Question Computer won't post anymore

oswary

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Hello.
Yesterday at night, I turned off my pc as usual and went to sleep, nothing out of the ordinary. Today, when I woke up and tried to turn it on, it just refuses to POST. My motherboard have its speakers, so I'm used to hear the POST beep, which is not happening today.
I noticed my GPU fan starts spinning, and then stops. After a click noise, it then repeats this cycle. I don't believe it to be the issue though, because it used to do the spin and stop everytime its turned on, so it just seems like the computer is trying over and over to POST. For the sake of trying, I took my GPU off the setup and the result was the same.
Next potential culprit, I thought, RAM sticks. I took them all off and heard the mobo beeps, as expected. But then, even with a single stick on any slot is enough for the computer not to POST. I didn't try all the combinations possible, but I'm thinking it's not the issue.
So my question is: what else could be the issue and how could I try to diagnose it?

My specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
CPU: AMD FX 8320e
GPU: AMD Radeon R7 360 2GB
Can't really remember the exact model, but I'm using 4 RAM sticks of 4GB, DDR3 from Corsair
PSU is a cheap generic brand, don't remember details, but it's "power" is over the top for the machine, 750W (Bought with such an output already knowing that it probably doesn't deliver it all, but should suffice for the machine)

Edit: More info on the PSU. Apparently this is the PSU I have: TDA Power Atx 750W (http://tda.com.br/br/index.php/produtostda/fontes-e-energia/atx750wp4). The warranty sticker on it points that I have it since 2018.
 
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If hardware is suddenly dying, I would probably blame that poor quality power supply. Did you try each of the 4 sticks individually, to make sure that they are all bad?

oswary

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This post is essentially a follow-up of a previous post I made earlier today. (https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/computer-wont-post-anymore.3770738/)
Long story short, I turned off my pc yesterday and today it refused to post. After some troubleshooting, I picked up another stick from another computer and it worked normally. So the conclusion is: Somehow, all 4 of my RAM sticks stopped working after I turned my pc off yesterday.
So my question now is: How/why did that happen? I'm cautious about getting a new set of rams now, because what if the problem is something else and the new sticks get fried too? Thanks in advance.

My specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
CPU: AMD FX 8320e
GPU: AMD Radeon R7 360 2GB
Can't really remember the exact model, but I was using 4 RAM sticks of 4GB, DDR3 1600Mhz, from Corsair
Aparently this is the PSU I have: TDA Power Atx 750W (http://tda.com.br/br/index.php/produtostda/fontes-e-energia/atx750wp4). The warranty sticker on it points that I have it since 2018.
 

oswary

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Update: Well, turns out it's a RAM issue, as the symptoms indicated. I borrowed a stick from my uncle's pc and it worked like a charm. My uncle's stick is an Atermiter 8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz stick.
I found pretty interesting though the fact that all 4 sticks just died overnight for apparently no reason whatsoever. Thank you for the support, nonetheless.
 

oswary

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Did you try all old ram modules separately? (just one at the time)
Did you try disabling ram overclocking (A-XMP/DOCP) ?
Thanks for the quick reply. I did try some combinations of some RAM sticks alone in some slots, to no avail. For the sake of trying, I'm now doing every single stick alone in every single slot.
I never did anything related to overclock, so I actually don't even know what (A-XMP/DOCP) means, and if it is enabled, and how could I disable.
I also tried some of my sticks on the other pc that I borrowed the other RAM stick from, and it also didn't boot.
 

oswary

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If hardware is suddenly dying, I would probably blame that poor quality power supply. Did you try each of the 4 sticks individually, to make sure that they are all bad?
Yes, I did. Now I'm even trying every single stick alone in every single slot, just for the sake of testing. Thanks for the insight about the PSU. I didn't notice any issues about it before today when the sticks died. Could it be the psu regardless or even the mobo perhaps?
 

oswary

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The motherboard is working with other ram sticks, just not yours, so I wouldn't think it would be the culprit, but given your hardware's age, it isn't out of the realm of possibility.
I see. For now I'm using the borrowed stick that made me realize that my four old sticks were the issue. I finished testing every stick in every slot, and as expected, not a single combination worked out. So, the most likely diagnosis is that the bad PSU somehow fried them when I turned the pc off/Turned it on today?
 

logainofhades

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That would be my best guess. Poor quality power supplies don't provide clean/stable power, and can harm other hardware. I would recommend getting a better one, regardless, just to avoid it killing your system, when it dies. I have personally had it happen. Had a cheap 600w rosewill that killed my CPU and motherboard, when it died. Thankfully the hardware wasn't expensive, as it was just a rig used to watch netflix, on my TV.
 

