[SOLVED] New PC build powers on, but no display and usb ports don't work

[winter-vagabond]

I'm a new PC builder and I just finished putting everything together so I went to turn it on and it powered on fine. The only problem is that the display is not showing on the monitor and the USB ports/IO ports aren't working.

I've tried starting up the system with just one of the RAM inserted, I have unplugged everything and replugged it all back in, I've read the motherboard manual so many times and everything seems to be correct, I tried using different HDMI, display, and VGA ports both on the motherboard and the GPU, and I still can't figure out what's going on. Can someone please help me I'm new at all this?

Specs:
CPU AMD Ryzen 5 2600 6-Core
GPU MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Super
RAM Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 X 8GB) DDR4 3200MHz
SSD Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
PSU Thermaltake Smart RGB 500W
MOBO ASRock B450 Gaming K4
CASE Phanteks Eclipse p350

 

[tsibiski]

Few questions. Which USB ports are you referring to? The ones on the back panel/IO shield (built into the motherboard), or the ones that are built-into the case itself (located on your Phanteks case's top left near the front). Are BOTH the USB ports there AND in the back of the case not working, or just one set of them?

Also, by not working, I assume you mean that they just do not provide the power to charge something, since you wouldn't be able to use them in any other way if the machine was not booting?

If the USB ports built-into your case are the only ones not working, you probably missed the USB headers for them. There is a large bundle of wires, normally located on the backplate of your case, that run from the USB ports down to the bottom, and into the front of the case. These cords should be bundled with the same cords that contained the headers that you plugged in for the power button and LED headers.

Theres a good chance you have already done this and checked it ad nauseum, but since you didn't explicitly mention it, I feel it's always safer to just ask and rule it all out.

As for the display, have you noticed any beeps when starting up? The motherboard may beep if it is encountering issues during startup. Additionally, some motherboards may have small LEDs that are labelled with "CPU" or "GPU" or "RAM", and these may turn red on start if there is an issue with those components. I took a look at your mobo manual, but did not see anything about that. It is likely, given you have a B450, that you don't have that feature.

Some generic/basic steps that you didn't mention (but maybe you've already tried them):

1) Reseat your GFX card. Take it completely out and put it back in. Maybe that was included by the comment "unplugged and replugged", but I can't tell for sure.

2) Make sure the second CPU power cord is plugged into your board. A PC has a large 12 pin ATX power connector that plugs into the motherboard. However, the secondary CPU connectors are often placed in the top left corner of your board, and can theoretically be easy to miss and forget. They will appear to be dual 8 pin connections on the motherboard. But your PSU will likely supply you a cord with a "split" 4x4 pin end and an 8 pin end. Since you have a non-modular PSU, it will appear as just the split 4x4 head.

3) Do you have the VGA GFX cords connected properly? You mentioned the motherboard manual being read, but I wanted to make sure that all of the female connectors on the GFX card have pins in them. Nothing should be empty on the GFX card.

4) Does the GFX card's fans spin? If it has RGB, does the RGB light up? Do any fans on your motherboard spin at all? Do only some of them spin? Does any RGB elsewhere in your system light up?

5) Can you take some pictures around the motherboard when it is on and supply them here? That might make something obvious immediately apparent.

 

[winter-vagabond]

Few questions. Which USB ports are you referring to? The ones on the back panel/IO shield (built into the motherboard), or the ones that are built-into the case itself (located on your Phanteks case's top left near the front). Are BOTH the USB ports there AND in the back of the case not working, or just one set of them?

So both sets of USB ports don't work, the ones on back and on the case itself. The only USB connector port that came with my case was plugged in on the USB3.1 section as the manual stated. It does not provide power to my devices nor the different display cables I am trying with the back. I tried reseating the GFX card and still no display. There are no beeps when it starts up. However, all the fans turn on and the MOBO itself lights up not with warning lights but the built in LED.

Here's some pictures of the system when it's on:

 

[tsibiski]

So it looks like everything is plugged in correctly from what I can tell.


Here are some other things to try:

1. Take one of the DIMMs out. First take out the B2 lane RAM stick. Try to boot with one. Next, replace the one in A2 with the one you previously took out, and try to boot with the second stick. Let's confirm the RAM is not problematic.
2. Move the GFX card from its primary lane to the other lane that it will fit in. And see if it happens to boot from there. Not likely if its brand new for there to be a dead lane, but worth a try.

The fact that the motherboard's on-board usb's don't work/provide power is worrying to me. Both of my PC's, I can charge from a USB port as long as the PSU switch is on, and power is coming in. I don't even need to turn the PC on. So if it still does not deliver power after the mobo is turned on, I've got a bad feeling about something with A) The motherboard, or B) The PSU delivering the right energy through that ATX 12 pin connector. Either the motherboard is not getting enough power and can only power those fans and a few LEDs, or something might be wrong with the motherboard and it just is not delivering the power it is getting to all areas of the board.

(Note, the PSU should be plenty sufficient. Certainly more than enough for boot up and idle. I am not suggesting your PSU is not providing enough power by design. I'm suggesting that there's a possibility, if unlikely, that something is wrong with it, or maybe the 12 pin connector is not seated fully/correctly. But you already said you re-seated everything, so who knows.)

One question - your case had all of its motherboard standoffs pre-installed? Or did you install the standoffs yourself? I want to rule out any short that could happen. It seems like you followed the directions to the "t", but worth an ask.

As for suggesting anything more drastic, I will leave that to others on the forums. I'm not an expert. I just wanted to suggest some of the most obvious possibilities or offer some of the easiest debugging steps. Maybe someone else can suggest if they think you need to try a different motherboard or different PSU etc.

 

[winter-vagabond]

So it looks like everything is plugged in correctly from what I can tell.

Removing the RAM from the B2 slot seemed to work and it boot up just fine and everything, including the USB, worked. So I'm able to go and install my OS now. Both of the RAM sticks work in the A2 slot so it must've not been in correctly. I put the first one back in the B2 slot and it worked just fine. I'm not too sure what happened but it works and that's alright with me!

Thank you for your help!