HELP!!
I purchased a new ATX case, 300 watt ps, Gigabyte GA-7IXE and athlon 800. I moved drives from my old working Gateway P5. I've got power, but monitor won't come out of standby.
I initially had my PCI savage 4 video card in, but read in mainboard manual that the default for video was the AGP slot. I didn't know whether the m-board would look for only an AGP or look for a PCI video if it didnt find an AGP. So I borrowed and AGP and removed the PCI and still no video. I've re-seated ram and boards and switched in my old IDE cables which I know were good. I'm running out of ideas. I'm starting to think the board or processor is bad.
Is it possiblr that the monitor cable has to a different for this newer system?

Is this your first computer to build? If so, there are so many things you might not have known to do to set up a new system, it would take us weeks to go through all of the possibilities. My BEST advice is to find someone with computer building experience to go over your work to this point. If you have the cpu in correctly, the cpu fan hooked up (IT HAS TO BE CONNECTED OR YOU WILL BURN UP THAT CPU), the memory in correctly and a video card in either the AGP or PCI slot....then you should be able to get the system to "post up"....that is, it should give one beep and begin showing the ram count. If it wont do that for you.......get some help before you burn up that expensive Duron cpu & motherboard!!!

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Will XP save Me ?

Thanks for the reply. I have done other upgrades to my old system so I do have some experience. I do have some resources to check with. Trouble is finding someone with free time to really look into it. A guy at work says from my description it seems to POST. I've reseated all cables, processor, ram, and power. It will power up and down with button.
I installed a new floppy. I don't see the light on floppy go on or of course any video.
I've tried my PCI vid, and borrowed my Dad's AGP, and now have an AGP in there that a friend is not using. I did move the vid cable with each change. I have also tried the clear CMOS jumper, then restarted. No Luck.

It seems that there could be a number of problems and without seeing the system it would be difficult to tell the problem. If this is a totally new system I'm guessing that you may have another computer lying around. With this in mind it might be easier to break the big problem into smaller ones. I have never built a whole system so well done for getting this far. With the case off do you get power into the system ie. CPU fan turns on etc. If this is not the case then start here if it does then turn to the next port of call RAM check and drive check.
Let me stress that I'm no expert and you will get far more help from others but I think that at the moment there are too many possibilities for useful help. To avoid 'have you tried this?' 'yes' 'well have tried this?' 'no. that didn't help' kind of forum try and nail down the basics as far as possible by breaking the whole thing into each component testing in other systems if possible. I'm sure that when I get around to building my super computer I'll have much of the same problems. Good luck! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif
PS I have trouble getting the CDROM to fit into old computers!

Hello Joel, and welcome.
You say you have checked and reseated all cards, ram and cpu. How about the monitor itself? Another thought is Static electricity discharge. Handleing all these components without the proper precautions can leave them useless. Testing everything in a known working machine might reveal a damaged part.
Good luck and let us know how it goes

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They say to eat before you go to the grocery store so you don't buy so much. That doesn't work at the liquor store does it!

Charles has two excellent sections in The PC Guide with a lot of detail.

Click Here (http://www.pcguide.com/proc/index.htm) for the Procedure Guide.

Click Here (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/index.htm) for the Troubleshooting and Repair Guide.

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"I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."
-- Charles Babbage, mathematician, computer pioneer, analytical engine designer (1791-1871)
-- (Question: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?')

I agree w/monitor check suggestion. In fact, I would begin swapping stuff out with known good components until you find the culprit. Cards can be sticky so make sure they're seated all the way. Look closely at cables and connectors to make sure no pins are bent or broken.

OK, back up and start over. Pull everything but video, CPU & memory. No floppy, no hard drive, no other cards. If you get no video at that point, take the entire thing out of the case and try it on a tabletop, same bare bones setup, board, CPU Ram, video and keyboard. If you get video when out of the case, you have a ground problem, get some cardboard washers from a computer shop and put them between the motherboard and chassis. You'll only need to boot long enough to see a picture. Make SURE the CPU fan is connected and working. That CPU is fried in under 10 seconds without the fan. If you still get no video out of the case, you have a bad motherboard, CPU or power supply. (try different video cards to be sure.)

After you eliminate a ground problem, (I know it's a hassle, but that's the first thing to rule out...) and get it in the case, power up and check it, bare bones. Then add floppy. Then add one more component at a time, boot only long enough to see video each time.

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So many idiots, and only six bullets...
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

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