Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 So, I've finally got everything I need for my first ever PC build, a HTPC. I've finished putting everything together this morning and just powered the system up. Only pretty much nothing has happened!! I have an Antec Fusion case which has an LCD on the front, this lights up constantly. There's also a light on the mobo so I know that's getting power too. But, the monitor is receiving no signal, the fans haven't came on, the DVD drive wont open and it's not beeping as it says it would in the mobo manual. My worst fears have come true and I haven't a clue what I'm supposed to do next!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Are you sure that the power switch on the front of the case is turning the motherboard on, and that you havent just supplied power to the case & motherboard? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Are you sure that the power switch on the front of the case is turning the motherboard on, and that you havent just supplied power to the case & motherboard? Mike Yeah think so, there's a green light on the motherboard and that comes on when I power up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Ooh, sorry misunderstood. I can't turn the power on or off on the front of the case with the power/reset buttons. I can only power up with the switch on the rear, this switch powers the mobo and case simultaneously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 but no drives are turning on, no POST, no fans and no output from the graphics card. My first thought is that the PC has power, but isn't being turned on. The equivalent of plugging a DVD player in, but not turning it on. check the motherboard, and make sure that you have connected all the case "flyleads" to the correct headers on the motherboard. HDD LED, Power SW, RESET SW, Power LED etc. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 but no drives are turning on, no POST, no fans and no output from the graphics card. My first thought is that the PC has power, but isn't being turned on. The equivalent of plugging a DVD player in, but not turning it on. check the motherboard, and make sure that you have connected all the case "flyleads" to the correct headers on the motherboard. HDD LED, Power SW, RESET SW, Power LED etc. Mike Hmmm, that sounds correct. No drives are powering up, no fans etc... I do recall having a PW wire from the front of the case that I didn't know where to connect to on the mobo. I'll go back and have another look... Cheers dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Thanks Mike, you were exactly right! I have two POWER SW wires coming from the front display but only one place on the mobo to attach it to. I switched the spare I hadn't connected with the one I had connected, it now works. BUT, When I powered up this time I got an error. It said something like 'CPU Fan Error detected - New CPU installed'.... It then gave me the option to hit F1 and enter BIOS set-up which I did. Although, as I'm clueless I didn't know what to do once in the BIOS so I just exited. When I did that it asked for my boot CD which I inserted. Windows XP is now installing, my HD is being formatted as we speak. That said, should I be worried about the CPU fan error? The CPU fan was working at the time and still is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 hi you are clearly enjoying yourelsf youll sort it soon check you have connected the lead from the cpu fan to the correct fan header on the motherboard Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 It could be one of two things. The Bios may well have detected a new CPU, and adjusted it's settings accordingly, giving you a spurious error. Check the Post screen to check that it is reporting the correct speed and FSB (if it even displays these) The other potential is that it couldn't detect the fan speed signal, some fans don't have a fan speed signal (although most CPU fans do). This TBH is less likely. I would keep an eye on it for a couple of reboots and make sure it doesn't keep repeating the error. I wouldn't be overly concerned about it unless it keeps happening, or your system starts to reboot randomly. Good luck with the rest of it, sounds like the hard part is out of the way, it should be fairly straight forward and rewarding from now on in. Let us know how you get on Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 hi you are clearly enjoying yourelsf youll sort it soon check you have connected the lead from the cpu fan to the correct fan header on the motherboard Rich or as Rich says, there will be multiple locations where you can connect Fans on teh mobo, PSU, CPU, HDD, CASE. the one for the CPU should be nearest the CPU socket, make sure you have connected to that one, this will be monitored more than any of the others from a system health point of view, and the motherboard will take corrective action if it detects the fan has stopped. It will also probably throttle the fan based on a temperature sensor located either in the CPU or under the CPU on the motherboard. HTH Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Thanks for the info guys, I will look into your suggestions. BTW, where is the POST screen? I've posted up my problems up on a PC forum and had no luck as yet, figures that the guys on the Supra forum know best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Oh man, more problems now! I successfully installed Xp Pro earlier but having some more difficulty. Firstly, the PC works perfectly