PC Won't Start Up

Anderswelt · 18 May 2020 at 01:48

Hi,
I have a problem with my DIY build. After a long delay for my CPU to arrive (first was dead on arrival; setback #1), I finally got to test my PC out. I booted it up, and all was well. It was running fine for around 20 to 30 minutes before I turned my back to fetch the driver for the wireless card. When I turned back to the PC, roughly a minute later, it was off! I was puzzled but just went to press the power button. Nothing. I press again. Nothing. No activity. I fiddle around with everything, and find that some times, when I pull the power adaptor out of the PSU, and then plug in and press the power button on the PC, the PSU fan spins for a split second and then everything is dead. The case lights inside go on, the CPU spins for the exact same length of time as the PSU. Then all is dead. Interestingly, the case fan lights do not go on at all. So, I wonder, what is the problem. After searching online, I find the paperclip test and that confirmed a short time ago that the PSU is working. So, now my attention turns to the motherboard. I think. I mean, the PSU is brand new, every part of the machine including the case is brand new. How can this happen? Right now, I am almost certain it's the motherboard, but how can I be 100% certain? How can I more definitively test the motherboard? And if it's the motherboard, why so suddenly? I don't understand what went wrong. Everything was working fine and I barely got to do anything at all! I watched a few seconds of a high-resolution video to see the GPU in action and searched around on google and updated drivers. In fact, that was one of the last things that I was doing. I had Drive Booster updating a few things. I was using had my mobile tethered as a tried to get the wireless adaptor driver updated without the disc. Even so, how does all of this end with a dead PC? I feel quite disheartened as I was so looking forward to getting this PC up and running. What should I do now?

SPECS:

MOBO:ASRock B450M Pro4 AM4 M-ATX D-Sub/HDMI/DVI DDR4
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: Radeon RX 570 Red Dragon 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
PSU: Silverstone Essential 550W 80 Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply
CASE: Kolink Aviator M Micro-ATX Gaming Case - Black
RAM: Team Group Vulcan T-Force 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey

I know this is probably rather simple, I'm no hardware expert etc. Any time and help very much appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Regards,
AW

Joxeon · 18 May 2020 at 02:38

If a component has a manufacturing defect then it would likely fail very soon into its lifespan.

I would strip it all down then breadboard outside the case it just to make sure it's not shorting on something or a faulty switch etc.

fastwunz · 18 May 2020 at 10:22

Reset the CMOS

Anderswelt · 18 May 2020 at 11:44

I reset cleared the cmos, still the same. I guess I have to breadboard it.

wookiee87 · 18 May 2020 at 14:31

have you tried booting up the pc without the newly installed wifi card ?, seems strange that after the card was installed your pc isn't behaving normally.

what make and model number is the wifi card?

Anderswelt · 19 May 2020 at 00:53

wookiee87 said:
have you tried booting up the pc without the newly installed wifi card ?, seems strange that after the card was installed your pc isn't behaving normally.

what make and model number is the wifi card?

It's the Ziyituod AX200 Wifi 6 Card. I've tried to start the PC without the WiFi card, GPU, one of each ram, no ram, all other cables out and only CPU and GPU connected. Interestingly, my phone still charges from the USB on the case when I connect it up. I'll try the motherboard USB later today. Does that mean the MOBO is alive? Could I be so unlucky as to have another dead CPU!? I don't know what to think here. I can charge my phone from the case usb, but why do the the case fans start dead?

Mcnumpty2323 · 19 May 2020 at 01:02

Take cmos battery out for 10 minutes or longer
Cured mine when it did similar thing

Anderswelt · 19 May 2020 at 06:00

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Take cmos battery out for 10 minutes or longer
Cured mine when it did similar thing

I did do this for around twenty minutes, but will leave it out for a couple of hours and I also reseated the CPU. I have the motherboard outside of the case, and will start it with a screwdriver by the power pins on the front panel connections. Fingers crossed.

sja360 · 19 May 2020 at 06:12

Got a multimeter to see what the psu is outputting?
Failing that I'd say motherboard is faulty. All parts are new I assume?

wookiee87 · 19 May 2020 at 07:54

when you try to boot your pc what lights show on (turn on) the motherboard, check you manual for post readout and pay close attention to what they do, there should be a certain order they follow.

just noticed something too your ram, that kit seems on the high side of things as 2nd gen ryzen always capped out around 2933mhz, have you set your ram to run at 3200mhz?, if so take the cpu, ram, gpu and drives off the motherboard and boot again, it may trick the board into its default state allowing you to boot into the bios (once everything's installed again), when you do don't go above 2133mhz to begin with, if it works increase the ram speed to a max of 2933mhz and see what happens.

Anderswelt · 19 May 2020 at 13:46

Unfortunately this mobo doesn't have lights. My best indicators of life are the cpu fan and the case lights and fans. I had the battery out for over two hours and reset cmos. Still the same nonsense. No ram, then no cpu, still the same problem when I place cpu back on the board. I haven't tested the PSU output with a multimeter yet. I actually didn't think to do that. I suppose that's my last test before purchasing another mobo!

wookiee87 · 19 May 2020 at 13:53

I would try your ram first, my system had a similar problem i left aggressive timing's on when i swapped out for new ram, when i came to boot the pc turned on for a split second and nothing, cmos clear did nothing as well, i put my old ram back in and hey presto it booted, set to default and my new ram worked, booted up set docp with the correct timing's and speed.

