New PSU Won't Power On

Hello,
I just bought a new power supply and after connecting everything my computer won't power on. This is the first time I put a PSU in...

I connected the 24-pin motherboard connection and the 4-pin motherboard connection. Then I connected the hard drive and DVD-RW drive with SATA connections. And then I connected the GPU with a PCI 6-pin connector. I closed up the case and then connected all the peripherals, switched on the power and switched it on the computer. Nothing happened.

Notes: This PSU had a 8-pin motherboard connector too. I just tucked it under the cords in a free space.


HP Pavilion p6350z CTO Desktop PC
AMD Athlon II X4 2.6 GHz Processor
3GB DDR3 SDRAM
Palit GTS250 E-Green 1 GB DDR3
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

 

Nothing? No beeps, fans, etc.?

Unplug everything except the 24-pin, see if you get any indication of life, and build from there. Since you were having video card issues originally, you might try using onboard video as a troubleshooting step.

And, you can always reinstall your old PSU, see if your original symptoms have changed.

 

So I can power it on with just the 24-pin plugged in you mean? And yes, absolutely nothing happens when I switch it on.

 

The system won't work with just the 24-pin - it's only a troubleshooting step.

If you connect your old PSU (which we know was working), and the computer powers up, then that's a pretty good indicator that either something's not connected correctly with the new PSU, or that the new PSU could be bad.

 

Okay, I tried with just the 24-pin and nothing happened again. Put the old PSU back in and the old graphics card and now I'm up and running... Does that mean the PSU was dead on arrival? I am pretty sure everything was connected right. Here are the list of connections I have:

24-pin motherboard
4-pin motherboard
SATA Hard drive
SATA DVD-RW
6-Pin PCI-E

SATA and 6-pin PCI-E came with the unit and I added them on as needed. I left off a second SATA plug and a second PCI-E plug that also came with it. So everything that my old PSU had was reconnected. The one difference is that the old PSU has no PCI-E connectors (though it doesn't matter since it can't run my GTS 250 anyway...).

For reference:
New: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W
Old: BESTEC POWER SUPPLY 300W ATX0300D5WB

 

Ok - first, please download and install Everest, a free system information tool.

Run Everest and click Report (top menu) > Report Wizard > Next - Choose System Summary Only > Next - Choose Plain Text > Finish and wait for report to generate.
Click Save to File and leave the File Name as Report, then click the Save as Type dropdown and choose Report files (*txt) - click Save (n.b. Save to desktop, use Browse to locate desktop).

Then attach your log to your next post per these instructions: HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post.

My next step would be to reinstall the new supply, but use the old graphics card (or onboard video). This might tell us if something happened to the GTS 250.

 

I'm linking back to your GTS 250 driver thread for reference.

 

Okay, here is the log you wanted. I might give the PSU one last go today with the old card as you said (although I cut my hand in that cramped HP case, lol...).

 

That report's not showing too much, is it? Unknown motherboard, unknown BIOS, unknown CPU - yikes!

Yeah, I'd try the supply with the old card, just to rule out anything we're missing.

Sorry about your hand!

 

Most replacement PSU's will have a voltage compatibility switch on the back of the supply.
I've purchased PSU's that were set up to go to S. America and they were all set to 220vac input. They would not start up till I reset the switch to 110vac. Having been bit by that dog several times already, I now check every PSU that I buy, to make sure they are set for the correct input voltage.

I've never personally had a DOA (dead on arrival) PSU, but I've heard of many. So that could be a problem too.
I have a PSU tester that I'd use on that supply so see if it's working.
I'd think that any computer shop could test that new PSU for you.
If you bought that PSU from a local store, take it back.

Good Luck!
Shadow

 

Also, stupid suggestion, but make sure the switch on the back of the PSU is turned on.

 

My bad!

I forgot that one.
OEM PSU's usually don't have an On/Off switch on the back of the PSU, but replacement PSU's usually do.

Cheers!

 

Okay... I feel really dumb but I think I didn't turn the PSU power switch on last time. I tried it with my old graphics card and everything booted fine.

Now I booted with the new graphics card but I am getting the blank desktop background again, but I am able to get into safe mode. This time it didn't even give windows a chance to install the driver before the blank desktop background problem occurred.

Thanks for the help and thank you for anymore suggestions you may come up with.

 

Yep, I shoulda seen the power switch coming...jeez...:-o

Back to square one. The possibility exists that the GTS-250 may have been damaged, both electronics-wise and/or fan-wise, by the inadequate PSU - hope not, but be advised.

