I just spent the whole day building my first system. I'm so angry I could spit. Anyway - After hooking what I needed up for my first post. I flicked the on/off switch then the power switch - and nothing. I shouldn't say noting - I have a little green LED that indicated that power is getting to the Mobo. But I get nothing else. No fans on the PSU or Fans in the Case. No CPU Fan. I checked all my leads for the switches and the componants - They look good. When I first try to throw the switch on the PC I can hear the faintest of clicks from the PSU. The PSU has a light inside it that does illuminate.

I tried checking my main power leads. They are orientated correctly.

Now the interesting part I guess - If I disconnect the ATX12V1 lead from the PSU to the Mobo - and I turn it on - I get lights and spinning fans - but obviously no boot. Not sure where my issue is - PSU or Mobo. I'm using an ASUS P5AD2- Premium and an Aspire X Navigator Case with a 500 Watt PSU. Anybody ever see anything like this?

Thanks

You should always test a board before installing it in the case.

Just lay it on the bench, install the CPU, HSF, & RAM (you should do this outside the case anyway)...then connect a PSU, temporarily install a video card, connect a monitor & keyboard, then "jump start" with a screwdriver. Once it boots up, go directly into the BIOS & check the Hardware Monitoring menu. If the temps look good, run thru all the BIOS settings & tweak them as necessary, save the settings & shutdown...THEN install it in the case.

Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro

BTW, what are the specs on that PSU? What manufacturer & how many amps on the +12v rail?

Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro

Hi

The PSU is made by Aspire, it's 500 W and the 12v Rail has 34A. I'll take your advice about pre-testingin the future. After painstakenly assembling for hours, it's unbelievably frustrating. And what little I do know - I still can't tell if it's a bad lead on the PSU or a bad connector on the mobo. ASUS web site keeps blowing up on me and Aspire provides no help at all. I should have bought an Intel where at least someone answers the phone.

Also, How do I junp start with a Screwdriver?

Well, that PSU has plenty of power

Best thing to do would be disassemble it down to the bare minimum. Remove all cards but video...disconnect the power & IDE cables to all HDD & optical drives. Disconnect the floppy & any cooling fans. Unplug the mouse & any USB devices. All you need is the hardware I mentioned above:

PSU, board, CPU w/HSF, video, ONE stick of RAM, & keyboard. Make sure the case wires are connected properly & see if it'll fire up. If it does, something you removed/disconnected wasn't installed properly...if it doesn't, you've narrowed it down to just a few possibilities.

To "jump start" a board with a screwdriver, you just momentarily touch the blade across the 2 pins that the case power switch would normally connect to

Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8.5 x 200MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro

Thanks Jam -

Just to let you know - I followed your instructions. I disconnected everything but the items you listed, and it's still reacting the same. To sumarize - If the 12v lead from the PSU is engaged on the Mobo - I get a faint click - and then nothing. If I remove the 12v Connection and leave just the 24 Pin Connection - When I flip the switch on the back of the PSU, I get a flash from the PSU lights and then a quick spin of the CPU H/S/F and Video Card Fan. Then it stops. If I jump it with the screwdriver - I get the PSU lights, Fans, and CPU Fan and Vid Card Fan spinning. IF I unplug the PSU and put the 12V connector back in it's mobo slot - I'm back to nothing. At this point, I'm just trying to figure out who I need to call on Monday, The PSU company or the mobo. My untrained eye thinks it could be a problem with the PSU 12v lead.