So I am building my first pc, I took home the CPU and RAM today and installed it (Stock cooler for the moment, but that is changing to a H220 soon). I have everything except the GPU and Upgraded Cooler (specs Below).
So here is my problem. I have it connected to my monitor (which is on, so no "is it pluged in?" jokes please, I checked all the cables twice), I power up the system, I hear (and see) the fans whirl and then it shuts off and on again until it lathers and repeats. I can't even get into the bios (I used 2 different keyboards which I can confirm are ok). I don't have an OS installed yet but I should be able to get into the bios right?
Does anyone have any ideas what might be the cause/wrong?
Any help is appreciated!!
System Specs:
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy
Motherboard: Asrock Z77e-ITX
CPU: i5 3570k
RAM: 16Gb Corsair ddr3 1666mhz
HDD: Kingston Hyperx 3 120Gb
PSU: Silverstone Strider
GPU: EVGA GTX 780 (Not installed, waiting for it to arrive, just using the HD4000 in the cpu for the moment)
Cooler: Swiftech H220 (Stock cooler right now, this is on its way too)
First unplug everything and try booting with a single ram module, the CPU and thats it.
See if it posts. If it doesnt try the other ram slot.. Then try a different stick of ram in each slot.
Then try taking off the CPU and looking for bent pins... if there is a bent pin.. exchange the motherboard and pretend you didnt install anything yet....
if it does post with just the basic stuff, then add the hdd, then try multiple sticks of ram, one at a time.
put the graphics card in after you have everything else working and windows installed. This way if there is a problem with the card, it wont get confused with other problems that might occur.
um, taking a shot in the (somewhat) dark... im gonna say its a grounding problem. pull all the gpu's and pcu stuff, remove mobo from case, try to start it up on some cardboard.
if that doesnt work, reseat EVERYTHING. (pull it out, plug it back in). make sure your ram is seated, and not sitting there.
Make sure that you Mother Board is got all the screws in place to the case (grounds often) - Also have you got all the power connection to the motherBoard there is the main 24pin then often a 4 or 6 pin near the CPU
So get this, I unplugged everyting like feralshad0w said, left one ram stick in, same thing happens, move ram stick, same thing, change ram sticks, AND IT BOOTS, add ram stick, STILL BOOTS, plug in case fan (i left the cpu fan in, dont worrie) ssd, usb header etc, and it boots.
So its working now, but should I be worried about anything?
ipat8: Ive put ram into a computer so i wasnt worried about that, ive never done a cpu before so Im a little worried, but i did not put any pressure on it, only what the socket did when i put the lever in place, there was a small crunch/(a sound like scraping toast with a knife, only really really quite) that I heard when i used the lever but everything Im reading and watching says thats normal with intel...
Oh and yes i double checked all the power cables before I posted the question in the first place.
So what do you think, should I be worried about anything?
If you BIOS has a RAM check tool run this but the process of unplugging/moving kit often can fix slight disconnects of mounted hardware - I would consider it working
I would say that either there was a little dust in the ram slot, maybe it wasnt plugged right, or there might be something still wrong with the socket or first ram stick. Get everything going and download and run memtest, and the free version of aida64. Do some stress testing.
Either way, I am glad its working for you man. Post back if you get crashes or what not.
Just wanted to say thank for the help. Ive done the stress tests you guys mentioned and played afew games to test everything out and all is good now. I guess I just panicked becuase it was my first build.