No, your motherboard isn't fried.
No, your motherboard isn't fried.
I've been using a budget power supply for a few years now. Today I decided to upgrade to something a bit more reliable. My old unit was an Assa 650W (probably bronze) and I switched to an Assa 850W Gold. I also replaced the case and moved all the parts over. It seems like that’s more than enough. I wanted to check if everything would work properly, so I powered on the PS and noticed the red LED on the motherboard was off. Usually that means power is present. When I pressed the power button on the case, I heard a click and it started up, but nothing else happened. Everything stayed off. After some troubleshooting, I found out the red LED only lit up when the CPU power connector was disconnected, leaving just the 20-pin power port connected. With the red LED on, pressing the case’s power button would turn it on and show a CPU issue (no surprise there—it had no power). Since it’s a modular PS, I tried using different ports for the CPU power, but it didn’t help. I never removed the CPU when moving components, so I don’t think I damaged it physically. I used my old PS too, and the same thing happened. The only difference was that it didn’t click—it just briefly powered the board on before shutting off. Any advice? Should I worry that my motherboard was fried? If so, what should I do? I bought it brand new today. No listings on eBay or Craigslist. Would the warranty cover the motherboard or CPU if they’re damaged?