New built PC doesn't POST

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:05

Hi guys,

Just finished building my new PC which arrived yesterday. Took my time with everything and made sure everything was connected. However I've just tried turning it on about 15minutes ago and the GFX card fans span, then stopped. Once I powered down the system they'd spin for a few seconds and stop with the system. I solved this by just having on 6pin PCI express connected to it (instead of the 2 6pins like I originally had connected). I thought that would solve the no signal message on the screen.

However it seems the system isn't actually posting as I thought it was. The GfX card is spinning, the water cooling system is on and working fine. However I can't see a light on the Mobo so I'm guessing for the system not to post. I must have a loose cable or possibly the RAM?

I've had a quick check over the cables and ram and gfx card. Everything seems to be connected securely. But I've came for a break and to have some tea and was hoping to return to it afterwards with some advice on the problem. I've read in the general tips trying clearing the cmos with the button on the back of the Mobo, but is that needed with it being a brand new build?

Also the keyboard and mouse plugged into the back of the system also do not power on. So must be something with the Mobo?
Specs are:
MSI Z97 mini ITX mobo
Intel i5 4690k 3.5Ghz
MSI Radeon R9 285 gaming edition
Cooler master Newton 240mm AIO
SuperFlower leader gold 650w fully modular PSU
Team group Vulcan 8gb 2400mhz
Sea gate 1tb HDD
Samsung evo 250gb SSD

Case is a Cosair 250D

stulid · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:06

Do you have the 8pin ATX near the cpu fitted?

ED209 · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:11

as stulid said, check the 8 pin connecter and the 22 pin connecter going to the motherboard, does the motherboard have a on board gpu? could always try this as well

also try iwth maybe 1 stick of ram in or the bare essentials to get the system working and go from there

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:33

ED209 said:
as stulid said, check the 8 pin connecter and the 22 pin connecter going to the motherboard, does the motherboard have a on board gpu? could always try this as well

also try iwth maybe 1 stick of ram in or the bare essentials to get the system working and go from there

I've tried the one stick of ram in both dimms. With both sticks and nothing. The 8 pin (think it's blue on my PSU) is connected but I'll check connection again as they are tight.

I have the power led and other wires under the Mobo (which were secured so they didn't touch the Mobo) could that maybe cause it not to start if there's contact? Was done on a few 250d builds with it being tight for space, maybe mine is loose?

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:42

Just tried the 8 pin connector. I have 2 which came with the super flower psu, one is a 4 + 4 labelled CPU 1. The other labelled CPU 2 is a block 8pin connector. I've tried both of these and still no post.

stulid · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:43

if the power switch wire is not on it wouldnt power up at all I would have thought.

Is the coolers rpmm wire plugged into the cpu fan header?

Try pulling the battery out for a bit with the power off, then refitting.

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 17:52

stulid said:
if the power switch wire is not on it wouldnt power up at all I would have thought.

Is the coolers rpmm wire plugged into the cpu fan header?

Try pulling the battery out for a bit with the power off, then refitting.

The wire coming from the cool master air is connected to the CPU fan right by the CPU, the 2. Fans from the radiator are connected to the system fan port via a splitter (2 into 1, not sure the correct name). The radiator fans are spinning and the lights on the CPU block are all lit up. So I assume they are powering just fine.

Any idea where the battery is on this mobo? Would pressing the reset CMOS button on the I/o plate do the same thing?

stulid · 1 Jan 2015 at 18:05

If there is a button then great, use that.

Matt-Page · 1 Jan 2015 at 18:09

Post some pictures if you can, it will help to spot anything obvious.
Is the motherboard secured properly, and there's no movement when you pres different parts of it?

I had something similar with my first PC build years ago (drove me mental) and it was the PSU that was faulty.

stulid · 1 Jan 2015 at 18:11

Take the GFX card out and try with just the onbaord solution.

That GFX card will need ALL its power connectors filled.

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 18:20

stulid said:
If there is a button then great, use that.

Should the pc be powered on when it's pressed or off? Might sound like a silly question lol

stulid · 1 Jan 2015 at 18:22

Power off.

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 18:31

stulid said:
Power off.

Done and held in for a few seconds still no post.

I'll try removing the gfx card.

Mobo seems really secure.

One thing I've noticed is a really tight fit between radiator and mobo, one screw is really really close, maybe even touching and causing it? I'll try a pic of it but not sure it will be any good from the iPad haha

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 19:10

Removed the gfx card and still the system didn't post. Everything on, but no signs of any lights coming on, on the mobo or any beeping noise.

ED209 · 1 Jan 2015 at 19:14

Barron2110 said:
Done and held in for a few seconds still no post.

I'll try removing the gfx card.

Mobo seems really secure.

One thing I've noticed is a really tight fit between radiator and mobo, one screw is really really close, maybe even touching and causing it? I'll try a pic of it but not sure it will be any good from the iPad haha

maybe remove the screw and give it another try to make sure its not shorting anything?

stulid · 1 Jan 2015 at 19:34

Its possible to have over tightened the cooler to the board thus bending it.

Barron2110 · 1 Jan 2015 at 20:17

stulid said:
Its possible to have over tightened the cooler to the board thus bending it.

Hmm ill give that a try, so loosen the AIO?

Ive just stripped it all back down removed the 3 bottom screws that were nearly touching the mobo incase they did make contact once everything was back in. I plugged everything back in. Also realised that the power led etc werent all wired in right way (+/-) so they are correct now. Connected up the gfx card with 2 x 6 pin connectors and plugged both of them in. System didnt POST and had the same issue with the gfx fans spinning, stopping and spinning again when powered down. (Thats with 2 different 6x pci plugs, with seperate modular cables, not one cable with pci/sli plugged in).

Also below is the best pictures i can get of it all assembled.

http://imgur.com/mQNWDn0
http://imgur.com/Hh1Y8ZK
http://imgur.com/H8ySZHY

russell664 · 1 Jan 2015 at 21:23

Have you tried with one stick of RAM in the system? One stick, and test each one of the slots one at a time?

Have you made sure all of the power connectors are firmly seated?

Also, have you done a CMOS reset?

Barron2110 · 2 Jan 2015 at 01:36

russell664 said:
Have you tried with one stick of RAM in the system? One stick, and test each one of the slots one at a time?

Have you made sure all of the power connectors are firmly seated?

Also, have you done a CMOS reset?

done all the above. Held the cmos reset switch on for about 5 seconds

tezza1982 · 2 Jan 2015 at 02:38

In this situation it is best to start form scratch if you seem to have tried everything.

If I was you I would dissasemble the entire system and rebuild on the motherboard box using the bare minimum of parts to logically diagnose where if any the fault lies.

Put the motherboard on the box it came in, I would always do a test with stock cooler,its actually fine to do a test for a post with no cooler at all, just turn it off after a few seconds.

Anyway plug in 1 stick of ram, plug in the atx and cpu power connecter and run off the onboard graphics. No need for anything else like disks at this point. To switch on the machine if no onboard power button is there just use a screwdriver and touch the power + and - pins on the motherboard header for a fraction of a second, it should power on if all ok. After that if post is successful gradually add your parts one by one and post till everything is connected.

I would personally try that routine to get to the root cause of your problem.