Hi All,
I just put a new m/b and 2.6 Ghz Intel in my pc. After the installation of the components was complete I powered up and ... nothing ... well, not nothing, but very little. Both the power supply fan and cpu fan start up, and i see lights on my CD drives, but my monitor never even blinks. I believe that I should here beeps during POST processing, but I don't think the machine is even going that far. Anyone out there have any ideas ..

Thanks in advance,
bjw

You may be aware that the POST beeps are actually a diagnostic code - by translating the sequence of long and short beeps (like morse code), you can tell what the PC has got a problem with when it doesn't start. Therefore, when you don't even get to the POST, it's really hard to tell what's wrong!

My advice in this situation is to remove as many components from the system as you can. Leave the motherboard, processor and memory connected and the graphics card if it has a separate one and then disconnect everything else. If that works, then re-connect each other item one by one.

If going back to a "bare bones" system doesn't get you to the post, then consider the following:

1. Are there jumpers on the motherboard that need to be set for CPU multiplier and bus speed (unlikely if it's as modern as a 2.6GHz)?
2. Can the motherboard actually support the speed of your processor (bus speed and multiplier)?
3. Have you changed the memory? If so, can your board support your old memory, just for a test? If you didn't change the memory, were you meant to?!
4. Remove the backup battery for 30 seconds (same as doing a BIOS Reset). This will wipe any settings in the BIOS and return them to factory defaults. This is the most compatible setup that the manufacturer is able to ship the board with and, therefore, it's the most likely to work before it gets a chance to auto-configure your CPU settings etc.

Hope that helps

DJNafey
IT Manager and system builder

Can I just best guess here (oh go on lemme do it?)

Usually the one bit on a new build that's a complete pig to fit correctly is the AGP card (please say you have one) ensure it's seated correctly, remember the mobo will tend to bow away from it as you apply pressure.

And yes I know it's x beeps for no graphics adapter, but if like me you get the fiddly internal speaker wiring wrong (and who needs an internal spkr ennyways?)

BTW What BIOS are you running / attempting to run?

PS Check out the FSB as said, cos it's either the 2.4 or 2.6Ghz that was made in two flavours 266 and 333Mhz FSB.

PPS 2nd guess - RAM :-)