Computer wont boot

[Darksteel]

I just finished building my first system:
asus a7s333 mobo
athlon xp 2200+
512 mb samsung pc2700 ram
400 W atx power supply
geforce 4 ti 4200
soundblaster live 5.1
Western digital 80gb hdd

So this is my problem. When I press the power button, the hdd led comes up followed shortly by the system power led, mouse, speakers, cpu fan, and monitor. However the moment after that my comp dies. The same thing happens a few more times, then the system power led (and only that led) stops coming on while everything stays the same. If I let it sit a couple moments then press the power button again the sytem led lights up along with everything else again. I've tried changing the power cable, and reversing the connections on my power switch but that didn't help. Also the led on the mobo is green when the main power switch in the back is on so the mobo should be getting power. My theory at this point is that my power supply is bad and won't supply a continuous current for some reason, but that's only a guess. Anyone know anything else that could be causing this problem?

[Budd]

who makes your psu? is it generic or namebrand?

[Darksteel]

it's a Duro 400 Watt atx power supply

[silencio]

I'd check to see if everything is properly seated (including the cpu) first. Then start unplugging things, harddrive(s), then one card at a time til your down to the cpu, memory, and video. If it still doesn't boot and everything's plugged in correctly start replacing those items vga first.

oh, and check your jumpers too.

[Darksteel]

well, nevermind about the not booting problem. I sat there and held the power button down for like 20 seconds and now it boots up....and sits there. and does nothing. the hdd led and cdr led flash every once in a while and my floppy led is on constantly but nothing else. so now im completely lost.

[geoscomp]

Does any image come up on your monitor during this time?
After trying the things mentioned above, and making sure the cards are seated properly, I would unplug the power cord and then clear the CMOS settings, and then try again with just the memory, processor, and video installed. If you can't get it to boot at least to the BIOS settings, then suspect the +/- 5 volts on the power supply. I would also unplug the reset button during this test. Occasionally a reset button gets stuck in the on position by a small bit of plastic in the housing. If your floppy led is on constantly, you have the cable reversed at either the floppy end or the mobo end.

[Darksteel]

well the computer comes on, but i get no video so im starting to suspect my video card at the moment, especially with the burning smell emanating from the card. so I have no clue at this point what is going on.

[silencio]

LOL. Not to laugh at your misery. Is the video card the wrong voltage?

[Darksteel]

my brother already brought that up. I can find nothing in the video card documentation about what voltage it should be, so i have no clue.

[geoscomp]

Some AGP slots have a power connector next to them for cards that require it..If you plug power into this and the card doesn't require it, you can burn out the video card

[Darksteel]

well there's nothing on my card that i could plug into anything else so its not that.

[DocPC]

I had the same problem with that damm board. Jumper the CMOS to clear, unplug the power cord for 1 min., and try changing one thing at a time.

I had issues with the boot sequence...... Finally got it sorted out, but not without some pain. Runs FAST now......

[Chris_MacMahon]

are you getting any beeps or creaps??

[geoscomp]

It's not the agp card itself usually, it is next to the socket on the mobo that the agp power connector is sometimes found

[Darksteel]

Well now things have gotten wierd and twice as annoying. My friend has a virtually identical system (the only internal difference is the vid card) and he has the exact same problem. No video, no keyboard, and the cd and hdd leds flash occasionally like it is looking for a bootable cd or something. But we dont hear the hdd spin up or the computer go through the normal boot up sounds and we dont get any sound from the internal speaker. I've tried booting with a bare bones system, ram, mobo, and vid card only but it still happens. I'll try flashing the cmos but i have a feeling it wont help. The only thing I can think of that would be a problem is somehow the mobos we got are from a defective batch but that seems kind of unlikely. Anyway I'll be checking their site for tech support, I'll call the phone number of the company I bought it from, and we'll see how it goes from there.

Heh, I'm starting to think my signature is coming back to bite me on the butt.