Please Help w/ various POST issues

[Theodosius]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping I could get some advice on how to troubleshoot some POST issues I've been experiencing with my build. Here are the parts that I used:

CPU: Intel i3 3225
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro
RAM: Kingston HyperX Genesis 8GB (KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Advanced
PSU: Corsair CX430 M
SSD: Samsung 840 Series
HDD; WD Red 3TB
ODD: Asus DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B

After assembling the components together, the computer would not boot. The red CPU LED on the motherboard would light up and immediately shut off. I thought I did not set the CPU properly, so I removed the stock heatsink and fan, removed the CPU and inspected the CPUT socket for bent pins. Everything looked ok and I put it back together and the same thing happened. I read through the thread about POST issues and started troubleshooting. I removed everything except for the CPU, heatsink and RAM and to my surprise it turned on.

I reconnected the SSD and ODD and successfully installed Windows 8 so I figured everything was fine and reconnected everything else (HDD, USB 2.0 & 3.0 headers, front panel HD audio, and case fans). Once everything was neat and tidy and the case was moved to its intended location, it refused to post. The CPU and RAM LEDs would both flash once and then turn off. I decided to take everything apart (only had the CPU, heatsink and RAM on the motherboard) and put the motherboard in its box before trying to see if it would post. It did and once again I put everything back into the case, and once again it refused to post once it was inside the case.

I will attempt to place the motherboard in its box again tonight and attach all the components to it, and if it boots up fine then is it safe to assume that it is a grounding issue between the motherboard and case? I have installed the correct number of standoffs (9 for an ATX motherboard) in the correct holes but I did notice that one or two standoffs are slightly off-center with the corresponding hole in the motherboard, which to me indicates that the motherboard is slightly warped. I had to apply some pressure on the motherboard with my free hand as I was screwing it to the case. Could this be the root cause? Furthermore, I noticed that there are two screw heads protruding from the back of the motherboard (holding the south bridge heatsink in place?) that could potentially make contact with a raised area in that section of the case. Should I try placing nylon spacers on them? Please let me know if there are any other things that I might have overlooked.

 

[smorizio]

Asus io shields are thickly paddy and it takes some force to line up a mb. Check that the io shield not shorting into the USB ports of the mb. I seen bad USB case cables or a bad case fan short out a mb. With the mb installed start unplugging one case fan and see if the system turns on. Also look at your case if they used a small daughter board see that they dis not miss wire something on the case side. Also make sure the eight pin power for the CPU on the edge of the mb is connected and you used the right power supply cabes.