Initial power-on, no fan activity indicates a power supply unit failure from a short circuit
Initial power-on, no fan activity indicates a power supply unit failure from a short circuit
Hello, new builder and poster. I just assembled my first PC and something isn’t right... Every time I attempt to power it on, there’s no fan spinning and only two clicks from the PSU right after turning it on. Someone told me this suggests a short on the motherboard, which is why the PSU cuts off automatically as a safety measure. The problem is that I’ve tried removing every component. A bit of background: My motherboard is the MSI B550i GAMING EDGE MAX WIFI, and my processor is the Ryzen 9 5900x. While setting up, I read online that using MSI Flashback to flash the latest BIOS from a thumb drive works best before doing anything else. I tried it, but it didn’t behave as expected. The red light would flicker for a few seconds, then stop. After a few minutes it stayed on, and I turned off the system manually. Is this a sign that my board is permanently damaged? I also think I might have shorted it with static—maybe I saw a spark while connecting the fan pins. I didn’t feel any real shock. Right now, I’ve taken out everything except the motherboard and PSU. The behavior is still the same: I use Flashback, it shows a red light for about 6 seconds, then the PSU clicks off (probably due to a short), and the light turns off instantly. Nothing happens afterward. Is the PSU shutting down immediately indicating a short in the motherboard? Could a corrupted BIOS or a failed Flashback attempt have knocked out my board? Did I accidentally short it while installing the fans? Might the way I mounted the board onto the case be causing a connection issue? My specs are: Ryzen 9 5900x, MSI B550i GAMING EDGE MAX WIFI, cooler, Master NR200P, RTX 2060, 32 GB DDR4 RAM, 2 TB M.2 SSD. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time. If I can’t solve this by tomorrow, I’ll take it to a local PC shop for testing.**
Ensure all PSU cables and connectors are clearly labeled and consistent. Verify the manual on both the motherboard and PSU for guidance. The motherboard should include instructions about flashback, such as avoiding incorrect USB port connections or improperly formatted USB drives (needs FAT32). Please specify the model of your PSU if you need further details.
Thanks for your message. The PSU is an 850 W cooler power supply designed for the nr200p max case. It seems the USB connection works fine. Online specs require USB 2.0, FAT32, and a size under 16 GB, but I bought a brand new 8 GB USB with USB 2.0 just to confirm. The port setup looks correct. I also observed that before possibly experiencing static discharge, flashback behavior changed—now it consistently shows a 5-second blink followed by the PSU shutting down while the light goes out. It’s unusual since even after replacing my BIOS, flashback still exists for recovery purposes, yet it stops working. Additionally, there were instances where I unplugged components like fan headers while the PSU was powered on; the PC itself remained unaffected, but the switch was set to I instead of O. Could this have caused damage?
Optimal approach is to shut down the system and disconnect it before handling components, though a visible arc might indicate damage. It's uncommon but possible. Does the PSU operate independently? You can verify with a jump test. https://landing.coolermaster.com/faq/how...er-supply/
Certainly PSUs may fail immediately or only briefly, making it hard to say if the damage was accidental. They typically undergo testing after manufacturing, though some still arrive damaged. I’ve experienced a failure myself. Thank you!