First Boot problem: screen is black

[liner121]

Here is the computer I built:

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163

Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor (8M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI)
http://ark.intel.com/products/37147/Intel-Core-i7-920-Processor-%288M-Cache-2_66-GHz-4_80-GTs-Intel-QPI%29

XFX HD-485X-ZNFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150482&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3705318&SID=skim1043X499650X9656229d7afc0ca53ca6dcbeba693f e6

Crucial 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT51264BA1339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148439

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

I successfully built the computer and passed the smoke test. When I connected the computer to my old monitor and keyboard, the monitor detected the computer and went into power save mode. When I turned on the computer, noting showed up on the monitor and I didn't hear any beeps. I tried replacing the monitor with another one and replacing the graphics card with an old one I had lying around, and I did a very quick but not so thorough check to make sure that everything was connected right in the computer, but the screen still remained blank. What do I do?

[zburns]

In the top left corner of the mobo there is an 8 pin socket in which you plug in a 8 pin cable/plug from the psu. This is the source of +12volt power to the cpu.

This was my reply to your post yesterday! Is the cpu +12 volt psu cable with either a 8 pin or 4 pin molex plug, plugged into the 4 pin or 8 pin socket on the mobo in the upper left corner? Also, check all connections to see that they are pushed in all the way.

This is a side note, for your information: I looked yesterday at the ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 motherboard on the ASRock Home Page. The photo showed a 8 pin socket (on the motherboard) near the upper REAR backside of the motherboard. When you pull up the Newegg site for the mobo, the photo shows a 'maybe 8 pin socket' on the top side at the left back of the mobo and 4 of the 8 pins are covered by something 'pink'. This is your +12 volt supply for the cpu; if the right psu cable is not plugged in here, your cpu is not functioning.

I do not know which photo is correct and it does not matter. What does matter is that the cpu has a separate connector for a dedicated cable from the psu for +12 volts. (Not plugging this cable in for the cpu is has been, in the past, a quite common problem.)

If all connections are well plugged in and the above (cpu +12volt supply) is not your problem and the cable has always been plugged into the socket I reference, this means the cpu, RAM, mobo or video card could be the problem, meaning any one of them, probably.

Did you use a static control wrist strap when doing the assembly? If you handled any component like the cpu or the circuit boards and you touched the 'circuit traces' on the bottom side of a board, the components on the top of a circuit board or its plug in connections, etc., a static problem could have been created. This is a negative comment but it is possible. Fortunately, in hot humid summer air, static is less prevalent than very cold dry air in the winter; does not mean that it is impossible to have a static problem in the summer.

Always handle circuit boards by the edges of the fibreglass. Do not touch components, connectors, or the circuit traces on the back side of the circuit board. Always wear a static wrist strap connected to the case -- BUT always be sure the power cord is unplugged from the back of the case before ever going into the case proper.

Your post yesterday was under the motherboard section, today under first boot section. Once you start a Thread under a particular Forum Heading, it is better to keep it under that heading. What you said in both 'posts' are interealated and connected -- best to see it all together on the same page.