Question Is my motherboard dead?

[Jerry125]

Hello guys,

today I tried to turn on my PC but after pressing the power on button nothing happend. I checked everything outside the PC and everything was working. Something was wrong inside the case, so I cracked it open and here the fun begins. I should also mention that I turned off the pc regulary and no extraordinary events happend overnight.

PC specs
PSU - Coolmaster RS600 (600W)
Motherboard - MSI Z170A Tomahawk (Custom BIOS for overcloking CPU)
CPU - I5 6400 (overclocked to 4ghz with custom BIOS)
Nvidia GTX 960 as a GPU
16 GB Hyperx Black fury DDR4 RAM

After I got inside nothing but a small diode on GPU was blinking. Not a common thing but I found out that it should indicates something with "abnormal power supply". So I started to removing parts one by one (outside the pc case) , testing which one causes to PC not to boot.. I tried 3 different PSU - didnt help. Removed RAM, nothing. Reseting CMOS didnt help either. Since I ended up with just the CPU and the motherboard installed and with the issue still persisting It should be either the CPU or motherboard. Personaly I do not think the problem is related to CPU because the motherboard just seems to be dead. Motheboard shows only two signs of life - 1. everytime I hold the power button for a few seconds small blue diode starts to flash (maybe its the indication of forced shutdown) + same blue diode blinks when I press the button to reset the CMOS and 2. When I am plugging in the big (24) cable from PSU to motherboard all the diodes flashes for a while and fans start running but only for a second or so. Forgot to mention that I tried to find any sings of physical damage like bent pins, burned marks but the board just seems to be almost as good as new.

Anyone can tell me what can I do now. Unfortunately I cant RMA the motherboard - expired last month. Is there a way how to find out what excatly is not working on the motheboard? Or could it be the CPU?

Thanks for any help provided.

 

[cin19]

Reseting CMOS didnt help either. Since I ended up with just the CPU and the motherboard installed and with the issue still persisting It should be either the CPU or motherboard.

Like you said, either the MB or CPU has problem. If you don't have any compatible parts to test, go to local PC shop or your friend for help. But I think most of times the MB has problem.

 

[Jerry125]

I found out one weird thing. I already said that when I plug in the 24 atx (psu->motherboard) all the diodes flash for a second. I tried to connect each "port" of the big atx 24 cable separately, one by one. 4th pin (google says its a pin for "power on") triggers all the diodes and a CPU debug diode. As long as i kept only this one pin connected the lights stay on. Does it mean anything ?