oswary

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That would be my best guess. Poor quality power supplies don't provide clean/stable power, and can harm other hardware. I would recommend getting a better one, regardless, just to avoid it killing your system, when it dies. I have personally had it happen. Had a cheap 600w rosewill that killed my CPU and motherboard, when it died. Thankfully the hardware wasn't expensive, as it was just a rig used to watch netflix, on my TV.
Oof, sorry to hear that. Well, as it seems like I'll have to replace my RAM sticks first and foremost, I can only hope that the PSU can hold itself together for a while until I'm able to afford a good quality replacement. Thank you for the help!
 

oswary

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This post is essentially a follow-up of two previous post I made earlier. (https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/computer-wont-post-anymore.3770738/)
(https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/all-4-ram-sticks-died-overnight-why.3770765/)
Long story short, I turned off my pc two days ago and yesterday it refused to post. After some troubleshooting, I picked up another stick from another computer and it worked normally. So the conclusion is: Somehow, all 4 of my RAM sticks stopped working after I turned my pc off yesterday.
I became very wary of either the psu or the mobo being frying the sticks, but as I couldn't do much at the time, I just kept using the computer normally throughout the day with the borrowed stick.
Later at night, I turned it off normally and went to sleep, but today, the computer didn't POST again, as the borrowed stick also got fried.
Evidently, I'll need some stick replacements, but to avoid frying them too, I want to know if I can somehow test the quality or energy being output by my psu, so I can either verify that it is indeed the issue or worry even more about a potentially faulty mobo.
Thanks in advance.


My specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
CPU: AMD FX 8320e
GPU: AMD Radeon R7 360 2GB
Can't really remember the exact model, but I was using 4 RAM sticks of 4GB, DDR3 1600Mhz, from Corsair. The borrowed stick was a 8GB DDR3 1600MHz from Atermiter.
Aparently this is the PSU I have: TDA Power Atx 750W (http://tda.com.br/br/index.php/produtostda/fontes-e-energia/atx750wp4). The warranty sticker on it points that I have it at least since 2018.
 
That PSU has 44A on the 12V rail, so it's by modern standards a 530W PSU. It also has a red manual switch 110V - 230V. Those switches were abandoned by most manufacturers about 15 years ago, and are not allowed to be sold in the EU since over 10 years.
I would get something more reliable. There are some stickies at the top of this forum with suggestions.
 

CompuGuy71

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Jul 20, 2022
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That power supply is sketchy at best. May as well be a time bomb in your PC case like those old DiabloTek PSUs.

That said there is a way to test your PSU that can help and it is really inexpensive and a generally reliable test. You'll need a paper clip.

  1. Turn off the system and unplug all the cables from the motherboard and other accessories you may have installed.
  2. On your 24-pin Motherboard cable find pin 4 and 5
    1. With the clip facing up count from the left on the top row of pins
  3. Bend your paperclip so that both ends can be inserted into pin 4 and 5. Be incredibly sure that you have pin 4 and 5 or else you can absolutely be injured or damage your power supply further.
  4. Turn on your power supply.
  5. If the fan spins then your PSU is functioning at least well enough to supply power to your CPU.
I'd hold off on frying any more RAM or possibly your entire machine until you are sure about the PSU.
 

oswary

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The posts have been merged. Please do not start new threads.

In any case, the PSU is junk. It has to be replaced to proceed any further.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know I could keep in the old thread, since I'm technically working with another issue. Thanks for the merge, the head up, and the response about the psu though.
 

oswary

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That PSU has 44A on the 12V rail, so it's by modern standards a 530W PSU. It also has a red manual switch 110V - 230V. Those switches were abandoned by most manufacturers about 15 years ago, and are not allowed to be sold in the EU since over 10 years.
I would get something more reliable. There are some stickies at the top of this forum with suggestions.
Wow. I knew before hand that it was mediocre at best. I didn't know about the outdated technologies though, like how the switch was dropped, since I live somewhere where pc components are quite expensive, so it is still very common to see around. Thanks for the insights.
 

oswary

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That power supply is sketchy at best. May as well be a time bomb in your PC case like those old DiabloTek PSUs.

That said there is a way to test your PSU that can help and it is really inexpensive and a generally reliable test. You'll need a paper clip.

  1. Turn off the system and unplug all the cables from the motherboard and other accessories you may have installed.
  2. On your 24-pin Motherboard cable find pin 4 and 5
    1. With the clip facing up count from the left on the top row of pins
  3. Bend your paperclip so that both ends can be inserted into pin 4 and 5. Be incredibly sure that you have pin 4 and 5 or else you can absolutely be injured or damage your power supply further.
  4. Turn on your power supply.
  5. If the fan spins then your PSU is functioning at least well enough to supply power to your CPU.
I'd hold off on frying any more RAM or possibly your entire machine until you are sure about the PSU.

