[SOLVED] PSU cable to provide CPU Power not working?

Dec 25, 2021
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I have been getting a white ez debug cpu light on my mobo. No display is showing up. I feel like I should invest in a new PSU, but at the same time the rest of the pc functions, including fans of the GPU, case, and AIO, with the exception of the case light that indicates whether the pc is on or not. I have tried diagnosing by removing one stick of ram, disconnecting and removing GPU, and disconnecting HDD. Nothing seems to be working and I still get the white ez debug light for the CPU. This CPU and system has worked for 2 years since 2019 and this light came on in the summer of 2021, ruining my gaming adventures. I am very skeptical on whether this is a CPU problem or this PSU is the problem. I also don't know whether I would need a post card to diagnose further.

Specs: Random 500W Seasonic PSU, GTX 1060 6GB Zotac, i7-9700K, 2x8GB DDR4 G. SKILL Aegis, Z390 A-Pro MSI
 
Solution
It's not a specific phenomenon. It's a security built into every cpu. If it registers low/no rpm on the cpu_fan header, the cpu will decide on its own to shutdown or refuse to boot.

Cpu_fan/cpu_opt are standalone headers, they do not share anything with any other header, for the reason above. They have a totally seperate buss address. The cpu_fan header had a 1A rating. The pump header has a 2A+ rating to handle any pump, whether AIO or full loop. It has a seperate buss address to system_fan headers, seperate controls in bios or software.

Most vendors will use one board for several versions, so an msi x570-A will be the same board as an x570-A Pro. The difference being what the board is optioned with. So you can sometimes see a...
Dec 25, 2021
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What exact model 500w Seasonic?

Did you reseat the CPU?
Motherboard BIOS fully up to date?
bios is not up to date and im not sure if i can even update it since the display is not working due to the cpu power light on. I have display port from motherboard connected to the monitor. i did not reseat the cpu. I dont understand why i would have to reseat it as it has been functional 2 years before this system stopped working and the light was displayed. PSU is Seasonic M12 520 W
 
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Dec 25, 2021
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Tried a clear cmos?


Took the gtx 1060 out as well? Otherwise having no display will be because in the bios it is still set to the dedicated gpu (1060).
Yeah, I fully removed the GTX 1060 from the system. I removed the CMOS battery multiple times to try to reset CMOS, but I guess that is not working.
 
Dec 25, 2021
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I am also not getting any display. I have looked at multiple guides on resetting the CMOS but there is no display that comes on no matter how i try to reset the CMOS. I have always disconnected the PSU first, disconnected anything else like the monitor, then took out the CMOS, waited for a like 3-4 mins, put it back in, and still nothing.
 
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Dec 25, 2021
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Nobody knows, but psu is old and good for replacement, a new psu can be transferred to a new system as well so new psu would be where i start.
Ok, but if I buy this new PSU and test it on the system, and let's say something else like mobo or CPU is actually having a problem or is dead, this won't affect the new PSU, right? It's only when there is a bad PSU it can take other components with it but not the other way around right?
Also do you think this is a good PSU
 

Vic 40

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No with if the motherboard would be the problem would that not affect the new psu.

Would myself rather pay $10 more for this psu,
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6p...fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-p2-0650-x1


A review about the 750watt G5 ,
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-750-g5-power-supply,6344.html
especially the transient responce tests where the 3.3V rail doesn't pass his criteria, for the rest is it not too bad. Can't say it will be a problem in your pc, but i would invest the extra $10.
 

Karadjgne

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Are you absolutely positive it's a white cpu light? Cpu is normally red, gpu/vga is most normally white. If you can't read the board (that print is seriously tiny and awkward) then at startup count the light sequence. Cpu is first, then dram, then vga, then boot. Verify that before anything else because the results are going to change the outcome. Playing around with dram and/or bios-cmos if it's a vga light isn't going to do much, etc.

The M12-II was one of the Best psus of its generation, during its generation, but today that's comparing Great Grandpa to a teenager, it's no contest in any way physically. But, it was built to last, all those Seasonic psus were, and working is all that's needed. If it is functional, it'll have enough power to deal with a gtx1060 for startup purposes, but realistically at this point in its age, gaming is off the table.
 
Dec 25, 2021
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Are you absolutely positive it's a white cpu light? Cpu is normally red, gpu/vga is most normally white. If you can't read the board (that print is seriously tiny and awkward) then at startup count the light sequence. Cpu is first, then dram, then vga, then boot. Verify that before anything else because the results are going to change the outcome. Playing around with dram and/or bios-cmos if it's a vga light isn't going to do much, etc.

The M12-II was one of the Best psus of its generation, during its generation, but today that's comparing Great Grandpa to a teenager, it's no contest in any way physically. But, it was built to last, all those Seasonic psus were, and working is all that's needed. If it is functional, it'll have enough power to deal with a gtx1060 for startup purposes, but realistically at this point in its age, gaming is off the table.
Yes I am 100% Positive it is a white CPU light. There is nothing labelled GPU but there is a VGA debug light that is not lit. GPU is pretty healthy. Idk why but I have a feeling as much as the PSU sounds ancient, there is also something wrong with the board. The case lighting is not working. Here is another thing I'd like to clarify: if the CPU debug is usually red, would that red indicate a dead cpu? Every time I look at this PC i have a heavy feeling that my CPU might be dead and I'm doing all this diagnostic for nothing. In fact, I believe I may have left a crucial detail out... The week that this PC stopped working and showed a white CPU debug light, there were a number of power cuts that occurred when my PC was on, and I was playing War Thunder and Train Simulator. Is it possible that through those power cuts, either the PSU or the motherboard, or maybe both, sustained some sort of damage? I also remember a BSOD a day before it happened.
 

