Can't get to POST, immediately shuts down

[rchetal]

I saw a similar post made a few days ago at a different failure stage, but I'm currently doing an S4 mini build and can't seem to get the components working outside the chassis.

Parts List:
S4 Mini Chassis
Asus Strix Z270i Mini-ITX
Intel i5-7600K + Noctua L9i
GSkill TridentZ 3200MHz
Samsung 960 PRO 512gb
FireCuda 2tb + 8gb SSHD
G-Unique 400W Power supply + 400W brick
(No graphics card yet)

I wanted to do a dry fitting test of all the components before I chose my GPU and I finally got my power supply, but when I put all the parts together it won't boot. When I plug in the power supply the RGB lights on the motherboard light up and I can see when I click the momentary switch (I bought one on Amazon and used @Josh | NFC's handy tutorial on how to wire it), it lights up, but nothing else seems to work. If I press the power switch the momentary switch flickers and goes out, and the RGB lights reset and start pulsing again. I'm super new to computers and I can't seem to figure out what's wrong. I bought the rest of the pieces about a month ago and assembled those, but they've been sitting in the mobo's anti-static packaging since then and I've been pretty careful about ESD. Any ideas?

 

[Josh | NFC]

If it for sure isn't your power supply I would check your RAM. Incorrect RAM settings on your motherboard or faulty memory will cause the same thing.

I keep several sticks in the office just so I can get motherboards to boot and make VCCIO and VCCSA adjustments (if standard mem adjustments don't work).

I believe the Z270i has a MEMOK header, you could try using that. Look it up in your manual.

I can't remember the last time I have had a bad motherboard, but motherboards needing RAM tweaks happens quite often with DDR4.

Good luck.

 

[GentlemanShark]

It's always been the RAM. Whenever my build doesn't POST, the culprit is always the memory.

 

[Phuncz]

As @Josh | NFC already said, make sure it isn't the power supply because it's the most likely component to fail or have a defect.

I would also start at the RAM if the PSU is not the cause, removing the DIMMs and starting with one in socket A, if it fails try socket B. If that fails, try the same with the other DIMM. It could also be your CPU cooler being incorrectly mounted, if the board senses that the temperature rises too quickly.

 

[rchetal]

If it for sure isn't your power supply I would check your RAM. Incorrect RAM settings on your motherboard or faulty memory will cause the same thing.

I keep several sticks in the office just so I can get motherboards to boot and make VCCIO and VCCSA adjustments (if standard mem adjustments don't work).

I believe the Z270i has a MEMOK header, you could try using that. Look it up in your manual.

I can't remember the last time I have had a bad motherboard, but motherboards needing RAM tweaks happens quite often with DDR4.

Good luck.

I checked the power supply and it seems to be working well and @guryhwa tested it extensively before sending it to me and I tried every 1 and 2 RAM combinations I could think of but nothing seems to work. The manual doesn't say there is a MemOK button but there are CPU, RAM, Boot Device, and VGA LED's that are supposed to light up if there is an issue. None of them are lit with everything plugged in but it's very odd because even after I removed both RAM units the light still won't turn on...

 

[SeñorDonut]

RAM can cause the weirdest things. Try using RAM you know for sure is compatible with the rest of your system, as in check the motherboard and CPU's compatibility lists. Also, try booting the system with nothing plugged in, just the MB, CPU, RAM, and PSU. No hard drives, GPUs, or anything else.

 

[Josh | NFC]

I checked the power supply and it seems to be working well and @guryhwa tested it extensively before sending it to me and I tried every 1 and 2 RAM combinations I could think of but nothing seems to work. The manual doesn't say there is a MemOK button but there are CPU, RAM, Boot Device, and VGA LED's that are supposed to light up if there is an issue. None of them are lit with everything plugged in but it's very odd because even after I removed both RAM units the light still won't turn on...

I know how annoying these suggestions are...but better than nothing I suppose:

Just out of curiosity, did you try using a screwdriver to short the power headers? Just in case your switch is faulty?

Do you have an internal speaker in another PC you can borrow and plug in to see if you are getting audio codes?

You can try reseating your CPU taking care not to overtighten the cooler (stop before you get to finger tight)

Can you try unplugging everything from everything, and not using your 2.5" drives, and trying again?

