Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3 POST issue, previously working

[Dnrom]

Hardware turns on and runs but no POST.
No clear indication of shorting like automatic restarting, visible electrical shit, etc.

Happened earlier today; turned off system to restart and get into the BIOS to configure new m.2 NVMe SSD that I installed yesterday. Computer has been working consistently and with no apparent problems for several months, mostly new build.
I recognize that I might have used too many words. Bold and italics for anyone who just wants the key parts.

History
Currently considering one of two things that might have caused this:
1. Installing the m.2 SSD. I removed the board and everything on it but the RAM before doing this, and had to reinstall the heatsink and GPU, as well as reconnect front panel stuff. There's a chance I screwed something up here, though it is far from my first time at this point. One thing of note is that I got a nice scare when I plugged everything back in and tried booting the system; first time I turned it on after installing the SSD, it turned back off after about a second, max. 3, and then rebooted with no hitches.
2. I probably applied a bit too much new thermal paste to the CPU (first time applying aftermarket compound) . When I opened up the case today to go through the stickied no-POST checklist thread I opted to remove some of the thermal paste, even though there didn't seem to be a ton of excess (just a little bit that had gone over the ledges). There was no thermal paste on the pins or anywhere on the motherboard other than the CPU afaik.

Details
When I attempt to boot now, the system powers on but apparently does not successfully boot. The case fans, GPU fans, and CPU fans all start up. At first I thought I heard the SATA drives (HD, Optical drive) starting up, but currently they are not, and it's been hours of this bullshit. Since all of the fans start, I do not suspect the PSU, but that's mostly an uneducated guess.
My motherboard speaker is not working, but that's been the case since I changed motherboards; the last one shorted due to a very unlucky circumstance and probably took down the speaker with it. There is, however, a series of LEDs on the motherboard - 4 to be exact, that are supposed to help with POST troubleshooting if my research is accurate (not much in manual).
Apparently, these lights are supposed to turn red in the following order during a normal boot: CPU-DRAM-VGA-BOOT. When my system turns on, only the CPU light is illuminated. Every few seconds, it seems to attempt DRAM, which flickers but does not turn on. When the flickering happens, a slightly louder whir is audible. This seems in line with the usual sounds I heard when I power on the computer, I know it's a bit strange but I remember these things

THE PARTS!
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6-Core 3.6 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 95W
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3
RAM: Team T-Force Dark 16gb (8gbx2); DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200); timing 14-16-16-31; CAS Latency 14; Voltage 1.2V
CPU cooler Deepcool Gammaxx 400, 2x120mm fans
GPU: PNY GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCIe 3.0
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular
HD: WD Blue Caviar 1TB
SSD: SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal SSD
OS: Win10 Pro
Case: Cooler Master HAF-912 (or whatever the older version was)
Peripheral speakers, keyboard, monitor, webcam, mic, record player.

Things I've done to try to fix it
(in chronological order)
1. Removing excess thermal paste from the CPU. Used a soft cloth and acetone-based rubbing alcohol.
2. Resetting all of the parts carefully. I removed every part from the motherboard and reinstalled them.
3. Following the no-POST checklist on stickied thread. Was notably unable to test whether it was the RAM etc. since speaker is not working. From what I've gathered, I'm guessing there's a problem with the RAM or SSD. Also do not own a static wristband so conceivably could have been that. Notably:
3a. Booting with only one RAM stick at a time.
3b. Booting with RAM in different slots (was previously in recommended slot).
3c. Unplugging front panel RESET wire.
4. Resetting CMOS by removing battery and unplugging; none of my motherboards have included jumpers.
5. Uninstalling m.2 SSD.
I could be wrong about the whole LED-order thing I mentioned earlier. It could simply be an indication that the CPU is the issue.

Thanks everyone! I'm almost willing to take this into a shop at this point, but I prefer to understand these things and get some more experience if I can to be able to better deal with it next time.

 

[Insomniac Jack]

It's either your CPU or RAM. I'd double check to see if in fact there is not excess thermal compound on any CPU pins or on the socket itself. The other thing to make sure is that there's not a loose screw under your motherboard and that the motherboard is properly placed on the standoffs.

 

[marcel.riedeman]

Hardware turns on and runs but no POST.
No clear indication of shorting like automatic restarting, visible electrical shit, etc.

Happened earlier today; turned off system to restart and get into the BIOS to configure new m.2 NVMe SSD that I installed yesterday. Computer has been working consistently and with no apparent problems for several months, mostly new build.
I recognize that I might have used too many words. Bold and italics for anyone who just wants the key parts.

