Help troubleshoot my custom PC

Hey! I'm new to custom building, and I'm having some trouble. I just bought parts to build my first computer. (sorry in advanced for the long post, but im really running out of ideas here) Here's what I have:

1. Pentium 4 @ 2.4ghz (with large heatsink)
2. 512 OCZ DDR RAM PC4200
3. Ati 9600 All-in-Wonder Video Card (agp)
4. Abit ai7/ai7-g Motherboard
5. POWMAX ATX Case with 400 Watt Power Supply
6. 120 Gb hard drive (not sure the brand)
7. Samsung CDRW
8. Floppy drive.

Ok, I originally had a intel motherboard, but I ended up returning it, because I thought it was causing the problem that I was having, but it turned out its not.

So, I just put all the parts in. I made sure to connected BOTH power cables to the motherboard (the square + rectangle). I have the hard drive set to Master and its connected to IDE1 on the motherboard. I have a a CDRW set on Master and connected to IDE2 on the motherboard. I also have the floppy plugged in and hooked up. The video card is installed (it doesn't require extra power from the PSU). The motherboard and all peripherals are also screwed in correctly. I connected the lights for the case and the power/reset buttons to the motherboard. Now here's the problem:

I power on the system, and everything starts, except I get NO video! (the hard drive is running, the cdrw ejects, and the floppy is on).

Here are the troubleshooting steps I've taken:
1. Switched memory with another similar custom-build pc I have. Still no video
2. Tried the memory in all of the four dimm slots on the motherboard. No video
3. Switched the video card with another computer. This showed me that both video cards work. I still get no video in the new computer.
3. Reseated the processor. No video.
4. I've tried two motherboards. The intel and now I currently have the Abit. No video.
The only thing I haven't tried is switching processors. I didn't want to do this incase there was something that I could to fix it easier. Also, I'm not sure if I have the power and reset buttons connected properly. Do you think this would be what's causing the system not work? The power button does work though!

Any ideas what else could be wrong?
Thanks so much for the help!!
John

only thing i can suggest is your crappy power supply? I'm fairly certain powmax sucks...

(i hope i'm right..)

Any beep codes? Are there any onboard troubleshooting LED's?

Lol I think I say this in everypost when everyone has no video. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO BENT PINS ON YOUR CPU!!! That's what happend to me..........it was about 3x times of what it would feel like when a donkey's kicking you in the face. So ANNOYING! But anywho I just took out the Proc. DO A THOROUGH EXAMINATION of every pin. Hope this helps


PEACE

did you check your post message
to do so, just pop some headphones into your onboard sound and turn it on
you should hear some sort of message like
"cpu failed due to cpu overclocking"
or some meaning less frase like that
then look in your motheroard manuel and see what it says

Troubleshooting PC

Ok, thanks for the replies. I currently dont have the PC with me, but when I do, ill check the things you suggested. From I noticed, there isn't a LED for diagnosis. And I was wondering why i wasn't hearing any beep codes! Duh! I gotta use the headphones! thanks! Ill get back to you once i get some info.

thanks!
John

Eh? I don't recall motherboards talking to you though the headphone jack when they fail to post. Make sure you connected the PC speaker correctly to hear the beep codes (tones).

pc troubleshooting

oh really? The intel motherboard didn't have a thing to hook up a speaker. Im not sure if the Abit does, but ill check. I have an update. I had the computer running, and all of the sudden it went POP, and a spark came out from where the CPU was.... I think thats a problem....


John

The PC speaker leads should be where you plugged the power and reset switches.

Oh man, spark? Good luck!

yowza! that does not sound good
i would check for the bent pins and any other broken thing right away, just look for anything bad

My first thought was that the floppy cable is plugged in wrong. This would cause all the drives to spin up, the fans to come on, the floppy LED to be on and no post.

The spark, on the other hand, makes me lean toward some sort of CPU problem, like bent pins.

JohnRChick said:

oh really? The intel motherboard didn't have a thing to hook up a speaker. Im not sure if the Abit does, but ill check. I have an update. I had the computer running, and all of the sudden it went POP, and a spark came out from where the CPU was.... I think thats a problem....


John

Click to expand...

man a spark...
maybe a burnt CPU, try a different CPU then RMA your dead one if it wasnt o/cd
also maybe your jumpers got messed somehow....

Are you ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that your AGP card doesn't require a power connection? My ATI AIW 9800 Pro has a small floppy-size power connector.

OK i also worked on this computer with John and i have an update:

I got the screen to start working (it was due to a poorly seated CPU) however the computer is unnable to detect the Hard Drive (Western Digital 120 Gig) If i stick my head in there i can hear the hd spinning and when i put it in my other computer it was detected so i know its not dead.

Please Help!

hmmm, I would have to say that any sparks that happened on your motherboard probably damaged it. I would RMA your board and start fresh.

but that woulnt make sense cuz my other computer found it

Yup, Newer MB's DO actually talk to you! I just found this on my sister's new computer. It talks to you troughout the whole boot process. Kind of anoying, but very usefull and cool at the same time.