New build checklist

New build checklist

Right, this is mostly for when shit goes wrong.

Problems:

Nothing at all happens.

You've probably fucked up, make sure all the cables that feed your mobo are plugged in, also check you've wired the power switch right.

also test your machine with the motherboard on a table (NOT THE STATIC BAG) it could be something shorting on your case.

Fans spin for a second, then nothing happens.

This can be a number of things

Usually, it'll just be mis-seated ram or pci(e) card. poke everything and try again. also try booting with only cpu, ram and heatsink. it'll almost certainly post, but you won't see much, add stuff in again one by one - likely it'll work once it's happy.

This can also be caused by a PSU that's not up to the job, so follow berk's rule of PSU success (spend £50+ on a 5-600w PSU)

Potentially also a cpu heat issue, you have remembered the heatsink, haven't you?

POST failing, but getting beeps.

RTFM, poke whatever is indicated.

http://www.amptron.com/html/bios.beepcodes.html can also be handy, but the manual will be more accurate.

It's usually the ram anyway. poke it.

Also worth flashing the bios (again, RTFM) to ensure happy compatibility, though in extreme cases this may require old hardware that's more compatible.

Windows install FAIL.

RAM setup wrong, fucked drives, fucked cables. pick one.