New barebones FIC VII3L won't start

Alex, as a matter of fact I did. Mine was not installed in the
case. The power supply was though. This is my first build but my
husband has done it. He checked it out for me yesterday and said
everything was put together perfectly. He got it to start while I was
at work and he said the motherboard is bad. He said it was squealing
when it started but everything (fans, lights) was running. Out of
precaution he disconnected the drives before starting it but left
everything else alone. I was concerned about the placement of the
power switch, leds, etc. but they were all labeled and the connector
that you plug them into was labeled. The diagram in the manual for
the motherboard showed exactly which pins to put them on. It's hard
for me to believe the motherboard is bad and I know they won't replace
it. Any ideas what else would cause it to squeal besides a bad
motherboard? It's not that expensive to replace but I hate to and
then find out it was something else.

Thanks!

Alex Zorrilla <apz RemoveThis @zxeng.com> wrote in message news:<3FA02305.9E064519 RemoveThis @zxeng.com>...
 > Out of curiosity, did you buy the barebones kit from TigerDirect? The
 > reason I ask is because I am nosy. No, seriously, I ask because I bought
 > a Soyo 7VEM barebones from them, and it came with the motherboard already
 > installed inside the case, which made things much easier. I was wondering
 > if yours came installed like this, or if you had to put it inside the case
 > yourself.
 >
 > The first thing I would check is whether the wire from the power
 > button is properly connected to the motherboard.
 >
 > --Alex
 >
 >
 > Sherrie wrote:
 >
  > > I just finished building a barebones kit with an FIC VII3L motherboard
  > > (my first). I installed everything as directed but I have no power.
  > > When I flip the switch on the power supply and push the power button,
  > > nothing happens. The power supply is attached to the motherboard in
  > > both places but there is nothing when I try to start it. The case
  > > came with the power supply (300watt) already attached. I've done a
  > > lot of drive installations, memory, cards, etc. but this is my first
  > > varebones build.
  > >
  > > I'm using a laptop until I get this going and I'm going blind! Help
  > > please. <!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start 

what makes you think the motherboard is bad ? is the audio error a
constant squeal ? have heard of that error, but cant seem to recall
exactly what it was, maybe a alarm for the CPU fan. If the board does
not detect the CPU fan spinning, even though it is, it may send an
audible alarm. Read the manual and check for that. Not all fans are
properly detected, some are really cheap and the motherboard cant see
that it is spinning. Is it a fan that came with the CPU or a generic
looking one ? what does the fan label say ? you may have to hold down
the insert key on the keyboard to allow the motherboard to boot and then
disable the alarm in the BIOS


Sherrie wrote:

 >Alex, as a matter of fact I did. Mine was not installed in the
 >case. The power supply was though. This is my first build but my
 >husband has done it. He checked it out for me yesterday and said
 >everything was put together perfectly. He got it to start while I was
 >at work and he said the motherboard is bad. He said it was squealing
 >when it started but everything (fans, lights) was running. Out of
 >precaution he disconnected the drives before starting it but left
 >everything else alone. I was concerned about the placement of the
 >power switch, leds, etc. but they were all labeled and the connector
 >that you plug them into was labeled. The diagram in the manual for
 >the motherboard showed exactly which pins to put them on. It's hard
 >for me to believe the motherboard is bad and I know they won't replace
 >it. Any ideas what else would cause it to squeal besides a bad
 >motherboard? It's not that expensive to replace but I hate to and
 >then find out it was something else.
 >
 >Thanks!
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start 

Today my husband took it to a technician friend of ours that has
equipment of some kind to test it and he said it was definitely a bad
motherboard. This friend is a licensed technician and is very good.
He builds a lot of systems from scratch and is excellent. My husband
called TigerDirect and they are sending a new one out and I'm to send
the bad one back. The CPU fan was working but I wasn't here and don't
know what kind of squeal it was. The CPU fan came with the kit and is
supposed to be compatible with the system. That's the main reason I
ordered a kit. I'm not experiened enough to get all the parts and be
sure they're compatible. I figure after successfully assembling a few
kits I might work up to it but I know that everything has to be
compatible to work. Just my luck I guess that the first one was bad.
I'll remember about holding down the insert key to boot. Didn't know
about that.

