Hey everyone,
My son's gaming PC was working perfectly one day, and then out of nowhere, it stopped powering on. The specs are a Ryzen 5800X3D processor, 32GB of RAM, an RTX 5080 graphics card, and a 1000W power supply.
A few days ago, he tried to play some games, but when he pressed the power button, nothing happened. We opened up the case, checked all the connections to the power supply, but it still wouldn't boot. I suspected the power switch might be the issue. When I unplugged the CPU power connection from the motherboard, a red light on the motherboard lit up, indicating it might still be getting power. We decided to try a different case and connect the power switch from that case to see if it made any difference.
To rule out the power supply as the cause, I also hooked up the motherboard to his old 650W supply, which was functioning the last time it was used, but it still didn't boot.
After he brought back a new case, we connected the power switch from that case to the motherboard, but the PC still wouldn't start. We went through all the connections again to ensure nothing was loose. We connected just the motherboard and CPU to the 1000W supply, and nothing happened again.
I then tried using different cables for the motherboard and CPU to see if they were faulty; still, nothing changed. When I connected the motherboard to the 650W supply without the CPU, the fans lit up. After reconnecting the CPU power, the fans didn't turn on again, but I heard a faint click from the power supply. Disconnecting the CPU made the fans light up again, but reconnecting it resulted in nothing happening, just that quiet click sound from the power supply.
In summary:
- 1000W power supply: nothing boots, but there's still power to the motherboard since the red light shows.
- 650W power supply: same deal, but fans lit up without the CPU.
- Confirmed no issue with the power switch as the fans lit up during one of the tests.
- Tried different power supply cables too.
- It seems like the 1000W supply might be dead, but that's not fully confirmed.
Next, I'm planning to take everything out of the case and lay it on cardboard to see if I can power it on with just the motherboard and the 1000W supply, then with the CPU connected. If that doesn't work, I'll also try the 650W again to rule out a short circuit.
If anyone has insights or notices something I'm missing, I'd really appreciate any help! Thank you!
3 Answers
Every motherboard usually has a way to indicate errors, whether it's through beep codes, lights, or numeric codes. You should check the manual to see if you can identify what's wrong (like a faulty RAM or display issue). Also, when testing, use just one stick of RAM to see if that helps, as a dead RAM stick could prevent booting.
Have you checked the diagnostic LEDs on your motherboard? They can often help identify the issue when the system won't power on.
I haven't checked those yet, but I will do that right away, thanks!
This might sound a bit silly, but have you tested the wall outlet or any power strips? Sometimes the simplest issues can cause all that hassle. If a breaker tripped or a power strip failed, it could make all your part swapping pointless.
We tried two different wall outlets and didn’t use any power strips or UPS, so that shouldn't be the problem.
Great idea! I'll definitely look into those error codes. Just to clarify, would a dead RAM stick entirely stop the PC from booting?