New build with GA-X58A-UD3R - phase leds on

[ArturoD]

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev. 2.0
Processor Intel I7-930 2.8 Ghrz
RAM DDR3 6GB 1333MHZ F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ G.skill
NVIDIA GEFORCE 8400 GS 512MB DDR2
power  600W EXTREME POWER CoolerMaster
Kingston SSDNow V100 Series 64GB
SSD 160Gb SATA (o SATA2) 72000rpm <- i want to boot win 7 64 from this one
HDD SATA3 500GB 7200RPM WD5000AAKX   Western Digital *cache 16mb
Case HAF-912 black RC-912-KKN1   CoolerMaster

I think i wired everything properly, but since im new to this, and this is my first attempt to build my pc, i guess i must have overlooked something.

The symptoms: My pc does turn on, so does the fans and front leds and dvd writer, but makes not a single noise and a few leds in the motherboard which are described as the Phase LEDs turn on: a group related to the ram, and other to the cpu. The cpu group has 1 green 3 yellow and two reds; the ram has one green followed by another yellow, then another green and another yellow. Also, there is no video signal.

I took a few shots, so you can have a better idea of how looks everything

NOTE: I didnt connected cables to this, since i understood it was optional, and im not trying to overclock the system soon, since my priority is too be able to use my pc to work, mainly with video and photos.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2570/5749531745_2e3b3f1254_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/5749532437_535fe0141c_b.jpg

the LEDs
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/5750077258_6c3940d304_b.jpg

everything looking more or less normal. the video card is ok: i tested it in another pc
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3611/5749531899_455de0a00d_b.jpg

power
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/5749532035_a05cf85bd3_b.jpg

hdd and ssd (i left the hdd unplugged, since i want to install windows 7 in the ssd)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/5749532173_8aeecea503_b.jpg

SATA0 = SSD ; SATA1 = DVD writer; GSATA 3 = HDD (i avoided the gigabyte satas, since i read they have caused trouble to other users)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/5750077970_0e160eb21c_b.jpg

I tried removing two of the three rams, but the leds kept saying things i couldnt understand (what do the mean?!)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/5749532649_a551207687_b.jpg

The front panel cables. i read that the triangle in the cables = positive charge, so i place them that way.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/5750078396_edfe4508cc_b.jpg

power cable 20+4 pins. i think its ok
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3366/5749533003_a94b2245a1_b.jpg

Ram (2Gbx3)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/5750078690_d8414f9492_b.jpg

Hope this helps you to help me find what i cand do and figure what went wrong. what i can do?
I hope it can be fixed :S i need it to work (so i can earn a few bucks to pay school, lol hahaha)!

[Aussie Allan]

 Welcome  Arturo

  Great board....I have one!........If I understand you correctly........pic 2 shows an empty 8pin connector , power supply has a cable to go here!

 this needs to be filled/powered to post!...........the lights on my board always come on and go out while it initialises through the post cycle finding what's in bios....this is normal

 I see no reason not to populate all white ram slots with memory as it's all new kit, if you have problems go back to 1 slot to fault find.

  Board should give you one short beep during the first 5 to 10 seconds of post ... this is normal

 Aussie Allan

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

I think Allan has already gone over most of it and is certainly correct about the 8 pin 12v ATX socket needs connecting to the PSU.

The LEDs should all light up and then go out as POST progresses.

I notice that you are using the PATA port as well as the SATA ports. This in general is not a good idea and can cause problems. Change your PATA drive to SATA.

[ArturoD]

Thanks for answering back. tomorrow i will try plugin the 8 pin connector. in the manual i read something that confused me, because i understood that one wasnt needed. what does it do?

About the ram, i initially filled the white slots, but since i read that sometimes a faulty memory can make the system unstable, and turn on some warnings, i tried removing two, and see if something changed, but as you can see in the pics, it was all the same. so, i guess that the ram are still working fine.

Where i can read, or can you explain me what those led means? they scare me a bit, hahaha

well, as soon as i return to my home, and try what you told me, ill be back to report whatever happens (i went out for a few beers since today i have nothing important to do, well not a compromise anyway)

By the way, do you know where i can read more about the anatomy of my motherboard. And thanks

[ArturoD]

Hi

I think Allan has already gone over most of it and is certainly correct about the 8 pin 12v ATX socket needs connecting to the PSU.

The LEDs should all light up and then go out as POST progresses.

I notice that hyou are using the PATA port as well as the SATA ports. This in general is not a good idea and can cause problems. Change your PATA drive to SATA.

the pata would be where i conected the gsata (6gb)? i conected a sata dvd to a sata slot, and also under it, i conected the ssd; since the hdd, in one of the last photos, is sata 3 (or so it says, even when it has very low cache), i conected it to the sata ports managed by the Chipset Marvell.

is sata_0 the right one to use the ssd to boot? what i should wire them properly?   

[ArturoD]

i just read that pata means ide lol

well, i wanted to recycle the old cd driver, but if that could make things messed up, then i will remove it -_-

what could happen if i have an ide cd along with everything else sata?

[Dark Mantis]

When running both PATA and SATA together you might be lucky and just get away with it without any problems but it can cause issues. Sometimes one of the drives will just not show up or it can make things more unstable. For the price of an optical drive you might as well change it.

The manual is the only place really to check up what your LEDs mean and learn more about your motherboard.

The boot drive on SATA2_0 is the best option.

Put all the memory modules into the white slots and hopefully they will be fine.

The 12v ATX power is a subsidery power supply to the board and is mainly for the CPU.

[ArturoD]

thanks. i did checked the manual, but it didnt say much about the leds. ill take my time to read more.

the rams were initially all in the white slots, and they are still there. as i said, i just wanted to try turning it on without two, to see if it was related to one damaged ram, but now thanks to both of you, i know that i overlooked the 4+4pin hahaha. At least now i know i did almost everything as i should have, so i hope everything will be fine when i go back to my home, and conect that where it belongs.

Thanks Aussie Allan and Dark Mantis. ill be back to report whatever happens.
Thanks a lot.

[Dark Mantis]

There is not a great deal of information about the LEDs. What you have to try and do is marry it up to the information in the BIOS section.

[Aussie Allan]

  Ditto ,...not a lot anywhere on those leds.... my philosophy is ...Green, fine..........Orange......fine and faster.......Red.......Back-off quick unless you really know what your doing

 Aussie Allan

[ArturoD]

Everything went fine. Looks like everything is ok, except that the processor temp is usually around 54 celcius degrees, without being overclocked (and since i dont want to push this to its limits, and lose it, its not a concern). Guess ill have to buy a decent termal grease. Anyway, thanks for helping me so soon.

[Aussie Allan]

 Better thermal grease good.........Better cooler and thermal grease....better

 Aussie Allan

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I am in total agreement with Allan there. Using the stock cooler is ok but it doesn't do such a great job. Better to go for something like the Noctua NH D14 if you want to stay on air.