Building New Computer

[Taxious]

Bah, I can't seem to find the motherboard screws for the case anywhere. It actually says in the case instructions that screws are provided but I can't seem to find where they are at. There really isn't anything special about them, right? I could just pick up some at a local hardware store, or... ?

[Klast Brell]

Raid your old computer junk for spare screws.

[Ddrak]

Cases usually come with a little bag of screws. If yours didn't then you can typically just go to a computer store (that repairs or upgrades PCs) and get some. As Klast said, you can also raid your old machines for screws, or ask any friend that has a billion old junk PCs for some. I have about ten thousand in my toolbox just from tinkering and the fact that every new component comes with double the number of screws necessary to install it.

Dd

[Klast Brell]

I have scads of them as well. More than I will ever need. And yet when get a new part and it comes with extra screws what do I do? Add it to the growing pile in my computer junk box with all the cables slot covers etc that I will also probably never use.

[Taxious]

My boss just gave me a bunch. Hopefully some of them will fit. If not I'll take a couple from the computers I have right now. I didn't even think about that for some reason, heh.

[Freecare Spiritwise]

I'm confused why your new case didn't come with those. Sometimes it's in a little bag taped inside the case somewhere, but the last 20 or so cases I bought (even the super cheap ones) all came at least with the standoffs / mobo screws.

[Taxious]

That's what I can't figure out. Maybe I accidentally threw them away when I was opening everything in my consumerism frenzy. The little booklet that came with the case said there should be screws so who knows.

[Ddrak]

Typically to screw a motherboard to a case, you first need to screw standoffs into the case (though the more recent cases I've used have had standoffs pre-installed). Then you screw the mobo onto the standoffs.

A standoff is just a little cylinder of metal with a screw on one side and screw hole on the other that holds the mobo off the case itself. You used to find a lot of cheap cases using plastic slides, but that sort of went out of fashion about 3 years ago when CPUs/heatsinks got too heavy.

Dd

[Taxious]

Yeah I noticed that the standoffs are in the case, just not the bag of screws.

[Ddrak]

If you have the standoffs then everything else should be fine. PC screws are mostly interchangeable. If the narrow thread doesn't work, try a wider thread one!

Dd

[Bahd Zoolander]

Dunno what case you got, but mine actually has a little plastic box next to the hard drive bays that has all the screws and such inside it.

[Taxious]

Well, I finally found the box with the screws. It was hidden behind some of mounting walls. I don't think they could have put it in a more obscure place - but they are there. I got everything put on and all the wires connected properly according to my motherboard directions. I plug it in and flip the I/O switch in the back and.... nothing! I can't seem to get it to make a noise now. It's as if I didn't have it plugged in at all. I flip switches and absolutely no noise, no LEDs, nothing.

I tried a few different power cords so I'm assuming it's the power supply? I might run to office depot and pick one up just to test.

Ugh - life is so much more difficult when you're an idiot. /sigh

[Kulaf]

That is why every time I think about a new system I seriously consider just buying a Dell. Letting someone else do the grunt work is often times worth the small overhead they charge......as well as being able to deal with only one vendor regarding repairs.

[Finglefinn]

Dell is so overpriced. Find yourself a local shop that actually cares about the systems they put together.

I buy all my computer schtuff from here:

http://www.enuinc.com

They have built my last two computers and I have bought all my monitors and upgrades from them including video cards, memory and the like. They are in the process of building a new custom laptop for my wife for Christmas right now. They are awesome. They've always taken care of my problems and their shop rate is cheap.

[Taxious]

I just went to Office Depot and picked up a power supply tester and the power supply is working fine - so it must be the motherboard? It's weird that nothing in there makes a sound when I turn the power on. Complete silence. Any ideas? /sigh

[Bahd Zoolander]

I'm not sure what sort of sound you're expecting since most computers nowadays do not have speakers hooked to the motherboard.

Does the power supply fan spin when you turn it on? Do any of the LEDs on the front of the case turn on? Does the hard drive spin up?

If the power supply fan does not spin then maybe you just have the power switch hooked up to the motherboard wrong. I would unhook everything and start over 1 step at a time. The only thing you need hooked up to see if the power suppply and motherboard are hooked together properly is the 20/24 pin cable from the power supply to the motherboard and the power switch from the case to the motherboard. Assuming that works then add things one at a time starting with the rest of the wires from the case to the motherboard. If that's good then add the processor, ram, and video card then you should be able to see something on a monitor. Assuming that works add the hard drive and cd/dvd drive.

Always turn the power off on the power supply or unplug it from the wall before changing anything too. If you don't there's still some electricity going through the motherboard.

Good luck.

[Taxious]

Hm, ok I get it to turn on when it's just the front power button and the 2x10 power cable. For some reason - when I plug the 12v 4-plug cable in next to the CPU, it won't run at all. Everything else seems to be working alright so far. Hrm... =/

[Bahd Zoolander]

And the CPU is in the socket correctly with the fan plugged in as well?

[Ddrak]

You should be plugging in 24 pins to the main socket, not 20 (2x10). Are you sure you have the full 24 plugged in? The 4 pin should be yet another cable from the PSU.

Dd

[Taxious]

Wow. I love how I have a problem with my set up and I automatically assume it's a hardware issue. Everything that's been "fucked up" so far has been a stupid mistake by me. The 4-plug power connector that was making the computer not work was the wrong one. It looks exactly like the one that should go in except the curved plugs are mirrored. I was wondering why it was so hard to push in! I found the right plug, and it slides in with a simple click and the whole this works now - gogo vista install. Thanks for being patient with my stupid questions guys.

Dd, the big power cord to the mobo only has 20 plugs. I was concerned about this before but my motherboard manual states that it can take 20 or 24 plug connectors and that with the 20 plug, you just shift it over and ignore the last 4. It seems to all be working fine so far so I must have done something right.