bizarre problem - hard drives and cd drive

got a new motherboard,PSU and system case.i try to boot the pc up but nothing loads up (and monitor goes into sleep mode).also,the hard drives don't appear to be on neither is the cd drive.

however,if i unplug the IDE cables from the HDD's and cd drive,they switch on.i know this because i can hear the hard drives,and i can open the cd drive.yet,if i put the IDe cables back in and try to reboot they don't switch on

seems very wierd to me.i've checked the jumpers,voltage of the battery.just can't think what else to try.i can't even get into BIOS.

could it be faulty motherboard?

 

Hi smhouston,

Be sure you avoid static electricity.

Leave the HDDs and CDROM disconnected and boot from a floppy disk; If that works, connect only one HDD and enter BIOS Setup program and see if the disk is recognized; it should be jumpered 'master without slave' or cable select. If it's seen by the BIOS, try to boot to it. It doesn't sound like a new drive, is it? It needs to be 'active' to boot - this is done in the fdisk program.
If you can boot to a floppy, the mobo is probably OK, and especially if the BIOS is accessable.

Please report your findings after trying the above so we can suggest further steps to take. There's more to it than this.

 

smhouston,

Just been reading your other posts. When you put together a computer testing is called for at every step as soon as the mobo, one memory, the video, and keyboard are attached. That's the first point at which the power should be turned on, and the BIOS Setup program entered just to make sure everything works up to that point.

Now is the time to go back to that point, by disconnecting everything else and see if you can enter the BIOS setup. If not, you'll have to take everything out and start all over. If you still can't get into the BIOS, is sounds like the mobo is kaput, and possibly the CPU as well. Then the way to proceed is by substitution: mobo, CPU, etc.

 

i've just tried using my old motherboard,but yet the same problem still occurs!

i've tried using the floppy drive,but it doesn't read the disk.
i've also tried using what you suggested...video,keyboard/mouse,1 mem only,but nothing works (nothing on the monitor).
i've also tried 3 different HDD's IDE cables,and 2 CD IDE cables,but no luck

how can i tell if its a cpu problem?when i look at it it isn't the same colour all over i.e.e it looks like part of it is wet.when it ook it out,some of the stuff you put on inbetween the heatsink and core was on the actual CPU (not died bit),could this have damaged it?also,if the cpu is damaged,would it stop the IDE cables from working?

EDIT: just tried switching the PC on but without having a CPU fan on so basically,the CPU is left exposed and overheat basically (in theory to me ).just left it for around 30minutes and feels cold still.your probably going to tell me that i've definately just ******* up my CPU now.just thought it was wierd that it didn't heat up 1 bit!

 

smhouston,

As per my last post, did you test with old mobo with minimum components and try accessing BIOS? If that's what you mean, it may be a bad power supply (reason for not heating the CPU). Can you try the new board in your old box? or move the old power supply to new box? and test again as above.

Be sure the voltage switch on the back of the supply is set for 115 and not 220 volts.

 

yeh,thats what i did.tried it with minimal compnents on my old mobo.the PSU seems to be working fine from what i can tell.everything i've plugged it into to give power has worked (chasis fans,gfx card fan,cpu fan,hard drives and cd drive..without the IDE cables ofc).i can't access bios at all.clearing CMOS doesn't work.as soonas i switch it on it the pc goes into sleep mode,and the hard drives/cd drive don't power up,unless the IDE cables are unplugged,which isn't much use really!

there's also no voltage switch on the back of the PSU


EDIT: just tried a new test.found a very old HDD of mine which hasn't been used for a while.plugged it in and that does actually switch on when the IDE cable is plugged in,however,the monitor still goes into sleep mode

 

smhouston,

That's the key observation. Either the BIOS/mobo is dead or the power supply (psu) is inadequate; working fans do not mean the mobo is getting correct (or any) power - that comes via different circuits. If you have tried the old, working psu as above, and it works with the old mobo and not the new, then return the new mobo as defective.

However, before going further please list the components, old and new, that you are testing so we can look them up and get a better picture of what you're doing.

