HELP! MB Won't power on

  • Thread starter Thread starter brian
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brian

Hello... Am I an idiot?

I just bought an ASROCK M266A miniATX mb.
I installed a pentium4 1.6ghz, and 512MB of DDR ram (1 stick).
The motherboad does not require the 2x2 12V connector. The power supply is
500W.
The CPU fan is connected.
Nothing else is connected.
Nothing happens when I turn the power supply on. No fans, no nothing.
The power supply tests OK on another MB.
I brought the MB, cpu and RAM to a local computer shop, and they said
everything tested OK (though I did not see them do it.)
The MB is NOT in a case.
Will the MB not power if there is no IDE drive connected? How can it work in
the shop and then an hour later, not work in my house? Wiring problems??? (I
have 3 computers running in the house).
Any suggestions? Any similar experiences? Any reliable way to test a
motherboard without hooking up drives?
Thank you
 
Hello... Am I an idiot?

I just bought an ASROCK M266A miniATX mb.
I installed a pentium4 1.6ghz, and 512MB of DDR ram (1 stick).
The motherboad does not require the 2x2 12V connector. The power supply is
500W.
The CPU fan is connected.
Nothing else is connected.
Nothing happens when I turn the power supply on. No fans, no nothing.
The power supply tests OK on another MB.
I brought the MB, cpu and RAM to a local computer shop, and they said
everything tested OK (though I did not see them do it.)
The MB is NOT in a case.
Will the MB not power if there is no IDE drive connected? How can it work in
the shop and then an hour later, not work in my house? Wiring problems??? (I
have 3 computers running in the house).
Any suggestions? Any similar experiences? Any reliable way to test a
motherboard without hooking up drives?
Thank you
Click to expand...


BigB:

When you try starting the mobo outside the case do you briefly SHORT the
mobo "power" terminals ( mate to front panel ON/OFF ) together?
 
How is it you have a P4 but don't need the extra 12V power supply
connector? I have 500 W supply & P4, still has extra 12v connector.
 
The MB has no connector for it. The docs with the MB say it taks a standard
ATX power supply.
Is there some hidden place on the board for the 12V connector????
Thanks for you help!
 
ray hartman said:
BigB:

When you try starting the mobo outside the case do you briefly SHORT the
mobo "power" terminals ( mate to front panel ON/OFF ) together?
Click to expand...

No. Do I need to connect the fron panel connector to the MB "power
terminals"? Is that required?
Can I put a jumper pin on instead?
Thanks for your help!
 
When you try starting the mobo outside the case do you briefly SHORT the
No. Do I need to connect the fron panel connector to the MB "power
terminals"? Is that required?
Can I put a jumper pin on instead?
Click to expand...

Do not use a jumper. The power-on pins require a momentary
short to turn the system on. You can do that with something
metallic (i.e. screwdriver) or use the front case panel connector.
 
I just bought an ASROCK M266A miniATX mb.
I installed a pentium4 1.6ghz, and 512MB of DDR ram (1 stick).
The motherboad does not require the 2x2 12V connector. The power supply is
500W.
Click to expand...

Really? I was not aware of any P4 systems that do NOT require the 12V
connector.

Are you sure this is a Pentium system (socket 478), and not an AMD system
(socket A)?

(later after Googling...) Sure enough, appears to be a P4 system sans 12V
connector: http://www.asrockamerica.com/Products/M266A.htm

Difficult to see in the small picture, but there doesn't appear to be a 12V
header.
The CPU fan is connected.
Nothing else is connected.
Nothing happens when I turn the power supply on. No fans, no nothing.
The power supply tests OK on another MB.
I brought the MB, cpu and RAM to a local computer shop, and they said
everything tested OK (though I did not see them do it.)
The MB is NOT in a case.
Click to expand...

How are you turning the power supply on? If the MB is not in a case, you
need to briefly short the power switch header on the MB in order to turn on
the system.

See page 15 of your manual for the location of this header.
Will the MB not power if there is no IDE drive connected? How can it work in
the shop and then an hour later, not work in my house? Wiring problems??? (I
Click to expand...

The MB and CPU is enough of a load to be able to switch on the power
supply. However, you may want to hook up a video card and monitor if you
want to see what you're doing. :-)
 
Thank you to all! Yes, I needed to short the power switch header - and then
voila! it works.
Also, yes it is a surprise, but the asrock mb does not have a 2x2 12V
header.
Thank you again!
 
Had a similar problem with an ASUS mobo p4 3.2 system i built friday
evening... Turns out i was looking at the manual funny for the "chassis"
connectors and was shorting the wrong two pins with the switch... sure
enough... pulled the board, and noticed that the colors were different... so
i shorted two adjacent orange based pins and viola startage.... really tough
to make out what some of them are for once inside the case.. i should have
taken the time to learn it outsid ethe case, and test it outside before
dropping it in.. that way i would only have to drop it in once... and i do
see that you tested the PS with another mobo to see if it woudl start...
something else to do is take a piece of old speakre wire or something and
connect it from the "Green" wire on the main connnector to any "BLACK" wire
on the same connector, double check your work, then check it again, and
again... then flip the switch on the PS and its fan and any other goodies
you have plugged in should start to life.... (note that its NOT plugged in
to the MB at this time!). Great way for a quick test to fine tune "won't
start" problems...
 
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