checked the jumpers on all the drives? Do you know the monitor is good? Checked cable from GFX to monitor? Any HDD activity upon booting?

[starbuck]

Right, I've unplugged everything I can think of so I'm left with just the CPU, GPU, and memory and 1 sata drive plugged in, get exactly te same thing - no display.

Now, I know that the 2900XT's need either 2 2x6 pin connectors to power it or a 6 and an 8 pin.

I bought my enermax galaxy 850watt PSU specifically for this(as it has an 8 pin connector).

i thing I noticed, the 12v 8 pin power connector on the P5B board(near the CPU), I plugged the CPU 8 pin connector from my PSU into it. With this, the LED's on the back of the GPU came on then went off. With the 8pin connector unplugged from the motherboard, the lights stayed on. Don't know if this would make any difference.

I have also tried plugging 2 2x6 connectors in to the GPU and this still doesn't change.

I've also noticed that the PC will only power on for a few seconds if I press the power button but will power up and stay on if I hold the power button for a few seconds.

[Dreaming]

Any POST beeps?

[GSte]

i thing I noticed, the 12v 8 pin power connector on the P5B board(near the CPU), I plugged the CPU 8 pin connector from my PSU into it. With this, the LED's on the back of the GPU came on then went off. With the 8pin connector unplugged from the motherboard, the lights stayed on. Don't know if this would make any difference.

Should have the 8 pin connector plugged in to make sure there's enough power for everything. I'd try booting with just one stick of RAM, using both sticks one at a time in case one is dead. Are all these parts brand new or have you used any before (will make it easier to identify any faulty ones).

[starbuck]

all are new. No post beeps.

[Clunk]

Have you got another graphics card that you can try?

There was/is an issue with the P5B and some ATI cards when using the shipping bios.

If it is that, you need to either get the bios flashed to the latest one somewhere, or use another pcie card and do it yourself.

It could also be a short, remove the board from the case and build it up on a cardboard box. Check the I/O shield, and remove any sticky out bits of metal.

Make sure that all your motherboard standoffs are screwed in tightly.

you need to use the 8 pin cpu lead from the PSU to the motherboard, dont use the 4+4 one.

Make sure both power leads are plugged in for the graphics card.

[GSte]

Very difficult to say sorry if it's not even posting. A few things to try would be:

Check CPU and hs/f installed properly, S775 push pillars are 'clicked' in properly;

Check all cables and connections;

Check jumpers on drives;

Try RAM one stick at a time;

Make sure HDDs connected to correct SATA ports;

Try disconnecting power button from mobo and touching a metal object to two power pins to boot, in case it's a problem with the actual button;

Start swapping things out, ie trying with different GFX card, etc, to identify dead component/if mobo is dead.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[starbuck]

what is the problem if the system powers on for a few seconds then goes offthe comes on again, it'll then stay on.
built the system up on a box only having my graphics card and 1 stick of ram plugged in. Same thing happens, no display. Have also tried the GPU in both PCIE slots(and reset cmos)

I can't think of anything else to try apart from buying a cheap PCIE card to try as clunk mentioned he had heard of a possible problem with the P5B and some ATI cards.

Tried booting without ram(to make sure speaker working) and it did start beeping as it should. As soon as I plugged the ram back in, it did same as before(no beeps).

any suggestions?

[GSte]

Very unlikely that both sticks of ram would be dead so would try another gfx card as previously discussed

[starbuck]

Have now tried another graphics card in both pcie slots and tried the other stick of ram, same thing.

can't think of anything else to try

[Clunk]

Difficult to say without testing some of the bits.

I would suggest that you find a local pc repair shop and get them to test a few of the parts for you.

Itll be cheaper than RMAing the board back, only to be hit with a £30+vat testing fee.