Newby - Self built PC - no beeps post video [SOLVED]

[Poncke]

Hi all, here's another newbie with the same problem.[strike] No beep[/strike] I have no speakers installed but I have no video and no post, fans switch on but monitor stays black. Should I hear beeps without speakers?

Been googling for solutions and have tried the most common troubleshooting, including these steps:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

Everything seems to be connected properly and when I throw the switch, both sys fans start, CPU fan starts, GFX card fan starts, HDD is spinning. However the red EZ debug led is on for CPU, DRAM and VGA leds are off. I am sure the CPU is seated correctly. Thermo paste applied. When I hold the power on button for 4 seconds the PC switches off. So that seems to work as expected.

I have unplugged the sys fans, no luck either.

Plugged my AOC digital monitor into the HDMI slot of the GFX card. There is no HDMI on the mobo.

Config:
Intel Core i7 6700K 4x 4.00GHz So.1151
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo Tower Kühler
MSI Z170-A PRO Intel Z170 So.1151 Dual Channel DDR4 ATX
1TB WD Red WD10EFRX 64MB 3.5" (8.9cm) SATA 6Gb/s HDD
256GB Samsung 950 Pro M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 32Gb/ V-NAND MLC Toggle SSD
16GB G.Skill RipJaws V rot DDR4-3000 DIMM CL15 Dual Kit
2GB Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti OC Aktiv PCIe 3.0 x16
520 Watt Seasonic S12II Bronze Non-Modular 80+ Bronze
Snuggled into a Fractal Design Define S ATX Computer Case

Any other suggestions lads/lasses? Much appreciated.

Cheers


PS: I think I touched the exposed area of the CPU when unpacking it, not sure if that could have anything to do with it.

 

[clutchc]

A beep (code) will only be heard if you have a small case speaker plugged into the motherboard's speaker header (usually the FP header).

Best thing to do is get a DVI to HDMI adapter so you can remove the gfx card and test using the iGPU. Odd your monitor doesn't have a DVI port as well as HDMI, tho.
Then remove the board from the case, set it on an insulated surface, and test it in breadboard fashion with just CPU/cooler, RAM, PSU, Monitor, and keyboard connected (USB2.0, not 3.0).
Start the system by momentarily shorting the two pins that the power switch would connect to*. See if you get a display and can boot to BIOS.

While the board is out of the case, check to be sure you don't have an unused standoff installed that doesn't have a matching mounting hole in the board. A common mistake that will sometimes ground out/short out the back of the motherboard.

* You can also drag the case close enough to connect just the pair of power button wires and use it as would be normal.

 

[Poncke]

]Hi Clutch, my monitor does have bus and display out, not DVI no.

Initially I had a few standoffs too many, which I already removed.

I am not at a point where I am taking everything out and try again. My biggest challenge is figuring out all the cables. Where goes what. I think I had the HDD led and power led and reset / power cables wrong.

What colour is the + wire on the small cables? One is black the other is grey/black.

 

[Poncke]

Ok, so the little cables made no difference. Connected a headphones to the FP jack but there are no beeps. I think I am going to start from scratch and follow your advice.

 

[clutchc]

Ok, so the little cables made no difference. Connected a headphones to the FP jack but there are no beeps. I think I am going to start from scratch and follow your advice.

How the heck could you connect headphones to the FP jack? It's a 4 pin header (JFP2), and only two are used (+) and (-)

To answer your other question, the only pairs of wires that are polarity sensitive are the power& HDD LEDs. If the wires are not marked for polarity, consider a white and a color: white negative. Black and a color: black negative.

 

[Poncke]

Ok, newbie, I thought FP header was front panel headphones. Sorry. There was no speaker supplied with the case or the mobo. I get a small speaker just to see if POST will get me somewhere.

 

[clutchc]

Ok, newbie, I thought FP header was front panel headphones. Sorry. There was no speaker supplied with the case or the mobo. I get a small speaker just to see if POST will get me somewhere.

Oh, OK. Yeah, easy mistake to make if you aren't familiar with the terminology. I should have caught it when you said FP "jack".
The reason I suggested removing the board and doing a breadboard test, is because getting a DOA motherboard is not all that unusual... unfortunately. By using the iGPU instead of the gfx card, you can find out if the problem was the card or not. If doing the above breadboard test doesn't produce a display, the m/b would be the likely culprit.