Can you reset your CMOS in case some other user had your board before?

The RAM combinations I don't think will help unless the RAM was going to work with the system before and went bad. What I was saying is that more often than I would like I see some board/RAM combos aren't "programmed" right from the factory so you wont get a POST no matter what you do and you need to use memory that is posting to make changes to the board. I looked in the manual to see if I could find a MEMOK header but didn't see any either..

 

[Reldey]

I had this same issue, I took everything off except my motherboard, except keyboard, mouse, and displayport cable from the onboard graphics, and tried switching out the RAM in all the possible combinations, and it eventually posted. I then put everything back together, and it worked. It is a weird board, apparently a lot of people are having these "cold boot" issues.

 

[Craxas]

I had this same issue, I took everything off except my motherboard, except keyboard, mouse, and displayport cable from the onboard graphics, and tried switching out the RAM in all the possible combinations, and it eventually posted. I then put everything back together, and it worked. It is a weird board, apparently a lot of people are having these "cold boot" issues.

I can second this.
Had to disassemble everything, then force restarts like 2 times til it booted correctly. The z270i is a pretty board but its a PAIN IN THE ASS.

 

[Josh | NFC]

I can second this.
Had to disassemble everything, then force restarts like 2 times til it booted correctly. The z270i is a pretty board but its a PAIN IN THE ASS.

I had this same issue, I took everything off except my motherboard, except keyboard, mouse, and displayport cable from the onboard graphics, and tried switching out the RAM in all the possible combinations, and it eventually posted. I then put everything back together, and it worked. It is a weird board, apparently a lot of people are having these "cold boot" issues.

I've built all my systems this year using it, and generally it has been very smooth. Interesting that you both mentioned this, because literally Monday I had the same thing happen to me.

I chalked it up to me not seating the power correctly, just took it all apart, plugged everything back in, bam. Worked great and has passed 2 days of stress testing.

 

[DocH]

i had zero issues with my asus z70i strix. Are you sure your wiring is correct? you didnt flip the power plug on the board or something. Possible bad soldering or you broke a solder installing the power plug. Other idea is you may have a bad board. If you have another board try it out

 

[Craxas]

i had zero issues with my asus z70i strix. Are you sure your wiring is correct? you didnt flip the power plug on the board or something. Possible bad soldering or you broke a solder installing the power plug. Other idea is you may have a bad board. If you have another board try it out

Mate, heres 10 pages of people with the same problem:

Spoiler: SPOILER IN CASE LINKING TO OTHER FORUMS ISNT ALLOWED

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?92032-Asus-Strix-Z270i-Issues-Red-CPU-LED

This is a common ocurrence. Nothing to do with wiring. I even RMA'd my board about 3 months ago and the second one came with the same issue so...

 

[rchetal]

Thanks so much for all the advice! I completely stripped the computer down to a bare motherboard and started building it again, starting with the CPU socket and making sure nothing was damaged, and I didn't see anything so I just took a picture in case I'm wrong:

I reapplied thermal paste and took a lot more care screwing it in like @Josh | NFC said to, and I plugged in the header. The GSkill TridentZ 3200MHz RAM I'm using is in the QVL and is compatible with both the CPU and Mobo, but I tried swapping them around again to be safe. I'm going to try to see if any of my friends have DDR4 ram I could borrow to see if it's just my RAM that's busted though. I shorted the pins to turn it on but nothing changed from when I tried using the button, the lights just flicker and reset. The RGB lights turn on when plugged in and this little red light I'm not quite sure what's for (next to the USB 3.0 header).

I tried resetting the BIOS using the shorting pins and I even removed the CMOS battery to test the voltage, but it's pretty full at 2.6V. I didn't prep very well for this build to be honest, I bought the minimum stuff necessary and really had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I don't have a buzzer and it didn't come with one, but I'm sure I can find one if it'll help. I was considering tearing it down and retrying a second time, but I'm actually running low on thermal paste... I've been doing a lot of reading to see where other people have had issues and I found CMOS battery issues, outdated BIOS software, and bad power supplies to be the other culprit, but I checked the CMOS battery and my power supply was tested before it was sent so I doubt those were the culprits.

