New ASUS Z170-A no post after days of troubleshooting

[SigmundFloyd]

Hello,

 

I am new to the PC underworld inspired by LinusTechTips youtube channel. I've been researching for weeks and feel like I have a decent handle of things.

 

I am building my first PC but it won't post. I know that is the most cliche statement on these forums but I have tried many troubleshooting steps.

 

CPU: i5-6500 LGA1151

CPU Cooler: Stock or Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Motherboard: ASUS Z170-A LGA1151

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LED DDR4-3000 16 GB (2x8)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SDD

               Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD

Video Card: Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon 8GB RX480 GDDR5

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 750W

 

1. Before starting the build, I checked to see if my power supply is functioning by plugging into outlet and the provided 24 pin tester. The fan spun up as normal so the psu isn't the problem.

 

2. I installed everything into my case, Corsair 750D. Everything, including fans, optical drive, SSD and HDD, video card, RAM, front panel, USB, audio, keyboard, monitor and of course motherboard and power supply. Every cable was firmly in place and in the correct spot. The green power LED on the motherboard illuminated when the psu was turned on. Upon pressing the power button on the case, i hear a very faint click come from the psu and that is it. The fans don't spin, no beeps from motherboard, nothing. I tried again using the power switch on the motherboard itself and the same thing occurs. Oddly enough the keyboard illuminates as well.

 

3. I double and triple checked all cable connections and decided to remove the motherboard and try booting up using the cardboard motherboard box it came in as a test bench.

 

4. I checked the psu again using the 24 pin tester piece. The fan spun up as expected, so the psu is still good.

 

5. Using the cardboard test bench, I plug in only the essentials being RAM, cpu and cpu cooler, video card, and the corresponding power cables and DVI and/or HDMI to monitor. (Power cables being the 8 pin cpu, 24 pin motherboard, and 8 pin vga to videocard). I get the same result. Power LED on motherboard illuminating green when psu is turned on but nothing when power button on motherboard is pressed. Just a faint click from psu.

 

7. I then tested the RAM as best I could. I took 1 of 2 sticks out and tried again, same result. I tried this 1 stick in all 4 slots, same result. I then tried the other stick in all 4 slots, same result.

 

8. I then tried without the videocard and an HDMI going to the motherboard. Same result.

 

9. I then tried by unplugging the cooler master evo cpu cooler and plugging in the stock intel cooler. I didn't dismount the evo, i just held the stock cooler in my hand and tried again. Same result. And it is in the correct port on the motherboard.

 

I am at a complete loss. I read many forum threads and watched a lot of videos for help. I am quite sure I didn't do anything reckless either. I always touched my case to discharge any static and worked on a wooden table, I didn't get thermal paste anywhere but the cpu, i didn't short the motherboard out by not mounting it correctly into the case, the RAM and GPU were always seated firmly, the cables were always fitted firmly,I handled the GPU and motherboard by the plastic parts, etc. I've been troubleshooting for days now. Please, I need your help. I suspect it's faulty RAM but the chances of both sticks being bad is so low. I need the experts on this forum

advice.

 

Thank you all,

 

SigmundFloyd

 

 

[Mohenjo]

if the motherboard light is green that means it is getting power, what the issue is most likely is a dead cpu. i would RMA it. 

[SigmundFloyd]

16 minutes ago, Mohenjo said:

if the motherboard light is green that means it is getting power, what the issue is most likely is a dead cpu. i would RMA it. 

Okay will do, I will keep you posted thanks.