Motherboard not posting/booting

Gizzman · 3 Feb 2016 at 17:04

Hey, basically my old motherboard wont post/boot since ive installed it into my new case.... let me explain.
I had a Dell Studio 540 and about a month ago I brought a new Sandisk SSD and installed Win 10 64bit which worked great and a new Asus R7 360 2GB also and once installed that worked fine.

Now these were the start of building up my new system (I will be going skylake in the next few months) but am stuck for now with the old system. Now I also upgraded my PSU to the Corsair HX850i and my case to the Corsair 450D and I carefully installed the parts along with my old motherboard etc into the 450D. Triple checked all cables and power was being fed properly and when I turn it on... nothing.

Not a bios post... nothing, now I made sure the mobo has power (cpu fan is spinning) and gpu has power (green light) and tried different hdmi/dvi and onboard hdmi without gpu. I used a guide to plug in the HDD led, power led etc on the old mobo and the case turns it all on (i can hear the hdds spinning) but no beep or post from the mobo (BUT the cpu fan is working) but also the 120mm fan on the case is NOT working. When I hold in power button the pc does not turn off (wired wrong?) So I have to use the PSU switch.

Is there a slim chance the pc could be boot looping from wrong wiring on the power/led's etc as im wondering why the pc does not turn off when i long press the power button. I meticulously checked pics to match it to my mobo but some of the connectors on the corsair 450D did not have + or - on the end's so there could be a chance there mixed up and thats effecting the boot so is there a certain way/adapter i might need to wire it up correctly?

I am going to try the process of elimination after work but has anyone other things I could try? thanks

Specs
From old pc:
Dell studio 540
- IPIEL RN2 (lga 755 motherboard)
- intel core2 quad q8200
- ddr2 4gb ram
New:
- hx750i psu
- 450d case
- r7 360
- 480gb ssd

Any other info needed please ask and I will try to post a rough pic for reference, cheers

pastymuncher · 3 Feb 2016 at 18:49

Hi and welcome to the forums.

First off, why have you got your psu fan the wrong way around? The fan should be blowing down and across the motherboard not sucking from the board.

Have you tried your old Dell psu? Dell used to use psu's with weird cable pinouts that would only fit their boards which could potentially make your new psu incompatible with your motherboard.

Have you tried building the motherboard up outside the case? If not try taking everything out of the case and resting it on a cardboard box and see if it boots that way. If it does then there is probably a short between your case and the motherboard.

Gizzman · 3 Feb 2016 at 18:53

pastymuncher said:
Hi and welcome to the forums.

First off, why have you got your psu fan the wrong way around? The fan should be blowing down and across the motherboard not sucking from the board.

Have you tried your old Dell psu? Dell used to use psu's with weird cable pinouts that would only fit their boards which could potentially make your new psu incompatible with your motherboard.

Have you tried building the motherboard up outside the case? If not try taking everything out of the case and resting it on a cardboard box and see if it boots that way. If it does then there is probably a short between your case and the motherboard.

Hey thanks for the reply. Well the fan has been this way since i brought it and its blowing onto the cpu and i have ditched the old dell psu years ago. I had a CIT 750watt in there for many years and it served me well so that shouldnt be the issue esp as it seems to power on initially.

I can try on the weekend to take it all out the case but ive double checked standoffs for micro atx and it all seems fine.

Cheers

Gizzman · 3 Feb 2016 at 19:47

A update, I had a spare hour so took out everything and started the mobo outside of the case and still no post, I tried no ram, 1 stick, 2 stick etc and nothing. Cpu fan still spinning but it seems dead. This is a pic, thanks

READ BELOW...

UPDATE: I dug out my old psu and it boots with that so it could be my psu... any ideas why? Is there a certain 4pin cpu cable or 24pin... im so close i need to find out, thanks

Gizzman · 3 Feb 2016 at 23:12

Well it is definatly the Corsair HX850i that is causing the issues, my old PSU worked fine again but its between the 24pin atx and 4 pin cpu, would anyone have any idea why its not working (incompatiable with my old mobo or both faulty?) Im going to ring Corsair anyway so fingers crossed, thanks all.

Borealis · 4 Feb 2016 at 08:57

pastymuncher said:
Have you tried your old Dell psu? Dell used to use psu's with weird cable pinouts that would only fit their boards which could potentially make your new psu incompatible with your motherboard.

This is quite possible if it boots up fine with the Dell PSU. Just because it has standard connectors on the motherboard, it doesn't necessarily mean that they connect to the same pins on the PSU as a non-Dell unit.

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 09:04

Borealis said:
This is quite possible if it boots up fine with the Dell PSU. Just because it has standard connectors on the motherboard, it doesn't necessarily mean that they connect to the same pins on the PSU as a non-Dell unit.

