Just won't work

[Big Daddy]

I am building a new machine for the wife. Here are the components:

AMD XP 2400
ECS KS5VA Pro (motherboard)
512mb DDR 2100
G-Force 4 440 se (video)
Maxtor 30 GB (HD)
Toshiba DVD
BTC CD-r/rw
CoGen Case 300 watts

Plugged the puppy in and nothing displays on the monitor. The lights on the DVD and CD-R keep blinking. The fan on CPU is turning. No clicking and it doesn't seem that the hard drive is spinning. I tried other memory and a known good hard drive to no avail. Any suggestion would be mucho appreciated....thanks in advance.

[BigBlue66]

Check all connections for secure and proper fit.

Reseat RAM and video card.

Try a different PSU if one is available.

[Budfred]

You power supply may not be enough to run that system. 300watts might be fine if it is a good one, but if it came with the case it may not have enough power in the 12 volt leg where it is needed. Check the amp rating on the 12 volt leg, it should be on a label on the power supply.

If that isn't the problem, I would try a minimal boot. Disconnect all drives and all but one stick of RAM and try a boot. If still no go, try the same with the motherboard out of the case on a nonconductive surface (like cardboard). Make sure to keep the case speaker attached so that you can hear if there is a POST beep.

[deddard]

As Budfred said - go with a barebones machine first of all. You don't need anything like the DVD or anything like that attached, and 300 Watts may be a bit small.
The other thing that springs automatically to mind is the AGP card - you MUST use the right one. AGP comes in different versions, which have different voltage requirements. Make sure yours is the correct one for the motherboard.

[drewbob]

Check the jumper to clear the bios. Read your manual and see how it should be set. Even if it is shorting the correct pins, switch it, wait a moment, and then switch it back.

[Big Daddy]

Well, I've tried everything. Replaced the power supply with a 400 watt unit. I disconnected everything and nada. I even tried resetting the CMOS. Still the CPU fan is churning away and nothing appears on the screen (light stays yellow - no green). I tried using a different video card and again nada. I tried both DDR and SDRAM memory. It does not sound like the hard drive is spinning. I tried two different ones, a new one and one out of another working machine. I am beginning to think the motherboard or CPU was bad right out-of-box. I have used this motherboard in the past with great success. I've tried everything I know to do except boxing everything up and heading back to Fry's.

[Budfred]

Have you tried the minimal boot out of the case? Have you gotten a POST beep at any point? Have you kept the case speaker plugged in so you can hear if you get a POST beep? Is the CPU fan plugged into the mobo?

Try the minimal boot and leave out the RAM, do you get an error beep???

Make sure the case speaker is plugged in the right way so that you will know if it is trying to beep...

[Big Daddy]

Well, tried everything to no avail. I finally borrowed a XP2200 CPU from a friend and it worked. Turned out the XP2400 CPU was bad. Returned it to Fry's and they replaced without any hassles. Now the system is up and running. Thanks for all the help....

[Budfred]

Congratulations on figuring it out. It is tough when either the mobo or CPU is bad since the only real way to test is to swap them out like you did...:)