Relatively old build won't power at all, no standby light at all!
Relatively old build won't power at all, no standby light at all!
So there's a lot that happened, this PC isn't mine, it's a friends' who has moved from UK to Dubai, so he gave me his PC to use. Though randomly when I was using the PC, I had a random blue screen, this was the first problem, the PC wouldn't boot at all and I spent the day diagnosing the problem to find out that unplugging one of the RAM sticks was the solution, which had reduced me from 16GB ram to 8GB. But after a while I was annoyed at the performance I was getting at 8GB so I decided to go find the RAM stick and plug it back in. This is where it all went wrong; when I went to take off the case cover, the fan that was attached to the cover came off (I doubt this was the reason for this problem), so I went and plugged in the second ram stick, I tried to boot and this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKPmLBKTQNk
. Almost as if the PC was turning on and off super rapidly, but this only happened once, after that, every singe time I have tried to boot since, it doesn't, the standby light isn't on, the fans don't spin, nothing. Have tried every single RAM arrangement, using only one ram stick, using the other, plugging in the fan into a different fan header, clearing CMOS by jumping the 2 pins (I don't have access to the battery), tried using a different power cable, different wall outlet, I really do not want to start unscrewing stuff because it's a valuable PC (to me, to others I doubt it).
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z77
CPU: Intel i7 3770k
GPU: MSI GTX 970
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX (16gb 2x8gb) 2400MHZ (if the specific ram model is needed I can get it)
PSU: Corsair TX850M (850W)
I'd be very surprised if this was anything other than the motherboard or the power supply, and I'd be more inclined to think it's the power supply since removing one stick of memory allowed it to run. This happens quite often when a power supply begins having problems or gets old and becomes unable to supply it's rated capacity anymore. But given the age of the system it could certainly be a motherboard issue. If you are not willing to "unscrew" stuff, then you are going to have a very hard time figuring out what the problem is and I'd recommend you take it to a repair shop if that's the case because it's definitely not going to get figured out without removing some hardware, which is going to require "unscrewing stuff". First thing you want to do is take a look at the capacitors and see if it looks like any of them are leaking or bulging, because that would probably be pretty common given the age of this board which is right around 11 years for this board. Five to seven years is typically the expectation for boards that see heavy or daily frequent usage, in general. I'd first get your hands on a volt meter and test the power supply, as follows: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixcWCrYpw3Y View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7YMUcMjbw And if that checks out, then move on to bench testing the motherboard. How To - Motherboard bench testing Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST... forums. If none of this is something you feel comfortable doing, then your only other option is going to be taking it to a shop or builder and having them do the testing for you.
Hey it's been a long time but this rig has been sitting collecting dust and I really want to fix it. I checked the capacitors and they look fine, but I noticed the 24-pin motherboard connector wasn’t fully connected. Now the standby LED is on, which means I actually have the Coolermaster 850W V2 plugged in. I did a paperclip test and it didn’t work at all. I tried shorting the power jumpers to see if the power button was the issue, but that didn’t help. I tested all RAM configurations—both in A and C, both in B and D, one in each slot—and even mixed them up. I also cleared the CMOS, used a different power cable, and checked voltages with a multimeter once it arrives. For now, I’m not sure if it’s a PSU problem or something else. I plan to do another paperclip test with a multimeter after receiving it.
If the PSU doesn't power on with a paper clip and you're confident you're placing it correctly, the unit is likely faulty. Ensure it isn't connected to anything during the process. It would be wise to disconnect it from the wall, switch the PSU off for about five minutes, then plug it back in, restore the power, and test again to confirm it isn't stuck in an automatic shutdown mode.