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I just attempted to build the summer 2013 econobox alternative system. When I power on, the fans to the processor and the case fans all spin. the disc drive opens and closes. nothing on the monitor. If I wiggle the power cord, some LED light on the motherboard shows a number and the fan on the graphics card begins to spin. help, please.

Processor AMD A10-6700 3.7GHz
Motherboard ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6
Memory Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage Samsung 840 Series 120GB
Seagate Barracuda 7,200 RPM 2TB
Graphics HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB

The number should be an error code - you can find out what the error is by checking the motherboard manual usually.

I think you need these codes here
http://www.asrock.com/support/qa/TSDQA-102.pdf

Which power cord are you wiggling? Are all of the PSU-to-motherboard cables properly keyed and seated?

Make sure you've got the 6-pin power connector plugged into the back of the graphics card. Its kindof hidden underneath the cooling shroud.

The error codes show after I wiggle the main power cord, and sometimes the power to the graphics card. the power/reset/and CMOS lights only come on after wiggling the cords. only the fans start when I power the system (except the graphics fan - that only starts after I wiggle some cords). The power attachments are well seated. The error codes are almost always in the "problem related to memory. once it was "chipset initialization error". I have removed and re-seated the memory cards/cleared CMOS. the monitor never comes on. I never see the BIOS screen. I do have the 6-pin power connector to the graphics card. sometimes wiggling that causes the lights to show as above.

Can you access the BIOS/UEFI? If so make sure the graphics adapter setting is set to "Discrete" instead of "Integrated."

If no such setting exists, go into troubleshooting mode. Remove the 7850 and plug the monitor into the onboard video output.

DPete27 - I can't get anything to show on the monitor. I have check the monitor connections. I cannot see the BIOS screen. I don't know if I have a bad motherboard, or can bad memory cause these problems (per the error codes)?

Just to make sure, you've to got the 24-pin mobo power, 8-pin CPU power, 4-pin Molex (below the CPU socket), and 6-pin GPU power all connected? I doubt the 4-pin Molex is required, but if you're having problems, give it everything it could ever want.

What kind of PSU are you using?

bluejay wrote:

The error codes show after I wiggle the main power cord, and sometimes the power to the graphics card. the power/reset/and CMOS lights only come on after wiggling the cords. only the fans start when I power the system (except the graphics fan - that only starts after I wiggle some cords). The power attachments are well seated. The error codes are almost always in the "problem related to memory. once it was "chipset initialization error". I have removed and re-seated the memory cards/cleared CMOS. the monitor never comes on. I never see the BIOS screen. I do have the 6-pin power connector to the graphics card. sometimes wiggling that causes the lights to show as above.

OK, time to take the GFX card out of the equation and try to boot using the on-board APU and see what happens.

Captain Ned - I removed the graphics card. I can now see the setup utility screen. there is now a new code on the LED - A6 - problem related to IDE or SATA devices.

bluejay wrote:

Captain Ned - I removed the graphics card. I can now see the setup utility screen. there is now a new code on the LED - A6 - problem related to IDE or SATA devices.

Well, you probably don't have any IDE devices installed so check the power and data connections to your SATA drives. If that doesn't work, try booting with one drive attached, then the other. It's possible you've got a DOA drive that's getting in the way of chipset initialization.

I have re-attached the SATA devices, and the power sources. the optical drive works. I can see a light inside of the SSD, and when I plug the power to the Seagate hard drive, I can hear it starting. the LED shows SATA/IDE device problem, but sometimes shows problem related to PCI-E devices. the graphics card is out, and I have removed the PCI plug from the power source. I can still get to the setup utility screen.

sorry missed last part of your post. will try that.

tried unhooking one drive, then another. same codes show on the LED - sometimes 99 for a while, then it eventually changes to A6 (PCI-E is 99 code, A6 is SATA/IDE code). the setup utility screen comes on every time now though. does it matter how I have the power hookups going to the SATA devices, or which SATA ports they are plugged into on the motherboard? the LED does not show the memory warning anymore, and I can see the memory on the setup utility screen.

DPete27, the power supply is Corsair CX430M. Currently I have the 24 pin, the 8-pin, and the SATA power cord plugged in. Is there a particular way to plug in the 3 SATA devices. Perhaps I am doing that wrong.

Does a minimal boot work?

Processor + Fan
Motherboard
1 RAM stick

....and nothing else.

You should get an error code to indicate no graphics card. If you get inconsistent results you have some dud hardware that needs RMA'ing.

Assuming you do get a "no graphics card" error, insert a graphics card and try again.

Add one component at a time until you get inconsistency or erratic error codes - if you add more than one at a time you lose the ability to isolate which item added is faulty and you have to go back and re-test with each one anyway.

I re-assembled one at a time as recommended. I left the graphics card out for now. I was able to install everything without problems. I installed the OS without problems also. When I have time this weekend, I will try to install the graphics card and see how it goes. Thanks to all for the advice.

If you still have problems when you put the graphics card back in, see if you can find another PC with a 500W supply and test your new card in there.

If the graphics card works in the second machine it could point to two problems:

1) you need a BIOS update for your motherboard, which is pretty unlikely
2) you have an iffy power supply.

All is working well now. Thanks. Not sure what the initial problem was, but re-installing piece by piece obviously corrected it.