Oh no the dell psu is long gone, when i brought the pc back in 2009 i got a graphics card too so needed 2 6pin connectors therefor i swapped out dells 350watt for a new cit 750watt psu and been using that ever since, altho i dont understand why they wouldnt connect, as long as the pegs fit in they made a detachable 4pin for old boards like mine. This is so frustrating but hopefully they can help, thanks

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 09:57

I rang Scan and after explaining all this to the tech bloke he really was not sure either so said to send it back to them for testing, he said could be faulty unit or cables and said it should be fully compatiable.

Also on corsairs website they mention about a ax supply...

"The AX Series conforms to ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 standards, and is backward compatible with the ATX12V 2.2 and ATX12V 2.01 standards. It accepts universal AC input from 90V - 264V. Safety approvals include cTUVus, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TÜV, CCC, and C-tick"

And my systems only from 2009 so compatability should not be the issue and this is unheard of.

Borealis · 4 Feb 2016 at 10:31

OK, in which case the previous PSU was a standard ATX PSU, except that it was CiT junk.

I believe that the AX series are Corasir's top range. TBH a good 550W PSU is all you need with your setup. Any of these would do the job:

Non-modular

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/supe...0-plus-gold-power-supply-black-ca-003-sf.html

Modular:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/supe...0-plus-gold-power-supply-white-ca-043-sf.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-023-ea.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...lar-power-supply-cp-9020053-uk-ca-152-cs.html

Of course, if the other unit turns out to be faulty, then hopefully it'll be replaced with a working one!

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 10:35

Borealis said:
OK, in which case the previous PSU was a standard ATX PSU, except that it was CiT junk.

I believe that the AX series are Corasir's top range. TBH a good 550W PSU is all you need with your setup. Any of these would do the job:

Non-modular

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/supe...0-plus-gold-power-supply-black-ca-003-sf.html

Modular:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/supe...0-plus-gold-power-supply-white-ca-043-sf.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-023-ea.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...lar-power-supply-cp-9020053-uk-ca-152-cs.html

Of course, if the other unit turns out to be faulty, then hopefully it'll be replaced with a working one!

Thanks but your saying the hx850i is not a standard atx psu? Should there be compatibilty issues like this with such a versatile psu i doubt it. None of it makes sense if its not faulty. I also have it plugged into a multitap that feeds my monitor also, would this effect power draw? Or again is it unheard of, thanks

lude1962 · 4 Feb 2016 at 10:52

cant see the mb on/off switch connected in your picture

Borealis · 4 Feb 2016 at 10:59

The hx850i is a standard psu. It's only companies like Dell/HP that make non-standard power supplies. If the system previously ran fine with a CiT unit, then it doesn't have any of the strange connectors Dell have used in the past.

What I was trying to say was that 850W is overkill for a system running 1 graphics card and that a 550W unit would do the job just as well.

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:12

Borealis said:
The hx850i is a standard psu. It's only companies like Dell/HP that make non-standard power supplies. If the system previously ran fine with a CiT unit, then it doesn't have any of the strange connectors Dell have used in the past.

What I was trying to say was that 850W is overkill for a system running 1 graphics card and that a 550W unit would do the job just as well.

Oh pardon me i misread you, haha yes i can imagine what your thinking but im saving for a new skylake upgrade next couple months and plan on running cross fire so i will need the power but only reason i brought now is i need a case for the new components and my old psu is too short/small for it so got the hx850i for now.

pastymuncher · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:14

Gizzman said:
Hey thanks for the reply. Well the fan has been this way since i brought it and its blowing onto the cpu and i have ditched the old dell psu years ago. I had a CIT 750watt in there for many years and it served me well so that shouldnt be the issue esp as it seems to power on initially.

I can try on the weekend to take it all out the case but ive double checked standoffs for micro atx and it all seems fine.

Cheers

That fan is not blowing down onto the psu. If it was it would be the other way around. It's sucking air upwards. If you turn it the correct way around your temperature will probably improve plus your motherboard will actually get some cooling.

Your problem seems to be some sort of weird psu/motherboard incompatibility. The crappy CIT won't have any of the advanced features/protection that modern psu's have so strangely enough maybe that's why it works and not the Corsair. Can you try the Corsair in another pc or anybody you know that would be willing to let you try it?

If you return it to Scam and they find it's not faulty they will hit you with a testing fee plus return postage. They are rather good at getting out of RMA's unless you really know your stuff and keep on at them. I gave up using them after a nightmare return a few years ago.

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:16

lude1962 said:
cant see the mb on/off switch connected in your picture

Yes your right i took it out so you can get a clear picture of the board. Its still the same even in case with everything connected. Because the case fan did spin for 3 seconds when i turn it on the scan bloke said it could be under powering the board and not delivering enough through the 4pin.. lets hope so because i really want this psu.

