I have just put together a new PC, and when I turn on the power switch, the fans and lights come on for a moment (less than 2 seconds) and then everything shuts off. Thought it was a bad power supply so I returned it and got another one, but it does the same thing. Checked all the wiring and re-seated everything 3 or 4 times with the same result. Everything seems tight and secure. I have all the peripherals disconnected (HD, DVD, extra lights and fans) but still no change. The major components are as follows: Core 2 Duo E6600, 4x1GB Patriot DDR2 800 SDRAM, Thermaltake 430W PSU, Intel P965 MOBO, GeForce 8600GTS 256MB video card. Any Ideas? I'm not thrilled about sending all the components back for replacements if they are okay.

To me it would sound like you are reaching the end of your wattage on your PSU. I don't have firsthand experience with a PSU going out on me because it was underpowered, but that would be my guess.

Could it be that the processor's fan is not starting up or cooling sufficiently? If you have OC'd it in any way, set it back to stock and see if it will start.

I have not oc'd anything, haven't had a chance to modify any settings because the system has not successfully booted yet. Not sure about drawing too much from the PSU since I have disconnected the peripherals, but I'm fairly new to this. What would be a sufficient wattage for such a system?

Make sure all of your case stand off's are in the correct spot and there aren't any extra ones shorting out the motherboard. If your not sure take the motherboard out and set it on a wood table, with the video card, memory, Processor installed see if it will P.O.S.T