F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop The testbench ceased showing any activity abruptly

The testbench ceased showing any activity abruptly

The testbench ceased showing any activity abruptly

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HectorGtez
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03-26-2016, 12:10 PM
#1
Hey everyone, my testbench isn't responding at all—no signals, no fans, nothing at all. The setup looks identical to before, but everything seems dead. I double-checked power connections and even tried bypassing through UPS and surge protectors, confirming 120V is present. I swapped out different PSUs and got them work fine, so the issue isn't with the power source itself.

I ran a "paperclip test" on all rail connections and measured voltages: 3.3v, 5.1v, and 12v across each rail. All showed normal readings. I tested multiple motherboards in another system—they functioned perfectly. One was brand new. I inspected all power rails for shorts to ground, with and without the test, but nothing occurred.

I also checked the CPU connectors (24-pin and 8-pin) and the RAM slots—no shorts detected. When I connected just PSU, motherboard, and CPU, there was no fan noise, no SSD, no RAM, and nothing else worked. I tried a third power supply with only 24-pin + 4-pin CPU, but it still didn’t boot anything.

My observations: fans occasionally spin briefly when the ATX-24 connector is plugged in, only if the CPU isn’t connected. There’s a clicking noise from the VRMs every second or so when the CPU socket is off, but not when it’s active. This happens even without any other components. The thermal paste on the CPU pins is still present, but I cleaned it thoroughly.

I’ve got an SSD that works in another system and a working PSU elsewhere. Both motherboards were previously good—just might have failed suddenly. It could be the CPU died, or maybe the board itself failed. I’m not sure if RAM is the issue (no other DDR4 sticks work) or the motherboard.

What should I do next? Please help me figure this out.
Reply
Reply
H
HectorGtez
03-26-2016, 12:10 PM #1

Hey everyone, my testbench isn't responding at all—no signals, no fans, nothing at all. The setup looks identical to before, but everything seems dead. I double-checked power connections and even tried bypassing through UPS and surge protectors, confirming 120V is present. I swapped out different PSUs and got them work fine, so the issue isn't with the power source itself.

I ran a "paperclip test" on all rail connections and measured voltages: 3.3v, 5.1v, and 12v across each rail. All showed normal readings. I tested multiple motherboards in another system—they functioned perfectly. One was brand new. I inspected all power rails for shorts to ground, with and without the test, but nothing occurred.

I also checked the CPU connectors (24-pin and 8-pin) and the RAM slots—no shorts detected. When I connected just PSU, motherboard, and CPU, there was no fan noise, no SSD, no RAM, and nothing else worked. I tried a third power supply with only 24-pin + 4-pin CPU, but it still didn’t boot anything.

My observations: fans occasionally spin briefly when the ATX-24 connector is plugged in, only if the CPU isn’t connected. There’s a clicking noise from the VRMs every second or so when the CPU socket is off, but not when it’s active. This happens even without any other components. The thermal paste on the CPU pins is still present, but I cleaned it thoroughly.

I’ve got an SSD that works in another system and a working PSU elsewhere. Both motherboards were previously good—just might have failed suddenly. It could be the CPU died, or maybe the board itself failed. I’m not sure if RAM is the issue (no other DDR4 sticks work) or the motherboard.

What should I do next? Please help me figure this out.

Reply
Reply