Motherboard Motherboard has power but won't start

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
I have setup my new pc and everything seems okay until I try to start the machine. Nothing happens.

My build is as follows:
  • Asus rog z370-i
  • i7 8700
  • Corsair LPX 32GB (2 * 16) DRAM 3000MHz C15 Memory Kit for DDR4 Systems
  • Dell 330W AC Adapter (power brick)
  • Dynamo Mini 160 DC-ATX
  • MSI GTX 1060 AERO ITX 6G OC Graphic Cards
The motherboard leds light up when i plug in the power, but when I try to start the machine nothing happens.
Here's what I've tried:
  1. Reconnecting all the cables, making sure that i hadn't mixed up the pcie 6+2 with the 4+4 pins.
  2. Re-seating the CPU.
  3. Re-seating the RAM and trying various combinations of the RAM including using a single stick. TO check if one of the ram sticks was faulty.
  4. Unplugging the GPU and trying to start the machine without it in case it was a low power problem.
I'm unsure of what to try next at this point. All the parts were purchased brand new.
 

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
Dynamo Mini 160 DC-ATX
My guess. Cannot provide enough for startup load.
I don't think it is a problem with enough power, thegala tried powering up without the gpu. that should be more than enough for boot. the PSU or the brick could be faulty, but it seems the power comes through someway.

have you tried another brick or powering up with another psu? like, do you have an atx or sfx psu lying around?

edit: I know it sounds a bit dumb but did you double check the power button connector?
that usually happens to me when building a new system
 
Last edited:

tinyitx

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 25, 2018
2,279
2,338
Have you installed a system speaker (which generates a single beep, usually, on a successful POST)?

How about the 4 POST LEDs? What happens when you press the Start button?

Both 24-pin EATXPWR and 8-pin EATX12V connectors tightly inserted?
 
Last edited:

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
I don't think it is a problem with enough power, thegala tried powering up without the gpu. that should be more than enough for boot. the PSU or the brick could be faulty, but it seems the power comes through someway.

have you tried another brick or powering up with another psu? like, do you have an atx or sfx psu lying around?

edit: I know it sounds a bit dumb but did you double check the power button connector?
that usually happens to me when building a new system


I don't have another PSU at the moment since I am travelling. I've tried all different positions of the power_sw including the one recommended by the motherboard manual .



Have you installed a system speaker (which generates a single beep, usually, on a successful POST)?

How about the 4 POST LEDs? What happens when you press the Start button?

Both 24-pin EATXPWR and 8-pin EATX12V connectors tightly inserted?
Have you installed a system speaker (which generates a single beep, usually, on a successful POST)?

How about the 4 POST LEDs? What happens when you press the Start button?

Both 24-pin EATXPWR and 8-pin EATX12V connectors tightly inserted?

No system speaker installed.
Both 24 and 8 pins are inserted. I tried that a few times just to be sure, tried different cables as well.

POST leds do not light up. There is an orange led which from my understanding is supposed to show that power is flowing to the board. And the rgb lighting also lights up.
 

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
I don't have another PSU at the moment since I am travelling. I've tried all different positions of the power_sw including the one recommended by the motherboard manual .






No system speaker installed.
Both 24 and 8 pins are inserted. I tried that a few times just to be sure, tried different cables as well.

POST leds do not light up. There is an orange led which from my understanding is supposed to show that power is flowing to the board. And the rgb lighting also lights up.
hmm thats weird, but you're right, that light indicates power is reaching the mobo.
did you tried to jump the power btn pin in the mobo directly? without the power button? just to rule the power btn out of the equation
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
Still think it is 160 DC
GPU is rated 120w
CPU is rated 65w
MB will be about 10w
No mention of storage so lets assume SSD, thats 5>10 w
Ram. hard to say, but outervision with just 2 x DDR4 ( and standard KB and mouse inc) shows 65w
and that is without any USB device, extra fans, LED etc... not saying the OP has any such, but just how these things add up
I would pitch for at least 300w DC-ATX
 

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
hmm thats weird, but you're right, that light indicates power is reaching the mobo.
did you tried to jump the power btn pin in the mobo directly? without the power button? just to rule the power btn out of the equation

I have tried jumping directly from the motherboard with no result either.

