Ugh, new motherboard blues.. (1 Viewer)

[Jay H]

This is why everytime I upgrade PC's I keep saying I'm just going to buy a system...
Have a new Shuttle AK31 KT266a Motherboard, PC 2100 DDR Ram, AMD 1000/266 CPU. New Enlight Case w/ Enlight 300W PSU. I have a bunch of PCI/AGP cards from my old computer. Cannot use my ISA USR 56k modem and my old Soundcard is old and not needed.
Hook up everything today, the AGP slot looks a whole lot different than my old Shuttle motherboard but I guess that's just newer tech. My old AGP video card came out just when AGP was catching on. It's an 4MB STB Velocity 128 AGP card.
My biggest problem is:
No freaking video. I've got juice, I see the internal peripherals getting pinged at powerup. A light on my Adaptec (PCI) 2940u SCSI adapter is on, I hear fans, somethings doing something. I got no stinkin' video. I also don't hear Windows 2k booting up nor do I see the HDD light go on.
Synopsis of boards
Shuttle Motherboard AK31 (new)
Crucial 256MB 2100 DDR ram (new)
AMD t'bird 1000 CPU (new) - Retail version with AMD HSF
STB 4MB Velocity 128 AGP (old)
Adaptec 2940u PCI (old)
Seagate Barracude 4gig (old) SCSI
Plextor Ultraplex (old) SCSI
HP 9200i (old) SCSI
Any ideas, there does not seem like any jumpers to set for the AGP slot, the board supports up to 4x AGP cards, I presume mine is 1x so it should be supported right?
Could this be a dead motherboard.... Or could this be some kind of problem with the video card.
My next sort of minor problem is why on earth does the power switch doesn't work. I can switch it on but I cannot turn the stupid thing except by pulling the damm plug???? Is this pointing more towards a bad motherboard or is there some voodoo involved in getting these new motherboards to shut off?
Everytime I go through this crap, I keep just wanting to buy a Dell or Gateway or something.
Jay

 

[Glenn Overholt]

No beeps from the speaker? That would tell you if anything was wrong, so get the speaker going.
Try reseating the video card too.
As for the power, the new boards are all on a 'soft' reboot. I messed up on mine too and just had to reverse two wires that fit into the connectors.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Glenn

 

[Gary King]

For the power, most motherboards include a BIOS setting to set how long you need to hold the power switch down in order to turn off the machine; however, you'll (obviously) need to get video working before you can fix that. Most mobos default to ~6 seconds=soft off.
As for the video problem - try reseating the card and the memory. If you've hooked up the PC speaker and you aren't hearing any beeps, it's probably a memory problem. Otherwise, it's probably a video problem.

 

[Darren Lewis]

Hi Jay.
I had exactly this problem when I fitted my new Abit VP6. Bad new was that the motherboard was buggered and had to be replaced under warranty!
Right, first try this.
Unplug ALL the cards from the machine. Disconnect ALL the drives. The only things you want connected are the CPU & HS/Fan, the memory, the speaker and other switches, the main power cord from the power supply.
Switch her on. Just 'cos the fans start turning doesn't mean everything is OK - they're on a different circuit to the BIOS. There's a whole complicated sequence of events happening now. I won't go into the exact details, but you should here some beeps from the speaker. If you hear 7 beeps (I think it's 7 - might be one long and 7?) then this is one of the BIOS error codes (no video card - that's OK cos we haven't got one in).
If you don't hear zip, then make sure the memory is correctly seated - try moving to another slot, or try some more memory if you have it. Next make sure the CPU is correctly seated and that any jumpers (a lot of newer motherboads are jumperless) are correct.
If you hear some other beeps or beep sequences, make a note of them.
The fact that you're not getting video is suspicious of a motherboard problem. You should get a beep, which is the BIOS saying it's OK and initialising the video bus.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes. If you're still not getting anywhere, take the motherboard back.
Building PCs yourself is fun

but can be a frustrating pain in the rear if the supplier is miles away - believe me I've been there.
------------------
My HT My DVD Collection

 

[Jay H]

Yes, I've tried booting it up without any cards other than the video card. I just unhooked my Adaptec (I have no IDE hard drives as all my devices are SCSI) and nothing. No beeps from the speaker, no hd activity besides the normal powew-on stuff. I switched the DIMM from slot#4 to slot#1 and checked the mobo manual regarding slot position. Looks like I can put a single DIMM anywhere I want. Ummmm, I guess it must be the motherboard since I know the video card has worked on my old PC. Yes, I did take it out and try to reseat it. I guess I'm going to have to contact Newegg and see if I can get a replacement. I've got to ask them about their CPU warentee as I've got 7 days to replace a bad CPU and now I'll never know until I get a good motherboard, I guess.
On a second note, I notice that a bunch of the new case screws don't fit my old devices, i.e. the drive rails for my CD-ROMs, the new screws seem to be one size too big. I had to reuse the screws from my old case.
Jay

 

[Jay H]

Thanks for the power thing. I did try holding it in, but certainly not as long as 6 seconds. That worked.
I'm going to call newegg today, see if I can get send something new. Do most BIOS still do a memory check? If the memory is bad, would that preclude any BIOS error. I know my old PC would do a memory check and then get you the option of entering the BIOS setup and then beeping. Perhaps I should try to get a new motherboard and a new memory stick and then return the faulty unit and the extra?
Sound prudent?
Jay

 

[Gary King]

I'd recommend you just make a stop at your local Circuit City/Fry's/wherever and just pick up a memory stick or two. Prices are so low these days that the difference between retail and mail-order won't be that much, and you'll be able to check if the RAM is bad faster through retail channels then through mail order.

 

[Jay H]

Well, I just RMA'ed the motherboard and memory. I really hope that I was just unlucky or something... I look forward to when my new stuff arrives. Unfortunately, newegg doesn't ship the replacements til they receive mine, most of the time I've had new ones shipped immediatedly and get credited when I send the bad ones back.
*sigh*
Jay