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isitthevideocard
05-29-2011, 06:53 PM
Here is the computer I am building

1 x RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply

1 x Link Depot 6 ft. HDMI TO HDMI A/V Cable Model HDMI-2-HDMI - OEM

1 x BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

1 x XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

1 x AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

1 x ASUS Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A4/BLK/B/GEN

1 x ASUS CD/DVD Burner Black E-IDE/PATA Model DRW-22B2S/BLK/B/AS (Bulk) - OEM

1 x Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Mini PCI Express Ultimate N 633ANHMW Wireless Adapter

1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3

1 x Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM


Current Problem

The display says no signal and when I try to turn off the computer the button doesnt work so I have to unplug it. Everything is hooked up, But what is causing the power button to not work when i try to turn it off?

Also: The CPU's fan spins so it isnt the motherboard's fault, and the light on the dvd drive lights up but it doesn't open.

isitthevideocard
05-29-2011, 07:40 PM
EDIT: I think it is the ram, it makes 9 short beeps and when I take the ram out it makes a continous beep.

zburns
05-30-2011, 11:55 AM
Are you certain of the beep count. Look in your motherboard manual under BIOS, in the index, you should see beep counts, go to that page, does it mention 9 beeps, or just 8 and skip to 10. The reason is that I looked into what I think is your BIOSTAR manual, and I did not see 9 beeps. However, here is a 2011 link to a blog, ref AMI, the BIOS author, and it does mention 9 beeps: http://blog.4allmemory.com/memory-testing-and-ami-beep-codes

You have a lot of 'stuff' hooked up. If you have a wired keyboard and wired mouse, how about unpluging the unnecessary things right now, use the wired keyboard and wired mouse; plug them into your round PS2 keyboard and PS2 mouse rear mobo panel connectors. Unplug both cables to the two (DVD, CD) drives, the wireless adapter and the internal card reader. This gets you to the simplest configuration.

You have two sticks of RAM, try using each stick separately. You have dual channel RAM. One slot is the primary slot. Identify that slot using your manual and plug in one stick of RAM only; if things the same, take out that stick and put the other in.
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This is a different topic. Go back (in your mind), to the assembly process. Think about how you physically handled the mobo and the RAM. 1. Did you wear a wrist strap and to what was it connected? 2. When you handled the motherboard and the individual sticks of RAM, did you only handle them by 'grasping' the thin narrow edges of the circuit boards or did you let your fingers go to the back side of the circuit boards where the solder connections are? The only correct method for 'touching a circuit board' is to use the edges always; try at all costs to avoid touching any component or PARTICULARLY the soldered back side of the boards.

Static is very bad and most dangerous anytime it is present, but it tends to be minimized in hot and humid conditions; at its worst in cold dry air. So this time of year is not as bad as winter. I am not trying to imply you have damaged anything, just pointing out possibilities.

If you definitely have nine beeps. If one stick of RAM installed allows things to work and one stick prevents working, problem is simply a defective stick of RAM. If both sticks show bad, I would get two new matched sticks, try only one of them to see it one stick solves the problem. After that I would consider changing the mobo.

Other point, did you purchase anything with 'Open Box' in the description of the product? I am not 100 % certain exactly what it means, but I think it is a bad idea to purchase anything with the name 'Open Box' included.

Have not mentioned the PSU. I will look at it later today and make a comment if I think I see something there. I hope RAM solves your problem. Let me know any questions or anything I have said that is not clear are questionable in your mind.
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EDIT: You need to check all connections coming from the PSU to the various components. The connections need to be 'fully pushed in' or 'fully pushed together'; your problem could be nothing more than 'failure to get voltage' to one point on the mobo, resulting in no voltage to the RAM, stuff like that. If you start to check this , make sure you are wearing a wrist strap connected to the case, monitor disconnected, power cord unplugged from back of case. UNEQUIVOCALLY!!! Always make sure power is disconnected. UNPLUG THE POWER CORD FROM THE BACK OF THE CASE, AND FROM THE MONITOR! It is even best to also unplug it from the wall -- both ends unplugged -- always keep SAFETY first in your mind around 'Electricity'.

