Question asrock z490m-ITX/ac fan headers not working

Dec 4, 2021
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i need a bit of advice/opinion. i'm almost sick of troubleshooting and about to just buy a new mobo.

long/short - mini ITX build, ASROCK Z490m-ITX/AC, i3 10100 not overclocked, Thermalright AXP 100 copper cooler, single ID-Cooling ZF-12025-pink ARGB 120mm case fan. ARES 500w atx psu.
No other periphs, just an m.2 and a platter hdd, no gpu, no USB devices pulling power. This is a mini-ITX build and case, so no options to swap a non-ITX mobo.
(--for reference, this PC was built / components assembled / roughly 1 year ago in December 2020)

so the cpu cooler and fan worked fine previously, it is HTPC and haven't used it in months, took a look recently and fans aren't spinning anymore. swapped headers, nothing. tried single fan, both headers, nothing. haven't changed any settings. tried fan tuning from BIOS, nothing, no spinny. tried the fans on external AC powered fan plug - fans work fine.

I've never had an issue with fans/fan headers not working so i'm lost.

i can only imagine some weird windows update or something happened, because i haven't changed the BIOS or any settings from the time they worked until i noticed they were not spinning, but fanTastic(?) saw the fans and ran tests, just came back as 0 rpm since they weren't spinning, so it seemed like the headers were fine, but like, the mobo just wasn't sending them power or something. again, i'm pretty clueless on "fan technology" so i don't really know where to go from here.

(i'm not a genius, but i've built my gaming pc's for a couple of decades now and never had any issues, especially one like this)
prices are dumb, and i don't want to have to buy a new ITX mobo right now but that may be an easier option, or if it could potentially be PSU related? i've had no power issues and draw is super low, so i didn't foresee any PSU issue but again, i'm dumb on fans.

**update-- had done some more testing last night, checking hardware monitor, changing BIOS settings to "full" for fans, etc., to no avail. the CPU cooler is as mentioned, a giant copper block, and idle temps were actually fine without the fan (staying around 32-48c) while i messed around in BIOS. started some more troubleshooting today, and i'm getting the "green artifacting on screen" and freezing now, while just in BIOS, and from searching looks like this is generally when a GPU is going bad, but there is no GPU in the system, just onboard video (through HDMI). the HDMI cable appears to be fine (i know, change it to another for testing and to confirm) but if i unplug the HDMI, rest, and plug it back in, the screen returns to the same frozen spot with no screen updates, so it definitely seems like the display data is "moving" properly through the cable, and the hardware is freezing. i have much cheaper/older asrock mobos that have been running fine/longer, and really hoping this board isn't toast in under a year and needing to be replaced.
 
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Dec 4, 2021
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@Lutfij

I will absolutely accept a bit of mockery on the PSU, remember this was end of 2020 prices were absolutely ridiculous, and I just needed a lower wattage PSU for an HTPC and decided to take a chance on a "newcomer" in the PSU market, as it was about $44 when i got it (instead of having to pay $150 for a comparable one from other brands). Yes...I know, don't skimp on PSU, haha. These are just weird times, man. Prices have become a bit better now, and I'm going to be replacing it with a Seasonic SFX sized soon.

however -- here it is: https://www.aresgame.com/POWER.php // amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CXVKP3M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

the BIOS is 1.30. I was actually in the process of checking that this morning and looking at either reinstalling it, or trying the beta 1.32 when the *updated issue with the artifact/screen freeze started happening.

@--SID--

the CPU header did not appear to have a setting for dc or pwm unless i missed it. The CHA1 header works as pump or fan, and was set to "auto" but i also tried it in both DC and PWM (set to "full 100%") and no go.

The thermalright fan is 4 pin PWM, and the chassis fan is 4pin / argb.
 
Dec 4, 2021
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just thought i'd give an update, i reached out to Asrock and they've accepted RMA. thankfully(?) i was just shy of a couple days for 1 year warranty to end.