Still think it is 160 DC
GPU is rated 120w
CPU is rated 65w
MB will be about 10w
No mention of storage so lets assume SSD, thats 5>10 w
Ram. hard to say, but outervision with just 2 x DDR4 ( and standard KB and mouse inc) shows 65w
and that is without any USB device, extra fans, LED etc... not saying the OP has any such, but just how these things add up
I would pitch for at least 300w DC-ATX

I have tried starting the machine without the GPU attached and nothing happens either. This should still be within the range of the PSU
 
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1461748123

Master of Cramming
Nov 5, 2016
489
1,068
Is your CPU delided or is your CPU used? One time I accidentally got some silicon on to the contacts when I glue the lid back and the MOBO won't boot. After cleaning it works just fine.
 

tinyitx

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 25, 2018
2,279
2,338
Is the system inside a case? Maybe take everything out to make sure nothing is shorted (eg by a case standoff).
 

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
Is your CPU delided or is your CPU used? One time I accidentally got some silicon on to the contacts when I glue the lid back and the MOBO won't boot. After cleaning it works just fine.
CPU is brand new and un-modded haha.

Is the system inside a case? Maybe take everything out to make sure nothing is shorted (eg by a case standoff).
I've just tried the same things but without the case and still the same result. LEDs light up on the motherboard but it doesn't turn on even when shorting the power_sw pins
 

1461748123

Master of Cramming
Nov 5, 2016
489
1,068
Alright, this might be a dumb question. Are you sure that you are using the right pins to boot the system?
 

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
Alright, this might be a dumb question. Are you sure that you are using the right pins to boot the system?
I've tried the pins suggested by the mobo manual. And i've also tried other combinations of pins on the f_panel connector just to be sure
 

Choidebu

"Banned"
Aug 16, 2017
1,196
1,204
Do you have another working system you can take out the psu from and swap in?

Edit: you don't. Didn't read that. Well try a bare minimum: just 24 pin, 8 pin eps, no drives, display to iGPU. Nothing connected to f_panel. Then short the power_sw.
 

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
Do you have another working system you can take out the psu from and swap in?

Edit: you don't. Didn't read that. Well try a bare minimum: just 24 pin, 8 pin eps, no drives, display to iGPU. Nothing connected to f_panel. Then short the power_sw.
Same result.
I will try ordering a new cpu psu->cpu cable perhaps that is the issue. I will keep everyone posted when it arrives
 

Choidebu

"Banned"
Aug 16, 2017
1,196
1,204
Yeah could be a solder coming off on one of the rails. Maybe try pushing the cables into the connector? A multimeter is handy here...
 

Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
NFC Systems
Jun 12, 2015
1,869
4,466
www.nfc-systems.com
Hello, thegalah!

I've built a few of these boards before (even last week I had quite a few) and before that a ton of the Z270i and here are some things that I have learned about the board for no-power on scenarios.

1. The HDPLEX 160 / Dynamo Mini is more than enough to power on any system. I ran a 1070 system off a HDPLEX 160 for about a month during testing. You'll draw a max of around 40w at startup, and it will fall below that in Windows. You can even run a 1070 off a Dynamo mini for a short period before it will cut off, so startup is not a problem. As a side note, I think it is 100% fine for your system.

2. I don't know if you have a MINI, but plugging in the PCIE Key upside down will cause a no-power on with this board and most GPUs.

3. This board will output the Aura RGB LEDs even if it is dead. I have experienced this before and it was a doozy to troubleshoot.

4. This board will output the Aura RGB LEDs if your CPU is dead. Also hard to troubleshoot. :)

5. The amber light by the GPU will come on for a majority of no-boot situations. What you are looking for are the white or red LEDs near the memory slots at the top. If those aren't lighting up, you may have a defective board. I had to send one to ASUS and they sent back a note "NO POWER (Debug Card No Action) [Power on/off fail].

6. Believe it or not, having your M.2 card plugged in poorly can trigger this. I have been sent customer builds to work on and sometimes they forget to put the standoffs on, which can prevent a no-boot for some reason.

7. User error. Forgetting to plug the 4+4, or GPU power cable, or ON/OFF cable correctly. It happens.

8. Installing the motherboard but not bending the I/O shield ground tabs back so they stick inside your USB3 port.


But I saved the probably cause for last. The Dell 330 brick. If you didn't buy a genuine Dell brick but bought one off eBay or Amazon the most common issue with them is poor startup/no startup due to the barrel connector not mating appropriately with the HDPLEX/KMPKT DC jack.