On your motherboard, there is a long 24 pin or sometimes 20 pin connector -- make sure it is well 'pushed in' or 'seated'. There is also a four, six or eight pin separate cable and connector for cpu +12 volts. This +12 volt separate plug goes into a socket very close to the cpu socket.

zburns
05-30-2011, 02:14 PM
These comments concern the PSU and the video card. If you go to reviews on both items, some concerns pop up that are not easily resolvable. I could not find detailed reviews on the 500 watt PSU which is supplied with the RAIDMAX case such as what you see from Antec and other leading names. I did not see anything reported really negative either. However, the video card recommended power supply is at least 450 watts. Your PSU has two + 12 volt rails that make up the bulk of the power that runs your computer. Having two separate +12 volt rails can essentially 'make smaller' the useful available wattage. If this were the case, then one part of the psu could be 'not performing', thus dropping the voltage to one of the +12 volt circuits; if it was the circuit that supplied the RAM, then the psu becomes suspect.

If you have to look at the psu being too weak -- as a possibility -- there may be a quick temporary way to check it out. But this would be the last thing you do. Hopefully, you get it fixed without having to deal with the PSU.

isitthevideocard
05-31-2011, 12:23 AM
Yes it skips 9 beeps. But now I think it is 1 long 8 short because after the 1st beep there is a pause.

I handled everything by the edges and the wrist strap.

zburns
05-31-2011, 09:16 AM
Assuming you are correct about 1 long, 8 short, I would look for a specific statement as to what that sequence means. The odds that it really means something are much greater than the odds that it is purely accidential. The version # of your existing bios should be stated somewhere in the documentation you already have; or the combination of your version # of the BIOS and what you find online connected with that number should tell you something 'meaningful' as opposed to just 'garbage'. This is just a comment; I will look also based on what I just indicated.

zburns
05-31-2011, 10:04 AM
Okay, here is something that appears 'definite', meaning you can check it out to the extent I have, see if we agree, etc.. You did not post the part number of your Gskill RAM, so that would be helpful to me!

Use this link to go to homepage of your motherboard: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/content.php?S_ID=450 Next: The page you see now will have the mobo cat # , A770E3 Ver. 6.x, in bright red letters in the center of the page. Underneath, you will see 'seven' choices in light blue purple, the last choice being 'memory'. Click on this 'memory block'. It shows the memory the mobo manufacturer has tested and verified 'compatible' with the motherboard. GSkill has one entry at the bottom of the list. You did not include in your build list, the part number or full description of your GSkill Memory so whether it is that 'number shown or not' , I have no way of knowing. But you can figure it out easy.

Assuming it is not the number, do the following. Go to the GSkill Home site, http://www.gskill.com/ and in the top right of the GSkill Home page, type in the Search box, the part # of your GSkill RAM, click on Search. (this GSkill process works pretty well and automatic also; I have not used it for several months but I do remember how easy GSkill made it). When you click on search, hopefully, it will then call for your mobo part number or name, etc., then it will give you the 'approved GSkill RAM part numbers' -- anyhow it is an easy and direct process.

I should also mention that I did try plugging in your motherboard number A770E3 in the GSkill home page (Go to 'RAM Configurator', then follow instructions to plug in mobo part # A770E3) and all I got was message 'No Result match the Search in this Category, Please try again'. Also, on the GSkill home page, you can click the box: 'Desktop Memory > DDR3' then click on 'Product', then 'Desktop Memory' and follow the instructions or just do what seems obvious -- here you can do it two ways, enter the mobo part # under manufacturer; then come back and enter the Gskill Ram part # in the RAM block. Either way, you should get an answer!! -- Let us know your result.

isitthevideocard
06-01-2011, 08:45 AM
http://gskill.com/configurator2.php?pid=2&model=958

Memory is okay.

I contacted biostar and it is my video card's fault?

zburns
06-01-2011, 08:54 AM
If you have a video card in the present computer you are using, you might be able to prove the point by just trying that card. The card would have to be ATX mobo compatible.

isitthevideocard
06-01-2011, 10:26 AM
I am having Geek Squad coming over later to diagnose and hopefully fix the problem.