Help Please.. GA-EP45-UD3P build with e8400

[xaglx]

Hi all,

I am having trouble getting my family's new computer build up and running. I thought I would at least be able to get the system turned on with fans spinning, but alas, I am still quite the newb.

I am thinking that either I was careless and did not plug something in correctly, or there are compatibility issues with the components.

The parts I used were as follows:

-GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard
-Intel e8400 cpu
-OCZ Fatal1ty (2x2) 4gb ddr2 800 ram
-bfg 8800gt 512mb
-Antec Modular PSU 500w (Only comes with a 2x2 pin motherboard power plug)
-old 320gb IDE seagate hdd

After plugging in the front panel connectors, 24pin power cable, 4pin motherboard power, cpu fan, HDD ide cable, and power cables to the rest of the system's components, I turn on the psu and push the power button, but all I get is a quick flash from the phase light indicator LED 1. Repeated attempts yield the same result.

I am also wondering whether or not an 8-pin (2x4) motherboard power connector is required, even though the manual seems to say that I can use my 4-pin one.


Any help is appreciated, and let me know if you need additional info.
Thanks so much for reading!

[Darthtanion]

Re: Help Please.. GA-EP45-UD3P build with e8400

When you get a quick blip and then silence from everything, it is usually indicative of a short between the motherboard and the case standoffs. Remove the system and rebuild it paying particular attention to the screws in the motherboard. Many enclosures come with little fiber grommets, which can be used to help prevent the short. It doesn't happen all the time, but occasionally it will. Even if you don't have those grommets, just loosen the mainboard and move it to help give it a proper alignment to the motherboard tray.

From your list of components, are you using a 64 bit operating system? If not you will need to do some tweaking to get it to play nicely with your 4GB of memory. 32 bit OS's will only address a bit over 2GB without having to jump through hoops, and it isn't always successful.

[xaglx]

Re: Help Please.. GA-EP45-UD3P build with e8400

Thanks for the suggestion, Darthtanion.

I unscrewed the motherboard, set it on a cardboard box, reconnected the cables outside the case and tried to power on again, but I still get little more than a blip like you said. I am thinking that I am overlooking something very simple, but just can't figure out what it is..

As for the OS, I was hoping to use a copy of vista business 32bit I already have, but I think now I will go ahead and upgrade to a 64bit version since I have a student discount to use anyways.

Thanks again, and let me know if you have any other possible solutions.

[stasio]

Re: Help Please.. GA-EP45-UD3P build with e8400

Try to get POST with only 1 stick of Ram,change slots if necessary,check power supply for video card and unplug hard drive.
Read more threads on Gigabyte section.
Good luck

[Darthtanion]

Re: Help Please.. GA-EP45-UD3P build with e8400

Also make sure to reset the CMOS... sorry, should have mentioned that as one of the first basic troubleshooting steps in the first post. Restting should force the system to properly auto-detect the installed components and at least allow you to get into BIOS to make any necessary adjustments.

[xaglx]

Re: Help Please.. GA-EP45-UD3P build with e8400

I was able to get it running! Thanks again for all the help!

I tried resetting the cmos and tried to power up.. again nothing.
So, out of combined frustration and desperation, I pulled everything out and reinstalled for a third time. For all I can recall, I reconnected everything in the same way I had before, but this time when I plugged the power supply in and powered on, the whole system came to life - phase lights shining bright red, cpu and graphics fans spinning up noisily, hard drive whirring to life, and of course the welcome flicker of the monitor as the post screen came to view. It was beautiful...

Of course the next thing I see is that the old hard drive I'm trying to use is not readable.. a quick drive swap and pair of scraped-up knuckles later, I'm surprised to see that hard drives with vista installed can be swapped between systems with gigabyte motherboards. Seemed stable enough, but it was a new build for my family to share, so I backed up everything and reinstalled vista - I'll need to get 64bit to use the remaining ram (It only sees 3.25gigs right now), but it seems fast enough for now.

Thanks again all, and Happy Holidays!!