[SOLVED] How do I troubleshoot Asus Prime B450M-A not booting?

[mrmeowmeow9]

I am a first-time builder and I'm worried my motherboard might be fried, looking for advice or anything else that might help me sort it out.

I'm using an Asus Prime B450M-A motherboard with a Corsair TX550M PSU, Corsair Carbide 88r case, a Ryzen 3 3200g CPU (with its integrated graphics for now) and 8x2GB XPG Gammix 10 3000MHz RAM.

I had to return and replace the first PSU and I thought that would solve my problem. The brand new PSU passes the paperclip test but I'm still getting no boot of any kind. No PSU fan, case fans, beep codes, or any other sign of life. I've shorted the power button pins and shuffled the RAM around but that hasn't gotten me anywhere, and I get nothing with only the PSU, motherboard, CPU, and RAM hooked up.

I'm wondering whether there's any incompatibility with the RAM or CPU, I can't seem to find a straight answer looking myself. If not, is there any way I can actually test to see if the mobo is fried? I bought it as-is (though brand new) and am really hoping it doesn't need a replacement. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[mact]

There should be several diagnostic LEDs on the mobo. Look in the manual to see where they are and what they signify.

I had an old mac pro that refused to boot and I removed the CPU, cleaned it, and reapplied the recommended thermal grease and it came right up. OTOH, I tried this with a tiny Lenovo and it made no difference at all, even swapped the CPU.

If you have recently changed the mobo or swapped the cooler or something like that, it couldn't hurt to re-grease the CPU...clean it well, and the cooler base, before applying new grease.

 

[mrmeowmeow9]

There should be several diagnostic LEDs on the mobo. Look in the manual to see where they are and what they signify.

I had an old mac pro that refused to boot and I removed the CPU, cleaned it, and reapplied the recommended thermal grease and it came right up. OTOH, I tried this with a tiny Lenovo and it made no difference at all, even swapped the CPU.

If you have recently changed the mobo or swapped the cooler or something like that, it couldn't hurt to re-grease the CPU...clean it well, and the cooler base, before applying new grease.

As far as I can tell, it doesn't have any LEDs. No mention of them in the manual and nothing I can find on the board, and nothing turns on when trying to boot.

It and the CPU are brand new and installed right out of the box with the stock cooler and paste. Labelling on the box says they should be compatible but I've also seen that I may need a BIOS update - I'd check on it if I could boot it up at all. An error code would be great but with no speakers, no lights, and no signs of life I think I need to be testing things manually.

 

[egda23]

As far as I can tell, it doesn't have any LEDs. No mention of them in the manual and nothing I can find on the board, and nothing turns on when trying to boot.

It and the CPU are brand new and installed right out of the box with the stock cooler and paste. Labelling on the box says they should be compatible but I've also seen that I may need a BIOS update - I'd check on it if I could boot it up at all. An error code would be great but with no speakers, no lights, and no signs of life I think I need to be testing things manually.

Did you place the stand offs between the motherboard and the case ? If absolutely no sign of life this looks like as a possible short, and the most likely error in a first build is forgetting to place the stand offs

 

[mrmeowmeow9]

Did you place the stand offs between the motherboard and the case ? If absolutely no sign of life this looks like as a possible short, and the most likely error in a first build is forgetting to place the stand offs

I did put the standoffs in, but I don't have an anti-static bracelet or anything like that. Made sure to keep myself grounded but I'm sure I could've accidentally shorted it. Any way to test that for sure before I replace it?

 

[egda23]

I did put the standoffs in, but I don't have an anti-static bracelet or anything like that. Made sure to keep myself grounded but I'm sure I could've accidentally shorted it. Any way to test that for sure before I replace it?

Well, here is the classic guideline to follow in case of "no boot, no nothing"

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist This checklist is a compilation of troubleshooting ideas from many forum members. It's very important to actually perform every step in the checklist if you want to effectively troubleshoot your problem. 1.Did you...

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