Help! No POST!

[LordAndromeda]

Alright, I just built a new computer, but when I turn on the power for the initial boot, I get no 'beep' to tell me the POST is done, and no picture on my monitor. Everything is brand-spanking new and I've tested the monitor on an older computer and it works fine. I've got: Intel D865PERL motherboard, Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz processor with 800MHz FSB, 550 W power supply, 4 sticks of 256 MB PC 3200 DDR SDRAM, Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro w/ 256 MB onboard DDR VRAM. All the connections are fine. The thermal compound on the CPU is fine too. All my fans are spinning (including the one on the vid card) and so is the 120 GB Western Digital hard disc drive. Any ideas on what the problem might be? And how I might fix it?

[Whyzman]

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I would suggest stripping back and doing a barebones boot...no perhiperals other than RAM, VidCard, Keyboard, and Monitor...you might want to even do this outside the box on a non-conducting surface such as a piece of cardboard on a table...

Also, try one stick of RAM at a time...If you make it with one stick then begin adding one more at a time...

then the floppy, then the Harddrive...etc.,

Also, you might want to make sure there's no plastic film isolating the motherboard batter...or, that they might have installed it upside down...

[LordAndromeda]

Thanks for the advice Whyzman. I checked the battery on the board but it was in correctly and there was a good contct between the leads and the battery. Unfortunately I tried the bare-bones boot already and it didn't work. I get the same thing: no beep, no video, and fans a'spinning. I was well grounded when I put all the components in (on a tile floor with a wrist-static-guard-thing), but maybe I still managed to fry something?

[Sylvander]

Download a copy of my diagnostic flowcharts from here
www.erniek.eclipse.co.uk/downloads/sylvanderdiags.zip
then print them and use them to home in on possible causes of the problem.

It appears:
1. You have NO POST.
[If your internal speaker doesn't work you wouldn't hear the beeps generated by the BIOS].
2. Are the PSU voltages correct?
3. Are all the connections good?
4. If they are, then the system board or something on it is faulty.

[ski]

Looks like you're at the 'swap out' or 'shop test' stage.

[LordAndromeda]

I tested the video card, disc drive, CD-ROM, and RAM in an older PC and they all work fine with that one. I tested the PSU leads with a multimeter and all the voltages are correct. I put the old PC parts into the new motherboard/CPU and still nothing but fans. Unfortunately I can't test the motherboard or CPU since I have no older board that would support the CPU. Is there any other way I can be sure which component is causing the problem short of going out and buying a new board and/or CPU?

[Whyzman]

Did you barebones on your system?? If you were counting on the fact that you were well grounded etc., that doesn't preclude the fact that one of the components or cables could be faulty...

If you wind up where you're at right now it gets to be a chiken/egg situation...

I would say at this point that you might want to try tech-support for both the remaining pieces, Motherboard and CPU...

The manufacturer's might have a better take on how to differentiate which one is the culprit...

You might try touching the heatsink to see if there's any warmth at all...however, if it is cool that also doesn't preclude the fact that it could be that the Motherboard isn't getting power to it...

[ski]

Check the CMOS battery's voltage for 3V.
If that's ok, then clear CMOS either with a MB jumper or by removing the CMOS battery for at least 30 minutes.
If no luck, then visually inspect the MB for anything abnormal, i.e., leaking or ruptured capacitors, etc.
If you cannot see anything wrong with the MB(or the CPU) and both are new, then return one of them for a replacement under warranty.
If the problem persists, then return the other one.

(Edit) You got here before me again, Whyzman.

[Quantax]

About a month or so ago I had a similar situation(but with an ASUS mobo and Athlon XP). The difference however was that after I couldn't get into the BIOS setup after hitting the DEL key, I then cleared the CMOS via the jumpers and the result was no booting but occasionally continuous beeping. Took it back to the vendor I got it from and they replaced the mobo, no charge.

[Whyzman]

I had an interesting conversation with a tech-support person at CompUSA today concerning which of the two "Usual Suspects" it might be...

I brought a Soyo PCI code card to him ($49.00 retail) and asked, give a brief synopsis of the situation, how might one go about determining which might be the culprit other than swapping?

His quick reply was, "No beeps=CPU." I'd be curious to know it others who are "in the know" would come to the same conclusion?

Oh, he looked at the SOYO diagnostic card and "scoffed!" :p

[LordAndromeda]

Thank you all for your assistance with my question! After pouring through pages of data on the Intel site, I found that I need a later revision of my motherboard BIOS to support a CPU with a 1MB cache. It's times like these I think about abandoning modern technology and living in the woods with a pack of wolves... Anyway, Thank you again!

[ski]

Congrats on solving your problem, and thanks for posting back with the fix.