[SOLVED] PC not booting/passing POST startup

[Pen_Dawg]

Hey so, after rummaging through forum posts on this website with the same issue as me, I have had to result to posting as I am unable to boot my PC. And after forking out nearly £140 these past three days I really need a resolution.

TO start, the specs:
Mobo - ASUS PRIME A320M-K - new
CPU - AMD Athlon X4 Quad Core AM4 - new
CPU cooler - Cooler master hyper 212 EVO
RAM - CORSAIR Vengeance LPX DDR4 2400 MHz PC RAM - 8 GB - new
GPU (not currently installed) AMD Radeon Sapphire R7 240 ( i think) - had it a few years already
PSU - G7 Power Extreme 580W - not sure on age at least 5 years old, was installed when I bought the PC from a friend
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 500gb - same as PSU

I will describe to you the whole story of my week so far!

So on monday I decided to try and boot up my PC the way it was after not using it for a year (It may have had to encounter a bit of movement since last use because I moved house) and it would power on and everything, fans going etc. but would not boot. When I tried to hold down power button it did not do anything, in the end every time I have tried turning it off and on again I've had to use the switch at the back to get it off. After looking at my computer hardware I put it down to the mobo being dead (no power to mouse or any of the USB ports on start up either) I'm not sure on the make, all I know is it was an ASUS but a very old one. so after paying for a new one, and some new ram cause I wanted to make sure I had some compatible DDR4 ram for my new mobo, I went to set up. That was there I realised the CPU I had was incompatible (Being AM3 rather than AM4) even though I thought my research was inaccurate, thinking my old hard drive was an AMD athlon not an AMD FX series. Turns out I had remembered wrong. So I ordered an AMD Athlon and that arrived today. After installing everything (to what I believe would be correctly) to my new mobo, CPU and RAM, I went to boot. Same thing that was occurring on monday happened again. Lights on, fans on, power on, No video to monitor, unable to switch off my holding down the power button, just the switch at the back. The mobo seems to make a bit of a noise with the orange LED light on when I switch the wall and PSU switch on, but I don't know if that's normal. I've tried with GPU installed and without it installed.
I don't think I have one of those beepers that tells you what's wrong either. I would really love some tips though because I have spent a lot of money and I want to use my PC so badly! I have a friend or two who can have a look but for now I was hoping someone here could give me some ideas.
Could it be the hard drive? or maybe a wire from the PSU? I really don't know! It can't be the RAM or CPU as I have checked over and over for compatibility, and it just seems weird I am having the same problem after replacing the whole motherboard.
If you need any more details please ask. Thanks! please remember I am a newbie so It could just be something so simple!

 

[Pen_Dawg]

Plz some help anyone?!

 

[McKeu]

Is your CPU the X4-940, -950 or 970?

 

[McKeu]

The problem is that your specific board does not support all 3 out of the box, but two of those only after a BIOS update (last number being the required BIOS version):

You should have a sticker somewhere on the main board (either on the BIOS chip or on a barcode as last 4 digits) stating the BIOS version your mobo was shipped with.

X4-940 (3.2GHz, 4C, L2:2M, 65W,rev.A1)	ALL	0805
X4-950 (3.5GHz, 4C, L2:2M, 65W,rev.A1,AM4)	ALL	0217
X4-970 (3.8GHz, 4C, L2:2M, 65W,rev.A1)	ALL	0805

 

[Pen_Dawg]

The problem is that your specific board does not support all 3 out of the box, but two of those only after a BIOS update (last number being the required BIOS version):

You should have a sticker somewhere on the main board (either on the BIOS chip or on a barcode as last 4 digits) stating the BIOS version your mobo was shipped with.

X4-940 (3.2GHz, 4C, L2:2M, 65W,rev.A1)	ALL	0805
X4-950 (3.5GHz, 4C, L2:2M, 65W,rev.A1,AM4)	ALL	0217
X4-970 (3.8GHz, 4C, L2:2M, 65W,rev.A1)	ALL	0805

Okay I will have a look when I get home. It’s the 950. So if o have to update the bios, how will I do that? I thought it was only the Ryzen cpus that weren’t supported post 2nd gen

 

[McKeu]

Okay I will have a look when I get home. It’s the 950. So if o have to update the bios, how will I do that? I thought it was only the Ryzen cpus that weren’t supported post 2nd gen

The 950 should be supported out of the box with BIOS 0217, I think

 

[Pen_Dawg]

The 950 should be supported out of the box with BIOS 0217, I think

I think it’s fine, but I’m not sure my gpu works and I have no where to test it. I had this problem on my last mobo and I noticed the fan wasn’t going on my gpu. But I replaced the mobo thinking that was the issue... either way, I had a really old one that needed replacing anyway. But I’m still not convinced it’s the gpu’s problem. Unfortunately I can’t afford a new one just yet

 

[McKeu]

I think it’s fine, but I’m not sure my gpu works and I have no where to test it. I had this problem on my last mobo and I noticed the fan wasn’t going on my gpu. But I replaced the mobo thinking that was the issue... either way, I had a really old one that needed replacing anyway. But I’m still not convinced it’s the gpu’s problem. Unfortunately I can’t afford a new one just yet

Make sure that all required power connectors are attached to the GPU and that your power supply unit actually can handle the load of your system.

