Does the CPU fan come on when you push the power button? Or is it the screen that does not respond?
 
Ant bios beep codes?
 
In other words, any power to the motherboard at all?
 
To help troubleshoot, you may want to head over to PC Guide.com.
 
You can use their decision tree to help troubleshoot the system.

The CPU fan (and the video card fan and case fan) all come on when I hit the power button. So does the front LED.
 
Unfortunately my case doesnt come with the internal speakers/connector so if it's beeping, I wouldnt know.

I don't use ATI cards, but let's look at some basics. If you know all this, excuse the basic questions.
 
You are using the DVI-to-VGA Adapter that came with the card?
 
Does the card require that a PCI Express Power Cable be connected to the power supply, and is it?
 
Your sure that the card is firmly in place in the PCI-E slot?
 
Is your monitor capable of giving you it's state? Is there any indication that it is accepting a signal, say on the LED?
 
 

I'm using an adapter but it didnt come with the card (i bought the card oem)
 
Yes, the card is plugged in to the PCI express power cord.
 
I've taken the card out and put it back in a couple times, to no avail (making sure it's firmly down).
 
My monitor works fine, (i've tested it on another computer). It looks like it would in sleep mode (it's a different look than unplugged...but it's in sleep mode even when the adapter is plugged into the monitor cord but not into the computer). When I hit the adjust mode on the monitor when the computer is 'running' it says something like: "in sleep mode, press key or move mouse to wake up.' Of course, doing so doesnt fix it.
 
Also, I found an *OLD* PCI graphics card (yes..just PCI. Rage II+DVD =P). It doesnt work in the new computer (I tested it in another computer and it still works). This makes me think that the motherboard is DOA. I have no way of testing the video card though (this is my only computer with a PCI-E slot).
 
Oh, and the LED on the motherboard turns on when it's getting power.
 
Also, the fan on the new graphics card *keeps spinning* at 100% (ie, it never slows down).
 
Hopefully this helps.

When you tried the PCI video card, did you change the bios setting in the Advanced Menu-->Initiate Graphic Adapter from PEG/PCI to PCI/PEG?
 
This allows the PCI slot to be used at boot for video.

If only I could access BIOS =/. (there's literaly no signal)
 
Oddly enough, when I tested the PCI card on another computer that normally uses an AGP card (i took out the AGP, of course), i didnt change that setting and the card worked.
 
Here's a much more indepth post of my situation:
 
 
I assembled a computer with the following parts:
Asus p5b motherboard
Pentium d 2.8 (775)
Vortex TX CPU fan
x850xt pcie video card
2 x 1gig patriot ddr2 667 RAM
ide HD
 
When I first turned on the system, the screen said it was searching for hardware. It took a while and then detected my hard drive. Then it jumped to a different looking screen. The resolution was wrong so the left part of the screen got cut off and I don't remember exactly what it said but it was something like this:
 
|
|CPU detected
| <error message of some sort>
|
 
the strait line represents where it got cut off. I assume it said "no CPU detected" (or "no cpu installed" or something like that.) This wouldn't surprise me because this is the first time Ive build a computer.
 
I probably restarted it after that (been working on this for a few days, it's all a little blurry now) and just got a blank screen (no bios options).
 
I took the entire thing apart and remounted the CPU (no, it wasn't in wrong. The arrow was in the bottom left corner and I definitely didnt force it in...but it was worth a try).
 
I then put in the CPU fan, video card, and ram.
 
Still nothing, blank screen.
 
Anyway, stuff I've tried:

• Made sure the video card is correctly mounted.
• leave the hard drive unplugged
• reset the CMOS (about 50 times total: like every time i've tried anything new)
• remount the CPU...again
• yes...the video card's power supply is plugged in (atx 6 pin)
• Here's a good one: I found an old PCI graphics card (that works, I tested it in another comp). I took out the x850 and put this in the PCI slot. Same problem occured...blank screen(meaning it's probably the mobo)

Other stuff you might need to know:--the video card has dual dvi out, but i don't have a dvi screen. I bought the video card oem so it didnt come with a converter but i bought one.
--My Mobo doesnt have integrated graphics
--When I turn on the computer, the CPU and x850 fan turns on. The x850 fan stays at 100% until i cut the power (except the first time i turned it on, the x850 fan powered down like it's supposed to)
--ASUS boards are appearently picky with RAM. The patriot ram I initially had isn't approved...but then again it *did* initially turn on. The RAM interchanged it with probably isnt approved either.
--Alas, my case does not have a speaker--no bios beep codes.
 
 
 
 
Like I said, i've been trying things for a while and nothing seems to work. Basically, I'm pretty sure that something is fried but I have no idea what. I would say it is the motherboard, but if it is, how do i know for sure. And more importantly, how do i prevent the next one from getting fried in the same way? Basically I just want to know what parts I need to buy to fix it.
 
A lot of what you may suggest I've already tried, but if you have a specific way of trying it, i'll do it.
 
 
More importantly however, i'm moving into the diagnostic phase.
I have a 4700 dimension that I can use to troubleshoot and test stuff in (i'd really rather not break it though...)
here's what it has:
lga775 mb (pretty sure. Probably doesnt support pentium D because it's dual core)
pentuim 4 processer (could I test this in my computer?)
2 x 256 mb ddr2 ram
integrated graphics
a PCI-E slot
a power supply WITHOUT a ATX PCIE cord (i think i'm going to buy a molex converter so I can test the video card)
(*note, this isnt the computer I used to test the PCI graphics card in to see if it's still working, meaning I don't know if this MoBo interferes with graphics cards).
 
Anyway...suggestions for troubleshooting/diagnostics?

OK, I re-read your previous post, so the PCI card can't work as you can't change the bios with no screen. Makes sense!
 
Your last post notes a problem with the CPU. You checked that the motherboard is compatible with the exact processor on the Asus site?
 
You made sure that the load lever is fully clipped into place on the CPU? Not the cover, but the load lever?
 
The cpu fan connector is connected to the cpu fan connector on the motherboard, not the chassis fan connector? Many systems, by design, will not boot if the motherboard does not sense the CPU speed from this connection.
 
When you installed the motherboard, you made sure that there are no possible shorts? Did you use insulation washers on the screws attaching the screws to the motherboard?
 
Having the bios beep codes would have helped point to the possible hardware issues and pointed you in the right direction.
 
Trying the processor in the other system might seem like a good idea, but I would not do it, unless you know that the processor is compatible with it. That will take some research on your part.
 
Troubleshooting the issue is dependent on what you can tell us and you last post points to the CPU. You are most likely to find the issue on your own, with some prompting. So, don't be surprised that this is the case.
 
BTW, congats on building your first system!