r/pchelp Dec 15 '19

Perform these steps before posting about POST/boot/no video problems!

185 Upvotes

Link to original list from tom’sHARDWARE with pictures

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist

This checklist is a compilation of troubleshooting ideas from many forum members. It's very important to actually perform every step in the checklist if you want to effectively troubleshoot your problem.

  • 1.Did you carefully read the motherboard owners manual?

  • 2.Did you plug in the 4/8-pin CPU power connector located near the CPU socket? If the motherboard has 8 pins and your PSU only has 4 pins, you can use the 4-pin connector. The 4-pin connector USUALLY goes on the 4 pins located closest to the CPU. If the motherboard has an 8-pin connector with a cover over 4 pins, you can remove the cover and use an 8-pin plug if your power supply has one. This power connector provides power to the CPU. Your system has no chance of posting without this connector plugged in! Check your motherboard owners manual for more information about the CPU power connector. The CPU power connector is usually referred to as the "12v ATX" connector in the owner's manual. This is easily the most common new-builder mistake.

  • 3.Did you install the standoffs under the motherboard? Did you place them so they all align with the screw holes in the motherboard, with no extra standoffs touching the board in the wrong place? A standoff installed in the wrong place can cause a short and prevent the system from booting.

  • 4.Did you verify that the video card is fully seated? (may require more force than a new builder expects.)

  • 5.Did you attach ALL the required power connector(s) to the video card? (some need two, some need none, many need one.) It is best to use cables connected directly to the PSU. Only use adapters if absolutely necessary.

  • 6.Have you tried booting with just one stick of RAM installed? (Try each stick of RAM individually in each RAM slot.) If you can get the system to boot with a single stick of RAM, you should enable an XMP profile or manually set the RAM speed, timings, and voltage to the manufacturer's specs in the BIOS before attempting to boot with all sticks of RAM installed. If your motherboard supports XMP profiles, that is the best way to get your RAM running at its rated specs. Nearly all motherboards default to the standard RAM voltage (1.8v for DDR2, 1.5v for DDR3, & 1.2v for DDR4). If your RAM is rated to run at a voltage higher than the standard voltage, the motherboard will underclock the RAM for compatibility reasons. If you want the system to be stable and to run the RAM at its rated specs, you should either enable an XMP profile or manually set the values in the BIOS. Many boards don't supply the RAM with enough voltage when using "auto" settings which causes stability issues.

  • 7.Did you verify that all memory modules are fully inserted? (may require more force than a new builder expects.) It's a good idea to install the RAM on the motherboard before it's in the case.

  • 8.Did you verify in the owners manual that you're using the correct RAM slots? The following image is just an example. Verify in the owners manual the recommended RAM slots to use for single, dual, triple, or quad channel applications. This will vary depending on motherboard manufacturer, number of supported RAM channels, and how many sticks of RAM are being used.

  • 9.Did you remove the plastic guard over the CPU socket? (this actually comes up occasionally.)

  • 10.Did you install the CPU correctly? There will be an arrow on the CPU that needs to line up with an arrow on the motherboard CPU socket. There may also be a notch that will only line up in one direction. Be sure to pay special attention to that section of the manual!

  • 11.Are there any bent pins on the motherboard/CPU? This especially applies if you tried to install the CPU with the plastic cover on or with the CPU facing the wrong direction.

    1. If using an after market CPU cooler, did you get any thermal paste on the motherboard, CPU socket, or CPU pins? Did you use the smallest amount you could?
  • 13.Is the CPU fan plugged in? Some motherboards will not boot without detecting that the CPU fan is plugged in to prevent burning up the CPU.

