Hi All,

I just installed a new mobo/cpu and my hard drive won't spin when the IDE is attached. As soon as I unplug it, it spins. My fans are all working and I've tried switching IDE cables. Power supply problem? Bad mobo? I've seen this thread in the past, but never seen it resolved. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

How is it listed in the BIOS?

I don't even get that far. When the hard drive spins w/o IDE or doesn't spin w/ IDE, the BIOS doesn't come up. My monitor maintains "No Input." Thanks for the reply!

Just to make sure you aren't doing this, do not plug in or unplug the IDE cable when the drive is powered. Futhermore, do not plug the power cable or unplug the power cable when the system is on. In short, only plug or unplug cables when the system is off. You can damage your drives if you do otherwise.

Since you aren't able to get your system running, it sounds like you have a dead machine. Read My PC won't start - Read this first! to help you find your actual problem.

It is very likely that the drive isn't spinning at startup because your system has a different issue that is not related to the harddrive. Go through the guide and see if you can get your system to boot.

I agree with chrissbliss18. The fact that you aren't seeing any BIOS sign on messages and (I assume) hearing no POST beeps, I suspect a fault somewhere in the motherboard. If the problem has been happening right from when you put the machine together, your mobo was DOA (dead on arrival). In this case, you can go back to where you purchased it from and request them for a brand new piece.

Thanks, I've done most of those suggestions. I cleared the CMOS (change the jumper and turn on the computer, right?). I unplugged everything except the essentials. I swapped the RAM with known working RAM and nothing. The HD and Video card worked previously to the new mobo/cpu. I checked twice to see if the CPU was properly seated and it was. I don't think it is too probable to get a bad CPU (AMD Sempron 2800+). That means the mobo's IDE connection is bad or I fried it w/ static electricity, but I always ground myself. The mobo is distributing the power properly to the fans because they work. My first thought was the Power Supply. It is only 250 W. If that wasn't enough power, would this problem (HD not spinning when IDE cable is plugged into mobo) occur, or no. So here's a summary:

mobo: New, unknown to work but does distribute power to fans
cpu: New (AMD Sempron 2800+), properly seated
HD: Known to previously work
IDE Cable: Known to previously work, tried another just in case
Video Card: Known to previously work, verified it was properly seated
RAM: New, but swapped w/ RAM previously known to work
Power Supply: Used, 250W, not enough?

I don't get a POST and beep. I verified that all the LED and speaker lines are properly connected to + and -. Thanks.

Thanks again for all help and input!!!

Your diagnosis steps are flawed.

A system will not fail to POST (Power On Self-Test) because of a bad IDE connection. In fact, a system can successfully POST without any IDE, floppy, SATA, or SCSI devices connected to it.

Just because a motherboard is supplying power to the fan headers does not mean that the motherboard isn't damaged. It does mean that motherboard is able to recognize when it should be on and is supplying power to the fan headers.

It's hard to say that it is improbable that you have a bad CPU. People receive dead CPUs quite frequently (that isn't to say that one out of ten will get a bad CPU, but it does mean that it isn't rare for people to receive them).

Considering that you aren't even able to hear a system beep, I would think that your motherboard and/or your CPU are damaged.

If you have been connecting and disconnecting cables from any component while the system was on, there is a very good chance that you did permanent damage to your motherboard and possibly to the component that you were connecting/disconnecting.

Since the system is new, are you sure that you connected everything correctly?
Have you followed all of the instructions to the letter?
Do you have any previous experience setting up new machines?

Your power supply is small, but should be sufficient to boot up a system with nothing but the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video card in order to test it.

Thanks again for the help.

I have built 2 previous machines with no problem. To clarify, I have never unplugged cables while the system was plugged in. When I get home from work I will unplug the hard drive completely in an attempt to get a POST. I believe I have already done this and not gotten anything on the monitor. My next step will be to exchange the motherboard where I purchased it and try a new one (It's within the return policy). If that is not successful I will do the same for the CPU.

I'll post after switching the motherboard tonight. Thank you all for your help!

Since you've already tried this step before and you know that your RAM is working (so I gather from your previous message), I'm fairly confident the problem lies somewhere in your mobo and/or your CPU...

If you can, check the CPU on another working motherboard. If this system does not start, you know the CPU is the problem. Next, check a known working CPU on your mobo. This will help you narrow down the problem.

Alright, well, I exchanged both the motherboard and the CPU for new ones and I still get the same problem....no POST. I checked the power switch and LED connectors, checked that the processor is correctly fitted, used RAM I know works, and checked that the video card is seated correctly. Is it possible that the video card isn't "Plug and play" and is therefore causing this problem? It's a PCI 3DFX VooDoo card from a few years back. It worked in the computer before this mobo/cpu switch, but maybe only because I loaded drivers.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you all for your posts!!!