Member Avatar for cmdrbond

Hi, I recently purchased a computer. I just replaced the stock heatsink with a thermaltake big typhoon

from newegg, and I installed new motherboard mounting screws as well. I had to remove the motherboard

in order to do this.

Now, when I press the power button, the fans go on, the new cpu fan turns on, the video card fan goes,

and the power led is on. However, all I get is a black screen.

I have experimented and found that the harddrive does not make noise unless I unplug the IDE cable

first. Similarily, the DVD RW tray does not open unless I first unplug the IDE cable to it.

I think it is a motherboard issue, but I could be wrong. ANY ideas would be very much appreciated!!!!

Thanks in advance.

SPECS:
Intel 945Psn motherboard : all drivers and bios updated

()
Intel Pentium D Processor 2.80 GHZ 800 MHZ FSB
EVGA NVIDIA e-GEfORCE 6800 XT 256 MB PCI Express card:
4 Gig of DDR2 533 MHz (I know, I only need 2gig, but it came with it):

(http://www.adata.com.tw/adata_en/product_detail.php?ProductNo=67)
Lite-On DVD-RW burner
Maxtor Diamond MAX 10 7200 RMP 200 GIG hard drive 8mb buffer
Windows XP Home SP2
500 watt Antec power supply

  • 3 Contributors
  • 5 Replies
  • 138 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by stot3

Dani AI

Generated

A short, practical checklist that builds on the helpful points from and the thread: focus on hidden mechanical and power issues that commonly cause a system to spin fans and LEDs but never show video. The steps below are ordered so each one eliminates a broad class of faults quickly.

  • Safety first: unplug mains and ground yourself before touching components. Work on a non-conductive surface and avoid powering the board while mounted in the case when diagnosing shorts.

  • Standoffs and mounting hardware: verify every standoff lines up with a screw hole. Remove the board and inspect the underside for stray screws, solder splashes, or scratches that could short traces.

  • Bench-test method: with the board off the case, connect only the PSU 24-pin (and CPU 4/8-pin), CPU fan, one RAM stick, and a video device if needed. Fit a small motherboard speaker to hear POST codes. Power the board by shorting the front-panel power pins or using a PSU tester. This isolates case shorts, front-panel switches, and bad connectors.

  • Power rails and PSU: use a PSU tester or multimeter to confirm stable +12V, +5V and +3.3V under load. Fans can spin on a weak rail even when logic won’t initialize.

  • Connector and socket checks: ensure the CPU power connector is fully seated, the CPU socket/pins are undamaged, and the cooler mounting isn’t stressing the board. Bent pins or uneven mounting pressure are silent killers.

  • Peripherals and cables: unplug all drives, cards and USB devices, swap IDE/SATA cables and test with a single known-good drive. Faulty devices or cables can hang POST during enumeration.

  • BIOS and diagnostics: consult the motherboard manual for POST code or recovery procedures before attempting a flash. If the board posts outside the case but fails when mounted, suspect a short and avoid powering it in the case again.

If bench testing fails, gather any POST codes or LED indicators and consider vendor support or RMA. These steps catch the most common post-install problems without repeating trial-and-error.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for Chaky

It is possible that you plugged ide cable to the motherboard up-side down. Have you tried Unplugging ide cable from motherboard all together? Any beeps?

Member Avatar for cmdrbond

Thanks for the response. Yeah, IDE to mb only goes in one way. And no beeps at all, ever. Also tried removing the battery to reset cmos to no avail.

Question - what is the bare minimum that needs to be connected to the computer to show anything on the screen? Does it need the processor? RAM? I'm thinking powered motherboard with vid card
is the bare minimum, but I don't know for sure. If I knew this I could narrow done any hardware that is causing the failure to boot correctly.

Also, harddrive + dvd rw work in another computer.

I'm stumped :(

Member Avatar for Chaky

Bare minimum with video feedback would be motherboard, CPU & VGA. (keyboard is needed for the BIOS setup)
Some mobo's do have some functionality without CPU, but it only goes so far as CPU detection.
Try unplugging the VGA. Faulty vga makes whole system to die, but giving the syphtoms you described with the drives, I say your IDE controller got fried. Your last hope would be BIOS flashing via floppy.
In case your BIOS is so corrupted that it can't initiate VGA and IDE controller, that would correct the problem. (You'll need the floppy drive)

commented: you so sweeeeeeeeeet ^,^ +2
Member Avatar for cmdrbond

Ok, I got it to work! Thank you for your suggestions. I ended up removing and reinserting the motherboard, connecting everything again. It must have been a faulty connection somewhere or a short on the mb with case. Thanks again :)

Member Avatar for stot3

nvm

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.