I need help setting up a computer for a friend with a newborn.

the specs are ECS NFORCE4-939 mobo, AMD athlon 64 3200+, ati Radeon x300SE 128 PCI express video card, and 1 512MB DDR PC3200 chip.
500 watt PS, 20 pin plugged into 24 pin mobo slot as illustrated in the manual.

the problem is there is no signal to the monitor. power light comes on, fans spin, but no post screen or anything. i've tried several old pci cards with no signal. i also can't find where the speaker is supposed to be plugged in to find out if there are any beeps. looking through the manual i've tried the audio1 front panel pins 1+3 (page 20) without any beeps, but not sure that's correct location.(http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWeb/Product...ailName=Manual)

i've also tried different memory and all 4 memory slots without any changes in the outcome. with and without hard disks plugged in, floppy drive, etc. still no signal to the moniter.

I read in a different post that 20 pin power plugged into 24 pin spot isn't recommended, but the manual doesn't state this as a problem.
this motherboard and chip were supposed to be tested, prior to shipping, whatever that means...

i've downloaded the bios from the ecs website, but not sure if this is even the first place to start. not sure how to troubleshoot if it's just a bad board.

thanks for any advice/input/help you can provide.

no one has any ideas? I'm surprised.

Lets start with the Speaker...If the Processor/Motherboard are working, you would get a beep code with the memory removed. You have an Onboard speaker, a Piezo. So you should hear Beeps if the memory is removed.

Please note, on page 10 the manual states that the system may become unstable or unbootable with a 20pin connector...You may want to look at a different PSU.

Thanks, I'll pick up a power supply tonight and see if that solves the problem.

Looking in the manual I thought I would be able to use the 20 pin in the slots shown, provided it was more than 300W, so I used a 500W PSU.
I'll let you know if that solves the problem.

I have the exact same problem on a P4 ECS PF21. Everything seems to fire up but can't get a video signal or post beeps at all. Everything is right but I think its the PSU. Its a PowerMore 430W 20 pin but only 15A on the 12V rail. Would this be a symptom of an underpowered PSU? Tried booting just with CPU and Mem and nothing else with same trouble.

Turns out there was a simple solution to the problem. when looking at the mobo schematics and deciding whether or not to get a new power supply i noticed that there was a 4 pin square connector on the mobo and a corresponding 4 pin wire from the psu. as soon as i connected that, everything was fine, the computer posted and was able to get to cmos settings and setup the computer.
my friend was glad i figured this out so he didn't have to purchase a new psu, i'm a little embarrassed to say that we both missed this simple solution to the problem, but at least i finally solved the problem, hope this helps.

Thank you for posting what fixed your problem.

With this resolved, this thread is now closed to prevent any thread hijacking and to be used as a reference for those who have a similar problem.

If this problem or a new problem arises, please post a new thread.