[SOLVED] Intermittent power issue with B450 Aorus Pro ?

[BHarrison85]

Hi, I'm hoping someone with more knowledge can point me in the right direction, i have an Aorus B450 PRO paired with a Ryzen 5 3600.

About a week ago the system started to become non responsive when pressing the power button, sometimes it would start after two or three presses sometimes I would have to power the system off completely to get it to power on. Knowing my PSU I had was a bit long in the tooth I replaced that first which didn't help at all. My next port of call was the CMOS battery which seemed to help for about 48 hours. However, today the motherboard wouldn't power on at all no lights etc, no amount of power off and on cycling would make it start. BUT! it randomly started working again after leaving the power off for a while.

I have ordered some new CR2032 CMOS batteries on the off chance I have replaced faulty for faulty but is there anything I'm probably missing, or is the board likely on its way out?

 

[DelenaСhelsiecain]

Since replacing those didn't resolve the problem, you might want to consider a few more things. First, check the motherboard for any visible issues - like bulging or leaking capacitors. Second, reseat all the connectors, RAM, and expansion cards. A loose connection could cause intermittent issues like this.

Also, verify the power switch on your case. It could be faulty and causing inconsistent starts. You can test this by directly shorting the power switch pins on the motherboard (carefully, with the tip of a screwdriver).

Finally, it could be an issue with the motherboard itself. If none of the above steps help, it may be time to consider a replacement. Hope this gives you some additional avenues to explore.

 

[drea.drechsler]

In addition to shorting the two front panel power switch pins on the motherboard you can also try using the paperclip test on the PSU while it's connected to the motherboard. Through the back of the 24 pin connector bridge the two contacts shown in this image and the PSU should start up straight away. If it doesn't with the 24 pin connected to the motherboard and does when it's disconnected that's a strong suggestion somethings not right on the motherboard or GPU and not letting the system start up.

If it doesn't start up with the 24 pin connected you can further narrrow it down by disconnecting the GPU supplemental power connector(s). If it now attempts to start (it can't, obviously) the problem's probably in the GPU. You can also try the same with the CPU supplemental power, if it tries that could be either the motherboard VRM or the CPU. Then remove the CPU if it attempts to start reliably the problem is in the CPU.

And in a bit of serendipity, it's quite likely that after fiddling with all those connectors and plugging them back in you may very easily fix the problem

 

[BHarrison85]

Thank you for your responses and advice on this issue, I ordered a new CMOS battery on the off chance the replacement I had was faulty and it would appear my hunch in this scenario was correct. I have had no issues since replacing the battery a second time. However, this is not to say it won’t start happening again and I will be sure to heed your advice if this issue arises again.


thank you both again for your help!

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thank you for your responses and advice on this issue, I ordered a new CMOS battery on the off chance the replacement I had was faulty and it would appear my hunch in this scenario was correct. I have had no issues since replacing the battery a second time. However, this is not to say it won’t start happening again and I will be sure to heed your advice if this issue arises again.


thank you both again for your help!

Hey, it's good to hear your problem's sorted.

But...I have to say I've never had a situation where a dead, bad or even completely missing battery made the system unable to start up. It will only start up on default settings because the CMOS storage location is "volatile" and needs a battery to retain the settings, but it should start up.

It may be that since it always uses default settings the first restart after a successful startup results in memory re-training which might cause a failed start while subsequent attempts manage to be successful. But I should think you'd have noted that aspect of the problem

And then it may be, as you rummaged around inside the system to remove and then reinstall a new battery you managed to make a loose connection solid again. It may not be the situation, but it's always a possibility and something to keep in mind should the problem come back in the future.