This is the first time I'm using this, and I'm desperate, so here goes:

I have recently purchased the components needed to make a new
computer. The case was small, but the items I purchased, especially
the video cards, were huge. One video card took up two slots. In fact,
the cards would not fit in originally, so I had to raise the back left
portion (where the PCI slots are) of the motherboard a bit with screws
from underneath, and it became a snug fit.

When I assembled everything, finally, and put it together, and turned
the thing on, the fans lit up. One 80mm fan started, one did not, and
the CPU fan did not start. I am unaware if the 120mm fan started.
Yellow lights on the memory lit up, then stopped. No monitor response
at all, and I tried all connectors (there are four, being that I have
two graphics cards). Power is being supplied to the motherboard
because the green light on the bottom is on.

Assuming that it could be the SLI, I took out the bridge, then took
out another video card -- still nothing. I recieved no beeping errors,
and I do not believe it made it to any sort of BIOS POST test. The
jumper configuration on the motherboard is fine. I also know my
monitor works, so the problem must lie with the computer.

Asides from taking this to a local computer store, what can/should I
do? If your advice leads to the successful startup & installation of
the OS, I will pay you 15 dollars. It's not a lot, but I just spent
all my cash on the PC :(

The components are as follows (with the SKU following from first
www.mwave.com so you can see the items):

COOLER MASTER RC-730-KSN1 PRAETORIAN 730 (BLACK) ALUMINUM MID TOWER NO
POWER SUPPLY 4x5.25" 2x3.5" 4x3.5"(hidden) W/ FRONT I/O CONNECTOR,
80mm CASE FAN x 2 & 120mm (SKU: BA21990)

AMD ATHLON 64 FX60 (ADAFX60CDBOX) DUAL CORE W/1MB x 2 CACHE 90NM
(TOLEDO) 64-BIT SOCKET 939 RETAIL BOXED W/COOLING FAN (SKU: BA22226)

ASUS A8N32-SLI DELUXE nVIDIA nFORCE4 SLI X16 CHIPSET SERIAL ATA300 ATX
FORM FACTOR 2xPCI-E(X16)/1xPCI-E(X4)/3xPCI/4xDDR W/SATA,RAID,DUAL
LAN(Gb),1394,USB 2.0 & AUDIO (SKU: BA22016)

(2, TWO) XFX GEFORCE 7900 GTX EXTREME (690MHz) 512MB PCI EXPRESS
DDRIII TV/DUAL DVI (SKU: 3000493)

MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL X64: (SKU AA34610)

WD 150GB WD1500AHFD SATA150 10,000RPM 16MB Digital Raptor X (Bare
drive) (SKU: AA45430)

TEAC DV516E/KIT/B 48X/16X-DVD EIDE INTERNAL W/SW (SKU: 1358447)

ENERMAX ELT620AWT LIBERTY ATX 12V VERSION 2.0 (SKU: BA22028)

(From www.tigerdirect.com):

(2, TWO) Corsair TWINX Dual Channel 2048MB PC3500 DDR 433MHz Memory (SKU: C13-3500)

(From buy.com)
 
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum - Sound Card: (SKU: 10354635)

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Clarification of Question by christopherhogan-ga on 06 May 2006 11:34 PDT

Thanks, guys, and I actually figured out what is wrong -- but not how to fix it.

The problem is with this is in the white 4 spoke electrical plug to
the left of the main power plug, illustrated in this picture:

http://www.viperlair.com/images/reviews/cpu_mobo/asus/amd/s939/a8n32/ddr.jpg

Everything is being powered except the processor and the memory, and
you kind of need them to run a computer.

What type of connection should I put in there? I plugged in female
four spoke connector to that, and it will not work. In my instruction
manual, it lists the four prong connector as a HDD connector -- not
any sort of anything that has to do with a motherboard.

My guess is your motherboard is being shorted by the case to which it
is attached. It's probably either a problem with the special
orientation of the motherboard for the video card, or you just didn't
screw the board in with an object (screw sockets, washers) to prevent
the board from being shorted by the case.

One good (and tedious) way to test this is to try running the system
without the case. If it works, that's your problem. If not, you should
consider the electrical input, is it all plugged in, are jumpers set
correctly...

It would be good to know for sure that the graphics card is working.
Do you know someone who would let you try your graphics card in their
computer (and double-check your monitor)? Whilst it sounds unlikely
that the problem is with the graphics card or monitor, you should
eliminate that possibility so that you can focus on other things.

Problems with the memory and hard disk should not stop the BIOS POST,
so don't worry about swapping them out yet.

I agree with mafiascene-ga that it's most likely a power-related
problem. Do you have access to a voltmeter? An easy check would be
whether there is any voltage on the supply to the CPU fan.

As mafia said, remove all the components from the case and assemble
the basic ones and test. You'll need one stick of ram, the cpu and
heatsink fan assembly, a video card and the power supply.

I looked at that case, you should have no problem installing an ATX
motherboard in it. One mistake that many new builders make is
neglecting to install standoffs onto the case before mounting the
motherboard. A standoff is a small brass 'nut-like' fastener. Most
motherboards are setup for 8 standoffs to be used. Under no
circumstances should you be propping the motherboard up with screws.

As a novice builder you should find a more experienced builder to help
you. Having spent a lot of money on components, you wouldn't want to
damage them in your ignorance.

Regarding your new information, ez_plug, the molex to which I think
you are referring, is used to supply more power to the PCI-E bus if
you have two graphics cards, so you'll be needing that. I found the
information here...

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:nV8N86z2vUwJ:www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gf6800u-sli_7.html+asus+ez_plug&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

I am guessing there's no effect if you add a second card, or it might
be that you should keep it unplugged if there is only one card. It is
easier to diagnose with one card, and keep the "riser" set to "single
video card." Speaking of which, you might as well ignore those drives
(all of them) until your problem is fixed, the motherboard can post
regardless of their presence.

That is the procedure to which eatomhoch refers, the less components
there are to test, the fewer things which can go wrong and the easier
it is to isolate your problem.

Make sure the memory and processor is properly seated, many times I
have forgotten to close the Z.I.F. arm for the C.P.U. and that will
prevent a boot, as will a slight problem with the memory.

Remember, it could be all properly set up and still not working if the
motherboard is being shorted out by the case.