LED flashes on the I/O cover during shutdown when power is lost
LED flashes on the I/O cover during shutdown when power is lost
Hey there, I’ve observed a peculiar issue with my Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra board. There’s a tiny LED under the I/O cover that flickers very slowly—only when the power supply is fully disconnected. It activates whether I unplug the PSU from the wall or simply switch off the power strip. As soon as I restore power (reconnect the PSU or turn on the strip), even without turning on the PC, the blinking ceases immediately. The system operates normally otherwise—boots up without issues, no errors. I reviewed the manual, but it doesn’t mention any indicator in that spot or a blinking signal when the PSU is off. Anyone else have experienced this behavior? If the board goes unplugged, does the CMOS battery take over to keep the LED active? Thanks for your help!
I work on building machines alongside my day job, and from what I recall about that board, the LED isn't a typical diagnostic signal—it might point to a power delivery problem. If the LED is lit, it usually means power is reaching the motherboard; a steady or blinking light could suggest inconsistent power supply. Your PSU's age matters, and using a tester could help confirm. It's also possible the board's BIOS has an issue, so check the version you're running.
So far everything seems okay with the system. I’m curious about that strange blinking effect. I don’t have a PSU tester handy, but the BIOS version is F39g. It looks like the voltage readings are quite close to what’s expected for 3.3V, 5V, and 12V. I’ve attached photos of the voltages and the blinking LED location.
Ohhh, I see what you mean now with the LED. I currently have the Gigabyte X570 extreme board. I installed the latest BIOS a couple weeks ago. One of the settings I like to turn off is the LED's on the board itself because I have corsair fans and what not, and I let iCue run all my LEDs. There is a setting in the BIOS for the LED lighting control. I don't remember the exact setting, but you can turn the LED off in power down mode. This isn't anything to be concerned with, it's just a personal preference of whether you want it on or off. This is a different issue then I thought you were talking about. These newer RGB boards have options on the BIOS to turn off the LEDs in general or while the system is powered off. If I can get back to my desktop today and remember to do it, I can reply with where the setting is at and let you you know. If you want to take a gander yourself, just browse through the BIOS. I am pretty sure the setting is pretty self explanatory.
In reality, that isn't the fancy LED in the picture. It seems quite similar to it. When the device powers on, I notice it turns orange and I can also turn it off via the BIOS as you mentioned (photo included). The white blinking appears only when the system is powered down and the power supply is disconnected from the wall outlet. It flashes roughly every 30 seconds. Even though the PSU isn't receiving power, it still blinks.