I just change the CPU cooler.....

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And now my PC will not post.
It comes on for a sec and a half. Displays 16 the 39 on the board then repeats its self.
I tried with out the ram in, same issue.
It feels to me that there is a short some where, any ideas!!
 
Check the stand-offs. Make sure there is no metal to metal between them and the motherboard on both the back and front of the mounting system. You might have missed something as simple as a small sticker.
 
AS above - but what was the cooler?

If it was a big monolith type one with heavy duty fittings - check that you haven't over tightened one side -and that the board isn't warping around the socket.
 
u14s. I have just remember that it said to use the mother back plate, which I never had. I was using a H90. I will remove the cooler and test.
 
I would remove the motherboard from the case and sit on some cardboard and test to see if it will boot up a bare bones setup to eliminate shorting and dodgy cables.
  • PSU
  • CPU/HS
  • 1 stick memory/try different slots
  • Use onboard gfx if you have it/if not use gpu
If it boots start adding components until it buckles. If it doesn't boot post back...
 
I would re seat the cpu just to be sure that the new cooler was not over tightened and did you ground yourself before you changed the cooler. I know it's rare to short something but you never know.
 
It does the same with no cooler attached.

Could you expand on this?

All I did was just changed the cooler, it was working before hand.

Do you mean the whole heatsink or just the fan? As changing the heatsink can lead to problems like this if not fitted properly or plastic still stuck to the bottom of the heatsink.

We just need to clarify what you've done.

But, if you've changed the cooler and happy with it's fitting/reseat and you still have problems - then I really would remove from the case and run a skeleton setup.
 
Leaving the plastic on it should still run for a bit not fail to start up - even without the heatsink on (which I don't recommend - though thermal management is usually pretty bulletproof these days) it would normally run for 15-30 seconds before thermal shutdown kicks in.

If its flicking between 16 and 39 it sounds like its having trouble initialising some connected hardware - which suggests potentially a short or the CPU not sitting properly causing a connection issue.
 
Not like the old days when you would have a blind panic if you pressed the on switch/shorted the pins - then realising you're working on your wrong rig... :)

Glad I only really worked on Intel rigs when I was building PCs as part of my job - a few building AMD systems had some unfortunate incidents (I'm never entirely sure if they were completely accidental).

Think I only managed to power a system up forgetting to put the heatsink on once.
 
Think I only managed to power a system up forgetting to put the heatsink on once.

I hadn't at all until i had kids - then my maticulous methods died a death, along with my large study and build area (relegated to the smallest room - but the planned garage conversion will be mine until they kick me out.) .

I've never booted without a heatsink, as such, but i have booted on a couple of occasions with the HS not screwed on - just sat on the CPU for an idea of space/clearance. I blame the combination of, building when i have the time (late at night) and perhaps coincidentally twinned with a beer or two...
 
Just incase - make sure the fan's connector is plugged into the right motherboard cpu cooler socket.

They can detect if it's missing & will refuse to start up.

They can also detect if the fan isn't spinning, if something gets caught in there.
 
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