I've been building and fixing computers for 25 years, but I'm really stuck with my current situation. My old computer died, which had a CPU from the troublesome 13000 series, and I assumed that was the issue. It wouldn't even post or boot at all; the power and RGB lights turned on, but nothing else happened. After trying to fix it, I decided to upgrade my setup, getting a Ryzen 9 9900x, an RTX 5080, and an Asus Rog Strix X870-F motherboard. The only components that are a few years old are my ASUS 1200w PSU, three M.2 drives, two SATA drives, and the chassis. After the upgrades, the same problem occurred: power on, RGB lighting, but I can't tell if there's any activity from the components. I'm unsure what the problem could be, as I expected the new hardware to at least do something. I plan to try a different power socket soon, but I'm drained after hours of troubleshooting. I'm really looking for any ideas or advice on what else could be causing this. Thank you!
5 Answers
Sometimes a faulty drive can prevent the system from posting. So, try unplugging all your storage devices and see if the system tries to boot without them. If it does, plug them back in one at a time to check which one may be causing the issue.
I've seen a bad RAM stick cause issues like this too. If you can, test each stick in different slots or try booting with only one stick at a time. Also, it might be worth checking your connections for anything that might be loose.
When troubleshooting, try booting with just the essential components outside the case: the CPU, one stick of RAM, and the motherboard. If it powers on, then start adding other components like drives. If it still fails, check if the RAM sticks are seated correctly or swap them out one at a time to see if any are faulty.
It sounds like you might want to start by replacing the power supply. Even if it's a decent model, it can still fail, especially under load. Also, consider that the case could be causing a short, so testing outside of it might be worth a shot. Just make sure to carefully connect everything on a non-conductive surface when you do that.
You're not alone on this, I once had a similar issue where the PSU seemed to work fine, but under load, it couldn't power the components. If you've checked all the basics, it may be time to try a new PSU or check the current one with a multimeter.
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