a nub and his question.

i am hoping this board can help me with a little problem.
I am building a computer for a friend using parts from my former computer, and when I plug it in and hit the power button it runs but there is no video.
so far I have tried just one ram stick in each lane, different psu's, different video cards, on board video, different cpu's, and even different monitors.
So, do I just have bad ju-ju or am I just an idiot and over looking something?