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[Raptomex]

With my friend's help, I built a PC early this year. Everything has been fine until yesterday. I got home from work and powered it on like I normally do and there was no display to either of my monitors.

I did the following:
- Connected an HDMI cable directly to both monitors, one at a time. Still no display.
- Connected an HDMI cable from the mobo on-board video to each display. Still no display.
- Shut it down, power cycled the power supply, same problem.
- Plugged in the power supply elsewhere, same problem.

After a few more restarts, the PC would turn on and shut off after few seconds. That led me to believe there was some kind of power issue.

I did the following:
- I opened the PC up and looked for any loose cables. There were none that I saw.
- I went to Best Buy and bought another 850w model power supply.
- I replaced the power supply. Same problem.
- I started disconnecting cables and reconnecting them inside the PC. However, by accident, I forgot to plug back in the CPU cable during one test and the PC would remain powered on. This leads me to believe there is an issue with the CPU or motherboard.

After getting pissed off and then calming down I decided to do some research. I did the following:
- I unplugged the power and held the power button down for 20 seconds and then tested it again. Same issue.
- I removed the CMOS battery for a few minutes, held the power button down for 20 seconds, put the CMOS battery back in and the power issue was solved. It stays on and doesn't turn itself off at least.

But now I still have no display. Nothing is overclocked, all of the fans spin, there's not much dust, and everything inside the PC seems to be functional from what I can see. Nothing looks melted, or burnt, and nothing smells. Tomorrow I want to strip everything out but the bare basics and try again. And no, nothing has been odd with performance and the PC hasn't been "misbehaving" before this event. I come home one day and bam. My question is obviously what does anyone think the issue could be? I'm guessing a motherboard or CPU issue. Maybe I just need to reseat the CPU, apply more thermal paste? I'm really hoping I don't have to buy a new one, or a motherboard for that matter but it is what it is.

Specs:
i7-6700k 4.00 GHz
32GB RAM (four 8gb chips)
980ti which was replaced with a 1080ti a few months ago
Elgato HD60 Pro
WD Black 3TB HDD x2
Z170A Titanium Edition motherboard
850w Power Supply

Unfortunately, I'm not home yet to try anything but its been on my mind.

 

[davepoobond]

Sounds like the same issue I was having with my graphics card. Have you tried taking it out and using the onboard display?


Plugging just to the mobo without removing the gpu won't do anything

 

[zeemumu]

I'm having that issue with my build. I replaced the motherboard (and I'm gonna replace the RAM as well, just in case) and I'm gonna see what happens when the replacement RAM gets here.

 

[Raptomex]

Sounds like the same issue I was having with my graphics card. Have you tried taking it out and using the onboard display?


Plugging just to the mobo without removing the gpu won't do anything

I think so. I had the GPU removed at one point but I don't remember if I tried connecting to the mobo video. I'm guessing not. I'll try again tonight or tomorrow.

I'm having that issue with my build. I replaced the motherboard (and I'm gonna replace the RAM as well, just in case) and see what happens.

Did it resolve anything?

 

[davepoobond]

I think so. I had the GPU removed at one point but I don't remember if I tried connecting to the mobo video. I'm guessing not. I'll try again tonight or tomorrow.

Just keep removing parts until you get something working/displaying then work backwards to figure out the problems

If you remove everything and it's not the power supply since it's new, then it's safe to assume CPU or motherboard problem

 

[SephiZack]

Do you have a motherboard speaker? If you have one, when you turn on the power supply you can hear some "beeps" which change based on what doesn't work. They cost like 5 dollars

 

[Captain Chaos]

Unlikely its ram or cpu.

Motherboards blow, take no heed to fans spinning as I've had boards go and fans keep spinning

 

[Raptomex]

Unlikely its ram or cpu.

Motherboards blow, take no heed to fans spinning as I've had boards go and fans keep spinning

I'd rather it be the motherboard, if anything. The CPU was expensive.

 

[SephiZack]

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago and discovered it was because I didn't push the RAM into the slot properly and it unseated after I moved the desk.

 

[zeemumu]

Did it resolve anything?

No, but my RAM replacements haven't gotten here yet so I can't know for sure until I completely reassemble it.

 

[BlackGoku03]

OP, I would take everything apart and reseat it. This includes sata and power cables. Do your GPU last and before you install it, check the on board video. Try all the outputs.

If it was the CPU, depending on the mobo, you should still see an error message saying there's no CPU. So if the mobo video doesn't work Without the graphics card installed, I'd say it's the motherboard that needs replacing.

As another poster said earlier, there would be beeps coming from the mobo speaker but if it doesn't have one, you may need to purchase a cheap one to test.

I'll check back later when I'm not in a rush to leave.

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago and discovered it was because I didn't push the RAM into the slot properly and it unseated after I moved the desk.

That happens to a lot of people. Sometimes it takes a little bit of force.

