Troubleshooting my first PC build

[bwr827]

I'm building my own PC for the first time, and I've run into a problem. I put everything together and pressed the power button, and the following components started working:

- case fan, CPU cooler and power supply fan
- hard drive and dvd drive

Unfortunately, I got no signal on the monitor and no beep from the system.

Here are the details on my components:

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AMD785G mATX AM3 PCI-E DDR3 Video Sound GLAN CrossFireX HDMI (onboard audio and video)

Processor:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition

Memory:
Corsair 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core I5 Dual Channel Memory Kit

Case:
Coolermaster Elite RC-330 ATX Blk Case 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT No PS 1X120MM Rear Fan Front I/O Panel

Power supply:
Coolermaster Extreme Power Plus 500W ATX 12V V2.3 Silent Power Supply 20/24PIN 120MM Fan

Hard drive:
Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB SATA2 7200RPM 4.2MS 32MB

DVD drive:
LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM

So far, I have tried the following with no luck:
1. Removed the motherboard battery to reset the CMOS. Result: no change on start up.

2. Removed the memory: no change on start up.

3. Unplugged the hard drive and DVD drive: no change.

4. Double-checked connections of the case's front panel to the motherboard, especially the speaker.

5. Tried another monitor: no change. Then confirmed both monitors work on another PC.

I am at a loss. I'm worried that the motherboard is faulty, but unsure how to confirm. In building my system, I connected the following:

- carefully installed the CPU into the motherboard, matching the triangles.
- installed the factory CPU cooler and connected its power cable to the correct spot on the motherboard
- installed both memory sticks into the first two slots on the motherboard
- then installed the motherboard into the case
- then installed the power supply into the case
- connected the main power cable from the power supply into the motherboard
- connected the cables from the case's front panel to the front panel connections on the motherboard.
- installed the hard drive and optical drive, connecting both via SATA cables to the motherboard
- found power cables coming from the power supply that fit both drives and connected them
- connected the audio cable from the case to the audio connector on the motherboard

Then I pressed the power button and it turned on as described above. To turn it off, the power button does nothing, even when held for more than five seconds. I used the switch on the power supply to turn it off.

So that's it. I hope I've provided the right details, and I would really appreciate any input anyone might have.

 

[Remeniz]

Have you connected the 8 pin ATX PSU connector to the motherboard?

Its located between the PSU MOSFET's and the on-board video output connectors.

 

[bwr827]

Have you connected the 8 pin ATX PSU connector to the motherboard?

Its located between the PSU MOSFET's and the on-board video output connectors.

No, I did not. I didn't see an 8-pin connector coming out of the PSU, and reading the motherboard manual it sounded like an either/or for the 20-pin connector or an 8-pin connector.

Could this be the solution? Does the 8-pin connector provide power to different parts of the motherboard than the 20-pin connector?

Here is the website with details on my PSU. It shows pictures of six different connector types, none of which appear to be an 8-pin connector. Have I mistakenly purchased a PSU that is incompatible with the Gigabyte motherboard?

 

[Remeniz]

That PSU is fine.

The 20+4 ATX connector goes near the RAM slots and the CPU 4+4 Pin connector goes to the 8 pin ATX connector.

You need them both connected.

 

[bwr827]

That PSU is fine.

The 20+4 ATX connector goes near the RAM slots and the CPU 4+4 Pin connector goes to the 8 pin ATX connector.

You need them both connected.

Excellent! I will try this later today and reply back with the results. Thank you for your help!

When I was examining the various connectors coming from the PSU, I did not realize those 2 4-pin ones were a pair — they were not joined together like the 20+4-pin connector.

 

[Remeniz]

Excellent! I will try this later today and reply back with the results. Thank you for your help!

When I was examining the various connectors coming from the PSU, I did not realize those 2 4-pin ones were a pair — they were not joined together like the 20+4-pin connector.

Yea. Usually the 20+4 pin connector splits in two, 20 pin and 4 pin, so that you can use the 20 pin on older motherboards. Same with the 4+4 pin connector. Check page 24 in the manual.

Just makes the PSU's more compatible.

Ensure you use the 4+4, it's an 8 pin connector, on the motherboard and you should be good to go.

 

[Jesusfrk611]

Yeah, that's a pretty common problem where people just forget to plug it in. I'm pretty sure I did the same thing when I built my brother's i7 system.

 

[bwr827]

I am SO relieved that this may be the only issue. I was stumped, and kicking myself for not paying the parts vendor an extra $50 for assembly and testing. Now I'm really hopeful that I'll have the system up and running soon.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

 

[Remeniz]

No worries.

Let us know how you get on...

 

[bwr827]

The missing cable connection did the trick! I plugged in the two 4-pin connectors, and fired up the system. I still had the drives and RAM out, so immediately I got some loud error beeps — boy, were those beeps music to my ears!

After reconnecting the HDD and optical drive and reinstalling both memory chips, I started the system and proceeded to install Windows 7 without any difficulty.

My new problem is, after installing Windows 7, I pressed Y when the system, while booting up, told me my SATA drive was running in IDE mode and asked me if I wanted it to change. Then it wouldn't boot up any more, and I didn't have time to play with it any further yesterday.

From looking online, it appears that the motherboard default is to have a SATA drive emulate being an IDE drive. I'm going to enter the BIOS and change it back to that IDE emulation, then see about installing the proper SATA drivers in Windows.

Anyway, thanks again for all the help!