Karadjgne

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There's 4 seperate leds that flash in sequence, cpu-dram-vga-boot. All in the same location. Most times cpu is red, but according to msi it can be white, depending on the mobo.

The cpu led is sort of a catch-all, it could be anything from memory controller errors to bent/broken pins to motherboard issues to cpu cooler issues. Basically if it's anything that the cpu deals with, it can be suspect, and the cpu deals with a lot of stuff.

Yes, it's possible the cpu/mobo took a voltage hit. If the psu took the hit, I'm doubting that you'd get it to even work, there'd be a strong smell of burned electronics instead.
 
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Dec 25, 2021
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There's 4 seperate leds that flash in sequence, cpu-dram-vga-boot. All in the same location. Most times cpu is red, but according to msi it can be white, depending on the mobo.

The cpu led is sort of a catch-all, it could be anything from memory controller errors to bent/broken pins to motherboard issues to cpu cooler issues. Basically if it's anything that the cpu deals with, it can be suspect, and the cpu deals with a lot of stuff.

Yes, it's possible the cpu/mobo took a voltage hit. If the psu took the hit, I'm doubting that you'd get it to even work, there'd be a strong smell of burned electronics instead.
Alright. Considering that there's multiple possibilities of what happened to this system I think I need to get in touch with my Computer Expert Uncle and see which part is defective. Hopefully it's just the motherboard and not the CPU. If both are pancaked I'm going to go the AMD route, salvaging case, ram, graphics, and HDD, cause Intel is expensive as frock. And when you say CPU cooler issues, what does that mean in the context of an AIO/Water cooler? I mean I don't really know if it's an AIO problem cause the fans work fine (Captain 360EX AIO) and when I monitored CPU temp while gaming before the debug light came on, it stayed around the 60s in Celsius.
 
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Dec 25, 2021
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Did you do any CPU overclocking?
I did using MSI Afterburner
Edit: Wait I'm stupid thats for Graphics Cards right? Idk I remember using it a while ago and following a OC tutorial. Idk the specifics of it. As for the CPU, it was somewhere in the high 4Ghz frequency rather than the base speed of 3.6 Ghz.
 
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Karadjgne

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If the aio pump got tightened down incorrectly, it'll put abnormal pressure on one side or one corner of the cpu, which can squash the pins or even the silicon die itself. Kinda like if you push on the monitor screen and the colors get funky at that spot. Which can affect the cpu a Lot.
 
Dec 25, 2021
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Did you overclock cpu or not?
9700K turbo boosts to 4.9Ghz. So 4Ghz is not an overclock.

Did you overclock ram? Change dram voltage?
Im pretty sure the only overclocking thing i did was with msi afterburner on my gpu. Don't think I did any other overclocking and I honestly did not even touch the BIOS for atleast a year before I got the CPU debug light.
 
Dec 25, 2021
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If the aio pump got tightened down incorrectly, it'll put abnormal pressure on one side or one corner of the cpu, which can squash the pins or even the silicon die itself. Kinda like if you push on the monitor screen and the colors get funky at that spot. Which can affect the cpu a Lot.
Ok, but this type of failure is something short term and you would know immediately, right? Pretty sure it was tightened correctly. This PC was functional for 2 years so I think it is safe to say anything about cpu pins or tightening of components can be ruled out. Could an AIO Pump failure warrant the white CPU light, even with the fans running?

Also here is another I want to confirm. I connected one of those tiny little mobo speakers to the motherboard last night. Also I turned off my PC, turned off the PSU and unplugged the PSU, and tried to short JBAT1 with a screwdriver for like 5 sec. Then plugged everything back in again, and this time when I turned the PC on, there was no display as usual, and so I gave up and went to press and hold the case button to shut down the pc since there is no display and the white cpu debug light was still there. For some reason, when i did this, nothing happened, which shocks me cause usually pressing the case button forces the PC to off. Did I just mess up my motherboard further or did the PC actually POST, and refuse to be shut down by the case button and only by the PSU on/off switch?
 
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Karadjgne

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Doesn't matter if it's a pump or a fan, anything plugged into the cpu_fan/cpu_opt header looks to the motherboard as one thing, an rpm register. It's that register, if it reads below a certain rpm, like 200 or 0, the cpu freaks out and considers it a lack of cooling, so will refuse to boot.

You can test the pump easy enough, temporarily plug the rear exhaust fan into that header, unplugging the pump. If it skips the cpu error debug, and boots, there's a pump issue somewhere. That could simply be in the bios settings, setting a rpm range and temp range too high. Cam won't take over from bios until OS loads.
 
Dec 25, 2021
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Doesn't matter if it's a pump or a fan, anything plugged into the cpu_fan/cpu_opt header looks to the motherboard as one thing, an rpm register. It's that register, if it reads below a certain rpm, like 200 or 0, the cpu freaks out and considers it a lack of cooling, so will refuse to boot.

You can test the pump easy enough, temporarily plug the rear exhaust fan into that header, unplugging the pump. If it skips the cpu error debug, and boots, there's a pump issue somewhere. That could simply be in the bios settings, setting a rpm range and temp range too high. Cam won't take over from bios until OS loads.
Interesting. Do you happen to know if this specific phenomenon happens on MSI boards with AMI Bios? I'm going to check this out rn and get back to you.
Edit: On my motherboard, the CPU FAN and PUMP FAN share a header. How would i do this?
Edit 2: I connected the rear fan into the cpu_fan header. Nothing really changed. I reconnected my GTX 1060 6GB to see if anything would try to display. Nothing. Btw my HDD is disconnected.
 
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