[SOLVED] Is my motherboard DOA?

[ryan445]

Hi all,

I'm building a new PC and my PSU came in the mail today so I was excited to put everything together to test and see if it's all working. Unfortunately, I encountered my first problem when I flicked on the PSU, pressed the power button on the case, and nothing happened. The LED for the power switch didn't turn on, the fans didn't turn on, nothing.

Here's my setup:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dHxWMc

This is my first build and I'm using an ASRock ATX B450 PRO4 Motherboard. Though this is my first time, I've watched a lot of tutorials and done my reading to figure out what needs to be done and how to do basic troubleshooting. Now my CPU hasn't come yet so I thought I would just power everything up, make sure the fans work, see if I can interact with the BIOS.

The first thing I did was unplug everything except the fans from the PSU. I then connected a wire between the PS_ON and COM connections in the 24-pin connector to see if the PSU was the problem but the case fans started up right away.

I then checked to see if the power button was the issue. I plugged the power back into the mobo and touched a screwdriver to the power sw pins and again, nothing happened. I brought the mobo out of the case and tried again and nothing.

So is my motherboard just faulty? Are there other diagnostic tests I should try before I go about returning it? Should I wait until the CPU gets here before throwing in the towel? Would it be a good idea to order the same motherboard or try a different one entirely?

I appreciate it,
Ryan

 

[Tioym]

Uhh, I'm not a veteran PC builder but how do you plan to boot without a CPU? Did you read anywhere that you could boot into the BIOS without a CPU? I don't think that exists or if it does maybe it's on specefic mobos.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi Ryan

You would not even pass Post (Power on self test) without the CPU. Wait till you have the CPU installed.
Post interrogates your systems hardware for best initial settings in Bios. Without the CPU it would thro out an error and would not continue till the error is fixed.
Further research will show you that it's best to benchtest the mother board and other hardware prior to assy.
There is nothing wrong with the Motherboard. As yet.

 

[ryan445]

Hi Ryan

You would not even pass Post (Power on self test) without the CPU. Wait till you have the CPU installed.
Post interrogates your systems hardware for best initial settings in Bios. Without the CPU it would thro out an error and would not continue till the error is fixed.
Further research will show you that it's best to benchtest the mother board and other hardware prior to assy.
There is nothing wrong with the Motherboard. As yet.

Okay, thanks. Are you sure that I shouldn't even be able to power the case fans without the CPU?

 

[ryan445]

Uhh, I'm not a veteran PC builder but how do you plan to boot without a CPU? Did you read anywhere that you could boot into the BIOS without a CPU? I don't think that exists or if it does maybe it's on specefic mobos.

Well I was reading from here earlier (admittedly, I only skimmed it):
https://techtreehub.com/how-to-test...should,motherboard's cooling system in action.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Okay, thanks. Are you sure that I shouldn't even be able to power the case fans without the CPU?

If case fans are connected to the correct headers then yes the fans should spin momentarily. You would not have control of PWR 4pin connections until you can access Bios.
Don't skim reading guides. Make sure to fully understand what your doing.