Thanks!

farmuse <nonofurbiz.TakeThisOut@blahblah.net> wrote in message news:<bnrb23$d5o$1@solaris.cc.vt.edu>...
 > what makes you think the motherboard is bad ? is the audio error a
 > constant squeal ? have heard of that error, but cant seem to recall
 > exactly what it was, maybe a alarm for the CPU fan. If the board does
 > not detect the CPU fan spinning, even though it is, it may send an
 > audible alarm. Read the manual and check for that. Not all fans are
 > properly detected, some are really cheap and the motherboard cant see
 > that it is spinning. Is it a fan that came with the CPU or a generic
 > looking one ? what does the fan label say ? you may have to hold down
 > the insert key on the keyboard to allow the motherboard to boot and then
 > disable the alarm in the BIOS
 >
 >
 > Sherrie wrote:
 >
  > >Alex, as a matter of fact I did. Mine was not installed in the
  > >case. The power supply was though. This is my first build but my
  > >husband has done it. He checked it out for me yesterday and said
  > >everything was put together perfectly. He got it to start while I was
  > >at work and he said the motherboard is bad. He said it was squealing
  > >when it started but everything (fans, lights) was running. Out of
  > >precaution he disconnected the drives before starting it but left
  > >everything else alone. I was concerned about the placement of the
  > >power switch, leds, etc. but they were all labeled and the connector
  > >that you plug them into was labeled. The diagram in the manual for
  > >the motherboard showed exactly which pins to put them on. It's hard
  > >for me to believe the motherboard is bad and I know they won't replace
  > >it. Any ideas what else would cause it to squeal besides a bad
  > >motherboard? It's not that expensive to replace but I hate to and
  > >then find out it was something else.
  > >
  > >Thanks!
  > >
  > ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start 

Squealing? As in a high pitched electrical squealing sound coming from the
motherboard? That does not sound good. Does it happen only when you turn on the
computer? Are you sure it is not coming from the power supply?

The first thing I would try is to make sure that everything is well seated (it could be
a loose DIMM or something). If that does not help, I would strip the computer down the
the bare minimum and try again. Motherboard, CPU, CPU heatsink/fan, RAM only...
disconnect everything else. If that does not work, I would even remove the motherboard
from the case and place it on a nonconducting surface (like a piece of cardboard), just
in case there is some sort of short circuit with the case causing the problem. If you
have extra components laying around the house (graphics card, RAM, etc.), you might even
try those just in case one of those items is defective, and not the motherboard.

If the computer still does not work, I would contact the tech support at TigerDirect.
Tell them everything you have told me. I am sure they will ask you to do a lot of the
things that your husband has already done or that I have mentioned, but just bear with
them. They may also ask you to contact FIC to get a defective confirmation code. Here
are a few links you may find helpful:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/index.asp" target="_blank">http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/index.asp</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/return.asp" target="_blank">http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/return.asp</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.fica.com/site/html/services/troubleshooting.asp" target="_blank">http://www.fica.com/site/html/services/troubleshooting.asp</a>
FIC support number: (510) 252-7777

I have returned merchandise to TigerDirect before and have found them to be reasonable.
You just have to be sure to follow their directions, though.

Let me know how it works out. Good luck.

--Alex


Sherrie wrote:

 > Alex, as a matter of fact I did. Mine was not installed in the
 > case. The power supply was though. This is my first build but my
 > husband has done it. He checked it out for me yesterday and said
 > everything was put together perfectly. He got it to start while I was
 > at work and he said the motherboard is bad. He said it was squealing
 > when it started but everything (fans, lights) was running. Out of
 > precaution he disconnected the drives before starting it but left
 > everything else alone. I was concerned about the placement of the
 > power switch, leds, etc. but they were all labeled and the connector
 > that you plug them into was labeled. The diagram in the manual for
 > the motherboard showed exactly which pins to put them on. It's hard
 > for me to believe the motherboard is bad and I know they won't replace
 > it. Any ideas what else would cause it to squeal besides a bad
 > motherboard? It's not that expensive to replace but I hate to and
 > then find out it was something else.
 >
 > Thanks!
 >
 > Alex Zorrilla <apz.DeleteThis@zxeng.com> wrote in message news:<3FA02305.9E064519.DeleteThis@zxeng.com>...
  > > Out of curiosity, did you buy the barebones kit from TigerDirect? The
  > > reason I ask is because I am nosy. No, seriously, I ask because I bought
  > > a Soyo 7VEM barebones from them, and it came with the motherboard already
  > > installed inside the case, which made things much easier. I was wondering
  > > if yours came installed like this, or if you had to put it inside the case
  > > yourself.
  > >
  > > The first thing I would check is whether the wire from the power
  > > button is properly connected to the motherboard.
  > >
  > > --Alex
  > >
  > >
  > > Sherrie wrote:
  > >
   > > > I just finished building a barebones kit with an FIC VII3L motherboard
   > > > (my first). I installed everything as directed but I have no power.
   > > > When I flip the switch on the power supply and push the power button,
   > > > nothing happens. The power supply is attached to the motherboard in
   > > > both places but there is nothing when I try to start it. The case
   > > > came with the power supply (300watt) already attached. I've done a
   > > > lot of drive installations, memory, cards, etc. but this is my first
   > > > varebones build.
   > > >
   > > > I'm using a laptop until I get this going and I'm going blind! Help
   > > > please. <!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start 

Actually, I think the sound that Farmuse refers to is actually a beep. Many motherboards these
days have a feature in the BIOS that will give an audible alarm if it detect that the CPU fan
is not spinning or the CPU temperature is too high. Normally, you don't want to disable this
feature unless you really have a reason to.