History
Currently considering one of two things that might have caused this:
1. Installing the m.2 SSD. I removed the board and everything on it but the RAM before doing this, and had to reinstall the heatsink and GPU, as well as reconnect front panel stuff. There's a chance I screwed something up here, though it is far from my first time at this point. One thing of note is that I got a nice scare when I plugged everything back in and tried booting the system; first time I turned it on after installing the SSD, it turned back off after about a second, max. 3, and then rebooted with no hitches.
2. I probably applied a bit too much new thermal paste to the CPU (first time applying aftermarket compound) . When I opened up the case today to go through the stickied no-POST checklist thread I opted to remove some of the thermal paste, even though there didn't seem to be a ton of excess (just a little bit that had gone over the ledges). There was no thermal paste on the pins or anywhere on the motherboard other than the CPU afaik.

Details
When I attempt to boot now, the system powers on but apparently does not successfully boot. The case fans, GPU fans, and CPU fans all start up. At first I thought I heard the SATA drives (HD, Optical drive) starting up, but currently they are not, and it's been hours of this bullshit. Since all of the fans start, I do not suspect the PSU, but that's mostly an uneducated guess.
My motherboard speaker is not working, but that's been the case since I changed motherboards; the last one shorted due to a very unlucky circumstance and probably took down the speaker with it. There is, however, a series of LEDs on the motherboard - 4 to be exact, that are supposed to help with POST troubleshooting if my research is accurate (not much in manual).
Apparently, these lights are supposed to turn red in the following order during a normal boot: CPU-DRAM-VGA-BOOT. When my system turns on, only the CPU light is illuminated. Every few seconds, it seems to attempt DRAM, which flickers but does not turn on. When the flickering happens, a slightly louder whir is audible. This seems in line with the usual sounds I heard when I power on the computer, I know it's a bit strange but I remember these things

THE PARTS!
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6-Core 3.6 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 95W
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3
RAM: Team T-Force Dark 16gb (8gbx2); DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200); timing 14-16-16-31; CAS Latency 14; Voltage 1.2V
CPU cooler Deepcool Gammaxx 400, 2x120mm fans
GPU: PNY GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCIe 3.0
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular
HD: WD Blue Caviar 1TB
SSD: SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal SSD
OS: Win10 Pro
Case: Cooler Master HAF-912 (or whatever the older version was)
Peripheral speakers, keyboard, monitor, webcam, mic, record player.

Things I've done to try to fix it
(in chronological order)
1. Removing excess thermal paste from the CPU. Used a soft cloth and acetone-based rubbing alcohol.
2. Resetting all of the parts carefully. I removed every part from the motherboard and reinstalled them.
3. Following the no-POST checklist on stickied thread. Was notably unable to test whether it was the RAM etc. since speaker is not working. From what I've gathered, I'm guessing there's a problem with the RAM or SSD. Also do not own a static wristband so conceivably could have been that. Notably:
3a. Booting with only one RAM stick at a time.
3b. Booting with RAM in different slots (was previously in recommended slot).
3c. Unplugging front panel RESET wire.
4. Resetting CMOS by removing battery and unplugging; none of my motherboards have included jumpers.
5. Uninstalling m.2 SSD.
I could be wrong about the whole LED-order thing I mentioned earlier. It could simply be an indication that the CPU is the issue.

Thanks everyone! I'm almost willing to take this into a shop at this point, but I prefer to understand these things and get some more experience if I can to be able to better deal with it next time.

I have the same issue since today. MY pc worked perfectly the last half year since today it won't show display but all fans are spinning. I have the same motherboard. Right bottom of the motherboard there is one red light shining and it switch to the right every 4 secs. I looked in the manuel and it says that there is something wrong with CPU or DRAM. I don't think there is something wrong with my CPU or DRAM because it worked perfectly a half year. Potential causes 1: I went to bios and set the setting to optimized defaults. 2: I was updating bios in windows 10 with the GIGAByte appcenter app. But I closed it when it was installing with TaskManager. Does anyone know how I can solve this?

 

[Insomniac Jack]

Hardware turns on and runs but no POST.
No clear indication of shorting like automatic restarting, visible electrical shit, etc.

Happened earlier today; turned off system to restart and get into the BIOS to configure new m.2 NVMe SSD that I installed yesterday. Computer has been working consistently and with no apparent problems for several months, mostly new build.
I recognize that I might have used too many words. Bold and italics for anyone who just wants the key parts.

