# PC Won't Turn on, No Fans, No Beeps, No POST



## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

Hey guys,

I got a crazy one here. About two weeks ago I had an electrician working on the house and he had to shut down power to the whole house. After he was all done with his work the PC wouldn't boot up. So I proceeded with troubleshooting the following:

1. PC has no power. Fans don't even attempt to spin, no LED Lights, no Beeps, its like the PC is completely unplugged. I reseated the RAM and the connectors and still nothing. The outlet works just fine.

2. Thinking it was the PSU I picked up a new one but that didn't fix it. I used a PSU voltage tester on both the old and new PC and they power up without an issue. Even if the PSU is still plugged into the SSD and HDD, they both spin up.

3. Replaced my motherboard with the exact same model (Gigabyte 78LMT-USB3) and the symptoms still persisted. 

4. After doing some Googling I thought it might be the power switch on my Coolermaster Elite case. I tried switching the power and reset switch with no luck, and I tried using a screwdriver and tweezers on the two pins to the motherboard to "jump start it" and that didn't working.

5. Thinking that the Motherboard might have some type of fail safe or static resistance I actually purchased a $3 "Momentary switch" from Radioshack -- thinking it might be my power switch. After splicing the wire and hooking it up to that switch it still won't boot.

I was thinking that it might be my CPU (AMD Athalon II X4 620 2.6Ghz Socket AM3 95W Quad-core Processor) but the funny thing is, I thought that the Motherboard would at least beep or spin fans or something. I thought I could at least get into BIOS without having a processor. I haven't replaced the Processor yet as I wanted to come here and see what you guys might think. I've spent enough money on a new PSU and MB. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

please post the full specs of the system including both power supplies.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

The first one is a Coolermaster 460w

And the second is a EVGA 500w. I'm attaching photos of the specs found on the PSU and box respectively.

(For some reason the pics are upside down when I post them. They don't look that way on my laptop. Sorry about that!)


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

still need the full specs of your system


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

· OS - Windows 8 Professional
· x64 
· What was original installed OS on system? - Windows 7
· Is the OS an OEM version (came pre-installed on system) or full retail version (YOU purchased it from retailer) - Purchased Upgrade
· Age of system (hardware) - Various ages, MB - new, RAM 18 months, SSD 18 months, Processor 4+ years
· Age of OS installation - 18 Months
· CPU - AMD Athalon II X4 620 2.6Ghz Socket AM3 95W Quad-core Processor
· Video Card - Sapphire Radeon HD 5770
· MotherBoard - Gigabyte 78LMT-USB3
· Power Supply - brand & wattage - Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PMSR-A3 460W Power Supply 
· Memory - 2x Crucial Ballistix Sport BG112MN.J1 (2x4gb)
2x Sector 5 PGV34G1600ELK (2x2gb)
· System Manufacturer - Built myself
· Exact model number (if laptop, check label on bottom) - N/A


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Have you tried different plugs?
Have you tried different wall sockets?

Have you made sure the cpu power connector is connected tot he board and that the 20+4 connector is fully connected to the board?

CPUs are pretty solid but a totally dead one could cause the system not to boot but you should still see LEDs on before you press the power button.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

Yep. I used two power cords, one for each of the PSU's and different outlets all together. 

The LEDs aren't on at all. Not even the Ethernet when I plug it into the back.


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## Markos4 (Mar 2, 2014)

This seems really complicated,or at least it looks **** it..i dont think it has anything to do with the cpu...check all the xables are on the right place and dont buy anything until we make sure what thw problem might be


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

check all connections inside the computer especially the cpu power connector.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

I rechecked the cables, all I have plugged in at the Moment is the MB power and the CPU power on the board. I don't even have the GPU/PCIE connector in because I removed the GPU for troubleshooting. The board has onboard graphics. I did leave the power plugged into the HDD, SSD and the CDRom. If I connect a voltage meter to the MB and CPU power slots and test it, the PSU comes on and the Hard Drives spin up. 

The only difference in PSU's is that the old one only has a 4 pin for the ATX 12v slot, and the new one has an 8 pin. The board has enough slots for an 8 pin, but with my old one I only used 4 and it worked without a problem. 

The MB power has that 20-pin plus 4-pin that dangles off on the side. But I've reseated them both with no joy. I've attached some screenshots of the original PSU voltage test and the connectors.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

you should use the whole 8 not just 4 even if it works or not.

One thing I haven't asked is are all your stand offs in place and is the mobo screwed into each standoff and is there proper clearance from the case?

I ask because if some standoffs have been missed the board could be touching the case and because of this the capacitors on the bottom of the board will be shorting.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

FaMzNeSS said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I was thinking that it might be my CPU (AMD Athalon II X4 620 2.6Ghz Socket AM3 95W Quad-core Processor) but the funny thing is, I thought that the Motherboard would at least beep or spin fans or something. I thought I could at least get into BIOS without having a processor....... Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Without the Processor in place, the system will not attempt to boot, it will only allow you to access the BIOS if the CPU is in correctly, and RAM is in, or out.
If the CPU is fried, as I suspect, it will display symptoms as you described, basically making the whole system appear dead.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

greenbrucelee said:


> you should use the whole 8 not just 4 even if it works or not.
> 
> One thing I haven't asked is are all your stand offs in place and is the mobo screwed into each standoff and is there proper clearance from the case?
> 
> I ask because if some standoffs have been missed the board could be touching the case and because of this the capacitors on the bottom of the board will be shorting.


Oh, I am using the whole 8 with the new PSU. The old one only had 4-pins, so I didn't have a choice.

