I have just finished building and tuning a superfast DAW, so when my dad complained about his internet PC playing up, I thought no probs.

So I went to scan and picked up a new mobo, cpu+ heatsink, ram, case & psu and OS.

The stuff I got was:
AMD Duron 1.6G socket A
Asrock K7S41 Mobo
256MB generic PC2100 DDR ram
the PSU, heatsink & case are generic too.

So I bolted everything together along with the hdd & optical drives out of his old machine, plugged in, switched on, and... nothing, no lights, no noise, not a sausage!

I have checked all the components are in properly, the switches are connected properly, and I even checked the iec lead this time (after my frantic posting with the last PC).

I hate diagnosing faults, so can anyone recommend a course of action/what to check?

P.S. I set the FSB to 266MHz, which should be correct for this CPU?

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om mani peme hung

Are you getting any beeps on power up?

Is it even powering up? You say you set the fsb to 266. Was this via jumper or the bios?

Simple trouble shooting:
1. Remove all components except for 1 dimm, cpu/hs, and graphics
2. Attempt to boot system.
If system does not power up, check fuse in kettle lead, check that the power switch is connected to the correct pins on the motherboard (a mistake I often make), check that the PSU is switched on. If the system still fails to power up, then remove motherboard from the case, lay it on a desk, connect the PSU again, and try powering it up. If this fails, the mb or PSU may be dead.
If the system powers up, but beeps, then post the number of beeps on the forum, and we can look up what the problem is.

Also worth setting fsb to 100 and trying to boot.

Regards

Matt

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The Cheque's in the post...

If you aren't getting anything at all it is probably the PSU. I find that in situations like this it can be the most obvious solutions that escape us.

- If the popwer supply as an on/off switch,
- ensure it is on, ensure that the ATX connector is firmly secured to the mainboard
- ensure you have plugged the 2-pin ATX Power Swith into the correct port on the mainboard,
- If this all fails, it is possible that you have a "dead" PSU, or Mainboard.

these may seem obvious but they are so simple that they can easily be overlooked

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www.gpsystems.ca

you shoul be able to hear the powercupply fan whirring. If you can't check that. If you can you need to check the motherboard. If there is a problem with any of the components connected to the motherbaord it will beep. Different number of beeps for each componenet - check the manual. If it doesn't make any sound, then it's dead or not getting power.

Something I've experienced ALOT with new components.

Someone told me, and I don't know if this is true or not, that PC components are coated in some kind of dust-resistant chemical once manufactured, and occasionally this chemical can interrupt connections.

When I've had problems with new stuff, simply taking it out, wiping with a dry tissue then putting it back in (repeat another time to be extra sure) has often got the computer starting up. Particularly with graphics cards - often if that isn't connected properly, the computer won't start up at all - no beeps, nothing.

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http://www.jeremycorbett.co.uk

Cheers, I'll try some of those & report back

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om mani peme hung

Hi Again, managed to try it out this weekend.
There is only 1 ram dimm in anyway, cpu&hs and the ide drives. The graphics & sound are onboard.
I tried a known working psu, and also tried bridging the switch pins just incase the power switch was faulty. None of these worked
The PC doesn't do a thing. No clicks, no whirrs, no beeps, absolutley nothing as if it wasn't plugged in.
Does this mean it is definatley the mobo then? I don't have any spare ram or cpus of the same type to test.

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om mani peme hung

Do you have to have a drive plugged in? {floppy? hd?}

Is there someone nearby that can check it for you?

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www.RTaylor-Design.Com

Can you try subbing in another power supply?
Not to take the piss, as I've done it many a time, but check the power switch on the power supply too as someone mentioned earlier. If it's still dead then it's your PSU almost certainly, as the it's own fan should at least whirr into life.

Quote:

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Can you try subbing in another power supply?
Not to take the piss, as I've done it many a time, but check the power switch on the power supply too as someone mentioned earlier. If it's still dead then it's your PSU almost certainly, as the it's own fan should at least whirr into life.

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Yes of course, thats what I said above!

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om mani peme hung

Quote:

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Do you have to have a drive plugged in? {floppy? hd?}

Is there someone nearby that can check it for you?

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Nothing else I can substitute. I just want to know which is the likely failed componenet so I can take it back

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om mani peme hung

Quote:

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Quote:

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Do you have to have a drive plugged in? {floppy? hd?}

Is there someone nearby that can check it for you?

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Nothing else I can substitute. I just want to know which is the likely failed componenet so I can take it back

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It sounds like your motherboard provided everything else is kosher.

{Memory's the correct type and in the proper slot, cooler is installed correctly {tho' if that were a problem it would probably start then promptly die.}, psu is operational and has both connects, cpu is inserted properly and any necessary jumpers are set appropriately, video card is the correct voltage, battery is charged.}

The only things, other than the above, that I can think of that would leave you totally dead in the water are a short, maybe your board requires a floppy to be connected {maybe a hd} before it will boot... or you have a dead component.

Maybe your memory needs to be installed in pairs?

If your memory's screwed your board won't do anything either... ditto the processor. You've tried starting without a video card? {It won't boot but it will light up and possibly sound an error code.} Provided the fan in your psu is running that leaves you with 3 possible components. memory, motherboard and processor. You might try starting with no memory and seeing if you get a beep code as well.

{You have everything disconnected except the psu and a video card?}

Quote:

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Quote:

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Can you try subbing in another power supply?
Not to take the piss, as I've done it many a time, but check the power switch on the power supply too as someone mentioned earlier. If it's still dead then it's your PSU almost certainly, as the it's own fan should at least whirr into life.

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Yes of course, thats what I said above!

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Sorry, I read known working PSU in your post as known working CPU. It was a long weekend!

If the PSU fan never spins, it's the PSU. Otherwise, it's almost certainly your motherboard.

:} If the fan's running in the power supply... my guess would be that the jumpers are set in-correctly.

http://www.asrock.com/Drivers/Manual/K7S41GX_UM.pdf

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www.RTaylor-Design.Com

Thanks for all the suggestions. I phoned scan today and they said if i just take up the mobo with the ram & cpu still connected they will test them for me.

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om mani peme hung