Major Build Issue

[Myoushu Chi-Fu]

I recently ordered a moderate build for my family (don't want them using my comp). The build is as follows:
ASUS A8N-SLI Mobo
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester
Transcend 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM
SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP2004C 200GB
BenQ Black IDE DVD Burner
ASPIRE ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W PSU
VisionTek ATI Radeon 7K 64MB PCI GPU

When i turn on the computer i get no image in the monitor so i can't troubleshoot at all. My guess is my BIOS is old. Would a bios boot disk work in updating it? I haven't tried yet but i wanted to know what some experienced people thought first. I know my GPU works because i tried it on my other build and it's fine. Asus wan'ts me to buy another BIOS from them but i want to get a second opinion since they probably just want my money.

 

[Ste]

Are there any Beeps from computer internal speaker?



I found that most of these problems are solved by taking everything out and rebuilding it making sure everything is seated correctly.

Btw why do you have a great CPU but a crappy PSU and a crappy GPU? Makes no since.

 

[gaara]

Btw why do you have a great CPU but a crappy PSU and a crappy GPU? Makes no since.

Different computer tasks require different types of hardware...some tasks, say for example Super Pi or other mathematical based programs, are incredibly CPU/memory intensive yet require absolutely no GPU power...I assume this is a general purpose web browsing/word processing machine that has been built with the intention of being prepared for multiple threads in the future

As for the issue at hand...your BIOS may indeed be outdated but in this case it would still boot, but only identify the single core and not the second core on the die

Another possibility is the fact that the BIOS is so dated that it cannot recognise the newer Athlon revisions using 90nm process sizes

Diagnosing your problem...pull everything out of your PC and assemble it all out of a workbench...take off all non-neccesary components such as hard drives and periphiral cards and boot...if the problem persists continue removing parts until you're simply left with the CPU in the board...the object of this is to get some sort of beep code error that way you can identify at what stage of the POST the issue is arising and moving towards correcting it

Make sure your speaker jumper is set in the ON position so you can hear such beep codes and make sure you have the beep codes manual for your bios handy

 

[Apokalipse]

the computer is for his family. chances are, they don't play Doom 3, BF2, HL2 or any high-end games like that.

anyway, do you get any beeps from it?

 

[Ste]

if its for his family and, all the do is wen broswse and email why the Uber processor. he coulda used a sempron or a celeron. And those are great for such small needs, but an X2 4200+ thats just rediculus.

 

[Myoushu Chi-Fu]

The lights in the front are flashing as if there is some activity. I can hear the hard drive reading/writing. I left it on for a minute and touched the CPU heatsink and it was warm. I checked all the connections and everything looks connected properly, but no beeps.

I didn't think if this was worth mentioning but...
The first time around i only plugged in one of the three power connectors to the motherboard. The computer was on for 20 seconds when that occured. When the screen didn't turn on i checked the connectors, realized my mistake, and plugged them in. Maybe this (somehow) messed up the mobo?

My parents wanted a fast computer with a good amount of memory, and they dont play games so it doesn't need a good GPU, and since it doesn't need a good GPU i don't need a good PSU for it.

 

[Ste]

I doubt it did mess up mobo, Try booting with just CPU, RAM and video card attached, then if that doesn't work take out RAM, and retry. I would try booting it outside of case. Many times it is just a grounding problem. Make sure everything is connected properly before turning it on.

 

[Myoushu Chi-Fu]

Would one of the screws that attaches the motherboard to the case do that?

 

[Ste]

It can, This is why i suggest trying to boot it out of case. then if it does boot normally out of case, you can put it back in and figure out what is casusing the grounding issue.

 

[Myoushu Chi-Fu]

I tried booting outside the case with just CPU GPU and with/without RAM but it still didn't work. I ordered a new BIOS from asus to see if that fixes it.