First Time Building A CustoMac Mini 2012: it won't turn on!

[new2hackintoshbuild]

Hi All,

This is my first time building a hackintosh, so please be patient with me. And let me know if you need more information to figure out the issue.

I am building a CustoMac Mini 2012 -- with the EXACT parts that are listed on this page: http://www.tonymacx86.com/248-building-customac-customac-mini-2012/comments13.html

They are:

CPU	Intel Core i3-3225
	Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI
	RAM	16GB Corsair 1600Mhz DDR3
	Case + Power Supply	Apex MI-008 (w/ 250W Power Supply)
	Storage	Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 1TB HDD
	Wifi Card	TP-Link PCI Express Wifi Adapter (TL-WDN4800) Works Natively!

I have put the whole thing together, and when I plug it in and hit the power button. Nothing happens. No sound, no fans, no lights, nothing.

I have taken it all apart and put it back together 3 times now. The first time, I realized I had plugged the CPU Fan plug into the SYS Fan header, and the SYS fan plug into the CPU Fan header.

Would be happy to send pictures of the inside if need be. Any help at all is much appreciated.

Also - since I am making the exact machine that is specified on this site, I am wondering if there are some existing resources or other people who have put together this exact machine.

Cheers!

 

[Alienraygun]

Make sure you have the 24pin power connector plugged in AND the 4 pin CPU power connector. I made the mistake of thinking that I only needed the 24 pin and mine wouldn't turn on either-- well the fans would spin momentarily and the light would blink. Make sure your CPU is seated properly, your memory is seated properly, etc. Make sure the power switch on the PSU is in the on position and it's plugged in, obvious I know but sometimes in the excitement we miss things.

Read the motherboard manual. It took me a day of thinking my PSU was faulty before I read through the mother board manual and figured out the real problem.

 

[new2hackintoshbuild]

Thanks Alienraygun!

Yes, I have the 24pin power connector plugged in, as well as the 4-pin CPU connector. My fans don't even momentarily spin!

I'm pretty sure CPU and memory are seated properly - I have checked them each twice.

As far as I can see, there is no power switch on the PSU - only a plug and an option switch of 115 and 230 Volts. There is only the power button on the front of the computer, nothing on the back.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Alienraygun]

Well, next I would try just plugging in the essentials. Unplug any disk drives, unplug USB, audio, ethernet, wifi, PCI cards from the motherboard and try powering up. Of course make sure the power switch is plugged onto the appropriate spot on the mb and that you aren't reading the diagram upside down. If it still doesn't switch on, I'd suspect the switch itself or the PSU in the case, or possibly-- god forbid-- something got shorted on the mb.

If you DO get it to power on, then try plugging things back in one at a time until you bump the problem again. Then at least you know what the culprit is.

 

[new2hackintoshbuild]

Thanks again Alienraygun,

I have it up and running! I had it down to the essentials and it still wouldn't turn on. I had the IT guy at my work take a look at it -- and he easily found my mistake: I had plugged in a floppy disk power plug from the PSU into the SYS Fan header. How's that for a rookie mistake?!

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Alienraygun]

Well, I'm glad you had help finding the mistake. Gratz on getting it running!