[SOLVED] Which component is the culprit?

annopolis230

Prominent
Jul 22, 2019
19
0
510
About 6 months ago I switched memory in my system and it would turn on, but there would be no signal to the monitor. I’m not sure what I did, but it seemed to just fix itself after a day of me messing around with it.

Most recently, I switched my GPU and I’m having the same problem, and this time I would like to get to the bottom of the issue.

I think it’s either a power supply or motherboard issue. I’m leaning more towards power supply because the LEDs on the monitors don’t even turn on, and it’s been making weird noises since I first built it.
 
Solution
First thing I'd do now is make sure the memory modules are installed in slots A2 and B2, which are the second and fourth slots over from the CPU socket. As seen here.

UB6JJIp.png



Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came...
Replace the power supply. LOL.

Look, my FIRST post on this forum, MANY years ago.

 
Replace the power supply. LOL.

Look, my FIRST post on this forum, MANY years ago.

Thanks for the reply. I hear that static pop sometimes too, but I never read too much into it.
 
So, I wouldn't ASSUME that it IS the problem, but the chances are exceptionally high given the history of that particular model, and the fact that aside from the Toughpower series, Thermaltake has a terrible record when it comes to power supply quality, so there is a really high probability of it being the problem. At least if it is not, you will have eliminated the MOST probable source of an potential issues and hopefully, have a good model in its place.

Speaking of which, before choosing a replacement it would be a good idea to visit the link for recommended PSU models found below in my signature.
 
So, I wouldn't ASSUME that it IS the problem, but the chances are exceptionally high given the history of that particular model, and the fact that aside from the Toughpower series, Thermaltake has a terrible record when it comes to power supply quality, so there is a really high probability of it being the problem. At least if it is not, you will have eliminated the MOST probable source of an potential issues and hopefully, have a good model in its place.

Speaking of which, before choosing a replacement it would be a good idea to visit the link for recommended PSU models found below in my signature.
Thanks for your help. I looked on your power supply recommendations and I decided to go with a Corsair CX650M. I know you said it’s not very good, but the good ones you listed are either out of stock or too expensive. Hopefully it will be better than my current one.
 
First thing I'd do now is make sure the memory modules are installed in slots A2 and B2, which are the second and fourth slots over from the CPU socket. As seen here.

UB6JJIp.png



Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.



Be sure to go back into the bios and enable the XMP profile if you are running a memory kit that is supposed to be faster than 2133mhz. It will not automatically configure itself to the advertised speed without enabling the extreme memory profile in the BIOS.


All of which is ASSUMING that after making sure the memory is in the correct slots, is FULLY seated and a hard reset is done, that you CAN get a display onscreen. If you cannot, then remove then power off, remove the memory module from the B2 (Fourth slot over) slot and power back on to see if you can get a display then. If you still cannot, then swap that memory module, with the power off (Always, always, turn the power off and flip the switch on the back of the PSU to the "0" position when making hardware changes inside the case, then turn it back to the "I" position when done.) for the other memory module and try again.

If you still get nothing at all then double check that your 24 pin ATX connector and 8 pin EPS connector to the motherboard for the CPU are both connected and fully seated in their respective sockets on the motherboard.

Triple check everything here:



If it still doesn't turn anything up then I'd suggest you may need to remove the CPU and check for bent pins.

By the way, what PSU did you end up getting?
 
Solution
First thing I'd do now is make sure the memory modules are installed in slots A2 and B2, which are the second and fourth slots over from the CPU socket. As seen here.

UB6JJIp.png



Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.



Be sure to go back into the bios and enable the XMP profile if you are running a memory kit that is supposed to be faster than 2133mhz. It will not automatically configure itself to the advertised speed without enabling the extreme memory profile in the BIOS.


All of which is ASSUMING that after making sure the memory is in the correct slots, is FULLY seated and a hard reset is done, that you CAN get a display onscreen. If you cannot, then remove then power off, remove the memory module from the B2 (Fourth slot over) slot and power back on to see if you can get a display then. If you still cannot, then swap that memory module, with the power off (Always, always, turn the power off and flip the switch on the back of the PSU to the "0" position when making hardware changes inside the case, then turn it back to the "I" position when done.) for the other memory module and try again.

If you still get nothing at all then double check that your 24 pin ATX connector and 8 pin EPS connector to the motherboard for the CPU are both connected and fully seated in their respective sockets on the motherboard.

Triple check everything here:



If it still doesn't turn anything up then I'd suggest you may need to remove the CPU and check for bent pins.

By the way, what PSU did you end up getting?
Thank you, that worked. I went with the EVGA BQ
 
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That unit is perfectly fine. It's not a fantastical high end unit but it is a very good unit that falls just below the high end market. It has good scores in reviews. I'd use one in any build with no reservations if need be.

Glad you got it sorted out man. Good luck.