[SOLVED] Can't pinpoint point of failure... can someone follow my steps and provide insight?

[feriner]

Alright, I bought a bunch of parts used and I'm trying to make a computer out of them, but I'm getting this issue:

TL;DR The computer will turn on with a positive beep code but suddenly stop being able to boot entirely. Random things will make it work again.

Here's a list of all the things I've done to it. Maybe someone can follow and provide insight.

1. I was getting a hardware failure beep code. Tried resetting CMOS using the jumper cap on the CMOS reset pins, didn't work. Issue was I needed to plug in the CPU fan first (that's fair). Now getting a single good beep code
2. Plug everything into case and motherboard. Now, even though the mobo light turns on when I switch on the PSU, it won't turn on at all. Fiddle with it in many different ways, unplug everything, take out some RAM and change slots, even plug in a different working PSU, nothing works.
   1. I jump the CMOS reset pins again, now its finally turning on again with original and new PSU, nothing plugged in except mobo and CPU power.
3. Put everything back into case, won't boot agian, same as 2.
4. I unplug HDD, audio, usb, and front panel buttons, won't turn on
5. I jump the PWR pins (no turn on), unplug the chasis fan, suddenly it turns on (wow)
6. Turn it off by jumping the PWR pins after a good beep code, put the font panel power button connector over the PWR pins, now it won't turn on again, neither by the front panel button nor jumping the pins

What the heck is the problem here?? I'm tempted to say it's the mobo but that's the part I have the most confidence in, it's just a used gaming mobo. Could my CMOS reset have messed it up somehow?

I will say, I didn't have visual output during this whole process, my DVI cable is on its way,. So I couldn't diagnose through that, just through beep codes.

Specs:

• CPU: Intel i3 4330
• MOBO: Asus H81M-C
• PSU: NCS SSP-360GT 360 W (this is probably the sketchiest part of the build and I wouldn't be surprised if it was a PSU problem, but I'm skeptical cause of the fact that even my working PSU couldn't boot this thing consistently)
• RAM: 2 dimms of random HP ECC 2GB DDR3
• Case: Rosewill Micro ATX FBM-01

 

[Archaic59]

Alright, I bought a bunch of parts used and I'm trying to make a computer out of them, but I'm getting this issue:

TL;DR The computer will turn on with a positive beep code but suddenly stop being able to boot entirely. Random things will make it work again.

Here's a list of all the things I've done to it. Maybe someone can follow and provide insight.

1. I was getting a hardware failure beep code. Tried resetting CMOS using the jumper cap on the CMOS reset pins, didn't work. Issue was I needed to plug in the CPU fan first (that's fair). Now getting a single good beep code
2. Plug everything into case and motherboard. Now, even though the mobo light turns on when I switch on the PSU, it won't turn on at all. Fiddle with it in many different ways, unplug everything, take out some RAM and change slots, even plug in a different working PSU, nothing works.
   1. I jump the CMOS reset pins again, now its finally turning on again with original and new PSU, nothing plugged in except mobo and CPU power.
3. Put everything back into case, won't boot agian, same as 2.
4. I unplug HDD, audio, usb, and front panel buttons, won't turn on
5. I jump the PWR pins (no turn on), unplug the chasis fan, suddenly it turns on (wow)
6. Turn it off by jumping the PWR pins after a good beep code, put the font panel power button connector over the PWR pins, now it won't turn on again, neither by the front panel button nor jumping the pins

What the heck is the problem here?? I'm tempted to say it's the mobo but that's the part I have the most confidence in, it's just a used gaming mobo. Could my CMOS reset have messed it up somehow?

I will say, I didn't have visual output during this whole process, my DVI cable is on its way,. So I couldn't diagnose through that, just through beep codes.

Specs:

• CPU: Intel i3 4330
• MOBO: Asus H81M-C
• PSU: NCS SSP-360GT 360 W (this is probably the sketchiest part of the build and I wouldn't be surprised if it was a PSU problem, but I'm skeptical cause of the fact that even my working PSU couldn't boot this thing consistently)
• RAM: 2 dimms of random HP ECC 2GB DDR3
• Case: Rosewill Micro ATX FBM-01

According to the manual the motherboard supports non-ECC, unbuffered memory, 2 dimms, max of 16GB @ 1600, 1333 or 1066 mhz. I'm not a memory expert, this is just what I found researching it. Hope it helps.

page vi - H81M-C specifications summary.

manual
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/H81M-C/E8447_H81M-C.pdf

memory QVL

H81M-C｜Motherboards｜ASUS Philippines

ASUS mining motherboard features 19 PCI Express® (PCIe®) slots. With 18 PCIe x1 and one PCIe x16 slots on board, plus three zoned ATX12V power connectors, B250 Mining Expert lets you run up to 19 NVIDIA or AMD GPUs* in parallel to max out your megahash rates!

www.asus.com

 

[feriner]

According to the manual the motherboard supports non-ECC, unbuffered memory, 2 dimms, max of 16GB @ 1600, 1333 or 1066 mhz. I'm not a memory expert, this is just what I found researching it. Hope it helps.

page vi - H81M-C specifications summary.

manual
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/H81M-C/E8447_H81M-C.pdf

memory QVL

H81M-C｜Motherboards｜ASUS Philippines

ASUS mining motherboard features 19 PCI Express® (PCIe®) slots. With 18 PCIe x1 and one PCIe x16 slots on board, plus three zoned ATX12V power connectors, B250 Mining Expert lets you run up to 19 NVIDIA or AMD GPUs* in parallel to max out your megahash rates!

www.asus.com

Wow. That’s actually wild, cause I looked at a ton of forum posts saying that the motherboard probably never determines ECC support and that it’s usually just if the CPU can handle it. I’m not exactly sure why it would be causing the behavior I’m getting but I guess now that’s a possibility. Maybe when I get some display output it’ll shed some light on a potential mem issue. Thanks

 

[feriner]

According to the manual the motherboard supports non-ECC, unbuffered memory, 2 dimms, max of 16GB @ 1600, 1333 or 1066 mhz. I'm not a memory expert, this is just what I found researching it. Hope it helps.

page vi - H81M-C specifications summary.

manual
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/H81M-C/E8447_H81M-C.pdf

memory QVL

H81M-C｜Motherboards｜ASUS Philippines

ASUS mining motherboard features 19 PCI Express® (PCIe®) slots. With 18 PCIe x1 and one PCIe x16 slots on board, plus three zoned ATX12V power connectors, B250 Mining Expert lets you run up to 19 NVIDIA or AMD GPUs* in parallel to max out your megahash rates!

www.asus.com

Did a lil research, my dimms are ECC unbuffered so there’s a good chance they’ll work in my board, just won’t have ECC (which stinks but I can live with at this point, I really only went after the feature cause it seemed nifty).

 

[feriner]

Update: With power switched on, no boot, I unplugged the cpu fan, plugged it back in and suddenly the fans spurred for a second. Then, I jiggle the mobo 24 pin power connecter and it turns on

🤪

the 24 pin seems to be not clipped in all the way and I cannot push it down further. It would be nice if it was just a sticky connector, but I’m pretty sure I had the same boot failure patterns with my working PSU. So...