i'm building a new system on the GA-P35-DS3R... and i have this little problem: the damn thing wont start.
i dont know if it has a LED somewhere to show power's going through it... it probably should, right? well if there is, it's dead. the fans dont even "jerk" when i try turning it on. i tried switching the power supply with the 1 that's in the computer i'm using now, but it made no difference. can there be something i'm missing? this has never happened to me, i've always seen at least SOME life in all boards. i'm hoping there's a "power on" switch somewhere i've missed or something...
so can any mistake in installation cause the mobo to be completely dead? is there any chance it's not broken?
is my GA-P35-DS3R really dead?
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i really cant see any way it could be shorting... i can see behind the mobo with a flashlight... there are only some nuts for the M3 bolts i used to attach the thing. nothing else is even close of touching it.
do computers power on without any RAM installed? i mean does it just complain about the lack of RAM or will it not even start? just wondering if i can eliminate that part of the equation...
do computers power on without any RAM installed? i mean does it just complain about the lack of RAM or will it not even start? just wondering if i can eliminate that part of the equation...
I can give my easiest to get to machine a try without the RAM. I have not done that in a long time, but I thought that it would give some annoying beeps from the BIOS, but that may depend on BIOS type too.
(OK, went and tried it)
The only machine that I have that is easy to get to is not that similar though. On my AMD BE2300 and ECS Mobo, if I pull the RAM, the drives spin up and the bios beeps repeatedly.
As far as the shorting, I had a few cases a few years back that had (from memory) about 1/2 inch squares cut out of the metal, and these large clip in pieces that the bolts went in to. They were quite a bit larger than the standard brass posts, larger than the keep-out area around the holes.
(OK, went and tried it)
The only machine that I have that is easy to get to is not that similar though. On my AMD BE2300 and ECS Mobo, if I pull the RAM, the drives spin up and the bios beeps repeatedly.
As far as the shorting, I had a few cases a few years back that had (from memory) about 1/2 inch squares cut out of the metal, and these large clip in pieces that the bolts went in to. They were quite a bit larger than the standard brass posts, larger than the keep-out area around the holes.
If you search the internet you'll see that there are many who recommend testing the motherboard outside the case at first.
Reset BIOS, use only one RAM and try different slots and sticks. Make sure you have connected ALL power cables. Make sure all jumpers are in the right position, including CMOS jumper.
If it still doesn't work, remove the HS and CPU, check the pins and the CPU if everything looks ok, and put it back carefully.
You're probably not using a floppy, but I think that putting the cable upside down makes the computer go nuts, although it probably would make some fan noise at least.
Do you have DDR2 and a 775 CPU to swap with for testing?
RMA?
Reset BIOS, use only one RAM and try different slots and sticks. Make sure you have connected ALL power cables. Make sure all jumpers are in the right position, including CMOS jumper.
If it still doesn't work, remove the HS and CPU, check the pins and the CPU if everything looks ok, and put it back carefully.
You're probably not using a floppy, but I think that putting the cable upside down makes the computer go nuts, although it probably would make some fan noise at least.
Do you have DDR2 and a 775 CPU to swap with for testing?
RMA?
i've put the floppy cable in the wrong way once, it booted up fine - all the way to windows etc. the floppy just didn't work. but now i'm not even using it so that's off the list anyway.
i have DDR2 to swap, but no CPU. it should run without a CPU though. at least one of my older boards did. it just said it couldn't find the CPU and halted right away. it should at least ramp up the fans.
can anyone confirm the board has a LED that shows power is going through it? if it does, i dont think there's any point in swapping RAM and CPU's etc., when you can see there's no power. i could just take the thing out of the case, and put the power cords on it.. and see if the LED lights up. if it doesn't --> RMA. if it does, then it had to be shorting somewhere in the case.
the jumpers i'm not that familiar with. i checked the CMOS, and it had no jumper i could remove, which is how it's supposed to be. are there other jumpers i should know about?
i have DDR2 to swap, but no CPU. it should run without a CPU though. at least one of my older boards did. it just said it couldn't find the CPU and halted right away. it should at least ramp up the fans.
can anyone confirm the board has a LED that shows power is going through it? if it does, i dont think there's any point in swapping RAM and CPU's etc., when you can see there's no power. i could just take the thing out of the case, and put the power cords on it.. and see if the LED lights up. if it doesn't --> RMA. if it does, then it had to be shorting somewhere in the case.
the jumpers i'm not that familiar with. i checked the CMOS, and it had no jumper i could remove, which is how it's supposed to be. are there other jumpers i should know about?
GA P35-DS3R doesn't have LED on the board. It makes trouble shooting a bit inconvenient. 
I would suggest you first clear the CMOS, it has a jumper pin (without jumper) to clear CMOS located near CMOS battery (see the manual). You need to use some flat metal object to short it - flathead screwdriver is fine.
I would also look at the connectors on the board for Power Switch. This might come loose.
If it still doesn't work, then it's time to take out the board and test all component, one-by-one.
Good luck.
I would suggest you first clear the CMOS, it has a jumper pin (without jumper) to clear CMOS located near CMOS battery (see the manual). You need to use some flat metal object to short it - flathead screwdriver is fine.
I would also look at the connectors on the board for Power Switch. This might come loose.
If it still doesn't work, then it's time to take out the board and test all component, one-by-one.
Good luck.
Is it possible to check if the power goes to the power button pins with a multimeter?
About the floppy cable upside down, I read somewhere here a long time ago about someone who could not find out what was wrong with the computer. It didn't start, it just made a high pitched noise because of the cable, IIRC. Pretty strange.
About the floppy cable upside down, I read somewhere here a long time ago about someone who could not find out what was wrong with the computer. It didn't start, it just made a high pitched noise because of the cable, IIRC. Pretty strange.
Hi again,
If I lived anywhere near Happy Pony land, I could loan you my PSU tester.
There is a connection on the motherboard that is required for the PSU to turn on. You have probably already done this, but make sure the 20/24 pin connector is in solid, the P4/6 is in solid, the voltage selector on the PSU is right (if it has one), the switch on back of PSU is on (if it has one) and then double/triple check that the power switch is connected to the correct pins on the mobo. (I have had some that were labeled in a confusing way.)
If I lived anywhere near Happy Pony land, I could loan you my PSU tester.
There is a connection on the motherboard that is required for the PSU to turn on. You have probably already done this, but make sure the 20/24 pin connector is in solid, the P4/6 is in solid, the voltage selector on the PSU is right (if it has one), the switch on back of PSU is on (if it has one) and then double/triple check that the power switch is connected to the correct pins on the mobo. (I have had some that were labeled in a confusing way.)
ha! SOLVED.
it was the power switch pin. i put it in the physical location that was in the manual, which was... the wrong place! problem was that i couldn't see the colors of the pins before... this time around i used a mirror to see em and now it works. YET i have a new problem or curiosity i'll be posting on another thread here...
i knew it couldn't be dead. i just knew. well really i didn't, but still i did. it's very strange it doesn't have a LED though in my opinion...
it was the power switch pin. i put it in the physical location that was in the manual, which was... the wrong place! problem was that i couldn't see the colors of the pins before... this time around i used a mirror to see em and now it works. YET i have a new problem or curiosity i'll be posting on another thread here...
i knew it couldn't be dead. i just knew. well really i didn't, but still i did. it's very strange it doesn't have a LED though in my opinion...