General Computing Randomness

[Daehawk]

Well got it all together..triple checked it all..and nothing works. One fan spins. The case came with a 3 bank of fans in front and one in back. I have checked all connectors all power cables and made sure the standoffs are all good.

I hit power and the power switch led glows white a sec, 1 of the 3 fans in front spins a while then stops and the other two only twitch at power up...the mobo or back fan never spins or lights up..no beeps...psu fan does not spin but its not supposed to unless it gets hot.

Friend is supposed to come pick it up in an hour..but nothing I do seems to make it work and post

EDIT: I see one yellow light on the mobo come on but go right back off same as fans.

EDIT2: LED lighting up yellow is CPU light...so checkinjg for cpu plug power now.

[Daehawk]

Ok edit 3.....took the cpu cooler off and the cpu out...cleaned both...rechecked it all...I had it in right the first time. Put it back together and it gives cpu light then it goes off and it lights up the DRAM light now and it stays on...but all 3 front fans are now spinning and staying on..good sign. The back fan isn't spinning but I think I forgot to hook it up..gonna check when I check the ram.

He got 4 stix of ram so all slots are filled. I guess my only resouce now is to remove them and but one and also make sure that back fan is pugged in then try booting and seeeing what haps.

Oh and the power led ligth stays on..so all good there it seems.

[Smoove_B]

It's hard to tell from what you're sharing, but I had a PC build quite a few years ago that wouldn't POST until a video card was installed and connected. It went against what you'd expect but I remember being frustrated for quite a bit until we figured that out. I think we eventually learned there was a MB jumper we could have enabled to have it skip video card detection (and I guess use onboard by default) but for whatever reason it came with that disabled.

[Daehawk]

Well he doesn't have a video card. He plans to use onboard video.

I talked to him and he said online and someone he spoke too says it means it wont post without a bio update...and I dont have a thumb drive at all to do it with. Im going to go ahead and hook my monitor up to see if its showing anything then pulling the ram but one and seeing what it does anyways..he is still at work so I got time.

He may have to take it as is and do it himself..he has the OS too not me and was going to have to do that anyways.

BTW his board is a Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE AX...I put a Intel 12700 cpu in it.

[Daehawk]

Ok I took ALL 4 stix of ram out..it blinks from cpu to ram error lights...put 1 stick in in right slot...ram error....tried multiple sticks in ram slot 1 ram error...2 sticks..ram error..all sticks ram error.

I have my monitor hooked up...it light up the power light like it will show something then just says no signal.

So my guess and his at this point is it need a bios up and or video card or drivers... but HOW he can update the bios with it not havign a monitor signal to look at I dont know.

EDIT ; Hios ram modules are CORSAIR VENGEANCE DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) 6800MHz CL40 Intel XMP iCUE

The mobo supports 8000mhz and beyond.

OH and ALL fans work now..I had fogtten to hook the back one up

[Daehawk]

Ok point im stuck at after trying stuff..which Ill post too..


Plug it all in hit power button.
PWr button lights up stays on
ALL fan in case spin and stay spinninh..that means all case fans front and back and both cpu heatsink fans.

ERROR lights:
Cpu lights up but goes off and...
it switches to the RAM light staying on..amber color.
EVERY 10 seconds it turns back to the CPU light then righth back to a solid ram light
Then the entire system shuts down about every 5 min or so and comes back on to try it again. After 3 or so tries I turn the power off by holding down the power button on the case.

I GET NO VIDEO SIGNAL AT ALL on the monitor
I GET NO ERROR BEEPS...no beeps at all

I have reseeated both the CPU and the ram. It would not go past CPU the first few tries until I reseated the CPU. It was correctly installed the first time..so shrug.

I have taken all ram out and tried booting. Same light. Put in in the right slot..same light. Tried all 4 ram sticks one at a time in that slot ..same light. Tried 2 sticks only..same light....all four...same light.


Between here and threads on Toms Hardware with the same light issues I have seen different infos posted.

These are some of the things suggested as the cause or fix..

1. Needs bios update - almost all suggest this.
2. Needs a video card installed...friend will bring his by tonight or tomorrow
3. Needs to have an OS installed first or those / that light will stay on forever
4. Need to clear CMOS - one guy said it fixed the same problem. Ive cleared it by button a couple times...no change.

So tonight or tomorrow my friend is bringing both a video card by and a thumb drive with bios update and OS. Trouble is not having ANY video signal at all I dont know how we are going to do that. We are hoping the video card will bypass onboard if thats the problem and let us see SOMETHING.

He is also worried it needs the bios update for the CPU he bought and I installed..the 12700 no K or F or anything just 12700. It may also need onboard video drivers.

