Solved! is my conclusion correct? [solved]

[daggs1]

Greetings,

the other day I turned on the desktop and found out the the system didn't POST.
the setup is a AMD 2700X on a asus tuf b450m gaming with 4X8G of gskills 3200MHz CL14.
the mb's ram was OCed to 2933MHZ

I see the leds on the mb are on, all the fans (cpu, case, psu and gpu) are spinning, the case leds are on and the usual sounds the system is doing are there.
the display is blank and the light in the usb mouse is off.
the screen and mouse are connected to a dp kvm switch and are being used to write this post, so no issue there.
I've disconnected all the hdds and booted, no change.
connected a speaker to the mb header, no beeps.
left only the cpu, hsf, speaker, power connectors and usual case connectors (front panel) and tried to boot expecting any sound of the speaker but nothing,

thus my conclusion is that the mb is dead.
does anyone has another suggestion on what to test?

Thanks,

Dagg.

 

[In2Photos]

Did you try clearing the CMOS? After that the PSU would be my next test. Only once I've exhausted the easy stuff would I start looking at the mobo or CPU.

 

[daggs1]

Did you try clearing the CMOS? After that the PSU would be my next test. Only once I've exhausted the easy stuff would I start looking at the mobo or CPU.

no, I didn't will try that, I assume that after that, I should hear any beeps from the speaker right?
this mb is a RMA result, the previous one died on me and was replaced.
I don't think it is the psu, however, I'll try and find one to test with

 

[In2Photos]

no, I didn't will try that, I assume that after that, I should hear any beeps from the speaker right?
this mb is a RMA result, the previous one died on me and was replaced.
I don't think it is the psu, however, I'll try and find one to test with

One other thing to try is booting with 1 stick of RAM, try it in different slots, and try different sticks.

 

[daggs1]

One other thing to try is booting with 1 stick of RAM, try it in different slots, and try different sticks.

but if the speaker doesn't beeps, how do I know the status? unless the speaker is disabled in the bios, CMOS reset should work assuming it gets to it

 

[igor_kavinski]

This may happen to systems that may have been turned off and unused for a while. I have a i3-6100 HP desktop that gives blank screen now. It was in storage for over a year.

 

[daggs1]

This may happen to systems that may have been turned off and unused for a while. I have a i3-6100 HP desktop that gives blank screen now. It was in storage for over a year.

well, I used my system the night before so this isn't the issue

 

[lakedude]

First step, get rid of the KVM

 

[lakedude]

Back when I had 12 systems crunching BOINC I used KVMs and they quite often caused problems. I don't remember the specific issues but the video would get into a mode that was impossible for the monitor to display.

Oh also try a live CD to eliminate software and hard drive issues.

 

[daggs1]

First step, get rid of the KVM

I'll try flip the inputs with the working one, this still doesn't answer the question why I head no beeps without the ram. if it doesn't work, I'll need to get a new kvm

 

[daggs1]

Back when I had 12 systems crunching BOINC I used KVMs and they quite often caused problems. I don't remember the specific issues but the video would get into a mode that was impossible for the monitor to display.

Oh also try a live CD to eliminate software and hard drive issues.

tried without the hdds already, didn't worked

 

[mikeymikec]

Check the board manual to find out which slot the board prefers a single module to be in. I haven't found it to make much difference personally, but if I were trying my damnedest to get a PC to POST, I'd do things by the book.

 

[lakedude]

I'll try flip the inputs with the working one, this still doesn't answer the question why I head no beeps without the ram. if it doesn't work, I'll need to get a new kvm

Swapping won't help with an out of range video signal. You need to simplify the entire system to the minimum configuration needed to boot to any screen at all. Get rid of the KVM (for now), take out any and all extra parts like extra ram, storage drives, the video card (if a motherboard video port exists), extra headers etc. Plug the keyboard and mouse in back, directly to the MB.

You might try reseating or swapping parts like the CPU.

Your MB might indeed be bad. No lights on mouse and no beep codes is strange. Look or smell for burning 🔥 parts.

Try a different video output if you have one.

 

[daggs1]

Swapping won't help with an out of range video signal. You need to simply the entire system to the minimum configuration needed to boot to any screen at all. Get rid of the KVM (for now), take out any and all extra parts like extra ram, storage drives, the video card (if a motherboard video port exists), extra headers etc. Plug the keyboard and mouse in back, directly to the MB.

You might try reseating or swapping parts like the CPU.

Your MB might indeed be bad. No lights on mouse and no beep codes is strange. Look or smell for burning 🔥 parts.

Try a different video output if you have one.

I still need to know if the kvm switch is bad. I need to test the "good" computer with the "bad" input to be sure

thanks for all the info, I'll try them later

 

[daggs1]

tried the supposedly "bad" input with the "good" computer, it's good
so not the kvm.
I do remember that I left the computer on for an hour after starting it up to see if there is a network link but there wasn't any
cmos reset is up next

 

[Steltek]

Just off the top of my head, I'd say bad PSU, ground fault, bad board, or bad CPU (least likely) in that order.

As others have suggested, you might try to re-seat the CPU. It also could be a grounding issue where the board is grounding out on the case somewhere. You might pull the motherboard out of the case, put it on a piece of cardboard, and see if it will boot with just the CPU and a stick of DRAM installed.

My suspicion is that, in the end though, it will either be the PSU or the motherboard.

 

[mindless1]

Some boards won't POST with a dead battery. Some won't POST if the battery leaked and shorted out. Leaking is rare... but it just happened to me a few weeks ago.

What PSU and how old is it? 5VSB circuit on PSU failing is fairly common on some PSU, especially if the system isn't always running so there isn't fan forced airflow to keep it cool, and of course it depends on the 5VSB rail load.

