I've built several computers over the past five years, all with AMD parts, but now my son is trying to help his friend with an Intel build using a mix of new and used components. Unfortunately, they can't get it to post, and I'm not there to assist in person—just helping out over Discord. My son is really stressed and feels guilty about it. He'll bring the computer to my place tomorrow so I can check it out, but in the meantime, I'm hoping to gather some ideas. Currently, the setup is fully cased, which might be a rookie mistake. When they turn it on, the power button on the case has a rapid flashing light. The motherboard manual doesn't provide much debugging info, but I found online that it could be related to the RAM. They've tried booting with each stick of RAM individually in the A2 slot, but it still flashes. The display port is connected to the graphics card as well. Here are the specs: Motherboard: PRIME B760M-A AX (new); CPU: Intel i5-12400F (used); RAM: Kingston FURY Beast 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000MHz (new and validated); GPU: Gigabyte 3070 (used, model unknown); Power Supply: MSI MAG A650GL 650W ATX 80 PLUS (new). I just want to help my son out and ease his stress!
1 Answer
It might be a good idea to check the cable connections and ensure everything is seated properly, especially the CPU and RAM. The flashing power button can sometimes indicate an issue with the drives or components not being recognized by the motherboard. Can you ask them if there are any diagnostic LEDs lit on the motherboard? That could give more insight into what’s wrong.
Yeah, I heard that too! Just remember that instances like this can vary wildly by motherboard. If they don't have debug LEDs, it might be hard to troubleshoot without beeping indicators too.