Two year old gaming PC randomly stopped working

[Stg-Flame]

I know the title is pretty vague, but something must have happened while I was at work today. I was playing on it last night with no problems and I shut it down as I always do. Today I got home from work early and I tried to turn it on, but only the lights and fans turned on - nothing else seemed to start. Heatsink fan isn't moving and my GPU fans aren't moving. I have my old rig nearby, but I wanted to ask what could be the likely culprit. With my current job, I barely get eight hours off before I have to go back to work and most of that time is now spent with family.

So, I have a whole rig with hardware in good condition waiting to be swapped out, but my worst fear is a dead motherboard as I see no lit LEDs near the bottom anymore.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Edit: I finally found my old invoices. My motherboard is a ASROCK|Z77 EXTREME4 Z77

 

[VirtualLarry]

Edit: I finally found my old invoices. My motherboard is a ASROCK|Z77 EXTREME4 Z77

Is it more than three years old? Might still be under warranty.

Anyways, could be almost anything. Try a PSU test. Disconnect the ATX12V 4/8-pin, and the ATX 24-pin, and disconnect the various molex, SATA, and PCI-E power connectors. Connect a single case fan (with a molex power connector) to a molex connector on the PSU.

Then connect, I think, the green wire to a black wire with a paperclip. Keep it held there. See if the PSU fan and the case fan spin up. If they do, then the PSU isn't totally dead. If nothing spins up, or it starts to spin but suddenly stops, then the PSU is bad or shorted.

 

[denis280]

I agree with VirtualLarry.and yes it is the green wire to a black wire with a paperclip.from the ATX 24-pin.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I'll have to try this Saturday as I'm still out on location and won't get back until Friday night.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Excuse my ignorance, but wouldn't the case lights and fans turning on and only those turning on do exactly like what you're asking me to do?

 

[groovieknave]

Usually, when the lights come on but the fans aren't working it means the system board is toast. It could mean the power supply is failing and can't provide enough power.

You could remove everything down to just the system board and see if it beeps or anything, if it does beep that means the system board is fine and you need to replace the power supply, if it doesn't beep then I'd say the system board is toast.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Maybe I need to reiterate. When I press the power button on the PC, it turns the case fans and the lights on. The LEDs behind the fans as well as the fans all turn on, but only on the case. My GPU and heatsink fans do not turn on.

I was really hoping for a quicker way to troubleshoot the hardware since my weekend off was cancelled and I only have about six hours before I go back to the field.

 

[groovieknave]

It sounds like the system board is dead, because the power supply is powering everything. You can test it like mentioned but I really believe it is the system board and you should buy a new one. It isn't that expensive for the type of system you have.

I can't say for sure without the tests being done. But I've fixed a ton of computers with this issue and it's almost always the system board.

Hope that helps!

 

[Stg-Flame]

It does help and I am going to start tearing it apart as soon as I get packed for next week.

When I remove the hardware, do I need to remove the CPU as well? I've built about five gaming rigs for myself and countless others for different people and I always hate removing CPUs if they are going to be reattached. Thus far, I've yet to damage a CPU during the removal process, but I know how easy it is to destroy a CPU.

 

[groovieknave]

no need to remove the CPU... just everything else as in memory, video card, sound card if you have one, unplug the hard drives, unplug USB, unplug the monitor, unplug CD roms... you get the idea.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I'll post my findings. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Ok. So I disconnected everything except the motherboard and CPU, turned it on, and everything lit up normally. Upon further inspection, I noticed my motherboard has a "Dr. Debug" built into it which is now visible and showing error code 53 (no memory detected). I didn't hear any beeps but my CPU fan is spinning now.

Should I start adding pieces one by one to see if it's the PSU dying or does the lack of BIOS beeps indicate a dead board?

Edit: After plugging my HDDs and SSDs back in and without my GPUs installed, the LEDs on my motherboard lit up for a moment then went off. I then plugged a single GPU in to which my CPU fan stopped spinning and the motherboard lights didn't even come on. I'm hoping this eludes to a dying PSU and not a dead motherboard.

 

[denis280]

Edit: After plugging my HDDs and SSDs back in and without my GPUs installed, the LEDs on my motherboard lit up for a moment then went off. I then plugged a single GPU in to which my CPU fan stopped spinning and the motherboard lights didn't even come on. I'm hoping this eludes to a dying PSU and not a dead motherboard.

You got it.:thumbsup:

 

[Stg-Flame]

But the lack of a BIOS beep that groovie spoke of has me worried it could also be the motherboard. I don't know the conditions of why it started dying - it could be faulty or my surge protector could have faulted (wouldn't be the first time), so I don't want to buy a new PSU and still have the same problem. It's hard to stress the time constraints I'm under, but essentially, after tonight, I won't be able to touch my PC again for about two weeks and I'd like to get the parts ordered before I leave again, so on the off-chance I get off early or a job gets cancelled, I'll have all the parts I need waiting for me.

 

[groovieknave]

Well, the motherboard was giving you the codes for memory not installed, then once you added more parts things stop working. It could be the power supply (very high chance now), but it could still be the motherboard.

Right now it's impossible for me to be able to tell you (lack of beep codes but still got the diagnostics) because the only thing that's going to make this situation 100% would be a power supply tester. The other option is just buy the power supply, try that, if it doesn't work the system board.

If you want buy both, try the power supply if that doesn't work then install the system board and try the old power supply... then you could just send one of the parts back. Heck, it may be both parts! It isn't that expensive to buy both and try them out.

 

[Stg-Flame]

It looks like I'll be buying the eVGA 80Gold SuperNOVA PSU since it comes highly recommended and I love eVGA products. Past that, I don't think I'll have enough time to shop around for a replacement motherboard at this time, so I'll get the PSU and hope that the board isn't dead. If it is, I've already made a thread asking for suggestions on a new mobo.

Thanks a lot for all the help from everyone here.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The fact that you were able to get a debug LED code of "no memory installed" is a good sign.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Looks like I have service on this location so I can keep posting from my phone.

That's why I'm not buying a motherboard at this point in time with my new PSU. The fact the LED codes and all lights went off as I added more hardware indicated insufficient power. However, I've noticed a current trend with the ASRock Z77s dying lately, so I'm not ruling that out until my new PSU arrives and I have time to swap it out.

 

[groovieknave]

I hope it's the power supply