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so i am building for the first time in a LONG time...i did a lot of homework and i now fear the worst...

i in my lian li full case, i drop a OCZ 520W power supply and asus premium mobo...AMD X2 4800+ chip, OCZ platimum DDR, brand SPAKIN new leadtek 7800 GT and big ole zalman fan.

i get ready for an alpha boot to BIOS....and NOTHING. i hate myself. no fans. no nadda. only thing going on is the mobo led is green. the PSU passed the paperclip test (green to black) and i am at a loss.

do i have to re-set the chip? i was so extra careful when i did it the first time...I TURN TO YOU, OH MASTERS.

I just troubleshooted (troubleshot?) system build a friend of mine did. It turned out one of the two sticks of RAM he used wasn't working, so the motherboard wouldn't even POST. If you're using more than one stick of RAM, swap each out in turn and see if your system will work.

Aside from that... make sure all of your power cables are plugged in properly. Does your mobo and PSU match? i.e. 20 or 24 pin power connector? I just built a system where the mobo had a 20 pin power connector, and then a secondary power cable that plugged in to a completely different location in the mobo, without which the system wouldn't turn on. Make sure all your power cables are in correctly.

If that checks, remove everything from the system and then put the parts back in, booting up each time you add a new piece. That'll tell you for sure what the problem is.

Remember that the graphics card needs an additional power connector. Make sure all PCI/E cards are seated properly. Make sure SATA hard drives only have ONE power connector attached (friend of mine busted a drive by plugging in the MOLEX and SATA connectors simultaneously and booting up). This is all simple stuff, but it's easy to overlook the simple things.

Make sure you didn't plug any fans into mobo heatsinks (fan connectors and mini heatsinks on the mobo look EXACTLY alike).

Also, listen for beeps from the mobo. Often mobos will beep in patterns that let you know what the problem is (bad graphics card, CPU, memory, etc.). The mobo manual should have info on what the beeps mean.

Assuming you didn't force the CPU in and it fit in properly, it's unlikely the CPU is at fault, unless it's just broken to begin with. Only mess with the CPU as a last resort, try these other suggestions first.

Good luck.

EDIT: What do you mean by the paper clip test?

OK, i have a 24 pin connector of this guy, along with another ATX P4 thingy which are both plugged in. the 24 pin, when in, is what causes the let on the mobo to go green.

i tried her with one stick of ram in, then the other, to no avail. alos, no beeps, ever...when i hit go the PSU fans don't even go or light up like they did in the paperclip test.

does this mean mobo or chip or either?

Could be the mobo or chip, but we're not at that point yet.

It's weird that nothing powers up, not even the PSU fan. Are you sure you've connected the power button correctly? It's the simple things that get in the way the most. I'd double check that before we go any further.

i think so, like a brazilian times...my case doesn't have a reset lead, so the POWERSW goes right into the mother jumpers for what is says is "POWER / SOFT OFF" i've tried it both ways (+/-) and nothing. no psu go. i want to die.

when i plug everything in, the volt setting LEDs in the back of the PSU blink fo ra second and are gone...the fan doesn't move at all.

Maybe the stock BIOS on the mobo doesn't recognize the X2? They're still new enough that there may be mobos in the distribution channel that don't deal with them properly without a BIOS update. Unfortunately, if this is your problem, you can't do a BIOS update unless you've got an older (non-X2) CPU on hand.

try it with a different power supply....borrow a friends or something.

i will call asus first thing tomorrow...thanks for all you help!

If all your connections are right, then the only thoing you can do is remove everything from the case that's not necessary. Leave just a stick of RAM, the graphics card, and the CPU, and see if it boots.

If not, you can try reinstalling the CPU. This is unlikely the problem, but you can try it as a last resort. If that fails, then one of those peices of hardware is to blame, or JBI's suggestion is on the money.

Alternatively, if you have a spare CPU laying around that you can flip into the mobo, I'll second JBI's motion to give that a try.

EDIT: Or call ASUS first thing tomorrow. good idea.

the same thing happened to me when i built my system recently... the problem was solved by running the rams in dual channel and tightening the 24 pin connector which seemed kindof loose..

and if u have OCZ EL rams make sure u give them 3V in teh bios otherwise they wont work at all ... apparently u cant get through to teh bios... so somehow try updating it as JBI suggested..

ok, so asus told me that i could take everyhting off, including the chip and jump the power siwtch...then try to power up and see if the PSU goes. sure enough NOTHING. so i do the aforementioned paperclip in the 24 pin trick (green and black for those kids wanting to know) and sure enough, PSU springs to life.

RMA FOR YOU, A8N!

/still love asus
// bot from the egg, so RMA was easy as pie...full refund!

Gotta love that egg. RMa good ness.

the new mobo works like a charm

i guess the other one was el DOA

oh well

Enjoy your new rig!

So how well does it fold?