New build - monitor does not start - now what?

I am assembling a new computer. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H and has onboard graphics. The specs indicate it has an ATI Raedon HD 3200

http://tinyurl.com/yqntfh

however, the User Manual does not indicate it. It does have video ports for D-Sub port and DVI-D port and HDMI Port. The rest of the installed components are listed below. I installed the HD and the DVD-RW using SATA cables. This was new for me as the last one i built didn't have that.

Anyway, I power up and the lcd's light up indicating power to the MB but the monitor does not turn on. Without a screen it is difficult for me to diagnose the problem. All I know for sure is that there is power to the motherboard. here are the components I have installed. Any suggestions on where to start would be greatly appreciated.

Raidmax Sagitta 2 ATX-928 Mid tower with 450 W power supply

Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H Motherboard

AMD AThlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6 Ghz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor

A-Data 4FB (2X2GB) 240 Pin DDR 2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K

Western Digital Caviar SE14 WE3200AAKS 320GB PRM SATA 3.0 Gb/s Hard Drive

Lite-On 20X DVD +-R DVED Burner with Light Scribe SATA Model

Rosewill RCX-Z3 92mm Ball CPU Cooler.

I will use Microsoft XP Pro 64Bit SP2C when i get the monitor working.

Thanks

 

To which of the three video ports do you currently have the monitor connected?

 

The D Sub port. That is the only one that the monitor will fit into. PS I am using the monitor on the computer I am typing this with. It's the "old fashioned" monitor port I am used to.

 

My initial thought was that you had the monitor connected to a port the MB would not output video to until you have an OS and drivers installed. In the absence of other issues, you should be getting video out of the D-sub.

 

I considered that too but realizing that one cannot install the OS without a monitor, that can't be it. The only other thing coming to mind is there is a problem with the memory. I am not sure what would happen if there was no memory but I suppose the monitor would not turn on. Other than that, I am scratching my head.

 

You might consider using the CMOS clear jumper to reset the BIOS settings to factory defaults (although I would expect a NIB motherboard to come that way already). At least you would know the legacy ports should be enabled under the default settings.

 

Hmm.. i would try it if I knew what you meant. I have no idea how to use a CMOS clear jumper... come to think of it.. i don't even know what one is. Can you explain it another way? I am a little out of my element here ... thanks

 

Page 32 of your manual, item 20.

 

wow... you amaze me... thx.. i will let you know how it goes.

 

another thing, go back and double, triple check all power connections, esp the one for your cpu, and if needed, one for the video card (but you say its onboard, ok) and reseat the memory....if all else fails, try disconnecting anything that isn't needed to get a boot up (hard drive, cdrom, etc)

 

Ok.. have double and triple checked connections and reset memory and cleared CMOS to no avail. I did notice something that I am certain is relevant.

I have a USB splitter which I use on my old computer. It connects by USB port in the back and has blue LED's indicating which ones are in use. When I start my computer, they light up for a few seconds before going dark while Windows boots. Then they come back on.

On the new computer, they do not light up at all. I attached a little speaker to the MB which is the one I assume would make the same tone as my current computer does when I first turn it on. The new one does not beep.

I am not hearing the HD grind or the DVD player spin like my old one but, given the old one is 4 yrs old, I don't know if it is "new" quiet or "not working" quiet.

I have made sure the big power plug as well as the smaller CPU plug are both connected properly. Maybe the MB is bad?

 

if you aren't hearing or seeing anything, then make sure you have the little connections right, power button, reset button, hdd light, etc. thats a very common one...