My New Computer Wont start...

[kabe]

i bought a AMD XP 2400+ and a EPOX EP-8RDA nForce mobo.
after conecting averything the computer started fine, i installed Windows XP and it worked fine. i shut i down.

Now to the problem...when i atempted to boot the sytem nothing happened.i cleared the BIOS (JCMOS) and after that the powersupply started, but noting more.and the biggest problem is that the CPU-Fan isn't running! ´but the fan works.Mobo says FF.
i also tried starting with the mobo not mounted in the computer. no difference!

i don't know what to do...

[freak_in_cage_10k]

ensure all components are fitting in correctly, try using a friend PSU to ensure it aint the psu, also try running the pc out of the pc case (sumtimes the case can short out the MB, preventing it starting) basically its just trial & error

[kabe]

tried that---still the same problem!
the fan doesn't spin!

overclock?...

[freak_in_cage_10k]

have nothing but the graphics card, ram, process, psu plugged in. if the fan aint spinning then it is either:

MB
Process
PSU
Case

remove mb from case and try to boot it up, if it doesn't work then u know it aint the case, use a different psu borrow 1 off a friend, it should work as long as it is 300W. if it still doesn't boot up chances are it is either your process or mb. try borrowing a friends processor, or switching it with your old processor. (if you have upgraded then you should have the old components lieing around.) do yuo have much computer experience?

[gmatov]

WARNING: Any attempt to operate the AMD Athlon™ processor without a suitable cooling solution will result in permanent damage to the processor and potentially other components within the system

Kabe,
The above is copy, pasted from the AMD site. If you turn on your machine, and the CPU fan does not start, you should shut down immediately, if not sooner. Tech TV did a demo one time of powering up an AMD without cooling and the CPU blew in seconds. You should get a known good fan and try it, for a second, preferably without the CPU, but I don't know if it will power the board pinouts without the CPU. If you bought an AMD retail boxed CPU, with an included AMD fan/heatsink, it should be warranted for 3 years, and the fan serial # is what AMD wants. If you bought OEM, your warranty is only as good as the vendor. Most of them are 15 to 90 days.
One other thing. If you turn off, then back on, the PS switch, back of the machine, then push the start switch, does the fan attempt to run?
Antec's instructions, as well as a tech I called when I had an apparently dead PS, tells you to unplug all drives connect only the MB, fan, vid card, RAM, pull the reset wires off the pins and short those 2 pins with a small screwdriver or something. The PS goes through some kind of learning process. One of my 'puters died for no reason, and this did the trick.
Another, I replaced the PS with an Antec 400watt, and it was dead on arrival. The instructions, again, said to do that to it and it powered up. If you are familiar with the inside of your computer (build or repair your own) it's worth a shot. If the PS wasn't powering the board, you may have not blown the CPU.
Good luck.

I just reread your post. You built it. The PS fan IS running. The CPU fan is NOT running. What is "FF"?
All I can say is try the above. I'll watch to see if you fix it.

[kabe]

....i've lots of experience working with computer software!...but almost no what so ever with the hardware.firts time! harder then i expected it to be!

when i try too run the mb outside the case i still get the same problem...the fan is dead!..so i shut it down agian pritty fast!
the weird thing is that it start with the normal powerbutton on the front!and when i try too short the reset nothing happens!
couls i try starting with an other powersource for the fan?like a 9v battery or does the sytem automaticly shut down then...cause it vant read the RPM?

this is from epox site...what FF means!

FF - This code can be life or death for your motherboard, literally. FF means a successful boot or a complete failure. This normally means that your bios chip is dead or not being accessed properly. Try tapping or holding insert while attempting to boot the system, resetting the cmos, or: If your floppy drive makes any noise when booting, but the system appears dead, try placing a floppy in the drive with a copy of the latest bios file on it. This might cause the system to use an emergency re-flash feature.


so this could be a bios problem?but the fan doesn't run?!...

[kabe]

also is there anyway that i can see if i fried the processor?
also i have a standalone heatsinker....the computershop where i bought it said it should work fin with amd xp....