Everything's been plugged in correctly (I hope), and I still have no idea what's going on.

 

[Reldey]

I switched my power supply recently back to my SF600 and it did the same thing again. Just kept resetting it and it eventually posted. Really strange. Try unplugging the DC brick from the G Unique, then plugging it back in. Keep trying that and see if you can get anything on the screen.

 

[Craxas]

@rchetal
If you do reassemble, try with only one ramstick and on the slot nearest to the gunique. Then, try to turn it on with nothing on the IO except hdmi plugged in (no usbs no keyboards or mouses). You might see a red post led. If you do, force it off, and keep force restarting til you see it boots with a green or white led. (NOTE: the orange led nearest to the pcie slot being always on is normal. Pay attention only to the top debug ones)

If you see a yellow led in the post leds, try reseating the ram in the same slot. If it boots, proceed to plug everything else in. This board is notorious for having power phase issues with high frequency ram so its always good to try everything.

 

[DocH]

Mate, heres 10 pages of people with the same problem:

Spoiler: SPOILER IN CASE LINKING TO OTHER FORUMS ISNT ALLOWED

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?92032-Asus-Strix-Z270i-Issues-Red-CPU-LED

This is a common ocurrence. Nothing to do with wiring. I even RMA'd my board about 3 months ago and the second one came with the same issue so...

Hey never said it wasn't true. Just said i didn't have any issues with mine just plug and go. Also was just giving other ideas. I actually broke my solder installing the power button and was a pain figuring it out because i put heat shrink on it. Only way to be sure is to keep replacing parts with known working parts until you eliminate the one that didn't work. I hate doing this. If someone could invent a diagnostic test part that tests all pc components they would make bank.

 

[rchetal]

@Reldey I tried plugging it in to a few different outlets as well, and I had a KillAWatt meter attached to it and took it off in case it was affecting it (it wasn't).
@Craxas I actually tried that when I first rebuilt the system, installed RAM in the slot nearest the 24 pin and only had HDMI installed. I must have pressed the power button at least 50 times and none of the POST LED's ever came on. Just the same orange corner one that's always been on...I even tried using the reset button but that doesn't seem to do anything.
@DocH I completely agree! It's honestly so stressful when things don't work the first time and I'm not gonna lie my ego took a big hit when I couldn't even get this to post. I've been working on this for the past 3 hours and I'm dying inside.

 

[Craxas]

@Reldey I tried plugging it in to a few different outlets as well, and I had a KillAWatt meter attached to it and took it off in case it was affecting it (it wasn't).
@Craxas I actually tried that when I first rebuilt the system, installed RAM in the slot nearest the 24 pin and only had HDMI installed. I must have pressed the power button at least 50 times and none of the POST LED's ever came on. Just the same orange corner one that's always been on...I even tried using the reset button but that doesn't seem to do anything.
@DocH I completely agree! It's honestly so stressful when things don't work the first time and I'm not gonna lie my ego took a big hit when I couldn't even get this to post. I've been working on this for the past 3 hours and I'm dying inside.

No post leds sounds like a bad board... still in time to rma it or too late?

 

[Josh | NFC]

The weird thing is you are getting the Aurora lights...usually when the board isn't working those don't even turn on at all. Well, I say usually, but the two times I had issues with the board they weren't working.

Your socket looks good, but reseating actually has as much to do with the CPU, which they use paper thin material for now. Check and make sure your CPU isn't bent at all. I seriously doubt you did bend it with the Nocuta fan (one of the reasons I like it) but rule it out.

Also I don't care if your mother told you that power supply was good. Prove it!

Peace and I'm rooting for you!!!

 

[rchetal]

I honestly have no idea what to think about the whole situation, I thought the Aurora lights showing up was a sign that the motherboard works? I'm hoping it's just that the EATX12V plug is somehow broken because maybe the Aurora lights get their power from the 24 pin and everything else from the motherboard plug? I have a friend who can lend me his in a week so I guess I'm playing the waiting game for now. I'm trying to see if anyone has any DDR4 ram I can borrow to test, but most of my friends built their systems a few years ago and are still running DDR3. Thanks so much and I'll update if I get any progress.