Ive never built a comp before and have had some help from a friend who now isn't returning my messages for help.
I've put all the parts together, plugged in the comp and press the button, it turns on but the screen stays blank, or turns itself off when the comp goes on.
Also the cd drive won't open when i press the button (is this the cd drive or some other problem)
Any suggestions about the problems and how to fix?
I don't remember the specs for my comp but the screen is quite old, I'm using my brothers old one till I can afford and LCD.
2007-12-17 11:20:24 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
Yo have the screen plugged in right? and the power button on? Did you make sure everything was connected in the right location?
Good luck
2007-12-17 11:35:30 · answer #1 · answered by The Truth 2.0 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are there any settings for the video to use different types of outputs such as DVI or VGA? Most recognize this by themselves and shouldn't need to be fooled with. Is it onboard video or an add-on video card? If an add-on video card I would say double check to make sure it is seated properly and all connections are connected properly. Sounds like it may be a power issue if it is an add-on video card. Newer video cards usually have a connector to plug in an additional power plug. If it is connected then check to make sure you have plenty of power from the PSU and the PSU is big enough to handle the add-on card.
If the computer does have onboard video and you are trying to use an add-on video card then try removing the video card and connecting just the onboard video to see if the monitor is working properly. If you have a second computer handy connect the monitor to it to see if the monitor is working properly.
You may have a bad motherboard to cause this problem or if it is an add-on video card it may be bad as well. Try getting them RMA'ed. If ATI then I could understand the problems, lol. I had a lot of bad problems with my ATI card and had to get it RMA'ed 3 times to get a decent one and it still doesn't work right. I am now an Nvidia fan.
The optical drive could be that the power connector was not hooked up. Does any lights come on even when starting up after the computer had been shut down? If not then I would check the power connector. Unless it is SATA hard drive, the power should run through the same cord and draw power from the motherboard. Make sure the BIOS(that is if you are able to see the BIOS screen at all) settings for the optical drive are set properly. Sometimes the BIOS not being set properly will not allow video to work right or even the optical drives.
It is a process of elimination to narrow down and fix the problems. Try removing the optical drive and trying a different one if you have a spare laying around.
2007-12-17 11:37:28 · answer #2 · answered by msdz2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The problem can be many things. Are you using an on-board video card? One problem can be your computer cpu might be backwards. Try turning it around, then start the machine.
Is your CD rom IDE or sata? If it is IDE, make sure that the cable is on the last prong setting. Some motherboards do not allow the optical drive to work if on the wrong prong. Make sure that there is power to the CD rom as well and that the jumper is on master.
2007-12-17 11:29:26 · answer #3 · answered by Manitou 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
check all your cabling, having cables in backwards or misaligned can cause the CD problem, also make sure its jumpered to the appropriate Master / slave if its on an IDE ribbon. Or preferably use C-Select.
Building computers are both very easy, and very complected if you do are not sure of a couple basic principles.
2007-12-17 11:25:58 · answer #4 · answered by Knight_Times 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What are the specs for the computer? What motherboard, graphics card, etc?
2007-12-17 13:11:58 · answer #5 · answered by Michael H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