Taken from my MINI FAQ:


My Dell 330 and HDPLEX 400 lights shut off and won't power on!

There is a certain batch of Dell adapters (perhaps grey market or non-genuine) that have barrel plug issues.


The symptom is when you plug the AC cord to this Dell adapter and then connect the Dell adapter to the HDPLEX 400W the Dell adapter power indicator light will go off (and sometimes the HDPLEX light too) and the PC will not power on.


The solution is to FIRST connect the Dell to the HDPLEX 400W and THEN plug the AC power cord into Dell adapter, and FINALLY plug the cord into the wall. This is good practice for electronics anyway.


Several customers have solved this issue by purchasing their powerbrick from a different channel (like Dell.com).


Quote:


"Well it turns out the new Dell adapter did fix my problem.


Comparing the new unit to the old, the only difference I really notice is the old one has a tiny bit of roughness where the black plastic ring meets the metal of the DC connector. So I'm just guessing here, but maybe the metal there is causing some sort of spark as it makes contact."

Special thanks to Larry for helping me solve this problem.
 

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
Yeah could be a solder coming off on one of the rails. Maybe try pushing the cables into the connector? A multimeter is handy here...
New cable didn't work :(

Hello, thegalah!

I've built a few of these boards before (even last week I had quite a few) and before that a ton of the Z270i and here are some things that I have learned about the board for no-power on scenarios.

1. The HDPLEX 160 / Dynamo Mini is more than enough to power on any system. I ran a 1070 system off a HDPLEX 160 for about a month during testing. You'll draw a max of around 40w at startup, and it will fall below that in Windows. You can even run a 1070 off a Dynamo mini for a short period before it will cut off, so startup is not a problem. As a side note, I think it is 100% fine for your system.

2. I don't know if you have a MINI, but plugging in the PCIE Key upside down will cause a no-power on with this board and most GPUs.

3. This board will output the Aura RGB LEDs even if it is dead. I have experienced this before and it was a doozy to troubleshoot.

4. This board will output the Aura RGB LEDs if your CPU is dead. Also hard to troubleshoot. :)

5. The amber light by the GPU will come on for a majority of no-boot situations. What you are looking for are the white or red LEDs near the memory slots at the top. If those aren't lighting up, you may have a defective board. I had to send one to ASUS and they sent back a note "NO POWER (Debug Card No Action) [Power on/off fail].

6. Believe it or not, having your M.2 card plugged in poorly can trigger this. I have been sent customer builds to work on and sometimes they forget to put the standoffs on, which can prevent a no-boot for some reason.

7. User error. Forgetting to plug the 4+4, or GPU power cable, or ON/OFF cable correctly. It happens.

8. Installing the motherboard but not bending the I/O shield ground tabs back so they stick inside your USB3 port.


But I saved the probably cause for last. The Dell 330 brick. If you didn't buy a genuine Dell brick but bought one off eBay or Amazon the most common issue with them is poor startup/no startup due to the barrel connector not mating appropriately with the HDPLEX/KMPKT DC jack.

Taken from my MINI FAQ:


My Dell 330 and HDPLEX 400 lights shut off and won't power on!

There is a certain batch of Dell adapters (perhaps grey market or non-genuine) that have barrel plug issues.


The symptom is when you plug the AC cord to this Dell adapter and then connect the Dell adapter to the HDPLEX 400W the Dell adapter power indicator light will go off (and sometimes the HDPLEX light too) and the PC will not power on.


The solution is to FIRST connect the Dell to the HDPLEX 400W and THEN plug the AC power cord into Dell adapter, and FINALLY plug the cord into the wall. This is good practice for electronics anyway.


Several customers have solved this issue by purchasing their powerbrick from a different channel (like Dell.com).


Quote:


"Well it turns out the new Dell adapter did fix my problem.


Comparing the new unit to the old, the only difference I really notice is the old one has a tiny bit of roughness where the black plastic ring meets the metal of the DC connector. So I'm just guessing here, but maybe the metal there is causing some sort of spark as it makes contact."

Special thanks to Larry for helping me solve this problem.

Yeah probably some hardware issue it seems. I tried all the obvious things. I'll try take it to a computer repair shop since they will be able to help me diagnose any issues. I'll keep everyone posted
 

thegalah

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 18, 2018
8
1
Turns out I did indeed have a motherboard which was faulty. I will return to asus and keep everyone updated on the results when i get a new one