Member Avatar for btsuper

Hello everybody,

Today i assembled my first computer. I followed an online tutorial and followed the manuals provided with the parts. However, when i finished and plugged it in, it didn't turn on. There was no beep, or even any sign that the computer was on. Can anybody help me figure out what's wrong?

Parts:
H61M-P23 MSI Motherboard
Intel i3-2120 Processor
Cooler Master Extreme 500W PSU
Asus Optical Drive
Hitachi 1 TB 7200 rpm Hard drive
Corsair XMS3 1600 MHz RAM
EVGA GT430 Graphics Card

Thanks in advance!

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Brief, practical checklist to complement the good advice from and — focused on the few things that commonly hide in a first build and that are easy to miss.

Start with mechanical and power basics: confirm all motherboard standoffs line up with the mounting holes and that there are no extra standoffs under the PCB (a case short will keep a new build completely dead). Verify the PSU main 24‑pin and the CPU 4/8‑pin are fully seated and latched; modular cables should match the PSU they came with (wrong cable on a modular PSU can supply incorrect pins). A visible fan spin and lit LEDs do not prove everything — they only show that the PSU is supplying at least some rails.

CPU seating and socket inspection (LGA1155): the chip should drop into the socket with the alignment triangle matched, and the retention arm should close smoothly. A little play before the arm is locked can be normal; movement after the arm is latched is not. If the retention arm resists or pins in the socket look uneven, stop and inspect under good light or magnification. LGA sockets have very fine contact pins on the motherboard; bent pins are a legitimate failure mode and should be documented with photos if vendor support is needed.

Display and POST notes (expands on ): if a discrete card is installed the system often tries PCIe for video, so plug the monitor into the card rather than the mobo. Confirm any required PCIe power leads to the GPU are connected. Passive DVI-to-VGA adapters only work with analog-capable DVI signals (DVI-I/DVI-A); a passive adapter will not convert DVI-D to VGA. For beep codes, use the board manual or built-in debug LEDs/POST display rather than guessing — BIOS vendors differ.

Final quick items: try a minimal bench test outside the case (MB + CPU + 1 RAM stick + PSU + video) to eliminate case shorts; reseat RAM in the primary DIMM for single-stick testing; clear CMOS if settings are suspected. Credit to for isolation/ESD cautions and to for the RAM/GPU reseat direction — those steps are effective when combined with the checks above.

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Member Avatar for jak0b

If you don't even get a beep, you probably have a short somewhere.

A very common error, is that you might have bent a pin in the cpu socket.
They are very tiny and is easily bend, so check if you can see if anything is wrong in the socket.

Another common error is that you might accidentally have damaged something (cpu or motherboard most probably) with ESD (electro static discharge), and if that is the case, you have to RMA the damaged parts.

I suggest you read this before doing any further:


The procedure now is that you have to isolate the damaged part(s).
You might need help from a friend, or you might have an old pc that you can use as spare parts for testing purpose.

First try to remove anything non-essential from the pc.
It will be able to boot to bios, with only a PSU, MB, CPU, 1 RAM stick, and a graphics card. (if all parts is working ofc.)
If you can get it to boot like this, you can very likely rule out both of the common errors in the top of the post. :)

If this is not working, you have to replace all the components one by one, and try to boot in between. Or test all of the components separately in another working pc if possible.

You can actually test the MB and CPU alone, if you just connect the power and a speaker - then it should make a beep-code for RAM error (expected since it isn't attached). This isn't fool proof, but at least you know that something is working in the MB, and that the CPU most likely is also working, and not shorted in the pin's. :)

Edited by jak0b because: n/a
Member Avatar for btsuper

Thanks for the advice!

Since I already attached everything, is it possible to just unattach things such as my optical disc drive and hard drive, but leave them in the case? I would hate to have to take out everything again and then test.

I was pretty sure that I was careful with ESD because I made sure to wear a grounding bracelet, although my dad tried to help me align the motherboard. But, he touched a metal object before he did.

When I inserted the CPU, i put it straight down, but then when i tried to push down lightly, it wiggled like there was a little room in the socket. Is this normal?

Next, would the RAM error beep come from inside the computer or through an external speaker? Would I actually need to hook up a monitor or just speakers?

Also, finally, how can I be completely sure that all my other power cables are correctly connected? At some points, the manuals I had didn't seem to really distinguish which plug and which orientation I was supposed to put it in.

Thank you again so much for your help!

Member Avatar for btsuper

Sorry for the double post, but...

I found this website: http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#atxmain20plus4

And for the 24=pin mobo power connector i have a 20+4. I noticed on mine (I can't try and test rite now) that my setup was that nearest the bottom of the motherboard(upright) i had two orange cables. Nearest the top of the upright mobo i had an orange and a black. According to the 24=pin design, is this stuck in flipped?

Member Avatar for btsuper

Hai,

So I finally got my computer to turn on. Hehe, turns out I plugged in my CPU power cable in the wrong direction. It wasn't a short ;). However, I have a new problem. When I turn on the computer nothing shows up on my monitor and my system gives three beeps, the third one ascending in pitch. What does this mean?

Member Avatar for jingda

The beep codes you have a video error. Try reseating the ram chips and your graphics card.

Member Avatar for btsuper

Thanks for all the help!

I will try reseating the RAM, and if that doesn't work then the Graphics Card. I read somewhere that RAM needs to be inserted in the first slot before the second slot. I may not have actually done that, so I will post my results here later after I test it.

Member Avatar for btsuper

Hello again,

I finally figured out that the beeps i heard didn't matter. I put my VGA adapter into the graphics card this time instead of the motherboard and finally got it to boot (with the beeps) and I got into BIOS!! Thanks everybody for all your help. Off I go now to install windows and ubuntu!

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