Motherboard has power, fans spin for a split second, nothing else

[nelson.luke16]

Several months back, I decided to upgrade the processor in my PC. I went with AMD Ryzen 5 1600X. Since it was AM4, I realized I needed to upgrade my motherboard as well, since it was an AM3+. That meant I needed to upgrade my RAM, as I then needed DDR4 and only had DDR3. After upgrading, I had to upgrade from Windows 7 to 10, since the motherboard apparently doesn't support Windows 7.

After all this, I started having constants crashes (BSOD), with almost a different error code each time. I would occasionally have trouble getting the thing to even boot. When I'm able to reach the desktop, I often get a BSOD, anywhere from 2 seconds to 30 minutes after reaching the desktop.

I've been trying off and on for months trying to find a solution, I've went over counltess posts in many different forums, but I've had no success yet. Between work and school I don't have a whole lot of time to work on it. I sat down today to try to figure something out, but it will not power on. When I flip the power switch on the PSU, the LED on the motherboard lights up. However, when I hit the power button on the tower, the fans spin for a split second and then stop. Pressing the button again does nothing.

Can anyone help me figure out something, anything? I'm almost ready to give up, it's been like 5 months of this.

CPU- AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
GPU- GTX 650
MOBO- Gigabyte AB350M-D3H
RAM- 4GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4
CASE- Antec GX500
PSU- Cooler Master RS-500
HD- Hitachi Deskstar 500GB
SSD- Samsung 840 120GB

Any help at all is appreciated, sorry for the long post.

 

[Paperdoc]

What you describe sounds like a short circuit that interferes with delivery of power to the mobo. But it could also be a loose connection.

Last one first. Many mobos pay special attention to the CPU fan. If it fails, the system may issue a warning for a very short time, then shut down immediately to prevent CPU overheating. In such a case it may also refuse to start up if the CPU cooler never starts. So, watch your CPU cooler at start-up. If the CPU fan NEVER turns, it has failed and that could cause this problem. But if it starts up before the entire system fails, try this. Examine how it is plugged into the CPU_FAN header. Gently unplug it, then plug back in. Do this several times. IF there was a bad connection at the pins due to dirt or corrosion, this may "scrub" the contacts clean. Now try to start up. If that was your problem and it works properly, you have fixed it.

Back to idea #1, short circuit. I'm going to talk about a particular source of that type of problem, but there are others. You had to replace the mobo. A mobo is mounted in the case using small metal things called "stand-offs". These are about ¼" long, with a threaded hole in the top and a threaded shaft coming out the bottom. The case back plate has many threaded holes into which you can install the stand-offs - more holes than you need, to allow for needs of different mobos. There are two rules for where those stand-offs should be installed. Ideally you want one under each mounting hole of the mobo - many mobos have nine holes in three rows of three - for best support of the mobo. But the most IMPORTANT rule is: there should NEVER be a stand-off under the mobo where there is NOT a mounting hole to match it. A mobo is supposed to be grounded to the case at each mounting hole, and not any other spot. So a misplaced stand-off where there is NO matching mounting hole in the mobo can cause a short circuit from mobo traces to the case. To check for this, often you need to remove the mobo from the case and examine all the stand-offs carefully to be SURE the ALL match mobo holes. Move any that are wrong, then re-install the mobo.

This one is much less likely, but I'll tell you an odd one just to illustrate the rare things that can happen. I once had a problem similar to yours just after assembling a system. Of course I checked the stand-offs, and they were all fine. But what I did discover was that, where the sockets of the mobo's rear panel were inserted through the holes of the panel's cover plate on the back if the case, on one socket a springy finger of the cover plate has become stuck into the socket, rather that on its outside surface. That was causing a short. Removing and re-installing the mobo carefully solved that one.