 

ok...i'm a total amateur at computers so you'll have to bare with me when i state the components

New...
PSU = 12v ATX Ultra Quiet (460w)
K7N8X-E Deluxe ASUS Motherboard
ATX System Case with front USB/Audio,Digital Themometor Monitor (For CPU and HDD)

Old...
Cordless Mouse/Keyboard (PS/2)
AMD Athlon 2400+ with a Silence Coolmaster Fan (which supports upto Athlon 3000+ if i'm correct)
Seagate Barracude 7200.7 80Gb Hard Drive (ST380011A) - Master
Seagate Series 5 20Gb Hard Drive (ST320413A) - Slave
N.B. The above 2 HDD's don't work with the IDE cables plugged into them
Old HD which works with IDE lead plugged in....
Quantum Fireball EX 3.2Gb Hard Drive

DVD-Rom Drive,and a CD-RW (not sure the specs of them)
Standard Floppy Drive
Geforce 4 MX 440 Gfx Card
2 sticks of 256mb DDr 2100 (1 made by crucial,1 made by StarRam - both worked together already on the old motherboard which was a SL-75DRV4)

 

On some systems, it is not good to mix CS (cable select) settings wiht the Master/Slave jumper settings. If that is the case here, then i would suggest that you use one or the other.

You should also swap out your IDE cables wiht a known good one and see if your are able to boot w/ the hard drive connected. If that is successful, then add the CD drive as slave.

 

the settings on my HDD's are the master/slave options.i left them as they are as they previsouly used to work good on my old mobo...until the whole system messed up

i've tried 2 known good IDE cables for the hard drives and 1 known good IDE cable for the CD drive (actually DVD but i've been calling it CD)but non work,except with the older HDD,but the monitor still goes into sleep mode

 

Pure genius - you are kidding Huh?

That might have worked for old socket 7 CPU's but .......... Risky Business with a 2400+. Do you prefer poached, scrambled or fried? Sunny side up?

Note: your MoBo may also have a cpu fan header overide which prevents booting without a 3 pin fan attached to the CPU fan header.

Regardless, you need to solicit some hands-on assistance or you should get to know your banker better.

 

yup,thought it was risky but then i thought "what the hell,nothing else is working "
already considered getting help..might be doing it today although the £40 call-out fee is pretty nasty

 

Maverick,

Suggest you re-evaluate your experience, since you appear not to know about BIOS beep codes, which have nothing to do with your listening to music. One beep means POST was normal, no beeps means BIOS isn't functioning, and multiple beeps indicate various errors. Look it up.

 

smhouston,

Rockster cut to the chase, and I agree. The only thing I can think of where you might have gone wrong in the assembly is installing the CPU incorrectly. Read the manual and verify the athlon orientation in its ZIF socket - generally with the odd, marked, corner pointing toward the hinge on the little arm you raise to insert the CPU.

If the CPU still works with your old mobo, then return the new mobo. If the athlon no longer works with the old mobo, i.e., you can't get into the BIOS of the old mobo, then you may need both a mobo and a CPU.

Some professional help is a good idea.

 

there's no chance i could put it in wrong as it only fits in 1 way anyway.no,i can't get into bios with either the new mobo or the old 1.i've got someone coming around tomorrow night to try and fix it for me

i'll let you know what the problem is though,i just think that for this scenario,its would of been best to see the pc in person,rather than me describing it over the net

 

That's always true, but once in a while we get lucky.

Holding my breath awaiting your next report.

 

had pc bloke here.apparently its my CPU which is knackered.putting a new 1 in for me and told me to overclock it as my PSU is very impressive,aswell as the CPU fan and case,and should easily be able to overclock it rather than buying a higher processor

 

Glad to hear you appear to be headed to a solution. Not to be skeptical, but with two sticks of mixed so-so PC2100 memory, I'll be interested to learn what your new CPU is and what speed its going to be running at. Good Luck and let us know what happens.

 

im still getting the same CPU as my old 1 as he said that if i got a higher 1 (XP2600+) i'd have to get new sticks,and wouldn't notice much difference anyway.so he just told me to get a XP2400+,then overclock it to 2600 as he said it should be easily achieveable

 

Could the bad CPU have possibly been cause by what we call STATIC Electricity ?

And I have heard that you do not need to see or feel it too have it damage something.

Were YOU AND THE unit properly grounded while handling the various items.

It has alwasy been recommended to me that the case be plugged into a properly EARTH GROUNDED power source. Just do not plug the PS into the MB till AFTER the CPU/RAM are in place. And while inserting same make sure some part of your body is touching the mettal of the case.

BillyBob