 

[McKeu]

Wait a sec ...
You are trying to boot without graphics card, right? That will not work on an Asus mobo.
You need to install the graphics card, as the mobo has no onboard graphics, even if it has an hdmi out on the back, and your CPU doesn't have a graphic processor either.

 

[Pen_Dawg]

Make sure that all required power connectors are attached to the GPU and that your power supply unit actually can handle the load of your system.

I don’t think it’s the psu, it’s a max of 580W so surely it should work? Mobo says it needs to be at least 350W.
My gpu is powered by no cables, just the psie port...

 

[Pen_Dawg]

Wait a sec ...
You are trying to boot without graphics card, right? That will not work on an Asus mobo.
You need to install the graphics card, as the mobo has no onboard graphics, even if it has an hdmi out on the back, and your CPU doesn't have a graphic processor either.

Yeah I know, however I did try with the gpu installed and no luck, but that was before I stripped the whole thing down and put it together again. Might be worth having a go again with the gpu making sure it’s all plugged in properly, but it wasn’t screwed in before and I fear the movement around may have damaged it.

 

[McKeu]

Well, I would recommend you take out the mobo, place it on a wooden board or similar, plug in the GPU, one RAM, connect the power switch from the case (and only that one)to the mobo, connect all the necessary power chords from your PSU, a screen, and give it a go. Just be careful to discharge yourself from any static electricity and do it on a table, not the carpet.

 

[Pen_Dawg]

Well, I would recommend you take out the mobo, place it on a wooden board or similar, plug in the GPU, one RAM, connect the power switch from the case (and only that one)to the mobo, connect all the necessary power chords from your PSU, a screen, and give it a go. Just be careful to discharge yourself from any static electricity and do it on a table, not the carpet.

Without the cpu? What’s likely to happen, how will it help with the issue? Plus I’m not sure how I can discharge myself from static electricity!

 

[McKeu]

Without the cpu? What’s likely to happen, how will it help with the issue? Plus I’m not sure how I can discharge myself from static electricity!

No, leave the CPU in the mobo. Static discharge you can do on your pc case or a radiator. Normally newer components are harder to damage by static, but you shouldn't take chances.

 

[Pen_Dawg]

No, leave the CPU in the mobo. Static discharge you can do on your pc case or a radiator. Normally newer components are harder to damage by static, but you shouldn't take chances.

Will doing this fix the problem, or will it help towards figuring out what the problem is? I’m just not sure how it would help

 

[McKeu]

Will doing this fix the problem, or will it help towards figuring out what the problem is? I’m just not sure how it would help

It will help to isolate. By only plugging in what is absolutely necessary and not have the case around as maybe reason for short circuiting the board somewhere.
If it works in this minimal "breadboard" setup, then you can go along the line to figure out what is wrong further.
If it already doesn't work like this, then you at least have some more room to work and have pinpointed the issue down to 3 or 4 possible components.

Normally, if you rebuild or build a PC from scratch, breadboarding should be the first thing to do. It is tedious having to remove a complete set up motherboard or stuff from the case, if things go wrong, and the likelihood of damaging components along the line is higher that way.

 

[Pen_Dawg]

It will help to isolate. By only plugging in what is absolutely necessary and not have the case around as maybe reason for short circuiting the board somewhere.
If it works in this minimal "breadboard" setup, then you can go along the line to figure out what is wrong further.
If it already doesn't work like this, then you at least have some more room to work and have pinpointed the issue down to 3 or 4 possible components.

Yeah. If the problem continues further I may need to buy a speaker so I can get the mobo to tell me what’s wrong...
At this point it’s very hard to tell

 

[Pen_Dawg]

Thank you very much for your help. Turns out the bloody ram was loose. So huzzah! Hello new PC 😀
All I did was attach everything again to make sure it was good, and realised the ram didn't click in the first time when it did the second time. I thought to my self, oh dayum I really hope that was the problem therefore it would be resolved. And hallelujah, it was!! Cue dopamine rush!!