I'm not a graphics card guru, but there are some good ones here - I'm sure someone will jump in shortly. Hang in there!

 

Okay, thank you.

Like I said, I'm pretty new at this, but the GTS 250 fan is facing and about a centimeter away from the soundcard. It seems weird to me, but I only have the 1 slot for the graphics card to go.

Also, I have the card plugged in via a PCI-E cable that came with this PSU. On my old PSU it didn't have one of those so I had it connected via a PCI to peripheral jack? (I guess it's called...).

 

Okay guys, I am starting to regret this whole upgrade attempt. : (

New problem: DVD-RW drive won't open.

About the graphics card: I was thinking I should try this one more time, but I need some clarification on the process as I have been getting confused in my own research. Right now I have a GTS 210 with Driver 260.99. Now, the GTS 250 also uses this driver. Should I uninstall this before I put in the GTS 250?

Also, I am confused about what Windows is installing when I put the GPU in. For example, when I put my GTS 210 in it said it was installing AVG video or something like that (it disappeared too fast to read). Is that called a driver too? The reason I am asking is because when I install the GTS 250 windows installs something similar but this time it prompts me to restart and that is when things go wrong (desktop background/loud fan). Now I have tried to install the drivers from Nvidia after Windows installs the driver (or whatever you call it...) and before restarting, but this didn't work out either.

I'm concerned about the Everest log. My motherboard and BIOS are listed as unknown. I am afraid to go for another card if I can manage to get refunded for this one because I'm not sure if it's a broken card or something broken/wrong on my end. I was reading that some BIOS problems can cause problems with a new card too.

Is there a way to wipe out all the Nvidia stuff before I attempt to install the GTS 250 again? I was thinking it might be a problem if there are traces of the GTS 210 left over since they use the same driver.

Sadly, I can't test this card in another computer to see for sure if its good or bad. Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated, and please pardon my newbie-ness. : (

For reference here is the specs for the computer: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01996842&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=4147109

The PSU was upgraded to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-341-016&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

 

From the HP link, it appears your motherboard is a Foxconn H-RS880-uATX - I didn't see any updates, but that doesn't mean there isn't one available.
You might want to gather the drivers they do offer, especially chipset, for future use - for that matter, a chipset driver reinstall wouldn't hurt.

Grab Driver Sweeper if you're going to try uninstalling and reloading the graphics drivers.

One thing that jumps at me in the HP link, Hardware Options, is that the GTS 250 is not listed as a required item.
Is it possible that this motherboard might not support the GTS 250? Again, maybe a graphics guru can explore this.

The optical not opening has got to be unrelated...to be sure...I sure hope it's a different problem...please...

 

Okay, I fixed the DVD-RW drive. I think the plug just got knocked out cause its really close to the power supply.

Yeah, now that I look at that documentation I feel worried that I can't put anything better than a ATI 5450 in here, but that seems weird. I'm not even sure a ATI 5450 is going to run the games I want to play well, but it's probably better than the GTS 210 at least and cheaper than the 250...

Okay, so I swept off the Nvidia Drivers but when I installed the driver I downloaded it failed to install PhysX and some 3D thing. I'm not sure if that's a problem but it did install the main driver. Restarted and the same problem persists.

Anyway, I am trying to return this card. I'd really like it to work, but if it is broken then I'm just causing myself grief for no reason. The problem now is that I am hesitant on which card I should get. I really want it to work out next time. I just read a few things online about this motherboard since you brought it up that gave me the impression that it would function with a 9800 (which in my research I heard is basically the same chip set as a GTS 250) and also an ATI 5770. So, based on that it's possible that my experience really is just a fluke. I know you could build a solid case against me based on my PSU installation and DVD-RW problem, but I can assure you I have been pretty thorough in the case of the graphics card (probably why I overlooked the other two things).

Thanks for the help. I'll check back here still in case someone comes up with a solution. Hopefully I can return this no problem and get a new working one...

 

Good enough - keep us posted. :major

 

Hey Caliban,
Thanks a lot for sticking with me. ^^

I was able to return the GTS 250 and I bought a ATI Radeon 5770 from newegg.com. I just installed it and it seems to be working with no problem and it is nice and quiet.

If anything, this experience has made me a lot more comfortable with the inside of my computer. I am definitely going to try to build my next machine after all the research I've been doing!

Thanks again to everyone who helped!

Edit: Here is the one I got in case you're interested: Radeon 5770

 

Sweet! Looks like a good price, and I've heard/read that that's a fine card.

Thanks for hanging in there, and for keeping us up to date - now, with your newly honed expertise and knowledge, you can pitch in and help us here at MG!

:major