Other than this...and us BOTH being well knowledgeable on PCs will leave us stumped and needing a shop to finish it...if there are any shops left.

[Blackhawk]

Have you tried double-checking all of the mobo connections while referencing the manual?

[Daehawk]

Checked it all multiple times. He just ordered a new mobo. Ill take this oen back apart tomorrow and he can send it back....ordered an ASUS one.

[Daehawk]

Ok new mobo same error...memory. I said F it and started digging deeper into the cause. In the end I got it working. Itook all ram out and tried one stick in slot after slot until it worked. 3rd from cpu. I then tried each stick IN that same slot..all worked. So ram stix are all good. I then tried one stick in the 4th slot..all good. But if I put either ram stick in either of the tw oslots nearest the cpu or both in those it wont boot. So it will only work with the 2 outer slots filled with ram.

We have decided that can be solved wit ha bio update. The bios is April 2024. SO he will take it home to see. And also call them for help if not. So looks like Im done.

[stessier]

Ok new mobo same error...memory. I said F it and started digging deeper into the cause. In the end I got it working. Itook all ram out and tried one stick in slot after slot until it worked. 3rd from cpu. I then tried each stick IN that same slot..all worked. So ram stix are all good. I then tried one stick in the 4th slot..all good. But if I put either ram stick in either of the tw oslots nearest the cpu or both in those it wont boot. So it will only work with the 2 outer slots filled with ram.

We have decided that can be solved wit ha bio update. The bios is April 2024. SO he will take it home to see. And also call them for help if not. So looks like Im done.

Looking at the manual, if you are using 2 sticks, it should be in slots 1 & 3 or 2 & 4.

Edit: Looks like this is a known problem with this board. No indication that it was ever fixed, so might just be a board defect.

[Daehawk]

2 & 4 definitely do not boot.. He spoke t oASUS. They recommended 3 things.

1. Check the two bad slots to see if anything is in them or for bent metal. 2 looks fine but slot one I can see 2 bright flecks on metal on one side of it..I cant tell if they should be there or not.

2. Clear CMOS. Will try this later today.

3. Update bios. I have never ever done this but my friend says it is easy and he left a thumb drive for me. So tomorrow I will download the latest bios and try to flash it and see what happens.

Barring that he can return it again or take it to a shop..if there IS one around here. The bios is from April this year. And it is showing the correct info for the cpu running at 4.7ghz and the memory being 6800 mem.

[Blackhawk]

3. Update bios. I have never ever done this but my friend says it is easy and he left a thumb drive for me. So tomorrow I will download the latest bios and try to flash it and see what happens.

If you do, be very patient. Don't be tempted to force a restart or turn it off midway if you think it might be stalled.

[hitbyambulance]

Looking at the manual, if you are using 2 sticks, it should be in slots 1 & 3 or 2 & 4.

also, this is pretty common for modern motherboards, where RAM singletons or pairs do not go in the slots you would logically expect. ofc this is all explained in the manual...

[Daehawk]

ram 1234....all sticks work in 3 and 4...if I use any in 1 or 2 or both it wont boot. I have now cleared CMOS to no avail. Tomorrow I will flash the bios.

[Anonymous Bosch]

ram 1234....all sticks work in 3 and 4...if I use any in 1 or 2 or both it wont boot. I have now cleared CMOS to no avail. Tomorrow I will flash the bios.

Keep in mind, memory slot issues can sometimes be attributed to problems with the processor. This is especially true if CPU pins are bent or if there is improper contact between the CPU and its socket. To address this, I'd suggest removing the CPU fan and carefully taking the processor out of its socket, making sure to do so in a clean and dust-free area. If memory serves you reside with a dog, so I'd suggest carefully cleaning both the CPU and the socket, since dust, debris, and pet hair can potentially also disrupt proper connections.

Carefully inspect the CPU and socket closely for any bent pins, and gently straighten them if necessary, as shown here:

[Daehawk]

Ok tried a bios update and a couple other ideas...nada. Gonna send it back and try for motherboard number 3.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Ok tried a bios update and a couple other ideas...nada. Gonna send it back and try for motherboard number 3.

Did you clean and inspect the CPU closely for damage/bent pins? Because it seems improbable that two brand new motherboards from entirely different manufacturers would both be defective, necessitating the purchase of a third. In the meantime, it may be beneficial to enter each component of the build into the PCPartPicker.com builder. This can help you and your friend check for any issues or incompatibilities that may have been overlooked.

[Daehawk]

its an Intel CPU no pins on it. And he is using the part picker site to check for compatibility.

[stessier]

its an Intel CPU no pins on it.

The CPU doesn't, but the motherboard does.