Have you got a friend who could lend a stick or 2 of ddr4 ram to see if the pc springs to life, if it does head intot he bios and set everything back to auto, then reinstall your ram and set docp but under speed drop back to 2933mhz and see if the pc works.

Don't forget 2nd gen ryzen had a weak memory controller and as a result around 3000mhz is the very best you can get, if you were super lucky and got a golden chip it would run max 3200mhz but no more.

Anderswelt · 22 May 2020 at 01:16

I took a gamble and purchased a new motherboard. The PC now works. The very first thing I did was F11 to enter boot setup. From there I entered tab where ram settings are and selected DDR4 2933. I saved and exited and booted into windows. I ran Speccy (an app which shows systems info), and it says Ryzen running at 103 degrees, the motherboard around 43 degrees. I got worried at the site of this so shutdown the PC. Am I being paranoid? I literally signed in, searched for a file on my HDD that I needed, copied that to my phone and then checked Speccy. It's that temp normal? I don't want yet another problem on my hands! I must say thankyou for pointing out the ram issue, I didn't know that. I selected this ram at the recommendation of another member here, so I went with it.

Quartz · 22 May 2020 at 06:38

Anderswelt said:
and it says Ryzen running at 103 degrees,

Centigrade? :eek:

Sounds like your CPU cooler is not fitted correctly or the fan isn't working. Hopefully a silly question but you did remove the clear plastic foil on the contact plate, didn't you?

wookiee87 · 22 May 2020 at 08:42

Anderswelt said:
and it says Ryzen running at 103 degrees

if that reading is in Centigrade then something is seriously wrong, as above take off the cooler and make sure any plastic cover's are removed and make sure the thermal paste has a good spread on the cpu and the cooler, check for any obstructions to the fan as well, the max temps you really should be aiming for is around 70-80 degrees on the stock cooler and around 70 degrees on a 3rd part cooler (eg: coolermaster, noctua or artic).

if the temp is 103 Fahrenheit then there's noting to worry about your cpu will be sitting around 39-40 degrees which leaves plenty of thermal headroom

, but check first, please don't run at over 100 degrees as you'll likely damage the cpu very quickly.

download a program called hwmoniter and see what you r cpu is doing, this program will show the degrees and Fahrenheit of the components of your computer (focus on degrees)

Mcnumpty2323 · 22 May 2020 at 11:23

Boot it straight into the bios to check temps
Don't even wait for Windows to load
If it keeps rising in the bios you know there's a problem
30~40c in bios is approximately right
Depends on cpu and ambient temperature of course but if it reaches 50c+ in bios something’s wrong

Anderswelt · 23 May 2020 at 00:58

I'm a little perplexed, the CPU doesn't have a foil on the contact plate. I checked and reseated everything. Back into Win 10, the same thing. Into Bios:

CPU Temp: 68.0°C/ 154.4°F
MOBO Temp: 29.0°C/ 84.2°F
CPU Fan Speed: 2146/2156 RPM

I see that the longer I have the Bios on screen, the temp is creeping slowly. I've turned everything off. When I started my PC, and checked Speccy, I noticed that my GPU wasn't listed. Can this be related to the problem?

wookiee87 · 23 May 2020 at 05:56

Anderswelt said:
I'm a little perplexed, the CPU doesn't have a foil on the contact plate. I checked and reseated everything. Back into Win 10, the same thing. Into Bios:

what do you mean by "foil"?????. there should be a material called thermal interface material (TIM) and it should be a semi viscus substance between the cooler and the cpu, its job is to fill in any micro gaps between the cooler and cpu and help transfer heat, from the sounds of it either there's is no TIM or it has dried up, in any case i'd strongly advice a new application, don't forget to remove any old compound first, a couple of sheets of toilet paper will do.

Can you take pictures of the cooler removed to see what the thermal paste is like and after when a new application is applied?

Mcnumpty2323 · 23 May 2020 at 15:34

What cpu cooler is it?
And by foil I assume we mean the thin plastic film that covers the bottom of the cooler not actual tin foil
As said that has to be removed
If the cooler didn't have a thin coating of thermal paste already on it ~usually grey stuff
Then you have to apply your own
Too little or too much thermal paste will be a problem
If it's a push pin cooler there's a very big chance one or more pins aren't properly engaged
Happens all the time with those

Anderswelt · 24 May 2020 at 00:17

I have the Wraith Spire cooler that comes stock with the Ryzen 5 2600. It doesn't have a foil on the bottom, but a thin layer of thermal paste. I wiped off the past on the CPU and put some thermal paste from Halnziye (thermal resistance of 255 centigrade). I've replaced cpus several times in the past, but never dealt with this, and never had a cooler before. Anyway, when I went into Win 10, I saw on Speccy that the cpu idles at mostly 80 degrees (I always talk centigrade). At most it went to 85 and occasionally went as low as 78. I was installing drivers etc, not watching videos or playing games. Is that okay?