GA-870A-UD3

[Tiz418]

I am building a computer and I cannot get the motherboard to power up, I have checked the power supply and it is good. What else could be causing this problem?
Thanks Anthony

[absic]

Hi there,

you don't give us much to go on here. Can you post back with fuller details of what you are using, CPU, RAM, Make of PSU, Graphics card HDD's etc. Thanks

[Tiz418]

Sorry about that I have
1. AMD Phenom 2 CPU
2. ATI RADEON HD4850 video card
3. AMPX DDR3 AMPX 4gb kit RAM
4. Rosewill green series 80 plus PSU

[absic]

OK,

Can you tell us which Phenom ii CPU you are using, which revision number your motherboard is and also what the power rating of your PSU is (450 watt, 500 watt....)?

The reasons a motherboard doesn't start can be dependant on such things and the more information you can provide the easier it is for us to help.

Have you made sure all of the power connectors are installed properly? The 24 pin, 8 pin ATX (the 8 pin socket near the CPU) and the one for the graphics card? Have you tried starting the PC outside of the PC Case? If you're not sure how to do this check out a build review I posted here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,3619.msg27149.html#msg27149 as it might give you a few pointers.

[Tiz418]

AMD Phenom II Black Edition X4 Processor
REV. 3.0
630 watt

[absic]

AMD Phenom II Black Edition X4 Processor

thanks for the info but which model is it? 965, 1090T, etc

The first thing I would advise you to do is take a step back and remove everything from the motherboard except for the CPU and cooler. Double check that you have made all of the correct connections for the power supply to the motherboard and also check that you have correctly installed the connectors to the motherboard headers from the PC Case.

Make sure you have a motherboard speaker attached and, when you are happy that all connections are made properly, try and start the PC. You should get some beeps from the motherboard speaker. Does this happen?

[Tiz418]

The model is 955.

I took everything off of the motherboard except the CPU and cooling fan. I don,t even get a light on the motherboard that says it gets power

[absic]

OK, take the motherboard out of the PC Case and place it onto a cardboard box.

Leave the CPU and CPU Cooler attached.
Plug the 24 pin and 8 pin plugs from the PSU into the correct sockets on the motherboard.
Attach the motherboard speaker to the headers on the motherboard.
DO NOT attach any of the other headers from the PC Case at this stage.
Switch the Power Supply on at the mains and also double check if there is an On/OFF switch on the back of the PSU that it is also switched on.

Now you need to be very careful with this next step.....
Locate the 2 pins labelled Power Switch on the Front Panel Header on the motherboard (Check page 28? of the User's Manual for details)
Using a small flat bladed screwdriver touch the 2 pins to make a connection across them.( Be very careful here as, if the motherboard starts at this stage it can make you jump!) You shouldn't need to keep the screwdriver in contact with the pins as touching them will either start the motherboard or it won't.
What happens?

[Tiz418]

How do I determine if I have a bad motherboard.

[Dark Mantis]

You follow absics advice and if it doesn't start chances are you mobo is poorly!