08/11/2003 1:30 AM okay before i get into the nature of the problem here is some background information on my system 2100+ amd athlon soyo dragon lite (? not certain of this, but it is soyo) motherboard 512 crucial ram 80 gig maxtor/ 120 gig wd harddrives santa cruz sound card ati radeon 8500 all in wonder dv 17" kogi lcd i built this system myself about a year ago and just recently i replaced the cpu thermal paste with a thermal pad as i heard it was better and i moved down an HD one slot. now the computer will not start. it powers up per se but there is usually a beep and then images on the monitor, there is no beep and consequently no image. what is the problem? my friend said it was a busted cpu but even with that shouldn't i get some beeps? thanks for the help dave

When you moved the HD down, did you make sure the IDE's were in right? No beep means the pc is failing POST (power on self test), which often happens on a newly built pc when the ide cables are reversed somewhere. Good luck!

Thermal tape is not as good as a VERY THIN film of thermal grease. It's an idiot proof way of installing a CPU. It is more of an insulator than a conductor of heat. The IDE suggestion above is a good idea but if you didn't observe good antistatic methods inside your case you could have killed more than just the CPU. I'd check to see if the CPU is properly seated and has no bent pins. Reseat the RAM as well.

the cpu never left its seat however i did examine it after my computer started having problems and it is physically allright. does a busted cpu still start POST? i did not remove the IDE cables when i moved the HD down because i just had to slide it down. and when i encounter the problems i did unplug and replug the power cables into the hd as well as the IDE cables. thanks for any further info

If the CPU or MEM mod or MB went bad it probably wouldn't post. Do the fans spin and drives light? if not then maybe the power supply has issues. the way it works is this: -PS Pin 9 is standby +5V to the MB. This must be present for the rest to work. -push "on" button -MB signals the PS pin14 with a ground(lo) signal. -the PS checks +3.3V and +5V and drives PS PIN 8 high(5V) signaling the MB and power is ok, and the boot process begins. ATX PS so if the PS fan isn't spinning and pin 14 is low there may be a PS issue. if pin 14 is floating then there's an MB issue. of course the 12V supply isn't checked but that mostly runs the other fans and drives. That's a start. post back

all the fans spin fine, the cd drive all light up and the hd also warms up. i keep hearing that if the cpu is bad bios will still post, with errors, is this always the case? i will try another mobo today, but that is a last resort

I'm not so sure. Diring POST the processor goes on a discovery mission to see what it's connected to. If the CPU isn't active most MB'S will be mute.