[SLL] OT--Hardware: New Build Won't go to POST

[Mitch Frazier]

I see you're making progress, so this is probably useless information
but I'll relay an experience I had building a couple of systems awhile
back.  I built two systems using Antec P-150 cases.  There were early
problems with the power supplies that came with these cases that caused
systems to fail to POST, although according to Antec it was only with a
couple of specific motherboards.

One of the systems worked without problem.  The other wouldn't POST.
Neither one had one of the supposedly problematic motherboards.  After a
very disorganized trial and error process the second system seemed to
start working and so I forgot about it.  This second system was run
head-less and keyboard-less/mouse-less for a year without problem.  Then
I moved it and put a keyboard, mouse, and monitor on it.  Wouldn't POST.

Using a somewhat less disorganized trial and error process I first
discovered that it would POST as long as no hard drive was attached.
Checked the hard drive, it was good.  Tried numerous other hard drives,
but no POST.  This didn't seem good and I suspected it had a problematic
power supply like many of the early P-150 cases had, even though my
cases were not "early".

Just before firing off a nasty gram to Antec I tried unplugging the PS/2
keyboard and lo and behold it booted up without problem, well except it
didn't have a keyboard.  Found that I could plug the keyboard in after
the boot process had started and as long as I timed it right and didn't
cause too much of an ESD doing it, that everything was fine.  Well, not
100% fine, unplugging and re-plugging the keyboard during boot was not
really a solution.  Ordered me up a USB keyboard to see if that might
solve the problem.  It did, its been working without problems ever since.

I know, it seems unlikely.  So if you choose not to believe me I won't
be offended.

Abha Harting wrote:
> OK, now I get a screen, but I get a message CPU over voltage error and then
> the thing shuts down before I can get into the Bios to fix it.
> 
> I got a retail box CPU, but the fan (who on earth designs these things?) is
> only secured on three of four sides, and one side keeps popping out of the
> holes on the board that are supposed to secure it.
> 
> With all the Athons I built, the CPU fan attached to notches on the
> processor socket so there was something very fixed to hold on to. But with
> this fan sits above the CPU like a chair, and there are holes in the board
> that 4 little clips go into that in THEORY are supposed to hold it in
> place....nice theory if it would work.
> 
> Maybe that is why it keeps shutting down?? I guess I better check my specs
> though as I never found a mobo that didn't autodectect the voltage on the
> CPU.
> 
> Abha
>