New Build issues

[Solymer89]

First I'd like to say that I apologize for creating yet another one of these threads, however, I have been researching my issues for the past week and have not come to any conclusions.

System Specs:

ASRock z77 pro4
X2 8gb Corsair Vengance RAM
Intel Core i5-3570 processor
EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO heat sink
CM Storm Enforcer
Corsair TX750 then GS800

Sorry if I missed anything.

I put the machine together all at once when I got everything without testing pieces however in other builds I've never had any issues so I figured this would work without a hitch. Put it together, hit the power button and nothing. Took the board back out of the tower, came on here and ran through the troubleshooting list to no avail. I sent back the PSU(TX750) and the ASRock z77 pro4 board thinking it was one of those two pieces. I went to BestBuy and bought the GS800 and waited a week until I got my replacement board.

I went the full testing route this time, breadboarding every piece before it went into the tower and had a different outcome, but still no working system. I noticed something rather strange with the ASRock board... there are no LED's to indicate stable power, and though it came with a speaker that connects to the board, no beeps have been heard from either of the boards. The other thing I noticed, which my old machine does, is when the PSU is all plugged in except into the wall, when I do plug it into the wall, the fans kick on for a second indicating that power is flowing through the system. This has not happened once with either of the ASRock boards. I plug the 24 pin, the 8 pin the CPU fan, the Vid Card/onboard graphics(tried both so far), the speaker. I've tried different ways of plugging in the PSU, tried it with the O/I switch in both positions when plugged in but nothing happens.

Then I decided to plug the power button wire into the motherboard seeing as the PSU has it's own switch but that doesn't turn the system on. The good news is that power is flowing to everything, but the system does not stay on. I hit the power button, the lights and fan on the PSU start up, the Fans on the tower start up, the CPU fan starts, then after maybe a second, it all shuts back off. If I hold the power button down the system goes through this on/off loop until I let the power button go.

I've tested the GPU in my old system and am in fact using it in there now. I tested the PSU with the paperclip trick and the fan and lights worked. I'm going to try to pop in the RAM sticks in my old machine to see if they are working tonight but I doubt that is the issue as I get no beeps from the mobo when there is no RAM installed. I know for fact that the CPU was installed correctly and have examined the socket to see if there are any bent pins but everything looks to be in order there.

Is it possible I've gotten two bum boards?? I can't think of anything else it could be. The mobo is on it's box to make sure it doesn't short, everything is plugged in correctly. I did read that aftermarket heatsinks can cause shorting on the board so if someone knows something about the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO heat sink, please let me know.

Again sorry if I missed anything. I am at my wits end with this. I don't have a lot of spare parts to test other things but I am strongly considering dropping the few bucks for a POST card to figure this mess out. My gut is telling me its the mobo which if thats the case I will NEVER purchase another ASRock product again.

FYI all parts were purchased through Amazon for no other reason then I wanted all my parts coming from the same source and I had a rather bad experience with Newegg back in 07 so I avoided them as well.

Thanks for the help in advance!!

 

[Solymer89]

anybody? did forget to mention something? I really just want to know if I need to send back the board again.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Sounds like you've run about all the testing you can with the exception of the CPU. Any way to bum a spare off someone or get low end sandy bridge off ebay? I don't know if a bent pin can cause that but dunno what else to try.

 

[Solymer89]

So I've hit the proverbial wall. I can snag a cheap CPU for sure, I just want to make sure that if it's the board, I find out fast enough to RMA it and get my money back. I don't suppose somebody else has had a similar issue? This machine has never been started before, it is all new parts. The last thing I can probably check is to take my aftermarket heatsink out and place the stock one in and see if that was causing a short or something.

Oh and thank you for the reply!

 

[J_E_D_70]

You're welcome! Dunno how it could be the heatsink, unless the backplate is shorting the board somehow. Worth a look!

 

[odiervr]

Sorry for all ur trouble.

I ran into a grounding problem with one of my standoff's in my last board. It sounded exactly like ur original problem. I'd push the on/off switch and absolutely nothing. I fixed it after I found the 'bad' standoff. Finding it was trial and error, but thankfully I remember that 1 standoff did not install 'just right'. That was the bad one. Removed it, system has worked perfect since. No problem.

So - with that in mind. Here's what I'd do having read ur post. (this will be kinda painful, but it's all I can think of).