The motherboard detects the CPU fan RPM through the fan header on the motherboard. There are
three wires. Two of them are for power, and the third is for the fan to deliver the RPM
information to the motherboard. If your fan connects directly to the power supply instead of
the motherboard, then that will trip the CPU fan RPM alarm, since nothing is connected to the
motherboard's fan header. This is one instance in which you might want to disable that alarm.

I believe the fan that supplied by TigerDirect plugs into the motherboard, though, and uses all
three wires, so I doubt that was the squealing sound heard by your husband. In my experience,
the fans supplied by TigerDirect are usually pretty well matched to the CPUs for general use.
It would be pretty stupid of them to supply underpowered fans.

Holding down the Insert button when booting is sometimes a way to override or reset the BIOS
settings so you can boot the computer. Not something you want to do unless you have to, but it
is something to remember in case all else fails.

I hate it when you buy new components, put them together, and they don't work. Often, the
first thing you think is, "What did I do wrong?" Then you go crazy trying to figure out what
you did wrong. Of course, in this case, you didn't nothing wrong.

Good luck with the replacement motherboard.

--Alex


Sherrie wrote:

 > Today my husband took it to a technician friend of ours that has
 > equipment of some kind to test it and he said it was definitely a bad
 > motherboard. This friend is a licensed technician and is very good.
 > He builds a lot of systems from scratch and is excellent. My husband
 > called TigerDirect and they are sending a new one out and I'm to send
 > the bad one back. The CPU fan was working but I wasn't here and don't
 > know what kind of squeal it was. The CPU fan came with the kit and is
 > supposed to be compatible with the system. That's the main reason I
 > ordered a kit. I'm not experiened enough to get all the parts and be
 > sure they're compatible. I figure after successfully assembling a few
 > kits I might work up to it but I know that everything has to be
 > compatible to work. Just my luck I guess that the first one was bad.
 > I'll remember about holding down the insert key to boot. Didn't know
 > about that.
 >
 > Thanks!
 >
 > farmuse <nonofurbiz DeleteThis @blahblah.net> wrote in message news:<bnrb23$d5o$1@solaris.cc.vt.edu>...
  > > what makes you think the motherboard is bad ? is the audio error a
  > > constant squeal ? have heard of that error, but cant seem to recall
  > > exactly what it was, maybe a alarm for the CPU fan. If the board does
  > > not detect the CPU fan spinning, even though it is, it may send an
  > > audible alarm. Read the manual and check for that. Not all fans are
  > > properly detected, some are really cheap and the motherboard cant see
  > > that it is spinning. Is it a fan that came with the CPU or a generic
  > > looking one ? what does the fan label say ? you may have to hold down
  > > the insert key on the keyboard to allow the motherboard to boot and then
  > > disable the alarm in the BIOS
  > >
  > >
  > > Sherrie wrote:
  > >
   > > >Alex, as a matter of fact I did. Mine was not installed in the
   > > >case. The power supply was though. This is my first build but my
   > > >husband has done it. He checked it out for me yesterday and said
   > > >everything was put together perfectly. He got it to start while I was
   > > >at work and he said the motherboard is bad. He said it was squealing
   > > >when it started but everything (fans, lights) was running. Out of
   > > >precaution he disconnected the drives before starting it but left
   > > >everything else alone. I was concerned about the placement of the
   > > >power switch, leds, etc. but they were all labeled and the connector
   > > >that you plug them into was labeled. The diagram in the manual for
   > > >the motherboard showed exactly which pins to put them on. It's hard
   > > >for me to believe the motherboard is bad and I know they won't replace
   > > >it. Any ideas what else would cause it to squeal besides a bad
   > > >motherboard? It's not that expensive to replace but I hate to and
   > > >then find out it was something else.
   > > >
   > > >Thanks!
   > > >
   > > ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start 

Thanks so much for the encouragement. TigerDirect didn't give us any
trouble at all about returning it so hopefully the next one will work.
You're right though about my naturally thinking I did something wrong.
That was my first fear. This is something I've wanted to do for
a long time and I don't plan on quitting.