 

[Raptomex]

Everything is stripped. Connected to Mobo video, 1 stick of ram. We got it to display a damaged bios message so we're trying to flash it. However it hangs on "entering setup..." And never gets into the BIOS setup menu.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Everything is stripped. Connected to Mobo video, 1 stick of ram. We got it to display a damaged bios message so we're trying to flash it. However it hangs on "entering setup..." And never gets into the BIOS setup menu.

That sounds like a screwed mobo. To be sure, power it down and try different RAM sticks across all four RAM slots. This will help you confirm that 1) it isn't the RAM and 2) that, maybe, one (or more) of the RAM slots died while one (or more) may still function.

Check your warranty info on the motherboard as well. Probably new enough to RMA

 

[99Luffy]

You need to get off GAF now and see a computer doctor.

 

[bob_arctor]

Well damn. My X51 started with this same issue just two days ago. I finally got it to boot and haven't turned it off since.

 

[mfn_pie]

I ran into a similar problem with my build and it ended up being insufficient thermal paste. It's worth a quick try at least.

 

[Raptomex]

We're off to microcenter. Getting a new motherboard. Fuck.

 

[bob_arctor]

We're off to microcenter. Getting a new motherboard. Fuck.

Good luck. Keep us updated. I will probably be following suit very shortly.

 

[parmanu]

Looks like RAM slot went boom

 

[bob_arctor]

I didn't do any of the due diligence OP did but had the same symptoms and got the 1 Beep which means Mobo beef. I only got it to boot by standing the X51 vertically.

When I have time, I will open it up and reseat everything. Or maybe just leave it on forever. 😂

Is there any Mobo diagnostic I can run? I use Speccy but that only tells me temps and temps are fine.

 

[dpunk3]

Will it not POST?

I had a similar issue a while back, found one of my socket pins bent. I don't know why that wouldn't show up until now but I would check your socket for bent pins.

 

[BlackGoku03]

We're off to microcenter. Getting a new motherboard. Fuck.

Yeah, I figured that was the culprit. I hope they don't overcharge you.

Let us know how it goes. Your problem sucks but I had worse this past week.

Somebody restored our main domain controller from a snapshot and fucked it all up. Had to fix that...

 

[RumblingRosco]

We're off to microcenter. Getting a new motherboard. Fuck.

If you built your PC new earlier this year, you're almost guaranteed to be under warranty still. Get that motherboard RMA'd! Even if you buy a new one, you can get a refurbished/new mobo from your busted mobo's manufacturer as a spare or just resell it.

 

[Raptomex]

We got one. Price matches online. And some thermal paste. Going to head back soon. Really hope nothing else is fucked.

 

[kharma45]

I don't understand why you're not using your warranty. You've no need to buy new components

 

[Raptomex]

Got it to boot with the new motherboard. However, now we only get a display with one stick of ram in any slot. More than one and there's no display.

 

[BlazinSkatinAxel]

?? It sounds like the graphics card.

 

[davepoobond]

Got it to boot with the new motherboard. However, now we only get a display with one stick of ram in any slot. More than one and there's no display.

sounds like you had some sort of power surge that affected multiple pieces of equipment...

is your graphics card still plugged in?

 

[TheContact]

Was the P.C. plugged into a power surge or right into the wall ?

 

[Neith]

Yeah would be helpful to know. Always get some kind of surge protection. I could not do without my monster power center. I love this thing.

The one stick thing sounds really weird though. I would also consult some online information and not just GAF. You seem like you have a complex issue and just buying parts will eventually solve it.... but that can get pretty expensive.

If it's your graphics card that is a really simple and easy thing to tell. Obviously, just unplug your GPU lol. If you are not running then it is one of a couple components. You should be running off of your intel integrated graphics just fine if it is not a mobo or cpu problem as you have replaced your PSU.

Are you 100% sure you hooked this thing up correctly during all the install and maintenance?

 

[NJDEN]

Check and make sure all your cables are plugged in 100%. I had a system that sat completely motionless have the main Mobo power cable come loose once. I hunted around for a few days and almost RMA'd before I realized I had loose cables. Make sure that shit is in plugged in tight. Give it a light tug, and if she comes loose then it might have been your issue. Sometimes it's the dumbest most unsuspecting things that screw up a system.

 

[Raptomex]

There was no power surge as far as I know. We got it up and running with 2 sticks of ram. I normally have it plugged in a power strip at all times. While we were testing, it was the wall outlet. Graphics card was the last thing we put in. We did all of our testing connected to onboard video. Right now I'm up and running. CPU is okay, HDD's are okay, GPU is okay, and I can get into the new motherboard BIOS setup. However, either the ram is somehow fucked or 2 ram slots are fucked on the new mobo (yeah, I'm annoyed). I'm leaning towards the latter since the ram sticks work individually. The board supports up to 64gb and they're each 8gb. As far as I know they should work. I don't have other ram sticks to try though. We tried messing with ram voltage settings and XMP settings but no dice. It's all back to default.

I'm going to contact MSI about the other board and see if it's under warranty then RMA it, if possible. I have no idea what the hell happened.