No power to PC, Is My Motherboard Dead?

[Bod]

Hi all, first post on here.

Did my first self build last week with help from a friend.

ASUS P5Q SE2
600W EZCool PSU
1024Mb nVidia GeForce GTS 250
Intel Core 2 Quad 8300 2.5GHz
2Gb RAM
320Gb + 80Gb Hard drive
Windows 7 64bit

Built it last week and its been having problems powering up. Sometimes it doesn't start when I turn it on at the front, sometimes it turns itself off when on, crashes or resets itself.

I looked around for what problems it may be and decided to try updating the drivers but when I turned it on, nothing. No lights, no fans, no beeps.
Replaced the PSU with another and still nothing, the LED on the motherboard does not even come on and as I know its not the PSU I'm thinking it must be the motherboard.

I've only had it up and running for a less than a week, could my motherboard be dead already? I really don't want to shell out another £70 to get a new one.

Any suggestions?

Cheers!

 

[Manikle]

Hopefully, you're 100% certain that the PSU that you used as a replacement really is 100% functional.
Simple possible causes of your troubles include:
Faulty wall outlet or bad power strip or UPS (Plug a lamp into whatever power source you are using--obviously, if it won't light, your computer won't turn on either.)
Defective power cord
Bad on/off switch on the case
Poor cable connection (bad wire or connector not tightly plugged-in)
Power supply switch set to wrong voltage (switch set to 115 when mains are 220)
PSU power switch not turned on
Make sure everything is seated properly--cpu, gpu,ram, etc.
Make sure nothing is short-circuiting inside the computer ( a wire, loose screw, etc.)
These are the simple problems.
I'm not a computer expert, so hopefully, someone will chime-in, after you check these basics, should there be a need.

 

[Route44]

Manikle gives some good advice. certainly check to see if there is no shorts as he says; see if the notherboard is touching the case in any way. I never heard of that power supply company before but not suprising considering I am in the states.

I had the same issue with a new build a couple of years ago. I wound up having to uninstall all hardware components except CPU and one stick of RAM. I would add one piece of hardware at a time and boot-up. If successful I would shut down and repeat. Yes it can be long and tedious but it works.

* One other thing. The RAM that is installed, did it make Asus' Quality Vendor List (QVL) for the motherboard? Asus is extremely picky about the RAM installed in each and every one of their models.

 

[Bod]

It could be shorting, the screws the case came with are too short to attach the mobo properly, it was held in with two dodgey screws.
Unlikely to be on/off switch as the light on my mouse is not on and its (annoyingly) permanently on even if the PC is off as long as the PSU is switched on.
Sure its not the Power socket/cord/RAM as all have been checked.

I want to avoid having to RMA the mobo so going to try some other options first, hope its not the CPU, how could I tell?

Thanks so far

 

[nazartp]

Just to add to Route44's advice - borrow or buy a power supply tester to check if the power supply is good. I had some trouble in the past when I bought a faulty power supply, swapped it for an old "trusty" one only to find out that the old one is also fried or the voltages drifted so far over time that it wouldn't power up the system also.

In any case, go step by step and you should find a faulty component soon enough.

 

[Route44]

Just to add to Route44's advice - borrow or buy a power supply tester to check if the power supply is good. I had some trouble in the past when I bought a faulty power supply, swapped it for an old "trusty" one only to find out that the old one is also fried or the voltages drifted so far over time that it wouldn't power up the system also.

In any case, go step by step and you should find a faulty component soon enough.

Yes, good suggestion. A $20 Craftsman multimeter would do the job easily.

@Bod - I am very concerned about the way you describe the screws and how your motherboard is secured. Did not stand offs come with the motherboard or case?

 

[Bod]

Hi all,

Problem solved, I am back on my PC. Took everything out of the case and layed it on the table with the plan to take one component out at a time to find what was faulty but when I booted it up with eveything in, it started fine. So I can only imagine it was shorting inside the case. Raided an old PC for spacers (stand offs) and plastic washers and put it all back in and so far no problems.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Route44]

Great! I was worried it was shorting out and the standoffs seem to have done the job for you. Thanks for letting us know.