TR Forums

Hi all,
Can you lovely people help a mum and her son, both building (and failing!!) for the first time? Its not going well…..and we are stumped and desperate to get it all working.   It’s the first time we have done anything like this so please bear with!

The spec
Motherboard  crossblade ranger
Power:500w evga 80plus
PCI to link PCI express adapter
Athlon AMD x40860k 40ghz
DRAM Corsair vengeance ddr3 2x 4gb 2133mhz
VGA gigabyte gtx960 4gb

The good
- power to MB (code 3f)
- all fans turn
- LEDs for CPU and dram lit but not flashing
- keyboard and mouse light up

The bad
No signal showing on screen (have tried connecting via MB and graphics cards ports)
Will switch on using rear power switch but not from front of the case. We have to boot using the MB start button
No beeps at all (have connected a speaker via headphone socket and tried without, still no beeps)

What we’ve tried
- Updating BIOS via USB (changed MB code from 32 to 3F). we got  a flashing then fixed green light
- Pressing CMOS
- Pressing reset
-       pressing Memon
- Reseating VGA
- Reconnecting all power cables to components
- Taking out 1 RAM
- Double checking RAM is is A2 and B2 sockets
- Power off and leave
- Power on and leave
- Connecting screen via MB and VGA slots

That’s it.  What are we missing? Any ideas to get us unstuck and get this working please?
Many thanks you clever lot…!

For the time being, take the GTX960 out. Physically remove the card from the system, and use the onboard display connector. This eliminates one potential variable from the equation.

Did you remember to connect the 8-pin power connector near the CPU socket?

The beep codes generally don't come out the headphone jack; they come out of a header on the motherboard. Unfortunately, most modern PC cases don't have the speaker required to hear the beep codes any more.

Power button on case not working probably means the cable from the front panel is not connected properly to the motherboard (re-check the diagram in the manual carefully, and make sure you have it connected to the right pins).

Are you sure the monitor and cable are good? Can you test it by connecting it to another PC?

just brew it! wrote:

For the time being, take the GTX960 out. Physically remove the card from the system, and use the onboard display connector. This eliminates one potential variable from the equation.

No onboard on the Athlon 860K. I actually have one.

thanks,
took out graphics card, checked (again!) all power connections and all seem in place.  still getting a 3f code.....

the power connection cord into the case is not stable though and makes an electrical zzzz noise if you so much as look at it!

the monitor and its cables are new but have been used connected to laptop with no issues. 

have rechecked the manual for ideas but am still stuck.

this is so frustrating!! 

thanks,
took out graphics card, checked (again!) all power connections and all seem in place.  still getting a 3f code.....

the power connection cord into the case is not stable though and makes an electrical zzzz noise if you so much as look at it!

the monitor and its cables are new but have been used connected to laptop with no issues. 

have rechecked the manual for ideas but am still stuck.

this is so frustrating!! 

Diagnosis proceeds by first building the absolute min system that works, swapping components to achieve a working system if necessary.

You need:
- The PSU
- The MB
- The CPU
- A GPU
- One RAM stick
- Keyboard and screen


First ensure that the MB supports the CPU in question. Generally this is not a problem if you bought the MB recently. Ensure that all power connectors (can have up to 3 of those!) are plugged, for example 24pin + 4pin + some times a Molex or 8pin. Really verify this. Note that an (uncommon) mode of failure is plugging everything on the same rail of the PSU in PSUs that cannot give all power to a single rail. Try using another PCIe connector, if your PSU has multiple.

Never hurts to clear the CMOS (usually with a jumper, need to power off, put jumper and power on, then power off again --- read the manual).

If the above system does not boot, you need to swap stuff with pieces that are known to work on another system one at a time.
- Change GPU if you have another one lying around. Remember to plug power. Some GPUs may have UEFI and non-UEFI modes, toggle the BIOS switch if in doubt.
- Change RAM sticks if you have other ones
- Change CPU.
- Finally, if all fails, change MB.

thanks,
1) the specs say the CPU is compatible
2) there is only 1 8 pin power connector that fits near the CPU into the MB
3) the other power leads connect into the MB the other side, and again there are only 1 set of connectors that fit those sockets so must be correct ones?
4) CMOS - when you say clear it, do you mean press the CMOS button on MB? ('scuse ignorance.....!) we have already tried pressing the CMOS button.  what do you mean by 'put jumper'? the manual says to enable jumpers (3 pin LN2) you need to have switches a certain way. we do. is that what you mean?
5) 'Some GPUs may have UEFI and non-UEFI modes, toggle the BIOS switch'  how do I toggle a BIOS switch and where is it?  I cant see anything on the VGA....

