new computer start-up

[Michael]

I'm have already putting my 1st system together and have all the hardware hooked up. I went to turn on the monitor and it was in power save mode. What should I do first? Do I need to try and load the OS, clear the CMOS, or ?:confused: Michael

[Jamie Nixx]

You are not giving us much to work with mate :rolleyes:

Was the computer turned on when you turned the monitor on :confused:

I am guessing it was, its a common first boot problem, the montior not turning on.

Give some more info and i can advise you more :)

[Michael]

Here is what I have in my system: case Cooler Master Elite 330, psu Cooler master RP-600w ,mobo Intel DP35DPM, cpu Intel Core 2 Duo E6550, hdu Seagate SATA 300/ 500gb, ram OCZ 2 x 1gb DDR2 800 (pc2 6400), gfx EVGA Geforce 7600 GS 512mb.The system is on at the time I turn on the monitor. I also have a problem when I turn on the power. I turn the power on at the power supply then then switch on the front,everything powers up fine but when I go to cut it off from the front nothing happens even though I hold it in for about 20-30 secs. I have to cut it off at the power supply.

[Jamie Nixx]

Arrrrr crap not that motherboard again.

Ok so let me get this straight, you turn it on, you can't turn it off again.

And, its not booting.

Take everything out, DO NOT, take your fan off your CPU, push in all the retaining pins until they click so you can rule out your CPU overheating.

Check all your connections and try plugging in your sata drive into another sat port i.e port 4.

Install one stick of Ram only in the first slot and leave the other stick out.

Make sure the cables have all been plugged into the motherboard the correct way around, you may notice on the small cables coming out of your case there is a little arrow, that has t be the right way round otherwise it can cause problems, refer to your motherboard manual for this.

Clear the cmos, your manual will aslo tell you how to do this.

Tell us if you make any progress after doing that and if not i'll try to get some more ideas going for you :)

[Michael]

I tried everything you had suggested and still the same results. It still comes up in power save mode. After I put everything back together the fans come on after using the switch on the PS. The switch on the front doesn't work when connected to the mobo. I had put the wires back correctly. I tested the switch with a meter and it seems to be good. Could the mobo be messed up, causing it not to cut on and off correctly? I installed 2 120mm fans in it also at the start so I don't think the CPU is overheating. Any ideas?

[Jamie Nixx]

Mate i can honestly say, i don't have any more ideas. Usually the advice i have given there has got others comps working.

You could try taking it to your local computer shop, they can then test the parts to see if there is a fault.

I'll dig around for some other suggestions but i can't promise anything.

[Rob]

You've gone through the suggestions I have on this page, right? Just checking.

http://www.mysuperpc.com/build/pc_first_boot_common_problems.shtml

[The Wise Monkey]

The front power switch may be the wrong way round - that usually prevents it from turning off when it is held down.

[Michael]

I've switched the wires both ways and the same thing happens. When I put everything together the first time the HDD lite and reset switch didn't work either. It's still like that now after the last build.

[dadbuilt]

There are only two issues that could be at fault the motherboard or the incorrect placement of the power/case wires. If all else fails try the phone book and have the rig bench tested by a trustworthy tech. You still built it just let another person go through the trial and error this time. Next time tough it out.

[dadbuilt]

Don't know how I could have forgotten this one but It could also be that the case wires are shorted or shorting out on something metal in the case could be an extra screw that might be stuck between the board and case.

[dadbuilt]

There is one more issue that could be the problem, there might be something shorting out the wires like metal from the case or a loose screw stuck between the mobo and case or a nick in the wires.

[Michael]

I got another mobo from Intel and put everything back in the case. When I cut it on, the BIOS screen will come on for a split second and then goes off. Later it starts going through some checks and ends up with a message. PXE E61 Media Test Failure, check cable. It looks fine to me. Next line PXE Exiting Intel boot agent. This is as far as I can go. Any suggestions?:confused:

[The Wise Monkey]

That means that is trying to boot from your network card first - change the boot order to put the HD first.

[Michael]

How do I change the boot order? The Bios screen only last for a nano second.

[Jamie Nixx]

As soon as you turn your computer on, keep pressing delete, and it should take you into the bios, then go to change boot device priority and set 1 and 2 to boot from th Harddrive and the third to boot from CD rom.

[Michael]

I set the Bios up with HD #1, couldn't put it as #2 as well, but put CD as #2. Saved the changes. The system went to the flashing underline in the top left corner. Rebooted and went back to same message as before.