OK with my monitor which I setup on. I've now disconnected from my monitor and hooked it up to my Plasma with a HDMI cable. The screen resolution needs changing but it wont let me, also the screen jumps/flickers constantly. It doesn't do it when in BIOS or when loading, just when the desktop appears. Secondly, I got XP Pro as I wanted 64bit OS because I have 4mb of Ram. Problem is XP only recognises 3.24mb of Ram and it says in System that it's a 32bit OS. Have I the wrong XP Pro? I just assumed they were all 64bit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatSport Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I have the Antec fusion as well, you really should use Media Centre Edition rather than XP pro. Is it onboard graphics or a card? The resolution changes to a higher value when it finally boots. Possibly graphics can`t cope?? whats the MB, processor etc?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 I have the Antec fusion as well, you really should use Media Centre Edition rather than XP pro. Is it onboard graphics or a card? The resolution changes to a higher value when it finally boots. Possibly graphics can`t cope?? whats the MB, processor etc?? I think the screen flicker is either down to the HDMI cable (cheap ebay job) or the Plasma itself. I've just been and checked the PC with our projector downstairs that has a HDMI cable - everything works fine and I can adjust the resolution. For some reason i can't adjust it with my Plasma hooked up. So Windows MCE?? Is that 64bit? Will it recognise all of my RAM? Oh yeah, my spec is as follows: Antec Fusion Case Asus P5E-VM HDMI Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (2 x 3.00Ghz 6Mb Cache 1333 FSB) 2 x 2GB – Corsair 4GB Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB Samsung H653B - 20x DVD+/-/RW Netgear Wireless 802.11g 108Mbps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I think the screen flicker is either down to the HDMI cable (cheap ebay job) or the Plasma itself. I've just been and checked the PC with our projector downstairs that has a HDMI cable - everything works fine and I can adjust the resolution. For some reason i can't adjust it with my Plasma hooked up. So Windows MCE?? Is that 64bit? Will it recognise all of my RAM? Oh yeah, my spec is as follows: Antec Fusion Case Asus P5E-VM HDMI Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (2 x 3.00Ghz 6Mb Cache 1333 FSB) 2 x 2GB – Corsair 4GB Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB Samsung H653B - 20x DVD+/-/RW Netgear Wireless 802.11g 108Mbps Better off with Vista x64 IMO. Get the ultimate version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 I think the screen flicker is either down to the HDMI cable (cheap ebay job) or the Plasma itself. I've just been and checked the PC with our projector downstairs that has a HDMI cable - everything works fine and I can adjust the resolution. For some reason i can't adjust it with my Plasma hooked up. Scrap that theory, just tried a DVD player with same HDMI lead and Plasma and it works perfect. It's just the HTPC that wont work with it, yet it works fine with a monitor and a projector??? Better off with Vista x64 IMO. Get the ultimate version. Do you know to working torrent of Vista Scott? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Firstly, XP pro is 32bit... XP Pro 64 is 64 bit.... Secondly. It's 3.24GB of Ram not mb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Firstly, XP pro is 32bit... XP Pro 64 is 64 bit.... Secondly. It's 3.24GB of Ram not mb I stand corrected. I really am a noob as you can see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffleman Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Have fun mate, recently built my HTPC around the same mobo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Do you know to working torrent of Vista Scott? I'll have a look, if i have it i'll make u one. If not i'll do a search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 investigate your graphics driver situation that onboard rig supports Direct X 10 - search for latest drivers and try them google em there seem to be a lot!! dont use plasma myself so thiese just suggestions Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 investigate your graphics driver situation that onboard rig supports Direct X 10 - search for latest drivers and try them google em there seem to be a lot!! dont use plasma myself so thiese just suggestions Rich So could it be driver issues? I'm confused. The pc works perfect with monitor and projector, just not with a plasma. I don't understand how it works fine with one and not the other. It even boots up without the flicker/jump, it just starts when Windows has loaded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Sounds driver related to me. Another thing to try is different refresh rates and resolutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatSport Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 check ouput ie 50Hz, 65Hz or whatever to match your TV`s and vice-versa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 Sounds driver related to me. Another thing to try is different refresh rates and resolutions. check ouput ie 50Hz, 65Hz or whatever to match your TV`s and vice-versa EDIT: Woo hoo!! fixed it. Just needed to install onboard graphics driver from Asus CD ROM Didn't think I needed to bother as everything seemed to work fine on monitor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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