Alex Zorrilla <apz.DeleteThis@zxeng.com> wrote in message news:<3FA169C9.219EFE9E.DeleteThis@zxeng.com>...
 > Squealing? As in a high pitched electrical squealing sound coming from the
 > motherboard? That does not sound good. Does it happen only when you turn on the
 > computer? Are you sure it is not coming from the power supply?
 >
 > The first thing I would try is to make sure that everything is well seated (it could be
 > a loose DIMM or something). If that does not help, I would strip the computer down the
 > the bare minimum and try again. Motherboard, CPU, CPU heatsink/fan, RAM only...
 > disconnect everything else. If that does not work, I would even remove the motherboard
 > from the case and place it on a nonconducting surface (like a piece of cardboard), just
 > in case there is some sort of short circuit with the case causing the problem. If you
 > have extra components laying around the house (graphics card, RAM, etc.), you might even
 > try those just in case one of those items is defective, and not the motherboard.
 >
 > If the computer still does not work, I would contact the tech support at TigerDirect.
 > Tell them everything you have told me. I am sure they will ask you to do a lot of the
 > things that your husband has already done or that I have mentioned, but just bear with
 > them. They may also ask you to contact FIC to get a defective confirmation code. Here
 > are a few links you may find helpful:
 >
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/index.asp</font" target="_blank">http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/index.asp</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/return.asp</font" target="_blank">http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/Help/return.asp</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.fica.com/site/html/services/troubleshooting.asp</font" target="_blank">http://www.fica.com/site/html/services/troubleshooting.asp</font</a>>
 > FIC support number: (510) 252-7777
 >
 > I have returned merchandise to TigerDirect before and have found them to be reasonable.
 > You just have to be sure to follow their directions, though.
 >
 > Let me know how it works out. Good luck.
 >
 > --Alex
 >
 >
 > Sherrie wrote:
 >
  > > Alex, as a matter of fact I did. Mine was not installed in the
  > > case. The power supply was though. This is my first build but my
  > > husband has done it. He checked it out for me yesterday and said
  > > everything was put together perfectly. He got it to start while I was
  > > at work and he said the motherboard is bad. He said it was squealing
  > > when it started but everything (fans, lights) was running. Out of
  > > precaution he disconnected the drives before starting it but left
  > > everything else alone. I was concerned about the placement of the
  > > power switch, leds, etc. but they were all labeled and the connector
  > > that you plug them into was labeled. The diagram in the manual for
  > > the motherboard showed exactly which pins to put them on. It's hard
  > > for me to believe the motherboard is bad and I know they won't replace
  > > it. Any ideas what else would cause it to squeal besides a bad
  > > motherboard? It's not that expensive to replace but I hate to and
  > > then find out it was something else.
  > >
  > > Thanks!
  > >
  > > Alex Zorrilla <apz.DeleteThis@zxeng.com> wrote in message news:<3FA02305.9E064519.DeleteThis@zxeng.com>...
   > > > Out of curiosity, did you buy the barebones kit from TigerDirect? The
   > > > reason I ask is because I am nosy. No, seriously, I ask because I bought
   > > > a Soyo 7VEM barebones from them, and it came with the motherboard already
   > > > installed inside the case, which made things much easier. I was wondering
   > > > if yours came installed like this, or if you had to put it inside the case
   > > > yourself.
   > > >
   > > > The first thing I would check is whether the wire from the power
   > > > button is properly connected to the motherboard.
   > > >
   > > > --Alex
   > > >
   > > >
   > > > Sherrie wrote:
   > > >
   > > > > I just finished building a barebones kit with an FIC VII3L motherboard
   > > > > (my first). I installed everything as directed but I have no power.
   > > > > When I flip the switch on the power supply and push the power button,
   > > > > nothing happens. The power supply is attached to the motherboard in
   > > > > both places but there is nothing when I try to start it. The case
   > > > > came with the power supply (300watt) already attached. I've done a
   > > > > lot of drive installations, memory, cards, etc. but this is my first
   > > > > varebones build.
   > > > >
   > > > > I'm using a laptop until I get this going and I'm going blind! Help
   > > > > please. <!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start 

On 29 Oct 2003 02:02:27 -0800, shegens.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com (Sherrie) wrote:

 >I just finished building a barebones kit with an FIC VII3L motherboard
 >(my first). I installed everything as directed but I have no power.
 >When I flip the switch on the power supply and push the power button,
 >nothing happens. The power supply is attached to the motherboard in
 >both places but there is nothing when I try to start it. The case
 >came with the power supply (300watt) already attached. I've done a
 >lot of drive installations, memory, cards, etc. but this is my first
 >varebones build.

Just an off-the-wall thought. Does your power supply have the 4-pin
plug that goes to the ATX_12V connector that's located between the
AGP connector and the CPU connector. Seems like earlier power supplies
didn't have this added connector and you may not be aware of this
being needed.

 >I'm using a laptop until I get this going and I'm going blind! Help
 >please. <!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: New barebones FIC VII3L won't start