Initial setup fails, won't turn on. Is the motherboard faulty?
Initial setup fails, won't turn on. Is the motherboard faulty?
Hello, I’m trying to assemble my first PC and it’s not working as expected. Right now, I think there might be an issue with the motherboard itself. I reached out to some experts for advice, and they seem to agree – it could be my fault for buying parts from eBay at a lower cost. I followed their suggestions: I removed everything outside the case and connected the power pins using a screwdriver. There were no fans running.
I also tried a simple trick with the PSU using a paperclip, which caused some spinning noise. When that didn’t help, I checked the PSU pins with a multimeter – only one pin showed the expected 5V, most were much lower. That made me worry about the power supply.
After replacing the PSU (a new one from Amazon), the problem persisted. The small lamp on the GPU was lit, but the rest of the motherboard had no LEDs, even the debug ones. I rechecked connections, changed cables and sockets, even swapped the CPU and GPU multiple times, but nothing changed.
I also tried connecting the case’s power button to see if it made a difference, but it didn’t. There was an LED switch on the motherboard for the MB, but it didn’t affect anything. I’ve tried turning the main power button on and off several times, but nothing happened.
My PC specs are: GPU – ASUS GTX 1070, CPU – Ryzen 5 5600X, cooler – AMD Wraith Prism, RAM – G.Skill Ripjaw V DDR4 3200mHz, 2x16GB, SSD – Samsung 980, PSU – EVGA 500 BQ 500W.
I’m still trying to figure this out and hope someone can help me test the motherboard with a multimeter or give more advice. If you’re not a native English speaker, please let me know if I explained something incorrectly. Thank you very much!
It took some time to identify the power-on connections. I had to consult the manual. Since the instructions weren’t obvious on the board: you connected JFPL1 pins 6 and 8, correct?
Ebay offers a buyer protection policy, but you can leverage it to your benefit and request a refund if needed.
It was the PSU fan that started. The connector wasn’t plugged in. That’s correct. As per the manual, the 6 and 8 pin correspond to the power button, so I selected those. Just in case I made a mistake or for some unusual reason my screwdriver didn’t fit properly, I also attempted to connect the front panel of my case to use the power button, but it didn’t work.
Using just power, a properly connected 24-pin and 8-pin plug, a single stick of RAM, and the CPU, it should trigger an action when shorting pins 6 and 8. It might function even without a CMOS battery installed. Check if any pins on the CPU are bent or missing. Someone also mentioned a buyer protection option on eBay—look into that.
There exists a procedure to test a motherboard that remains inactive upon powering it up—whether through the integrated button on the board or the case’s power switch. It mirrors the paper clip test but connects the 24-pin IS instead. You jump-start the system and connect everything as if normal startup was intended, but instead of linking the case power button pins or pressing the motherboard’s power button, you insert the paper clip into the same connector points used during testing. Naturally, you must push the clip from the back of the connector, though the functionality stays consistent. If the board isn’t fully unresponsive, this should provide power to initiate startup. Keep in mind, I’ve used this method during troubleshooting for motherboard fixes and never encountered a board failing unexpectedly. Still, proceed with caution—risks exist, but they’re minimal.
What an amazing idea! I think you just blew this thing wide open. So with the paperclip in the back of the connector, the fans spin, the LEDs on the Motherboard light up, amazing. It only stays on for as long as the paperclip is in there. If I remove it, everything shuts off. Is this normal? I still get no post (monitor is plugged directly into the GPU). But: On the Motherboard the EZ-Debug Lamp for CPU lights up. Does this mean the MB is totally fine and the fault lies only in the CPU? Edit: Sorry, I was too excited, so I didn't go into enough detail. So, paperclip in. Everything lights up (including the EZ-Debug CPU lamp), fans spin (not the GPU fans, but I hope that is allright), no post. I cross the 6 and 8 pin, no post. When I connect the front panel to the MB the power button lights up, but pressing it (once or holding it down) has not effect whatsoever. Edited January 15, 2023 by canthinkofone
I’m confident now that the motherboard PCH is faulty. This often happens when the device doesn’t respond during troubleshooting. The suggestions to return it via eBay’s buyer protection are solid options. Thanks for managing all these steps and helping me pinpoint the issue—though I was concerned about clearly documenting the process.
Thanks to everyone and especially Harmsway1283. Your suggestions and help made a big difference. For someone new, assembling everything is manageable, but figuring out which part is causing issues can be tricky. It’s tough without guidance. I might have given up if I wasn’t there. I’ll return the motherboard and trust the CPU is okay. Thanks again! You did an amazing job!