1. Go to youtube: "Newegg computer build part 2"
2. I'd keep the CPU and CM 212 installed, and remove EVERYTHING else (RAM, connections, GPU ...
3. Then I'd do an 'external build' as shown on the above video
- This eliminates any chance of case grounding issue
- I'd start this external build without the GPU (on integrated graphics)
4. If still 'nothing', I'd try removing 1 stick of RAM at a time
5. Still nothing, place RAM in the 'other' 2 slots ...

That's all i got ...


I'm a noob, but the grounding thing was VERY disappointing. I was expecting YES! ... I got one big NO. Nothing.

Hang in there and good luck !!

 

[Solymer89]

Sorry for all ur trouble.

I ran into a grounding problem with one of my standoff's in my last board. It sounded exactly like ur original problem. I'd push the on/off switch and absolutely nothing. I fixed it after I found the 'bad' standoff. Finding it was trial and error, but thankfully I remember that 1 standoff did not install 'just right'. That was the bad one. Removed it, system has worked perfect since. No problem.

So - with that in mind. Here's what I'd do having read ur post. (this will be kinda painful, but it's all I can think of).

1. Go to youtube: "Newegg computer build part 2"
2. I'd keep the CPU and CM 212 installed, and remove EVERYTHING else (RAM, connections, GPU ...
3. Then I'd do an 'external build' as shown on the above video
- This eliminates any chance of case grounding issue
- I'd start this external build without the GPU (on integrated graphics)
4. If still 'nothing', I'd try removing 1 stick of RAM at a time
5. Still nothing, place RAM in the 'other' 2 slots ...

That's all i got ...


I'm a noob, but the grounding thing was VERY disappointing. I was expecting YES! ... I got one big NO. Nothing.

Hang in there and good luck !!

Thank you sir. I thought that might have been the issue with the first board, but before I sent that one back I breadboarded the system. I breadboarded the new board as well following the list on the site here. My understanding, and it is limited, is that once you have the PSU plugged in to the board then plug the psu into the wall, there should be a short charge that goes through all the hardware causing the fans to spin slightly then die back down. This happens with my old machine but not on this board. when I flip the switch on the back of the PSU nothing happens. That is what led me to plug the cases start button in to see what that does. So that's how I got to the point where power flows through everything but the system does not POST and stay on when the button is pressed. The lights light up and the fans spin for like a second then nothing. I hold the start button down and it loops on and off till I let the button go.

It really sounds like a short the more I think about it, but in breadboarding it I shouldn't have any of those issues. Nothing looks blown, there are no funny sounds or smells, and as far as I'm concerned, everything was installed and tested correctly.

If you plug the 24pin, the 8pin, the cpu fan, and a stick of memory or even no sticks, the board should beep at me right? If I'm not getting any beeps and any step of the process does this indicate a bad board? Could it also be the CPU? I think I may just send this board back and buy a completely different brand and skip anything ASRock from now on. Also is it normal for a board to have no LED's?

 

[J_E_D_70]

Another thought - if you can't get another test CPU quick, pull the one you have and look over the back side carefully with a magnifying glass and check all the pins.

Did you use arctic silver 5 or any other conductive thermal paste? Have seen warnings before that if you get some on parts of the CPU besides the heat spreader it can short out. Reaching here...

 

[Solymer89]

Well I sent the Asrock board back... again. Got a new ASUS Sabertooth z77 and everything is as it should be. I should have just sprung for the extra $100 to insure getting a quality board. The Sabertooth is pretty amazing. Anyways just thought I'd drop back in and let you all know that it was the boards. Needless to say I think I'll be avoiding anything Asrock from now on.

Oh I'd also like to say that all three items that I RMAed with Amazon were either replaced or refunded with absolutely no issue. I will probably be purchasing any and all future parts through Amazon based off this fact alone. The process was so painless. It really is the reason I have this machine running right now without dropping another two to three hundred bucks on this thing.

Thanks for all your input everyone!

P.S. Since there is no best answer here I'd say that if anyone runs into similar problems, test the PSU. If that's fine and you still aren't getting ANY response (beeps, lights, etc...) then it is most likely a bad motherboard. Also don't skimp on the motherboard... lesson learned

 

[J_E_D_70]

Sorry to hear about the bad ASRock experience. . Love mine! But, i'd never drop more than $180 on a mobo - good asus and others at that price point.

I wonder if they just sent your same board back? Odds are so long on two bad boards...