History
Currently considering one of two things that might have caused this:
1. Installing the m.2 SSD. I removed the board and everything on it but the RAM before doing this, and had to reinstall the heatsink and GPU, as well as reconnect front panel stuff. There's a chance I screwed something up here, though it is far from my first time at this point. One thing of note is that I got a nice scare when I plugged everything back in and tried booting the system; first time I turned it on after installing the SSD, it turned back off after about a second, max. 3, and then rebooted with no hitches.
2. I probably applied a bit too much new thermal paste to the CPU (first time applying aftermarket compound) . When I opened up the case today to go through the stickied no-POST checklist thread I opted to remove some of the thermal paste, even though there didn't seem to be a ton of excess (just a little bit that had gone over the ledges). There was no thermal paste on the pins or anywhere on the motherboard other than the CPU afaik.

Details
When I attempt to boot now, the system powers on but apparently does not successfully boot. The case fans, GPU fans, and CPU fans all start up. At first I thought I heard the SATA drives (HD, Optical drive) starting up, but currently they are not, and it's been hours of this bullshit. Since all of the fans start, I do not suspect the PSU, but that's mostly an uneducated guess.
My motherboard speaker is not working, but that's been the case since I changed motherboards; the last one shorted due to a very unlucky circumstance and probably took down the speaker with it. There is, however, a series of LEDs on the motherboard - 4 to be exact, that are supposed to help with POST troubleshooting if my research is accurate (not much in manual).
Apparently, these lights are supposed to turn red in the following order during a normal boot: CPU-DRAM-VGA-BOOT. When my system turns on, only the CPU light is illuminated. Every few seconds, it seems to attempt DRAM, which flickers but does not turn on. When the flickering happens, a slightly louder whir is audible. This seems in line with the usual sounds I heard when I power on the computer, I know it's a bit strange but I remember these things

THE PARTS!
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6-Core 3.6 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 95W
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3
RAM: Team T-Force Dark 16gb (8gbx2); DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200); timing 14-16-16-31; CAS Latency 14; Voltage 1.2V
CPU cooler Deepcool Gammaxx 400, 2x120mm fans
GPU: PNY GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCIe 3.0
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular
HD: WD Blue Caviar 1TB
SSD: SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal SSD
OS: Win10 Pro
Case: Cooler Master HAF-912 (or whatever the older version was)
Peripheral speakers, keyboard, monitor, webcam, mic, record player.

Things I've done to try to fix it
(in chronological order)
1. Removing excess thermal paste from the CPU. Used a soft cloth and acetone-based rubbing alcohol.
2. Resetting all of the parts carefully. I removed every part from the motherboard and reinstalled them.
3. Following the no-POST checklist on stickied thread. Was notably unable to test whether it was the RAM etc. since speaker is not working. From what I've gathered, I'm guessing there's a problem with the RAM or SSD. Also do not own a static wristband so conceivably could have been that. Notably:
3a. Booting with only one RAM stick at a time.
3b. Booting with RAM in different slots (was previously in recommended slot).
3c. Unplugging front panel RESET wire.
4. Resetting CMOS by removing battery and unplugging; none of my motherboards have included jumpers.
5. Uninstalling m.2 SSD.
I could be wrong about the whole LED-order thing I mentioned earlier. It could simply be an indication that the CPU is the issue.

Thanks everyone! I'm almost willing to take this into a shop at this point, but I prefer to understand these things and get some more experience if I can to be able to better deal with it next time.

I have the same issue since today. MY pc worked perfectly the last half year since today it won't show display but all fans are spinning. I have the same motherboard. Right bottom of the motherboard there is one red light shining and it switch to the right every 4 secs. I looked in the manuel and it says that there is something wrong with CPU or DRAM. I don't think there is something wrong with my CPU or DRAM because it worked perfectly a half year. Potential causes 1: I went to bios and set the setting to optimized defaults. 2: I was updating bios in windows 10 with the GIGAByte appcenter app. But I closed it when it was installing with TaskManager. Does anyone know how I can solve this?

You may have bricked your board. BIOS updates are needed but they are a dangerous thing to do. During a BIOS update you should never touch anything and it should never be interrupted. My guess is cutting the update off during install you've corrupted your BIOS. If you're lucky you can try clearing your CMOS but you may have a DOA board and might have to send it back to Gigabyte for a new one.