 

[Poncke]

No worries, I am not a complete tech noob but this is my first PC build. I have just stripped down everything, just left the mobo, cpu, cooler and psu, in the case and the red cpu warning light still comes on. I have removed the cooler and noticed thermo paste spillage, so I cleaned it up and ran the test again, but same result. So I will buy a HDMI DVI converter tomorrow and connect the monitor to the mobo. I am afraid though that the CPU is bust. That red light is worrying me. Could the CPU be DOA? I bought the components at Mindfactory.de, hope they want to swap it after putting thermo paste on the cpu.

 

[clutchc]

No worries, I am not a complete tech noob but this is my first PC build. I have just stripped down everything, just left the mobo, cpu, cooler and psu, in the case and the red cpu warning light still comes on. I have removed the cooler and noticed thermo paste spillage, so I cleaned it up and ran the test again, but same result. So I will buy a HDMI DVI converter tomorrow and connect the monitor to the mobo. I am afraid though that the CPU is bust. That red light is worrying me. Could the CPU be DOA? I bought the components at Mindfactory.de, hope they want to swap it after putting thermo paste on the cpu.

As long as you continue to leave the m/b in the case, we can't rule out something under the board shorting out the back of it. Like an errant standoff. Or some foreign object (screw?).

If the CPU is bad (unlikely), they will have to let you return it, if they are reputable. And how would anyone know if it was bad or not if they didn't use it, thus having thermal paste on it? But a bad CPU is almost never the issue. Possible, but highly, highly improbable. The m/b is way more often the problem.

 

[Poncke]

Right makes sense. Will have a hdmi converter tomorrow and daylight. Will take the mobo out and test as breadboard. Thank you for your help so far.

 

[Poncke]

So, I have connected a speaker to JFP2 4 pin header, and took out the mobo of the case and put it on my desk. Connected monitor via VGA to the mobo. Connected PSU to mobo only with CPU and Cooler, nothing else. No beep no monitor. Red PCU led still coming on. Thats it. So either the PCU or the Mobo is bust then. How do I figure out which one? Cheers.

 

[clutchc]

So, I have connected a speaker to JFP2 4 pin header, and took out the mobo of the case and put it on my desk. Connected monitor via VGA to the mobo. Connected PSU to mobo only with CPU and Cooler, nothing else. No beep no monitor. Red PCU led still coming on. Thats it. So either the PCU or the Mobo is bust then. How do I figure out which one? Cheers.

Nothing else? You need RAM installed for it to work. Try again with RAM installed.
VGA port to VGA port, no adapter? Both 24 pin and 4+4 pin PSU cables? If so... it sounds like a dead board. Unless you physically damaged the CPU somehow.

Btw, this may sound like a dumb thing to point out, but I have seen it here on the forum more than once. Be sure you are using the 4+4 (or 8) pin cable from the PSU to connect to the motherboard header for the CPU. Some folks get the 6+2 pin PCIe cable confused and find a way of forcing it into the header by mistake. They are wired directly opposite in polarity.

 

[Poncke]

Yeah without memory card. So I put the DDR4 in the 2nd slot as per manual.
VGA to VGA cable, tested on my laptop and works
4+4 pin cable on JPWR2 8 pin header
Main power cable on JPWR1 24 pin header

I checked the CPU yesterday and there was some spillage of thermal paste but not under the CPU, CPU has no bend pins. All looks good TBF.

Just powered it up and the CPU fan starts spinning, red CPU led comes on and thats it. No beep, no video, no POST.

Are you sure its the board and not the CPU? Why would the red CPU light come on? Just wondering, not doubting your knowledge

Thanks

 

[clutchc]

I'm only going from past experience. I have built dozens of PCs over the years and had to send probably 10-20% of the boards back because of them arriving DOA or some other issue. I have never had a bad (AMD or Intel) CPU. Ever.
Naturally, I can't guarantee yours is the board. I can only offer you my judgement.

 

[Poncke]

Right, thanks, I guess I'll send the board back then. Thank you for your help. I will report back if a new board solved the problem. I appreciate you took the time out to help me here.

 

[Poncke]

Any idea on how long it takes to determine to find the faulty part if it was a technician? I have been told by the shop I brought it in, it could take up to 2 hours.

 

[Poncke]

Some time has passed, but I want to report that the shop was wrong and Clutchc was right. The shop said to RMA the PCU, but when changing the PCU, I encountered the same issue. So I RMAd the Mobo and that fixed the issue. I also got my money back from the shop. They tested the configuration without a new CPU, they just guessed.

 

[clutchc]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear you now have a working machine. Enjoy!

 

[Poncke]

Thanks,

Request for moderator, could you pick Clutchc his answer as the solution?

Cheers