[gmatov]

Kabe,
First, if you try with a 9 volt battery, it tells you that the fan works, and that you are not getting power to the fan from the MOBO and power supply. It does not tell the MOBO that the fan IS running, through the third pin and ground. That will tell you that the fan is OK, but will not help you with the rest of your problem. It is not getting power to the fan connector, and if not there, most likely not to the rest of the MOBO.
Try the 9 volt battery. Polarity doesn't matter. It will spin one way or the other.. It doesn't matter. We are just checking to see if it works at all. If it works; You have upgraded. Do you still have your old parts? Was the old machine a 1 gig AMD or about that? I forget how far back a socket A will take, but I know 1 gig will fit. Install the old CPU, if you have it. Flip the switch on the power supply, push the start button, and if the fan does not start, flip the switch the other way and try it. If it does not start flip the switch the other way to shut off the power supply. If you look at the switch on the power supply, the "I" or bar should be depressed, the 0 is the shut off.
Pull your CPU out and look at it. If it is burnt out, it may look like it. It may not, also. The only one I have had burn out burned off the sticker that the vendor stuck to the bottom of it. If it looks as though it was extremely hot, much discoloration( they all discolor, but not to the point of blue) will be evident. Anyhow, if you do have the old one, put it in the socket (depress the 0 on the power supply, to shut it off, make sure your RAM and video card are seated properly, disconnect all drives....
In table form
Turn off p[ower supply...press 0 on PS switch
Seat old CPU.
Attach heat sink/fan, and plug in to MOBO connector.
Reseat RAM and Video Card.
Disconnect all drives, both data and power cables.
Pull off Reset Connector, from main Pinout Header. All the pins together.
I don't understand this, myself. The reset switch is a shorting switch
, so it should do the same thing, but the book says....
Turn on Power supply. Press the I side.
Push the Start button. If the fan tries to start. but stops, press PS to 0 then I again and short the Reset pins with the screwdriver or whatever. The system should restart, unless you did burn out the power supply. Actually, you didn't. It had to be defective..
You are online,so you have another computer, unless you are using someone else's or are writing from work. If it is your old computer, is the CPU fast enough to fit in your new one? Speed is not the point, but the number of pins. If it fits the new board, you can test with it. You can also put the new CPU in the old machine, because if the fan and everything else works in it, there is less chance that you will kill the old computer than there is of killing your old CPU in the new computer I have been to a repair shop that had no problem putting my burned out CPU in their machine to test it, but would not put their CPU in my board unless I was willing to pay for it if it burned out. It was the only Socket 462 machine I had, so had no parts to interchange. The board and CPU were shot, who knows which caused it? Not I.
Let me know if any of this helps, or us, the forum

[kabe]

Thanks ALOT for your help...it's been much use!
i have learned much!

howerver i think i have killed the processor!i have black marks ontop of it...very small and just where the pinns conect!doesn't look good!i have talked to the place where i bought it and they want me to return it togheter with my MB to get it replaced!

this computer i'm using now is my second computer...but it's a pentuim 4 so i can't test it there!

Thnks so much for your help anyway...hope it hasn't been to much troubble!

[gmatov]

Kabe,
No trouble. Glad the vendor will talk about replacing it. If it wasn't a "boxed" Athlon, with its own fan, and the 10 bucks or so is not a problem, I'd advise asking if they would allow you to get the "boxed" version. AMD includes an "approved" fan in the package, and they are more willing to give you new under warranty with that. Everyone talks about Volcanos and whirlwinds and all kinds of exotic coolers, which do maybe cool a little better than the AMD version, but they seem to like the ones they provide more.
I only buy the boxed version, myself, at 10 or 15 bucks more, but, remember, with an OEM, you have to buy the fan separately anyhow, for 10 to 40 bucks more. And I, personally, feel and have read that they may be a little better CPU on the testing scale, as they're in their own box, not a bulk tray 100 pack or whatever.
If they do exchange it, and you are not that comfortable inside the box, you should ask them to install the CPU/fan combo, as they are a little on the fragile side, and can be cracked, they haven't gone to the metal heat spreader yet. And, if you do not do this regularly, you're probably not going to want to spend 10 bucks for good thermal compound. The tube is good for maybe a hundred CPUs, and it seems a waste of money. The AMD cooler has a tape on the bottom that serves the same purpose, but some people don't like it and use Arctic Silver instead.
Make sure, again, that the CPU fan is running when you do boot up. It's the only thing that scares me with any of my machines. I've had 6 or 8 fans die on me, but they usually did it gradually, slowing down, rather than stopping dead. I've caught them with the MOBO Monitor program, and always have several spare coolers in stock.
Ah, well, good luck with the replacement.

George