[IvanV]

As my old "typewriter" died, I assembled a cheap PC today. Only, it won't start. I hear the hard-drive spinning and the power led is on, but the screen remains blank and nothing happens. Assuming that all the peaces are working and that the PSU has enough power, what might be the cause? Here are the specs:
MoBo: ASUS A7S8X-MX (SiS 741GX Chipset)
CPU: AMD AthlonXP 1700+ (Palomino core)
Memory: 256MB PQI DDR 400 (Could this be the problem? I thought the MoBo would set its clock to a supported value (which is 266MHz with this CPU))
Graphics, sound, LAN, ... integrated.
FDD, Quantum Fireball 40GB, Teac 524W CD-RW.
The only jumper of interest I found is the one that determines the FSB speed (options are 100, 133 and 166MHz) which I set to 133MHz.
There is an undocumented LED on the MoBo which lights when i plug the power cord. Is this OK?
Help!!!

[Yousaif]

Have you even been able to get to the BIOS screen? If not then I would try to reset the CMOS. Its possible that the onboard video is disabled and set to run off of an AGP slot.

Has it even beeped at all since initial boot?

[IvanV]

I just tried reseting CMOS, no luck. No, I never got any sign of life, except the sounds of hard drive and CPU fan spinning.

[Yousaif]

If you have it in the case then you may have a short. Try setting it outside the case on a non-conductive surface (often I will use the pad that is usually beneath the mobo in its box as a surface) and see if you can get signs of life from it. If you can get it to boot on that surface then you probably had a short when it was on the mobo tray.

I think I had close to the same mobo as that one that I ended up having to replace as I never did get any signs of life from it at all, though- just looked at it- was actually an Asus A7V333.

[ReDGuiTaR]

There is an undocumented LED on the MoBo which lights when i plug the power cord. Is this OK?
Help!!!

This light is just to tell you that the PSU is giving power to the motherboard and can be found on all Asus AthlonXP Mobo so no worries there . ( mine has this too )

As mentionned before you should remove it from the case just to be sure there s no short circuit in the back . Now it is laying on the desk ( put something under it to protect it like the foam that come in the mobo box ) try it to run with just CPU, the memory and graphic card to see if it boot then add others component one after another ( u can use a screwdriver to short the 2 power pin the start it up ... you might want to let the power supply plugged for 15 minute before you power the MoBo just to be sure that the capacitor are fully charged . ( especially if it s a new power supply ) .

[IvanV]

The LED actualy is documented in the manual, on the "Read First" page .

I tried running it on that sponge that came with the board with only CPU and RAM (one stick), no luck. It's going to a friend that builds PCs tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, to people who sold me the board and RAM on monday.

[silverfir]

Hi, You've probably already RMAed this board, but as I was searching for the same prob...... just bought a B grade A7S8X-MX from Overclockers UK less said about these guys the better!
I discovered the Manual has a misprint. The FSB jumpers are reversed for 100MHZ and 166MHZ. Correct =
100MHZ
FSB jumper No 1 pins = 2,3
FSB jumper No 2 pins = 1,2
166MHZ
FSB jumper No 1 pins = 1,2
FSB jumper No 2 pins = 2,3
133MHZ
FSB jumper No 1 pins = 1,2
FSB jumper No 2 pins = 1,2

I still have a dead AGP socket, but onboard works. Ho hum
A nice fast economy board.

[H3X4D3C1M4L]

It could be that you set the FSB too high and fried the chip if thats the case I hope not though