[SOLVED] PC shows no signs of power, only red LED on motherboard.

Fgrgfrtgt

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Aug 4, 2013
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I've gone through all of the steps of the sticky thread of troubleshooting problems like this and have had no success.

I just replaced my old MOBO and CPU with a new Intel 6th gen 6600k and an MSI Z170A PC Mate. I put everything together and when I try to power on nothing happens, no fans, nothing. Just a red LED on the board.

I have it out of the case now on the box it came in trying to test bench it. I've tried two different PSUs and got the same problem, I've also tried swithcing the RAM around to no avail.


[SOLVED EDIT]: The CMOS battery on the motherboard was the problem. I switch it out with the one from my previous motherboard and everything is running perfectly now. If this happens to you I'd recommend switching out the CMOS battery as I remember this happening to me before.
 
Solution
Generally, if the problem lies with any particular component other than the motherboard or power supply, the system would boot enough to reach POST, and from there motherboard troubleshooting measures would be activated. Considering that you are getting no response at all, including failure to POST, I would look to the power supply, power switch, power cables, and/or the motherboard itself. Look in the manual for what the red LED may mean, as motherboard power lights are usually green. I would thoroughly check all of the power cable connections as well. If you aren't already, try tripping the front-panel power pins with something metal, like a screwdriver. Having two bad power supplies in a row is unlikely, but it has happened to me so...
Generally, if the problem lies with any particular component other than the motherboard or power supply, the system would boot enough to reach POST, and from there motherboard troubleshooting measures would be activated. Considering that you are getting no response at all, including failure to POST, I would look to the power supply, power switch, power cables, and/or the motherboard itself. Look in the manual for what the red LED may mean, as motherboard power lights are usually green. I would thoroughly check all of the power cable connections as well. If you aren't already, try tripping the front-panel power pins with something metal, like a screwdriver. Having two bad power supplies in a row is unlikely, but it has happened to me so I wouldn't rule it out. Last but not least, it is entirely possible that the motherboard is not in operating condition. Hopefully the issue is not too costly, I wish you the best
 
Solution


I found what the red led means. Its an indicator light for a feature that prevents over voltage to the CPU. When it's on then the protection is on. There are however three other LEDs for easy troubleshooting, one for the RAM, CPU, and VGA. They should light up to tell you each part is functioning but none of them do. I'm suspecting that maybe it is the MOBO because I've been using the PSU regularly without problem, but I could be wrong

Thanks for the help.
 


Yah I would definitely be thinking motherboard.
 
probably your psu is insuffisant or it s mounted wrong
i think there is no problem with cpu because it fits the socket nor with ram because the ram problems make system unstable or prevent system start . i am sure that it s psu
 
probably your psu is insuffisant or it s mounted wrong
i think there is no problem with cpu because it fits the socket nor with ram because the ram problems make system unstable or prevent system start . i am sure that it s psu
 


I have exactly the same problem too !
I'm going to try to reset the cmos tonight

My config :
MSI Z170A PC MATE
I7 6700K
8GB RAM
MSI 970 GTX
PSU : 650W
 
Thank you so much. Powered for the first time during the build, got this exact problem. Found this your post via google, didn't have a spare battery to hand, but just removing and replacing with the same battery sorted it. You have saved me a bucket load of time consuming crap. Thanks again. :)

[SOLVED EDIT]: The CMOS battery on the motherboard was the problem. I switch it out with the one from my previous motherboard and everything is running perfectly now. If this happens to you I'd recommend switching out the CMOS battery as I remember this happening to me before.
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Man, thank you so much! (I signed up just to write this post) I am building a very similar rig

motherboard MSI Gaming Z170A M5
GPU MSI 960 GTX 4G
I5-6600K
8GB DDR4 RAM
PSU Corsair RM650

I had the same problem, no beep just red LED on mobo - otherwise no lights on the case, no fan spinning, nothing. I tried everything one can think of. Waisting countless hours testing all components and going mad with frustration. Removing the CMOS battery, waiting 1 min and put the same one back in solved it for me. I cant believe it... halleluja !!!
 
Same issue for me, what I found was wriggling the sata cables would solve it, but knocking the case would cause the Mobo to lose power, so I think I have a faulty motherboard.