The newly assembled device fails to activate.
The newly assembled device fails to activate.
All new parts have been installed. Everything seems properly connected and thoroughly verified, yet the PC fails to start. When I power on the PSU, the logo appears on the MB display, confirming power is reaching it. However, pressing the power button yields no response—no indication of life. Not a good sign!
This isn’t my first attempt, so I was somewhat confident during assembly. It’s disappointing that nothing functions as expected.
I tested the PSU using a paperclip—it works fine.
Last night I removed the MB from its case and placed it inside a cardboard box. After reconnecting all cables and pressing the power button, it operated successfully. Today I reinserted the MB, restored connections, but it still doesn’t work! I took it out again, reconnected everything,... and it remains non-functional. I connected the power cables for the MB and the two 8-pin connectors for the CPU, repositioned the graphics card, and linked both PCIe cables (one 8-pin and one 6-pin). When I pressed the power button, nothing happened—no life detected. Only the LED logo continues to change colors. No fan activation or LED illumination at all.
I suspected a memory issue, so I tried each of the two RAM modules in every one of the four DIMM slots, but no improvement.
Details:
Motherboard: ASUS Prime X670E-Pro WiFi
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
CPU Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 C30 DC - 32GB (2x16GB)
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon RX 6700 XT Pulse - 12GB GDDR6 RAM
PSU: Corsair RM850x 850W PSU RF
Storage: Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe M.2 NVME SSD 2TB
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 Mid Tower
What further steps could I take? Is there a method to test the CPU independently? The Q-Led diagnostic on the MB isn’t functioning—no indication of a faulty CPU or RAM issues.
I can share photos if they might assist.
When you talked about breadboarding the hardware and "pressing the power button", which one was that?
I didn't search for your motherboard, but I understand some models include a built-in switch.
Consider removing the front panel power connector and checking if shorting the pins turns it on.
Look at the backplate of the case for unused grounding standoffs.
Did the system behave differently outside the case compared to inside, such as with drives or the graphics card?
There is a power on button on the motherboard itself.
The case has standoffs for ATX boards. I can't see behind the board when it's mounted, but it doesn't appear to be the standoffs.
When I first tried breadboarding and it worked, I mounted the MB back in the case and connected everything -- SSD, the fans, the Front Panel USBs, Front Panel connectors, etc. When it refused to power up, and I took it out again, I disconnected everything except the essentials: the 24-pin ATX power cable, the two 8-pin CPU power cables, the cooler lead that goes into the CPU an connector, the graphics card, and the two PCIe power cables that go into the graphics card. This second breadboarding has the same connections as the first one, yet at the first breadboarding it powered up, and now it won't!
I don't know what can be the problem. Could I have damaged something while mounting the MB into the case or while taking it out again? PCIe slot? The graphics card can move a little up and down, but it seats firmly in its slot.
There were two problems with my rig. The first was related to the BIOS. The version included with the MB didn’t properly recognize memory—only one of the four slots functioned correctly. I updated the BIOS, which was a good solution since the MB supported that update. The second issue occurred during assembly and connection. The main cable from the PSU to the MB (the ATX 24-pin type) broke. It provided power when slightly pressed, but turned off immediately if the pressure was released. I had to purchase a new Corsair ATX 24-pin cable. After fixing both issues, everything worked smoothly again.