we don't have any spare bits to swap in and out as its our first time and only have virgin parts.
noddy questions I know, thanks again for help

S

I had a similar experience with my first build. I must have installed and reinstalled some parts over a hundred times without exaggeration. I too did not have spare parts as the old system was so old that nothing could be used. In my case, the motherboard was defective and I ended up changing it. I was unable to diagnose it however until I took the PC to a local computer parts store and tried a few different components that were known to function correctly. Since any of the components could be causing the problem, there is no option other than doing something similar. You might know someone that has a fairly modern computer, maybe at work or a neighbor, ask them for their help and offer to pay them for it. It doesn't involve anything other than swapping the PSU, GPU and RAM with others that work fine. Don't ask for help if that person has a pre built system, it will void their warranty and the components are likely to have proprietary connectors and standards that might make them incompatible.

ashbeeee wrote:

the power connection cord into the case is not stable though and makes an electrical zzzz noise if you so much as look at it!

There is a very good chance this is your root problem. A functioning system should never ever have electrical zapping sounds (game sound effects excepted of course) -- shorting can damage components and can be both an electrocution and a fire hazard. 
This problem could be caused by  an incomplete connection, or it could be defective hardware. Disconnect it from the power outlet then see if you can reseat the power cables so they are solidly connected. If you can, reconnect it to power and see if it behaves better. 
If you can't get a more solid connection or if doing so doesn't work, I would suggest getting the PSU serviced or replaced. 

ashbeeee wrote:

thanks,
1) the specs say the CPU is compatible
2) there is only 1 8 pin power connector that fits near the CPU into the MB
3) the other power leads connect into the MB the other side, and again there are only 1 set of connectors that fit those sockets so must be correct ones?
4) CMOS - when you say clear it, do you mean press the CMOS button on MB? ('scuse ignorance.....!) we have already tried pressing the CMOS button.  what do you mean by 'put jumper'? the manual says to enable jumpers (3 pin LN2) you need to have switches a certain way. we do. is that what you mean?
5) 'Some GPUs may have UEFI and non-UEFI modes, toggle the BIOS switch'  how do I toggle a BIOS switch and where is it?  I cant see anything on the VGA....

we don't have any spare bits to swap in and out as its our first time and only have virgin parts.
noddy questions I know, thanks again for help

S

The MB may support the CPU but with a specific BIOS version. Anyway, the 860K is not an new chip. It is almost certainly supported.
I see that your MB has a clear CMOS button like mine, not a jumper. For the clear CMOS, power on and keep the little button pressed for at least 10-20 sec. NOTE: no, I don't mean the LN2 jumper, this is for LN2 overclocking. Don't touch it.
It appears that the your GPU supports UEFI BIOS, so no switch to toggle.
I see that your MB has the Q-code for boot diagnosis, use that: it's a number that appears on the top right corner, cross check against the manual. Also, you can use the "MemOK" button for failsafe memory settings, although normally you should be able to get into BIOS even with bad settings.
Finally, please verify that you are connecting the monitor to the GPU, NOT THE MB. 
Don't connect all the case cables, only power and reset should be enough. No need to bother with the leds and whatnot.

Manual says 32 is CPU related, 3f...doesn't even exist.  But that means after the CPU check it's likely failing.  Strange time to do it.

Is your CPU fan plugged in properly?  Can you disable any automatic overclocking?  Is it possible the thermal grease was applied poorly or the heatsink is loose?

Have you tried reseating all the RAM?

Is the machine plugged into a UPS?  (cheap UPSes and most modern power supplies don't go together...as unlikely as it is I have to ask.)

Wooooohooooo!

Took it all apart after he returned from
School and re-assembled.
We have lift off. A bit of RAM to fiddle with but its on screen and firing on all cylinders.

Thankyou all so much for your help

He's so excited I think he may explode.

Game on, literally.

Excellent

Was the RAM not seated properly? That's great then, no DOA parts.

I think the whole thing wasn't seated properly! Hahahaha.
You live and learn.
This forum has been so helpful. Us newbies need all the help we can get.

ashbeeee wrote:

I think the whole thing wasn't seated properly!  Hahahaha.
You live and learn.
This forum has been so helpful. Us newbies need all the help we can get.

If you haven't installed RAM before it can seem like an excessive amount of force is required to get them seated.

just brew it! wrote:

ashbeeee wrote:

I think the whole thing wasn't seated properly!  Hahahaha.
You live and learn.
This forum has been so helpful. Us newbies need all the help we can get.

If you haven't installed RAM before it can seem like an excessive amount of force is required to get them seated.

Or those motherboards where only one side of the memory banks have clips and the other is fixed in the name of "features" and "convenience". I had a lot of trouble getting RAM to seat properly in those boards. Hope to never see those again.