Usually systems that are using a BIOS that has a server tag on it (i.e. AMIBIOS8 Server or Enterprise64 etc) can boot headless (without video).

I am guessing that since your machine is a standard desktop MB, it does not have one of those BIOSes! Sorry, I only just today re-read your other post with the MB info in it!

I am personally betting on the power supply or the motherboard.

What I often do is borrow a friend’s machine for Frankenstien testing. Take one part that you do not know if it works, install it into his/her machine, test. If it works, set it in the “known good” section. If not, set it in the “does not work” section of the floor. True, this takes a good friend, but sometimes when you are the only tank/healer in the group, they want to help!

Fan was hard to install? oh! you mean the CPU one? Hm. Well, if you damaged the top of the CPU, that might cause odd issues, but you should be getting some form of POST codes or beeps from the motherboard.

Also, something I forgot to ask was… do any of the lights on the motherboard actually light up? You said the fan runs, but do the fans plugged into the motherboard run? that’s a good test of if the MB is getting any power at all…

man.. Just lurking around while the EQ2 login servers keep booting me…

Hoping this helps!

really curious as to what the folks at the repair shop say!

The system doesn’t POST at all. Nothing appears on the screen.

Nor do I get any beep codes which would help me to find out that XYZ thing is not working.

I get this behavior if all I boot is the MB with video; or without the video card even.

The motherboard is an Asus P5B Deluxe (not wi-fi). Would that POST without a video card ?

Suspects remain : CPU, Motherboard, Fan-installation, Power Supply, Video Card, and Case in that order.

In any event, I gave up and took it to a repair shop. After I get my second opinion I’ll know what thing I should be returning, or if I’m just doing something wrong.

I’m worried about that fan – it’s REALLY hard to install. Then again, if I screwed it up the power should have cut real quick, and at no point did I have any power interruption.

Thanks for the advice – got any more ?

Looks like quite the issue! Hoping I can help, but advice is free, and you get what you pay for.

Does the system POST when you use the new RAM?

Did the system POST when you had the lower voltage RAM in it?

Systems should POST with a video output, a motherboard, a CPU, some RAM and a power supply. Some systems do not need the video output, based on the manufacturer of the motherboard. I’m not sure about your MB, sorry!

Sometimes, you can have a PSU that gives good power to spin fans and post the CPU, but fail to give good power to the other connections. Usually, this is a failure to charge one the other “rails” correctly on the power supply unit.

I am sure you have already checked to make sure there are no loose wires in the connections, but have you checked to see if the power connections on the motherboard are solid? A slight wiggle with the MOLEX connector will show you that… Obviously, do not wiggle too hard!

Some types of RAM are required to be interleaved. This means that placing one stick into the 0 slot and another stick in the 2 slot.

Finally, there could be a power button issue. Sometimes, the connectors for the power button are bent or connected inverse from what the case manufacturer thought they were supposed to be made. It can help to only connect the power button, rather than all the front of the case buttons, in an effort to see if that is the issue.

Hope this helped!