SO the order I'd do this in is:

1) Turn off PSU at rear switch or pull from wall outlet. Wait a few minutes and you can do the below while waiting, or retry it again before doing the below.

2) Use clear CMOS jumper and pull and inspect the battery, with PSU unplugged or switched off. Switched off is better, maintains an earth ground in case of static discharge.

3) Retry system. If no luck, unplug PSU from wall, pull and open, inspect for burst capacitors. Clean the dust out while it's open. This is unless it is still under warranty. If under warranty, don't break the magic sticker, lol. It depends on the PSU design but often you can see the 5VSB capacitor's top by peering into the rear grill of the PSU, or through the fan opening, using a strong flashlight.

4) If PSU looks okay internally, reconnect it and start stripping system down to bare essentials, one memory module, and of course CPU and video card.

 

[lakedude]

tried the supposedly "bad" input with the "good" computer, it's good
so not the kvm.
I do remember that I left the computer on for an hour after starting it up to see if there is a network link but there wasn't any
cmos reset is up next

I never thought it was your KVM exactly and I wish I could remember what the deal was but some weird combination of events would cause the video signal to be completely incompatible with the monitor, resulting in a black screen. It was fairly rare but it happened more than a few times in my crunching years.

Oh I kinda remember needing to push buttons on the monitor that had to be memorized to get back to like VGA or something. It was a real pain because it was like the monitor or video card was dead but really everything was fine except the impossible mode the thing got itself into. Thinking back the displays were getting the blame for this but really the displays were fine...

I'll try to search up that old problem and see if it is even relevant.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I'm really hoping the OP figures it out. It might help me revive my dead system.

 

[Shmee]

Any luck with this? I would like to echo, try clearing the CMOS, and try with just 1 stick of RAM.

 

[daggs1]

didn't got to it unfortunately, work and family take precedence currently

 

[daggs1]

Just off the top of my head, I'd say bad PSU, ground fault, bad board, or bad CPU (least likely) in that order.

As others have suggested, you might try to re-seat the CPU. It also could be a grounding issue where the board is grounding out on the case somewhere. You might pull the motherboard out of the case, put it on a piece of cardboard, and see if it will boot with just the CPU and a stick of DRAM installed.

My suspicion is that, in the end though, it will either be the PSU or the motherboard.

not the first mb issue I had with this setup, the previous one just got fried,
that is why I lean to mb
both mbs where OCed to 3200MHz and 2933MHz ram wise
the system works hard

Some boards won't POST with a dead battery. Some won't POST if the battery leaked and shorted out. Leaking is rare... but it just happened to me a few weeks ago.

What PSU and how old is it? 5VSB circuit on PSU failing is fairly common on some PSU, especially if the system isn't always running so there isn't fan forced airflow to keep it cool, and of course it depends on the 5VSB rail load.

SO the order I'd do this in is:

1) Turn off PSU at rear switch or pull from wall outlet. Wait a few minutes and you can do the below while waiting, or retry it again before doing the below.

2) Use clear CMOS jumper and pull and inspect the battery, with PSU unplugged or switched off. Switched off is better, maintains an earth ground in case of static discharge.

3) Retry system. If no luck, unplug PSU from wall, pull and open, inspect for burst capacitors. Clean the dust out while it's open. This is unless it is still under warranty. If under warranty, don't break the magic sticker, lol. It depends on the PSU design but often you can see the 5VSB capacitor's top by peering into the rear grill of the PSU, or through the fan opening, using a strong flashlight.

4) If PSU looks okay internally, reconnect it and start stripping system down to bare essentials, one memory module, and of course CPU and video card.

the psu is an antec EA550GPRO, I've tried #1, no luck
#2 is my next step.
#3, I'd prefer not as the psu has 7 years warranty and opening it will void it

I never thought it was your KVM exactly and I wish I could remember what the deal was but some weird combination of events would cause the video signal to be completely incompatible with the monitor, resulting in a black screen. It was fairly rare but it happened more than a few times in my crunching years.

Oh I kinda remember needing to push buttons on the monitor that had to be memorized to get back to like VGA or something. It was a real pain because it was like the monitor or video card was dead but really everything was fine except the impossible mode the thing got itself into. Thinking back the displays were getting the blame for this but really the displays were fine...

I'll try to search up that old problem and see if it is even relevant.

checking the kvm was a good idea, as the kvm cost 100$ to buy and ship to my location, that is cheaper than getting new mb/psu/whatever is broken
it might be the gpu, however I wonder if the system will even boot without a gpu?

I'm really hoping the OP figures it out. It might help me revive my dead system.

as said, it isn't the first mb issues I have with this system, my previous one was GB aorus b450M which got fried

 

[daggs1]

so, after the pc was unplugged for a week, I've took out the cmos battery, inspected it and the mb to see they are ok, then I've shortcutted the coms pins, added one ram stick and the gpu.
the system started up.
I've added gradually all the sticks and the hdds, reconfigured the bios as I've like.
the system is up and running. not sure what was the issue. it works ok now.

thanks for all the help

 

[mindless1]

^ Does it have a dual bios? I once had a Gigabyte board, acted dead, fiddled around with it for a while then after a few fails at POSTing, for a brief moment I noticed a message on screen that the bios was corrupted and it was restoring from the backup copy.

If I had blinked, I would've missed seeing the message that it was restoring the bios and wouldn't have known what happened. I still don't know why... measured the battery voltage and it was good but swapped in a new battery anyway, after the bios restore.

 

[daggs1]

it's a uefi only bios afaik.
I've learnt that uefi only sometimes acts irrationally.
looks like this is one of these times.