I just build a custom PC and it will not boot?

Question

Nothing even shows up on the monitor. I meant nothing. I checked the monitor, power supply and they are OK. What else could be wrong. How can I tell if the MOBO is bad or if the processor is bad?

Thanks

Answer 1

check your wiring, i believe my one friend built his and it would not work, but he found out that something was shorting out on a s***w in the tower

Answer 2

First thing to do is recheck all of the hardware connections... reseat all of the cards, etc, and make sure the cpu fan is operating.

Some times a dirty connection or missed power supply cable is easily overlooked and can cause major headaches.

If everything is fine and still no boot - check that the bios jumper is not set to 'erase'

Are there any beeps when you try to boot?

Answer 3

Remove all add on cards including video card if board has onboard video.

Remove any extra sticks of memory, you just want one.

Double check the CPU install.

Make sure all the small front panel connectors are on correctly.

Make sure ALL the mainboard power cables are plugged in, some now have 2 power connectors, 1 large and then a smaller 4 or 6 pin.

Unplug the power cable for 10 secs, plug it back in and start the pc.

Answer 4

I just finished building a gaming rig and I had the exact same problem for a while. It turned out that it was something as unexpected as a RAM stick malfunctioning. Make sure you check the unlikely causes to.  

Answer 5

Start from the ground up... does the power supply fire up?  If not, many motherboards will have a powerlight that's always on even if the PC is off.  If you don't have a powerlight on the motherboard, or the power light is simply not on, don't despair.  Pull it back out of the case and double triple check your standoffs.  Many mobos come with metal standoffs.  Personally I prefer the plastic ones as it eliminates issues with grounding, which is likely the problem if you have no power to the mobo.  Go with that, I bet the standoffs are the problem.