I recently put together a PC for the first time and everything APPEARS to be set up correctly. However, I have two problems. First, when everything is normal the POST beeps indicate (according to the mobo manual) that there is a Power Error. Second, when I unplug the power from the DVD drive there is no beeping* but I am unable to get an image on my monitor. I find it hard to imagine that my Power Supply could be the issue unless it is w/ my installation thereof; it has far, far more wattage than I need, although it is one of the less reputable brands according to these forums (coolmax), not that I knew that when I bought it. What it is the problem here?
*I guess that I have another question as well. The mobo manual says that "continuous short beeps" = power error and "one short" beep = "system boots successfully". Under the first described settings there series of beeps are very far between. Does this mean that my system is actually booting correctly? (However I still can't enter the BIOS and there is no image on the monitor). And, under the second described settings, does the lack of a beep mean that everything is fine except for not having powered the DVD drive? Or does it mean something else? I would greatly prefer that I don't have to disassemble the whole thing as it was a considerable pain to put it together in the first place.
Sorry for any confusion, this is the best I can phrase the question in short order.
Check your power connections to your motherboard. I'm guessing you have the 20/24 pin connector plugged in, and that gives you enough power for the board to turn on and fans start spinning but your computer won't boot. What you likely forgot was to plug in the 2nd power connector which is probably 4 pin, but could also be an 8-pin.
Some power supplies are tricky and have an 8pin power connector that will seperate into 2x4pin connectors, but is molded together so it might not look like they can come apart.
Unfortunately, that is not the problem; I already had that plugged in. Does anybody else have any ideas, I would really like to not have to disassemble the whole thing and start over again to find out the problem.
Do you have a dedicated graphics card? If so, check if it needs a power connector, and if so that it is connected.
You will not see an image on your screen if you don't power the DVD drive but plug its cable in - that is to be expected. However, if plugging that in causes a problem with power, you either have a faulty PSU or a faulty DVD drive. I'm going to guess the power supply unit is at fault, as too many people build systems with crappy ones these days.
