Getting 3 beeps on startup, monitor not turning on

[Cellophane]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to all of this, but here goes:
I just built a computer for the very first time, and after having a couple of issues, I've almost got it up and running (I think). the issues were pretty minor but I suppose I should mention them anyway - the first one was that when I turned the computer on, all the fans would run, and the lights both in the case and on the motherboard would light up. The monitor wouldn't turn on at all, though, so I hooked the monitor up to my laptop, and it worked just fine for that, so I knew it wasn't a faulty monitor. So, I read somewhere that sometimes taking everything apart and putting it back together works, so I did that. Now, my computer does the same thing, except it gives me three (long?) beeps indicating some sort of error. I did some reading about this, and found out that means either there's a problem with my keyboard (which is a usb keyboard and it doesn't make a difference if it's plugged in or not), or there's an issue with my RAM. I read one person's post who seemed to be having similar problems, and the people there told them that they had a problem with the motherboard or the ram, whether it's fried or just incompatible. I've tried running it on only one stick of ram, and i've tried running it with no ram, and it's the same whatever I do. I'm pretty certain the two are compatible, my ram is DDR3 1333, and the motherboard claims to be compatible with DDR3 1333/1066. Does this, in fact, mean that my motherboard is fried, or my memory is no good? did I do this myself? I wasn't wearing one of those weird static bracelet things, but I tried to touch grounded metal as often as possible. Here's what the motherboard and memory are:

Intel BOXDP43BF LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996585

Thanks in advance!

[Computer_Commando]

What CPU & CPU fan?
I suspect you didn't install the cpu to the cpu fan properly.

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43606
http://processormatch.intel.com/CompDB/SearchResult.aspx?BoardName=DP43BF

[jason2074]

Does this, in fact, mean that my motherboard is fried, or my memory is no good? did I do this myself?

Is your mobo purchased brand new or was used previously?
3 beeps could mean solely on your RAM modules. Try testing your RAM on another working computer of the same type and compatibility(check on any legit documentation or manual). Make sure USB controllers, USB Device Legacy Support are enabled under BIOS set-up utility.

[Cellophane]

This is the CPU
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80571E6500

This is the part on newegg. The fan came with the cpu.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116093&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

I read somewhere that using the thermal pad already on the fan isn't great, but it works alright, so i just used that. the way the fan is supposed to be attached to the motherboard is a little sketchy in my opinion, they're just these things you twist and they expand and hook into the holes. it's a tiny bit wiggly, but i checked the other side, and all of them go through. There is another fan mounted on the back of the case (there's one on the top, one on the back, one for the video card, one for the cpu) which I didn't plug in because all of the plugs for the fans on the motherboard have 4 pins and the fan only has 3. it could probably fit in the 4 pin plug, but there would be a pin sticking out, and that makes me nervous.

[Cellophane]

Is your mobo purchased brand new or was used previously?
3 beeps could mean solely on your RAM modules. Try testing your RAM on another working computer of the same type and compatibility(check on any legit documentation or manual). Make sure USB controllers, USB Device Legacy Support are enabled under BIOS set-up utility.

I know all of this stuff is brand-new. I'm not sure what USB controllers, or USB Device Legacy Support are, but if they're in BIOS, I can't access them, cause my monitor won't turn on. like I said before, I know the monitor works, because I hooked it up to my laptop and it did just fine, so it's probably something on the computer end of things. I did, however, notice that my monitor, while having ports for both dvi and vga, only has a cord for vga, and my graphics card only has ports for dvi, but it came with an adapter, so the monitor plugs in just fine. is that bad? should I get a dvi only cord?

[Computer_Commando]

...1.  I read somewhere that using the thermal pad already on the fan isn't great, but it works alright, so i just used that.
2.  the way the fan is supposed to be attached to the motherboard is a little sketchy in my opinion, they're just these things you twist and they expand and hook into the holes. it's a tiny bit wiggly, but i checked the other side, and all of them go through.
3.  There is another fan mounted on the back of the case ... which I didn't plug in because all of the plugs for the fans on the motherboard have 4 pins and the fan only has 3. it could probably fit in the 4 pin plug, but there would be a pin sticking out, and that makes me nervous.

1.  Use the thermal paste, too.
2.  The fan assembly should be tight to the cpu.
3.  Don't care about the case fans, cpu fan must be plugged into mobo header marked "CPU FAN".  You can plug the 3-pins connectors into the 4-pin header.  Make sure the plastic locator on the mobo pin header mates with the plug. You might have the cpu fan plugged in wrong.

[jason2074]

however, notice that my monitor, while having ports for both dvi and vga, only has a cord for vga, and my graphics card only has ports for dvi, but it came with an adapter, so the monitor plugs in just fine. is that bad? should I get a dvi only cord?

Monitor won't turn on, will not most likely run issues into this part. However to identify such cable you may have or need, check on these  --->
http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html   Aside from the RAM accompanied by 3 beeps(as i posted earlier). If motherboard was able to run power from PSU(without shutdowns) and getting this beeps and monitor issue, It is most likely the RAM module(test to isolate), Having 2 graphics card, an integrated and or dedicated(which you have not mention) If you have both Graphics card, use the integrated to isolate your monitor issue also, and last but not the least of course the monitor(analogue,digital)-port-to graphics card,motherboard.

[Computer_Commando]

There is no integrated video.  Don't know what graphics card OP is using.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121412

[Cellophane]

I guess I should probably tell you guys what all my parts are lol. here's the product info on newegg:

Graphics card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130514&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

Cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116093&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

Hard drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136496&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

Ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146740&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121412&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

CD/DVD drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

here's a list of all the parts themselves:


-Intel BOXDP43BF LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
-EVGA 01G-P3-1158-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
-Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80571E6500
-Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
-Western Digital AV-GP WD10EVDS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal AV Hard Drive -Bare Drive
-Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996585
-SONY Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM

to the best of my knowledge, this should all be compatible, but then again, I'm totally new to all of this. I'm not 100% on the ram, just because I do remember reading that sometimes mobos can be picky for no real reason, so I don't really get how one tells if ram is compatible, but I did find the part of intel that tells you what memory is compatible with your mobo, so I might sift through that for a while and see if I can find my memory.

[jason2074]

Ok, you have the right stuff in. The only issue here is what's not working. Does your monitor have any blinking or light(powers on atleast) when its plug in the cable to the CPU even when its not displaying?

[Cellophane]

the monitor's fine, i've plugged it into my laptop and it displays everything. when it's plugged into the desktop, it says no signal detected, and the monitor goes to sleep. the computer just keeps giving me the same three beeps. could it just be that my motherboard just doesn't like my ram? Or is something defective?

[jason2074]

I've came across to certain behaviors like these, a monitor no signal. And I've suspected also the RAM(Ram slots also), Isolated it, tested it on another mobo(all good)used another monitor(still no signal) and came to a point that the mobo itself is defective or damaged. At this point, you need to have other sources of testing. To rule out other possible causes.

[Cellophane]

I only know 1 other person who has a desktop, and his mobo only does DDR2, so I can't test it. Maybe I'll send for a replacement mobo and give the new one a shot. if it still does the same thing, then it's probably the ram itself, so i'll return that and get some new ram. thanks!

[Cellophane]

Just to let everyone know, when I went to the computer store to see if they could put a different stick of ram in my computer, it worked with the other ram, so it works now! Thanks a ton! you guys helped me a lot. Also, as it turns out, my CPU fan (despite me trying to get it in there solidly), was STILL a bit loose, so the guy there fixed it for me lol. anyway, thanks again