Hello. Thanks for the test. I did it and the PSU does turn on just fine. I went a step further, and with a multimeter I did measure the output voltage of the different pins of the 24-pin connection. The results were as follows:
Gray cable: 5.12V
Yellow cable: 12.49V
Red cable: 5.12V
Orange cable: 3.39V
Purple cable: 5.15V
Blue cable: -11.54V
With little to no oscillation in the measurements.
I believe these variations are within acceptable range?
Regardless, as any new ram stick works just fine and it just get fried on turning the pc either off or on, I presume is a more specific issue. I would like to know if there's anything else I could do to just confirm for sure that the PSU is the culprit?
 

DSzymborski

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Wow. I knew before hand that it was mediocre at best. I didn't know about the outdated technologies though, like how the switch was dropped, since I live somewhere where pc components are quite expensive, so it is still very common to see around. Thanks for the insights.

Yeah, it's unfortunate. Computer parts tend to be more expensive in less wealthy countries, which has to be incredibly frustrating, given that the physics of how electricity works doesn't change from country to country!

And, also unfortunately, when companies sell the same products for less money in these countries, then Americans simply figure out how to capitalize on that. And inevitably, it just results in the price being raised elsewhere to discourage this. For example, there was a case some years ago where someone figured out that copies of American college texts were legally sold much cheaper in Thailand, so someone got the idea of importing the books from Thailand and selling them in the US. And there was a Supreme Court case that blessed this. But what happened, in the end, was that the textbook manufacturers ended up raising the prices in Thailand, a country with like 15% the average GDP as the US, resulting in a much greater hardship for Thai students, especially the poorer ones.
 

oswary

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Yeah, it's unfortunate. Computer parts tend to be more expensive in less wealthy countries, which has to be incredibly frustrating, given that the physics of how electricity works doesn't change from country to country!

And, also unfortunately, when companies sell the same products for less money in these countries, then Americans simply figure out how to capitalize on that. And inevitably, it just results in the price being raised elsewhere to discourage this. For example, there was a case some years ago where someone figured out that copies of American college texts were legally sold much cheaper in Thailand, so someone got the idea of importing the books from Thailand and selling them in the US. And there was a Supreme Court case that blessed this. But what happened, in the end, was that the textbook manufacturers ended up raising the prices in Thailand, a country with like 15% the average GDP as the US, resulting in a much greater hardship for Thai students, especially the poorer ones.
Oh wow. I mean, it's capitalism nature, can't do anything about it besides getting frustrated. I would like to have a way to be 100% sure that my PSU is the issue, exactly because would already be a big investment for me to get the new sticks and a new PSU, and it would suck if in the end the mobo was at fault, which is even more expensive. I'll see if I can figure anything out. Thanks for the insights.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
Oh wow. I mean, it's capitalism nature, can't do anything about it besides getting frustrated. I would like to have a way to be 100% sure that my PSU is the issue, exactly because would already be a big investment for me to get the new sticks and a new PSU, and it would suck if in the end the mobo was at fault, which is even more expensive. I'll see if I can figure anything out. Thanks for the insights.

You really need to replace that PSU under any circumstances. While your PC doesn't use much power, it's just a really poor PSU, quality-wise, and to really test it, you'd need serious equipment, like a load tester and an oscilloscope.
 
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oswary

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Well, although I could see the use of an oscilloscope (I'm a electrical engineering student, after all), I don't think I would manage to find a load tester, so I'll have to hope that is actually the PSU fault and not my mobo going psycho mode and frying every ram stick.
As I said before, computer components are not that accessible where I live. My budget isn't great either, as I'll have to buy RAM too, so I settled on this one as replacement:
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br/pro...4CKNmJBQnN6RP88-3MGZ9jUw31YRFi4oaAj5_EALw_wcB
Now, I know this isn't a great replacement, but I believe it is not as poor as my old model. I'll make an update as soon as it and the ram arrives.
Thanks everybody for your inputs so far.
 

oswary

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A little update:
Another week, another issue, it seems.
All the new components arrived, and with the new PSU, my mobo doesn't even breathe. I press the button (and tried through the pins too) and nothing spins to life, not even the PSU.
I testes the new PSU same way I tested the old one, and by itself it does spins to life and seems to be working just fine.
Guess my mobo, untouched for a week, just gave up?
I'm open to any suggestions for any other things to try.