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:19

pastymuncher said:
That fan is not blowing down onto the psu. If it was it would be the other way around. It's sucking air upwards. If you turn it the correct way around your temperature will probably improve plus your motherboard will actually get some cooling.

Your problem seems to be some sort of weird psu/motherboard incompatibility. The crappy CIT won't have any of the advanced features/protection that modern psu's have so strangely enough maybe that's why it works and not the Corsair. Can you try the Corsair in another pc or anybody you know that would be willing to let you try it?

If you return it to Scam and they find it's not faulty they will hit you with a testing fee plus return postage. They are rather good at getting out of RMA's unless you really know your stuff and keep on at them. I gave up using them after a nightmare return a few years ago.

I dont have anyone else nor another pc and i get what you mean but because corsair dont mention possible incompatibilty on older hardware i wont let anyone wrong me, i will be demanding a refund then and wont let it lie. My socket/mobo is not a dinosaur yet.

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 12:32

I just read a post where the person had almost exacly the same issue as me where he had a pc from around 2009 "HP Pavilion Elite e9150t" and decided to put a corsair rm650 psu inside and he said he got sent a new psu after rma and had exacly the same issue where it seemed the 4pin was not powering the mobo properly.

If scan test it and say its fine or it is defective and send me a new one but that still dont work maybe my psu is incompatiable with my chipset in a weird unmentioned way so i might just stick with old psu until i can afford a new mobo and cpu. I will definatly take the matter up with corsair too if its the case as they need to mention this because im not the only person to experience this.
Thanks

pastymuncher · 4 Feb 2016 at 19:03

It wasn't so much that your motherboard is older but the fact that your motherboard is a Dell and designed to work with their own stuff that may be causing the problem. Scam will test it and if they can't find a fault they will bill you for testing and the return postage without the option of a replacement. They are a terrible company to deal with and they will have you go araound in cicles for weeks until you give up.

One thing you could try is to pick up a cheap 775 board on ebay from the likes of Asus or Gigabyte, stick your cpu and memory in it and see if it works with the Corsair. It doesn't have to be anything flashy and a base model would do. Stick with a branded board, avoid one from Dell/HP/Packard Bell etc and make sure that it will take your Q8200. Something like a G31/P35/P43/P45 chipset board will do the job. Don't go for a 945G/965G chipset or older or it may not take your 45nm quad. You should be able to get something for less than £20 delivered which will be cheaper than any fee's Scam hit you with and you can sell it on for a similar price after. That would rule out the Dell motherboard one way or the other.

Gizzman · 4 Feb 2016 at 19:19

pastymuncher said:
It wasn't so much that your motherboard is older but the fact that your motherboard is a Dell and designed to work with their own stuff that may be causing the problem. Scam will test it and if they can't find a fault they will bill you for testing and the return postage without the option of a replacement. They are a terrible company to deal with and they will have you go araound in cicles for weeks until you give up.

One thing you could try is to pick up a cheap 775 board on ebay from the likes of Asus or Gigabyte, stick your cpu and memory in it and see if it works with the Corsair. It doesn't have to be anything flashy and a base model would do. Stick with a branded board, avoid one from Dell/HP/Packard Bell etc and make sure that it will take your Q8200. Something like a G31/P35/P43/P45 chipset board will do the job. Don't go for a 945G/965G chipset or older or it may not take your 45nm quad. You should be able to get something for less than £20 delivered which will be cheaper than any fee's Scam hit you with and you can sell it on for a similar price after. That would rule out the Dell motherboard one way or the other.

Your right the mobo is linked to dell and most likely the issue with incompatability as its unlikely a brand new top of the range psu is to blame esp when it turns on everything else and i think it is to do with how advanced it is and voltage control etc.

I did like your idea of buying another branded 755 board and didnt think of that but the way i see it and if this experience has taught me anything is to finally put this chipset to rest and get a 6100 i3, decent asus z170 board and ram to start a fresh. I can always swap out cpu and ram when i can afford better.

I am going to stick with the old psu for now and cancel the rma from scan UNTIL i try it out on my new system then if its still same issue i know for a fact its the psu and will rma it then. This way like you say it will save me the cost of a send back and the hassle from scan as i just have a strong feeling its the board and psu is fine.

Im lucky to have a half decent working psu still so not all bad, at least i can use the pc for now. Just going to keep the hx850i boxed up until needed lol. I apreciate your help everyone anyway and i hope this may help others as i know i wont be the last.

Cheers

Gizzman · 5 Feb 2016 at 09:41

Just a quick one guys, i cancelled the scan (scam) rma and am keeping the hx850i and plan to buy a i3 6100, 8gb ddr4 and a z170 around £100-150, any recomendations?

I was thinking asus ranger, pro or a gigabyte board?

Thanks