My son just spent a load of $$ on a nice gaming PC. He has a ASUS
K8NE Deluxe Motherboard and many other amenities! He has hooked it
all up, turned the switch on in the back/pushes the power button on
the front and only gets a light on the motherboard.
Any clues/tip/hints that could help save his life would be greatly
appreciated!!!
A couple of suggestions.
1) Have your son prepare a posting, with an explanation of what he
has connected up, and the symptoms. It doesn't do much good to
have a third party relay the info - the job of figuring out
the problem is bad enough via postings as it is.
2) Have a few people in the household read the manual that came
with the motherboard. This will allow you to ask focused questions
here.
The K8N-E Deluxe has a feature, where error messages are played as
a voice recording, by the motherboard. If your son plugs an amplified
speaker into the lime colored, Lineout connector on the back of the
computer, then he will be able to listen to the computer explain
what is wrong. The error messages won't hold your hand, but they
will, with some help from the people here, allow you to focus on
what is preventing the computer from starting.
See section 3.3 of the manual "Asus POST Reporter" for details.
Knowing whether the fans spin or not, when you pushed the power
button on the front of the computer, is good to know.
A hardware inventory, of all the devices used in the computer,
brand names, model numbers, speed and type, is also good info.
For example, there are some moderately old video cards that
will prevent the computer from starting, so knowing the type
and brand of video card helps.
Here is the list of voice messages that will come out of the
Line_out connector on the computer:
No CPU installed
System failed CPU test
System failed memory test
System failed VGA test
System failed due to CPU overclocking
No keyboard detected
No IDE hard disk detected
CPU temperature too high
CPU fan failed
CPU voltage out of range
System completed Power-On Self Test
Computer now booting from operating system
The K8N-E has two power cables, running from the power supply
to the motherboard. There is a four pin connector in the upper
left hand corner of the motherboard. That connector powers the
processor, and without it, the motherboard cannot work. The
second power connector has twenty pins, and is located near
the upper right hand corner of the motherboard. Make sure they
are both connected properly before powering up.
Make sure the power supply has the necessary 2x2 power connector.
This is sometimes termed a "P4 ready" power supply, as the 2x2
power connector was introduced to help Pentium 4 motherboards get
enough power. The newest AMD boards now use the same connector
for the same reason. If your son is reusing an old power supply,
it is always possible it doesn't have enough current to offer
on +12V. Knowing the brand and model number, or even better,
copying the voltage and current ratings printed on the label on
the power supply, helps.
If your son is in "over his head", seek professional help at
a computer shop. Shop around, and see what they would charge to
assemble the computer. That might allow the project to be
finished before school starts again. In the worst case, it
might take up to a month to resolve all issues with a new
build (i.e. returning defective parts etc.), or it might only
take two days if all goes well.
HTH,
Paul
