New Build, can't POST

[Shafra]

Hi All, just built a new system. Here are the specs..

MSI P6N Sli-Fi Motherboard
G.Skill Ram 1gb x 2
Antec Truepower Trio Powersupply
Crummy Geforce MX 4000 Video Card PCI (Main card being fixed)
Western Digital 250GB Sata 2 HDD
USB Logitech Mouse
CDRW Generic

I've checked all the cables, checked the motherboard and heatsink fan. I'm not getting any beeps. When it powers on, I see my keyboard lights kick on, then my CD is accessed, but I don't get a picture and my mouse isn't getting any power. (It lights up when powered up) An LED on my motherboard indicates the power is on and functioning. I removed one stick of ram and tried just the first one, then I removed the first and put in the second one and tried that.

I'm stumped on this one but I'm not all that experienced. The fact that I have no video or mouse power seems odd. Pretty frustrated so figured I'd take a step back and ask for help. Sigh.

Edit: I also tried two other power supplies units that work well.

I tried the video card in 2 other machines, it worked well. The mouse thing is throwing me. I also don't hear the HDD making any sound at all, but since I can't see the screen it could be giving me some type of message. I'm leaning towards incompatible Ram. I heard the board was picky. Without any other ideas I can try calling MSI but I heard their CS is awful

 

[Kidwell28]

You'd better check your memory. You have to make sure it is seated really well. Also sometimes certain types of memory will not be compatible with you board so that could be an issue. If your case is opened turn it on and see if you can feel the HDD spinning by touching the top of it. I've had this problem before and mine was an easy memory issue. It did not support the memory I bought so I pulled the memory out of my other machine and it worked fine.

Kidwell28

 

[Shafra]

I'm really leaning towards the memory not being supported as well. I don't have any other 240pin ram on hand to test it.. Maybe I'll see if I can find a cheap stick through a local retail store. I'll toss in another hard disk 1st since I can check that, but it sounds like memory or video, and I already tested the video.

 

[Shafra]

Can memory just be out and out incompatible sometimes? Or is it often because it needs mor voltage etc? I'm debating buying a stick of ram locally to see if I can boot, and if I can get into the BIOS, raise the voltage and pop in the G.skill ram to see if it will boot at that point?

 

[sPlAtOiD]

Some things I ran into with SLi boards. If your card has Dual DVI slots try each of them.Also try both SLIX16 slots.With thr ram try to use the B slots if you havn't yet.

 

[Shafra]

Actually, the crummy PCI only card I'm using doesn't even have a DVI output, so I'm using a Samsung 19" LCD with VGA hookup. (no adapter)

I did try each of my 2 RAM sticks in each individual ram slot one by one without any luck.

Can this happen from incompatible memory? I've never had a memory issue before, can incompatible ram stop a POST completely to where you will not even see the screen? Odd that the mouse also doesn't light up.

I'm going to buy some cheap ram locally, Kingston, which is listed as working for my board. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to assume it's the CPU or motherboard. I guess I could always remove the CPU, reseat it, and reinstall the heat sink as well.

Any other ideas or experiences with bad ram, feel free to post.

 

[sPlAtOiD]

My board is picky also I had to buy 3 different sets of ram to get it to work.
And my computer wouldnt post either. I't would start to post and the monitor stayed black also.

 

[Shafra]

Just to cap off this post, it was indeed the memory. I popped in some cheap ram and it fired up, I'm installing the OS now.

I'd like to ask, with this G.Skill Ram I have, should I RMA it? Can I attempt to put it in the other slots? Should I try to raise voltage to the ram in BIOS and then try this G.skill again? Any help is appreciated. The Kingston ram I popped in to boot it is yucky 533mhz DDR2 and operates at 1.8v. If I add voltage to the ram will it potentialy ruin the Kingston ram? Again, lots of questions so I'll just wait and hear back. The G.skill is listed at 1.8v-2.0v so I wondered if I added 1-2 volts if it would work.