Motherboard staying on, but will not boot.

Nohbdy820 · Feb 24, 2018

Specs:
MSI Z370 SLI Plus with i5-8400, single 8GB 2400mhz dimm, CX 600 PSU, RX 580.
All hardware was previously working. I tried another PSU, but the issue persisted, and I also removed the GPU. I have checked the connections of the power switch and such as well.

Okay, here we go,
After shutting down my computer, It would not turn all the way off. The Disk Activity LED stayed lit, and the motherboard LEDs stayed on, and the PSU idled at a low rpm. After waiting a few minutes, I simply unplugged it, as I was going to install a wifi card. After I did, I plugged it back in, and it immediately resumed idling with the Disk Activity LED lit and the motherboard LEDs lit.

Then I tried to boot it. Pressing the power or reset switch does nothing. Neither does holding them. I reset the CMOS battery after unplugging again, and it did not change anything. Unplugging the mobo from the PSU keeps it from turning on(not booting). The GPU is not powered, nor the hdd, or system fans, but the LED on the DVD drive also blinks, but it does not open.

It is a new motherboard, so I can return it if I need to.

Thanks for any ideas or tips.

dextermat · Feb 24, 2018

Quick test: remove the ram and see if you get beeps. If you get beeps it means the mobo / cpu / psu are most likely ok.
No beeps means problem with Motherboard, psu or cpu .

terry4536 · Feb 24, 2018

The first thing I would suggest would be to reset the CMOS (which you have already done). The next thing I would try is to reseat the memory sticks. Remove each one, clean the contacts, blow out the slot, and then firmly reinstall.

terry4536 · Feb 24, 2018

Here are a couple of trouble shooting checklists.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1893016/post-system-boot-video-output-troubleshooting-checklist.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2041564/troubleshoot-boot-display-issue.html

I would check out the power supply. There is a good possibility that that is your culprit. The output goes down over time. So if the watts the power drops below a certain point only the components requiring the fewest power will be operating (like fans and LEDs).

terry4536 · Feb 24, 2018

After running through those without any luck, it is time to determine if the motherboard died. Here are a few sets of instructions on bread-boarding a motherboard.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2176482/breadboarding-stripping-basics-troubleshooting.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1753671/bench-troubleshooting.html

I give more than one because it explains the process better with a few different viewpoints.

terry4536 · Feb 24, 2018

The Corsair CX series is notorious for being a cheap poor quality power supply. They do tend to fail.

terry4536 · Feb 24, 2018

If you are approaching the end of your return period, I would return the motherboard. Failure of a hard drive would prevent start up, but it wouldn't cause the other problems. The power supply can cause similar problems but you switched out the PSU (did you switch out the cables too?). The memory can cause problems with booting but not the other power issues. It isn't an operating system issue, because that loads after the boot up. It isn't a thermal issue or CPU issue. That leaves the motherboard and possibly the power supply.

Nohbdy820 · Feb 24, 2018

The PSU is not the culprit. I have checked it out, and plugged in a different, non-modular, working PSU instead. All symptoms remain. Yes, I know the CX series is notorious, but mine is fine.

Reseating the ram didn't change anything. Even with the ram removed, there was no error code. No beeping, no error LEDs lit, no response when pressing the power button.

The hard drive is good too.

I got the motherboard last weekend, so I can still return it. It wasn't DOA or anything, and it was working fine.

I guess I kinda have already breadboarded it, to diagnose it as far as I have. I know the issue is the motherboard, I just want to see what I can do to try and fix it before I choose to return it.

Thanks for the quick responses.

larkspur · Feb 24, 2018

Pull the motherboard from the case, make sure there are no bits of stuff (like a tiny lost screw) on the motherboard that could be causing a short. Examine the back-side of the board as well for shorts (like bent leads touching together). Make sure the case power switch is not bad or sticking (multi-meter comes in handy). Set the board on a non-conductive surface (like a dry wooden cutting board aka "bread board"). Remove the CPU, examine the pins, reinstall the CPU and cooler (shouldn't be a problem since it worked before but you never know). Try booting up the motherboard again with only one stick of RAM in the proper slot while on the breadboard. You don't need to use the case's power switch, you can just short the power switch pins of the motherboard using a small screwdriver or something conductive (this will also rule out a bad power switch). If none of that works then the mobo is likely toast and should be returned. Slight chance the CPU is the culprit but that is less likely based on the odd symptoms.

terry4536 · Feb 24, 2018

larkspur :

Pull the motherboard from the case, make sure there are no bits of stuff (like a tiny lost screw) on the motherboard that could be causing a short. Examine the back-side of the board as well for shorts (like bent leads touching together). Make sure the case power switch is not bad or sticking (multi-meter comes in handy). Set the board on a non-conductive surface (like a dry wooden cutting board aka "bread board"). Remove the CPU, examine the pins, reinstall the CPU and cooler (shouldn't be a problem since it worked before but you never know). Try booting up the motherboard again with only one stick of RAM in the proper slot while on the breadboard. You don't need to use the case's power switch, you can just short the power switch pins of the motherboard using a small screwdriver or something conductive (this will also rule out a bad power switch). If none of that works then the mobo is likely toast and should be returned. Slight chance the CPU is the culprit but that is less likely based on the odd symptoms.

If you had read the posts, you would know that bread boarding the motherboard has already been discussed.

larkspur · Feb 24, 2018

I did read all of the posts. The reason I spelled it out is because Nohbdy820 said:

Nohbdy820 :

"Bread boarding" is technically used to make sure the motherboard isn't shorting on the case. Other diagnostics are often lumped into the term. Based on that quote, it seems to me that Nohbdy820 hadn't actually pulled the board and checked for shorts or renegade shards of conductive matter

Nohbdy820 · Feb 25, 2018

larkspur :

Actually bread boarding the motherboard made no difference, except removing it got me half way to packing it back in its box to return it.

So, even after removing the mobo, blowing it off with canned air, and resetting the CMOS one last time, the symptoms remained outside the case. Simply plugging in the 24pin power connector triggered the symptoms, with nothing else inserted/attached. No cpu, ram, cpu power, hdd, nothing.

Thanks for all the help; I guess returning really is the only option now.

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Motherboard staying on, but will not boot.

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