I'm building a gaming PC with my son which will have room for future upgrades. I've run into a problem that's stumping me, and yes, as you'll see, I've read other posts and done what I can to troubleshoot first based upon prior posts. While not a complete noob (I've built a computer before and I do study beforehand), I'm no pro at this either.
Let me emphasize: all parts are brand new except where otherwise indicated, and I've not even installed Windows 10 yet - the machine so far is running only on BIOS.
Synopsis: I installed power supply, MB, RAM, CPU & cooler, fans & drives, and successfully test booted it with a standard (used) VGA monitor connected to the MB multiple times, showing BIOS running perfectly and registering all components correctly. I installed the GPU, hooked it up to the same monitor, and after successfully booting once, again showing BIOS running correctly via the GPU hookup with a VGA/DVI adaptor, the monitor no longer recognizes the computer after multiple subsequent reboots, even with the GPU once again removed.
Components:
Case: APEVIA X-Sniper X-SNIPER2-GN
MB: ASUS PRIME H270-PLUS LGA1151
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon RX 560 GAMING OC 4G REv2.0
CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K LGA 1151
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper D92
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200)
PSU: Corsair CX Series 750 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Modular Power Supply
Case fans: APEVIA 312L-DGN 120mm Silent Black Case Fan with 15 x Green LEDs & 8 x Anti-Vibration Rubber Pads (3 Pk)
Drives:
Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop HDD
LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Drive (used)
Sequence of events:
1) Following Carey Holzman's 2015 YouTube video on building a gaming PC ("Newegg DIY Garage: How to Build a Gaming PC"), I prepped the case, and then installed PSU, MB, CPU & cooler, fans and drives. This was followed by multiple successful test boots with the native video card hooked up to the VGA monitor without adapter. BIOS booted successfully every time, with the RAM and drives* (see #3 below) all registering properly and the fans all working and showing up on BIOS. (There were no stray standoffs or loose parts affecting the motherboard at any point during this build, and all wiring has already been zip-tied to the extent possible and is not fouling anything. All new hardware was installed with the power off and with proper grounding procedures.)
2) I then installed the GPU, and using an adapter (CableDeconn Active DVI-D Link 24+1 male to VGA FeMale M/F Video Cable Adapter Converter) hooked it up to the GPU DVI hookup on the back of the computer. Again, the computer booted successfully, this time showing BIOS and all components running correctly through the GPU.
3) After powering down, I attached a SATA cable to the already installed optical drive to start installing MB and OS software (I'd not done that before as this drive is borrowed from my computer for the purposes of installing software for this build; I didn't have another SATA cable so I had to go back to my computer to use the one from that, which I'd previously forgotten to do; the SSD and the HDD already were hooked up), and upon reboot I found that the monitor would no longer recognize the computer, even after multiple reboot attempts.
4) I rechecked all connections and even switched out the VGA cable and then the monitor with another working monitor, with the same results. I subsequently removed the GPU and attempted again to reboot using the MB's native VGA hookup, with the same result. I also disconnected the optical drive SATA cable, and rebooted, again with the same result.
5) One of the "blind" reboots was with the MB CD-ROM in the optical drive. I don't know if the system auto-updated the BIOS when that happened but regardless it had no effect on the ability of the monitor to recognize the computer.
UPDATE:
6) I rebooted the computer with a DVI monitor, trying first a connection to the GPU and then to the native MB hookup. In both events it was the same result- the monitor displays nothing, same as if the computer was turned off. Possibly of interest, the DVI monitor does show that it's hooked up to a computer though, because when it's unplugged it will say that it's unplugged; when it was plugged into this computer on both occasions, it indicates "no data" and then goes to sleep after a few seconds and remains asleep even with the computer on.
I'm stumped. My nightmare is that the MB has crapped out, but the odd thing is that everything was working before.
Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this and at least identify the specific problem will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Let me emphasize: all parts are brand new except where otherwise indicated, and I've not even installed Windows 10 yet - the machine so far is running only on BIOS.
Synopsis: I installed power supply, MB, RAM, CPU & cooler, fans & drives, and successfully test booted it with a standard (used) VGA monitor connected to the MB multiple times, showing BIOS running perfectly and registering all components correctly. I installed the GPU, hooked it up to the same monitor, and after successfully booting once, again showing BIOS running correctly via the GPU hookup with a VGA/DVI adaptor, the monitor no longer recognizes the computer after multiple subsequent reboots, even with the GPU once again removed.
Components:
Case: APEVIA X-Sniper X-SNIPER2-GN
MB: ASUS PRIME H270-PLUS LGA1151
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon RX 560 GAMING OC 4G REv2.0
CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K LGA 1151
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper D92
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200)
PSU: Corsair CX Series 750 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Modular Power Supply
Case fans: APEVIA 312L-DGN 120mm Silent Black Case Fan with 15 x Green LEDs & 8 x Anti-Vibration Rubber Pads (3 Pk)
Drives:
Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop HDD
LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Drive (used)
Sequence of events:
1) Following Carey Holzman's 2015 YouTube video on building a gaming PC ("Newegg DIY Garage: How to Build a Gaming PC"), I prepped the case, and then installed PSU, MB, CPU & cooler, fans and drives. This was followed by multiple successful test boots with the native video card hooked up to the VGA monitor without adapter. BIOS booted successfully every time, with the RAM and drives* (see #3 below) all registering properly and the fans all working and showing up on BIOS. (There were no stray standoffs or loose parts affecting the motherboard at any point during this build, and all wiring has already been zip-tied to the extent possible and is not fouling anything. All new hardware was installed with the power off and with proper grounding procedures.)
2) I then installed the GPU, and using an adapter (CableDeconn Active DVI-D Link 24+1 male to VGA FeMale M/F Video Cable Adapter Converter) hooked it up to the GPU DVI hookup on the back of the computer. Again, the computer booted successfully, this time showing BIOS and all components running correctly through the GPU.
3) After powering down, I attached a SATA cable to the already installed optical drive to start installing MB and OS software (I'd not done that before as this drive is borrowed from my computer for the purposes of installing software for this build; I didn't have another SATA cable so I had to go back to my computer to use the one from that, which I'd previously forgotten to do; the SSD and the HDD already were hooked up), and upon reboot I found that the monitor would no longer recognize the computer, even after multiple reboot attempts.
4) I rechecked all connections and even switched out the VGA cable and then the monitor with another working monitor, with the same results. I subsequently removed the GPU and attempted again to reboot using the MB's native VGA hookup, with the same result. I also disconnected the optical drive SATA cable, and rebooted, again with the same result.
5) One of the "blind" reboots was with the MB CD-ROM in the optical drive. I don't know if the system auto-updated the BIOS when that happened but regardless it had no effect on the ability of the monitor to recognize the computer.
UPDATE:
6) I rebooted the computer with a DVI monitor, trying first a connection to the GPU and then to the native MB hookup. In both events it was the same result- the monitor displays nothing, same as if the computer was turned off. Possibly of interest, the DVI monitor does show that it's hooked up to a computer though, because when it's unplugged it will say that it's unplugged; when it was plugged into this computer on both occasions, it indicates "no data" and then goes to sleep after a few seconds and remains asleep even with the computer on.
I'm stumped. My nightmare is that the MB has crapped out, but the odd thing is that everything was working before.
Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this and at least identify the specific problem will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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