As far as the standoffs, yes... all of the standoffs are in place, but I think one or two screws may be missing (I'm at work now, so I don't remember). Should I remove the standoffs I don't have screws for? The board is not touching the case, save for the back where it meets the outputs for USB, HDMI and such.



Panther063 said:


> Without the Processor in place, the system will not attempt to boot, it will only allow you to access the BIOS if the CPU is in correctly, and RAM is in, or out.
> If the CPU is fried, as I suspect, it will display symptoms as you described, basically making the whole system appear dead.


The processor is in place. So it might actually just be dead. Thats what I was thinking as well, but I wanted to see what other people were thinking as well. I don't think I've ever had a CPU go on me before.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

all the screws should be in place but I am starting to think the same as Panther that your cpu is fried.

Only way to be totally sure is to try it in another compatible computer.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

greenbrucelee said:


> all the screws should be in place but I am starting to think the same as Panther that your cpu is fried.
> 
> Only way to be totally sure is to try it in another compatible computer.


Alright, I'll probably swap out the PSU tomorrow during the day and check back with you guys and let you know. But I'll also keep an eye on this thread in case any other ideas chime in.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Do you have another computer you can try the CPU in?


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

I don't, but I'll see if any of my coworkers do. All the PC's in my office (Which I have access to use as I please) all use Intel.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

that's the only way to be sure by trying it in a compatible system but it does sound like it.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

Alright guys, so here's what's happened since I last posted.

In an attempt to be budget conscience I returned the PSU and the New motherboard back to the store and picked up a new AMD fx-8320 black edition - 3.5 ghz and a new switch (Just to make sure my splicing job wasn't the best on my own switch replacement.)

Hooked everything back up, and still nothing. In all of my years of troubleshooting I've never come across this.

Now mind you, I probably should've tried the new CPU with the new motherboard, but I have a feeling that since nothing was spinning at all I might have, with my luck, bought a new DOA motherboard anyway. It's just driving me crazy because this thing SHOULD attempt to POST. 

If the RAM was bad, the fans would still spin , if the CPU was bad the power supply would still spin, so I'm thinking about just picking up another motherboard... again.

Thoughts?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

highly unlikely you have this mny bad boards have you tried a differen't wall socket?


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

Of course. I moved it across the house to make sure I was even on a completely different circuit. I also used two different power connectors in case on was bad. However, as I explained, the PSU is fine when I use a voltage meter.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Using a Volt meter will only tell you if the PSU is putting out power. It will not determine if the PSU can boot a PC.
The only reliable PSU test is substitution.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

FaMzNeSS said:


> Alright guys, so here's what's happened since I last posted.
> 
> In an attempt to be budget conscience I returned the PSU and the New motherboard back to the store and picked up a new AMD fx-8320 black edition - 3.5 ghz
> 
> ...


Is the BIOS updated to the latest version?, as the 8320 Processor is only supported on the latest.
It is possible the original Motherboard suffered a fault at the same time as the original Processor also.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Even if there isn't sufficient power to boot the system from the PSU, if the voltage readings check out ok during testing with a voltage meter, and the switching and cabling are fine, then it indicates a circuit isn't being made on the motherboard for the PSU's fans to spin up when the system is switched on.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

Panther063 said:


> Even if there isn't sufficient power to boot the system from the PSU, if the voltage readings check out ok during testing with a voltage meter, and the switching and cabling are fine, then it indicates a circuit isn't being made on the motherboard for the PSU's fans to spin up when the system is switched on.


Yeah I agree. Because once I use the voltage meter it completes the circuit. I may try another motherboard, possibly a different model that still uses the A3+ chipset.


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## FaMzNeSS (Mar 30, 2011)

Hey guys, going to Necrobump this one with some good news.

Turns out, the second Motherboard I purchased was definitely DOA. Just finished swapping it out with an ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 and writing this post from my machine which is up and running. I didn't want this posting to fade out without a resolution and I wanted to thank everyone for their help.

Thanks again, as always!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Glad you got the problem resolved and thanks for posting back.


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## tmrosebr (Aug 30, 2016)

Hey I know its been a solid five years since this thread, but we're having literally the exact issue you are having and on the same board. We requested a replacement assuming it was doa, but the second board wouldnt start either.

m/b: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
ram: Crucial 2x8 DDR3-1600
cpu: AMD FX-6300 6-core
power: EVGA 500W 80+ certified
and a terabyte Seagate HDD

cant even get as far as bios or even a fan twitch.










Please help us, ancient ones


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

tmrosebr said:


> Hey I know its been a solid five years since this thread


Not quite three years yet :wink:
Have you got another Power supply to try with?
Tried the usual bench testing outside the case, with minimal components attached? :smile:


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## tmrosebr (Aug 30, 2016)

Panther063 said:


> Not quite three years yet :wink:
> Have you got another Power supply to try with?
> Tried the usual bench testing outside the case, with minimal components attached? :smile:


Oh you're right about the years thing. I was looking at somebody's "join" date.

And yeah I've tried everything in this thread. Different plugs and outlets. Each stick of ram at a time. I know its not the power supply because a quick short will make the fans turn on, but they wont budge when the power is hit.

I'm already planning on replacing the motherboard at this point. I was mostly just hoping maybe OP or somebody could give me some closure as to why this is happening. I'd like to be able to get gigabyte on the phone and have something concrete to tell them other than "they don't work" :\


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Testing the PSU by shorting it, will only determine that it has enough juice to power it's fans, it may not be capable of functioning under load.
The best way to test it is connect it to another known running system, or use a proper tester that places a load on it.


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