Frustrated pc rebuild

chollie · 15-02-2005, 11:01 PM

An old AMD XP1600 system gave up the ghost. I've replaced the PSU with a Qtec 350W, replaced the mobo with an ASUS P4R800 VM and the new cpu is a P4 2.8 HT and changed the memory to 512mb DDR400.

Connected all the IDE cables, CPU fan cable, and both power cables to mobo and the front panel connectors to the header. WHen I power up the pc the CD/DVD drives work, CPU fan spins, power LED on mobo lights and HDD makes encouraging sounds but no POST screen or BIOS beep. Have tried reseating and checking all the connectors but still no joy.

Anybody got any ideas why I shouldn't be getting a beep or POST screen? Be gratefull for any ideas as my limited knowledge is well and truly stumped.

Dave35k · 15-02-2005, 10:46 PM

its usually a ram problem when the pc not even boot to a bios screen, if i was u reseat your ram in a different slot and try that if you get a lot of repertteive beeps thats a ram problem as well. failing this have you tried resetting the cmos??? that can be the next thing post back Dave

chollie · 15-02-2005, 11:08 PM

You were right. I tried the memory in all the other slots and same problem. I then took the memory (256mb 266DDR) from the old system and put that in. Hey Presto and thar she blows! Nice POST screen and beep. Only thing now is the cpu seems to be bloody hot at 79C when I checked the hardware monitor in the BIOS.

I suppose some thermal grease instead of the paste factory applied to the heat sink will cure that.

Dave35k · 15-02-2005, 11:10 PM

yea shud do m8 78 degrees is a little to hot lol a new fan maybe?? glad the rams works neway c ya l8r Dave

ProcalX · 16-02-2005, 05:29 PM

First off your main problem is a 350W would be pushing it for a Pentium 4 2.8HT even if it was a high quality PSU - your "new" psu was not such a great choice - Qtec make very very cheap powersupplies, but they are rubbish quality as they do not provide very good Ampage on the Voltage Rails.

I would try a powersupply of atleast 400W from:
Antec
ThermalTake
Enermax
Seasonic
Tagan

My 350W Seasonic is such high quality with such good Ampage on the Voltage Rails it can provide enough power to power my AMD64 system + overclock.

Also make sure your Heatsink is seated correctly.

chollie · 16-02-2005, 05:54 PM

LOL, I replaced the psu with an Antec this am before going back to my pc shop to xchange teh memory. Turned out the chip they supplied was faulty. New one works fine and I reseated the cpu heatsink + thermal grease so the system is humming along nicely now with temp maxing at 44C under heavy load. (It's only intended for course work for my bro in law so this should work fine)

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

Nic · 16-02-2005, 05:59 PM

Also just to let you know that BIOS temps are not usually very acurate. But still id suggest a new PSU

EDIT: Sorry I didn't read your last post properly

15-02-2005, 11:01 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
chollie Geek Trainee Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3 Status: Offline	Frustrated pc rebuild An old AMD XP1600 system gave up the ghost. I've replaced the PSU with a Qtec 350W, replaced the mobo with an ASUS P4R800 VM and the new cpu is a P4 2.8 HT and changed the memory to 512mb DDR400. Connected all the IDE cables, CPU fan cable, and both power cables to mobo and the front panel connectors to the header. WHen I power up the pc the CD/DVD drives work, CPU fan spins, power LED on mobo lights and HDD makes encouraging sounds but no POST screen or BIOS beep. Have tried reseating and checking all the connectors but still no joy. Anybody got any ideas why I shouldn't be getting a beep or POST screen? Be gratefull for any ideas as my limited knowledge is well and truly stumped.

16-02-2005, 05:29 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
ProcalX Student Bum Join Date: Nov 2003 Age: 22 Male Posts: 1,536 Times Helpful: 30 My Mood: Cheerful Status: Offline My Computer	First off your main problem is a 350W would be pushing it for a Pentium 4 2.8HT even if it was a high quality PSU - your "new" psu was not such a great choice - Qtec make very very cheap powersupplies, but they are rubbish quality as they do not provide very good Ampage on the Voltage Rails. I would try a powersupply of atleast 400W from: Antec ThermalTake Enermax Seasonic Tagan My 350W Seasonic is such high quality with such good Ampage on the Voltage Rails it can provide enough power to power my AMD64 system + overclock. Also make sure your Heatsink is seated correctly. __________________ Laptop // Toshiba Satellite A210-11P // AMD Turion 64 X2 1.8Ghz Dual Core // 4GB DDR2 // 200GB Sata HD // Dual Layer DVD-RW // ATI Radeon HD2400XT 256MB // 15.4" HD Crystal Display // Vista Premium Desktop // HP DC7700* // Pentium Dual Core 3.4Ghz // 2GB DDR2 // 2x 160GB Sata2 // 16x DVD-RW // Crucial Ballistix // ATI Radeon X1950GT 512MB // 20" Dell Screen // XP Pro SP2*

16-02-2005, 05:59 PM	#7 (permalink) Top
Nic Sleepy Head Join Date: Oct 2004 Age: 18 Female Posts: 2,470 Times Helpful: 21 My Mood: Sleepy Status: Offline My Computer	Also just to let you know that BIOS temps are not usually very acurate. But still id suggest a new PSU EDIT: Sorry I didn't read your last post properly __________________ Last edited by 01bolandn; 16-02-2005 at 06:02 PM.

15-02-2005, 10:46 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
Dave35k Hacker Join Date: Dec 2004 Age: 19 Male Posts: 312 Times Helpful: 13 My Mood: Cool Status: Offline My Computer	its usually a ram problem when the pc not even boot to a bios screen, if i was u reseat your ram in a different slot and try that if you get a lot of repertteive beeps thats a ram problem as well. failing this have you tried resetting the cmos??? that can be the next thing post back Dave

15-02-2005, 11:08 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
chollie Geek Trainee Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3 Status: Offline	You were right. I tried the memory in all the other slots and same problem. I then took the memory (256mb 266DDR) from the old system and put that in. Hey Presto and thar she blows! Nice POST screen and beep. Only thing now is the cpu seems to be bloody hot at 79C when I checked the hardware monitor in the BIOS. I suppose some thermal grease instead of the paste factory applied to the heat sink will cure that.

15-02-2005, 11:10 PM	#4 (permalink) Top
Dave35k Hacker Join Date: Dec 2004 Age: 19 Male Posts: 312 Times Helpful: 13 My Mood: Cool Status: Offline My Computer	yea shud do m8 78 degrees is a little to hot lol a new fan maybe?? glad the rams works neway c ya l8r Dave

16-02-2005, 05:54 PM	#6 (permalink) Top
chollie Geek Trainee Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3 Status: Offline	LOL, I replaced the psu with an Antec this am before going back to my pc shop to xchange teh memory. Turned out the chip they supplied was faulty. New one works fine and I reseated the cpu heatsink + thermal grease so the system is humming along nicely now with temp maxing at 44C under heavy load. (It's only intended for course work for my bro in law so this should work fine) Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

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