Question Installed new Motherboard, CPU and RAM. No power at all

[Akamp]

I swapped out my motherboard, CPU and RAM and have no power at all when I hit the power button on the case. I tried also just shorting the power SW pins and no luck.
The motherboard debug LED are completely off. The ONLY thing I can get to light up is the BIOS reset button on the motherboard. When I hit that, I see a red LED.

The power supply is plugged in and powered on.
Do you guys have any ideas what went wrong? If I installed the CPU wrong, would that show these symptoms? Any help is much appreciated

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you have to question whether the CPU was installed correctly, then it probably wasn't. Why do you question whether the CPU was installed correctly or not, did something happen during the installation or "not feel right" while you were installing it? Did it install easily, dropping cleanly into the socket, and was the retention mechanism arm easy to lock down in place?

Yes, an incorrectly installed CPU could cause all sorts of things, but I'd double check that everything else is right first AND I'd recommend since you are having this problem that you take the board back out of the case and work on getting it to power on and POST while on the box the motherboard came in or a piece of cardboard, on your countertop, table or work bench.

Use these two links to determine what the problem is.

Knowing your FULL system specs including the CPU, motherboard, memory, graphics card and other core hardware models would be helpful.

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

"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...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Akamp]

Thanks for the reply.
I am using a MSI Z790 motherboard with a i5-13400F processor, ti-980 card, and DDR5 ram. It looks like one of my ram cards is in the wrong slot, but I don't think this would stop literally anything from powering.
When I say nothing I mean nothing. No beeps, no fans, no lights etc. It's as if my ps isn't even on (it is and it was literally just working with the last setup).

I am just anxious about the CPU since I see videos of people bending pins. I am certain I put it in the way the motherboard told me to and the lock arm came down with a little force.

I am away for the weekend but will send pics of my setup on Monday.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You're sure the switch on the back of the PSU didn't accidentally get flipped to the "0" position?

Otherwise, I'd say something is either faulty or connected/installed wrong, and that the MB or PSU protections are not allowing it to power on.

First thing I'd do is make sure to unplug ALL of the connections coming from the front panel. Sometimes plugging one of those in wrong will cause protections to kick in.

Also, I'd make absolutely certain to go through the No POST checklist I linked to above and if nothing is indicated there then pull the board and bench it.

 

[Akamp]

Ok I checked that my PSU works with the paper clip and multimeter method and it is all good. I then tried to plug my PSU into the motherboard and override the power SW on the motherboard by using a paperclip to bridge the ground and power on pins in the PSU.
Things actually turned on and fans started to spin! My motherboard has debug LEDS and those were on for DRAM, GPU, and BOOT.
Not sure why because for sure my GPU is fine and installed right...same with the RAM.
I checked my PSU and it is 750 watts, so this for sure is not the issue.

Any ideas!? Possibly faulty motherboard?

 

[Akamp]

Here are some pics

 

[Akamp]

UPDATE: I installed the old motherboard, ram, and processor back into the case and it works. Must be a dud motherboard

 

[Darkbreeze]

Or CPU. You'd be surprised how many people damage their board or CPU and then return it to places like Amazon, Newegg, Best buy, etc., who often do not bother to test or check the return to make sure it's not damaged, and then ship it back out to somebody else hoping they'll just eat it and not bother to complain or return it, or just because they can't be bothered to take that extra step to ensure it's not a faulty component.

But even a bad CPU would USUALLY allow something to work at the least, not just, nothing, so probably pretty good chance it's the board.

 

[rickypicky5]

What is the model number of your MSI Z790 motherboard? Are you sure you have the PSU connected to the CPU 8-pin power connector on the motherboard? I can't really make out if you have it connected using your pictures. It almost looks like you have something connected to CPU_PWR2 instead of CPU_PWR1.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What is the model number of your MSI Z790 motherboard? Are you sure you have the PSU connected to the CPU 8-pin power connector on the motherboard? I can't really make out if you have it connected using your pictures. It almost looks like you have something connected to CPU_PWR2 instead of CPU_PWR1.

Yes, you CAN "make it out". It is CLEARLY connected in the images above. If you can't "make it out" then there is something wrong on your end because it is VERY clearly evident that all the required connections are fully established in the images above.

And, very clearly based on the manual information the connector to the left IS the CPU_PWR1 socket, so that too is correct.

 

[DSzymborski]

What is the actual PSU here? Not just a wattage. Seeing the really shoddy sleeving of the 24-pin cable makes me highly suspicious at a glance. Maybe it's fine, but missing such crucial information, it's hard to have much faith in it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, the majority of units with "mustard and ketchup" wiring are generally pretty cheap/low quality. Not always, as there are a few out there that have them and were decent units, but for the most part those would be, at this point, very old models. I'm sure there are some, but I'd agree that there's a pretty high chance of this not being a great unit.

 

[Akamp]

It is an Ultra X4 80+ bronze PS.
I hope to get the new motherboard soon and reinstall it to see if this fixes it. If it does, then I will replace the PSU next.
I doubt this though because my old setup is working just fine.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ultra? Oh God. I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that that IS your problem, but it's absolutely "A" problem. Ultra used to be the Tigerdirect house brand and they are among some of the crappiest power supplies ever sold, pretty much regardless of model.

That being said, reviews of the X4 series, specifically the 850w model, were basically "ok", and the 750 and 850w models LIKELY use the same platform. The problem here is that this is a model that hasn't been manufactured in like 13 years, so not only is it mediocre quality but it's very old as well. Even if you bought it more recently than that, it's almost certainly then what's known as New Old Stock, and has been sitting around on a warehouse or store shelf for years.

Also, your "old setup" uses somewhat less power than the new one, so just because your PSU "works" with the old setup does not necessarily mean it's sufficient for the new one. On top of which, it's very old and should have been retired about six years ago, at minimum. Especially since that unit only came with a 3 year warranty and if the manufacturer feels a unit is only trustworthy for three years I'm certainly not going to argue with them.

 

[Akamp]

UPDATE: I got the new motherboard finally and in the meantime just got a new PS anyway.
Installed both and it powers up great now with no issues.
We will never know whether it was the MB or the PS!
Thank you all for your help!

 

[Darkbreeze]

My money would 100% be on the power supply in this case. Either way, glad you got it sorted.