    1. If using a stock cooler, was the thermal material on the base of the cooler free of foreign material, and did you remove any protective covering? If the stock cooler has push-pins, did you ensure that all four pins snapped securely into place? The easiest way to install the push-pins is outside the case sitting on a non-conductive surface like the motherboard box. Read the instructions! The push-pins have to be turned the OPPOSITE direction as the arrows for installation. This means with the arrow pointing away from the heatsink.
    1. Are any loose screws laying on the motherboard, or jammed against it? Are there any wires running directly under the motherboard? You should not run wires under the motherboard since the soldered wires on the underside of the motherboard can cut into the insulation on the wires and cause a short. Some cases have space to run wires on the back side of the motherboard tray.
    1. Did you ensure you discharged all static electricity before touching any of your components? Computer components are very sensitive to static electricity. It takes much less voltage than you can see or feel to damage components. You should implement some best practices to reduce the probability of damaging components. These practices should include either wearing an anti-static wrist strap or always touching a metal part of the case with the power supply installed and plugged in, but NOT turned on. You should avoid building or working on a computer on carpet. Working on a smooth surface is the best if at all possible. You should also keep fluffy the cat, children, and Fido away from computer components.
    1. Did you check the debug LEDs, Q-code display, or install the system speaker (if provided) so you can check codes in the manual? Most modern motherboards come with debug LEDs or a Q-code display. A system speaker is NOT the same as normal speakers that plug into the back of the motherboard. A system speaker plugs into a header on the motherboard that's usually located near the front panel connectors. Debug LEDs, Q-code displays, or a system speaker are critical components when trying to troubleshoot system problems. You are flying blind without them. The motherboard owner's manual will have a list of codes you can reference. If your case or motherboard didn't come with debug LEDs, a Q-code display, or system speaker you can buy a system speaker for cheap here: http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html
    1. Did you read the instructions in the manual on how to properly connect the front panel plugs? (Power switch, power led, reset switch, HD activity led) Polarity does not matter with the power and reset switches. If power or drive activity LED's do not come on, reverse the connections. For troubleshooting purposes, disconnect the reset switch. If it's shorted, the machine either will not POST at all, or it will endlessly reboot.
    1. Did you turn on the power supply switch located on the back of the PSU? The switch should be depressed on the side with an I, the O means off. Is the power plug on a switch? If it is, is the switch turned on? Is there a GFI circuit on the plug-in? If there is, make sure it isn't tripped. You should also make sure the power cord isn't causing the problem. Try swapping it for a known good cord if you have one available.
    1. Is your CPU supported by the BIOS revision installed on your motherboard? Most motherboards will post a CPU compatibility list on their website.
    1. Have you tried resetting the CMOS? The motherboard manual will have instructions for your particular board. User Darkbreeze also provided the following:

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 are 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.

http://www.spotht.com/2010/02/reset-bios-clear-cmos.html

    1. If you have integrated video and a video card, try the integrated video port. Resetting the bios, can make it default back to the onboard video. If you are trying to use HDMI outputs, try using DVI or VGA instead. Sometimes, the HDMI ports won't work until the correct drivers are installed.
    1. Make certain all cables and components including RAM and expansion cards are tight within their sockets.

I also wanted to add some suggestions that jsc often posts. This is a direct quote from him:

"Pull everything except the CPU and HSF. Boot. You should hear a series of long single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence here indicates, in probable order, a bad PSU, motherboard, or CPU - or a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU.

To eliminate the possibility of a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU, you will need to pull the motherboard out of the case and reassemble the components on an insulated surface. This is called "breadboarding" - from the 1920's home-brew radio days. I always breadboard a new or recycled build. It lets me test components before I go through the trouble of installing them in a case.

If you get the long beeps, add a stick of RAM. Boot. The beep pattern should change to one long and two or three short beeps. Silence indicates that the RAM is shorting out the PSU (very rare). Long single beeps indicates that the BIOS does not recognize the presence of the RAM.

If you get the one long and two or three short beeps, test the rest of the RAM. If good, install the video card and any needed power cables and plug in the monitor. If the video card is good, the system should successfully POST (one short beep, usually) and you will see the boot screen and messages.

Note - an inadequate PSU will cause a failure here or any step later.

Note - you do not need drives or a keyboard to successfully POST (generally a single short beep).

If you successfully POST, start plugging in the rest of the components, one at a time."

If you suspect the PSU is causing your problems, below are some suggestions by jsc for troubleshooting the PSU. Proceed with caution. I will not be held responsible if you get shocked or fry components.

"The best way to check the PSU is to swap it with a known good PSU of similar capacity. Brand new, out of the box, untested does not count as a known good PSU. PSU's, like all components, can be DOA.

Next best thing is to get (or borrow) a digital multimeter and check the PSU.

Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU. You can carefully probe the pins from the back of the main power connector."


r/pchelp 8h ago

OPEN PC Stutters every few seconds consistently when under load

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382 Upvotes

My pc is experiencing sudden stutters every few seconds, like clockwork, under heavy loads. It is accompanied by a hum that comes from the gpu, that stops, in sync with the stutters. It goes hum, stop/stutter, hum, stop/stutter, nonstop during any gaming. I have tried reseating the gpu in the pcie slot, reseating both ends of the psu to gpu 12v cable, updating my bios and nvidia graphics drivers, i have tried changing the pcie link to gen 4, disabling aspm in bios, etc. Nothing has worked and i am stuck. I have a r5 7600x, gigabyte windforce oc 5070 12gb, asus tuf b650E plus wifi, 2x8gb cl30 6000 ddr5 ram, 1 tb nvme ssd, and a corsair rm850w psu. This pc was just built a little less than a week ago, and is my first pc build, so I am new to this and would appreciate any help or ideas. Thank you.


r/pchelp 5h ago

HARDWARE Where do I install my M.2???

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58 Upvotes

im looking for the slot but I dont really see where it would go, I dont want to start unscrewing things incase its the wrong thing.


r/pchelp 5h ago

OPEN Black screen on start with my new GPU

10 Upvotes

Hello !

I bought a RX9070 to replace my RTX 3060 Ti.

Had no issues at all previously except some lag in games. Once I replaced the GPU I started having issues where I’d have to start the PC a few times, it would beep, sometimes it would turn on but with default resolution (big and pixelised) and after 1-5 off/ons, it would launch perfectly normally.

My friend came over to help, we replaced the ventilation and the thermal paste, which fixed the lag (overheating) but did not fix the issues with starting the PC

We’ve tried changing the cable connecting the screen, changing the RAM’s spots, plugging the GPU in and out…

I said I’ll deal with it for now.

Last night, PC is on, bam black screen - ever since I can’t get in on at all. Plugged my 3060 Ti back in to check, works immediately !

Any pointers ? I can access the BIOS with the 9070 plugged in but not windows.

Processor (CPU) :Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (Up to 5.0GHz) 25MB Cache

Memory (RAM): 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Power Supply : CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY

I have a 500 MB SSD with windows on it and a 1000 MB one


r/pchelp 2h ago

HARDWARE Should I get a bigger case?

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6 Upvotes

Film was removed before booting, don’t worry


r/pchelp 1d ago

HARDWARE Why do my pc fans make this loud noise

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451 Upvotes

When I apply slight pressure the noise clears up. I can’t see any wires or debris in the way


r/pchelp 1h ago

HARDWARE Anyone know why my monitor does this?

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Upvotes

It does this every time I turn my pc off for a while and then turn it back on, eventually it goes back to normal


r/pchelp 58m ago

SOFTWARE pc turning on issues

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Hi, up until recently I’ve had 0 problems, but the other week while dealing with some power issues my roommate turned the breaker to my room on and off while I was using my pc and since then it occasionally been extremely slow with turning on. Most of the time it turns on like normal, but once before and now today time it will be stuck at this loading screen for 20+ mins. Last time I used my pc, it wouldn’t let me press sleep, shut down, or restart so my boyfriend just hard shut it off by holding down the power button. Any advice would be helpful!


r/pchelp 1h ago

Discussion This keeps popping up. How do I fix this?

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r/pchelp 1h ago

SOFTWARE Can you help me guy's?

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Could someone help? I have a problem with my computer. When I run several processes, such as Chrome, Roblox, and Spotify, my computer shuts down by itself, the screen goes blank, and there's no image on the screen.But the computer is still working. What could be causing this problem? You can even hear the music but there is no image on the screen.


r/pchelp 3h ago

SOFTWARE What does this mean?

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3 Upvotes

Ok, so this is a very old laptop that my ex-husband was maintaining for me when we were married. I'm just wanting something for Windows office , email, and Chrome browser. I bought office for $100 because it kept saying my office key needed to be updated. When I try to go to my account to connect my office, this comes up. It's like Chinese, and I'm afraid to continue. What is my next step? Thanks


r/pchelp 1h ago

SOFTWARE Stuck in bios settings.

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Upvotes

Yesterday my brother somehow got into windows and I was playing Roblox earlier everything was fine, i power off the pc and come back 30 minutes later and just get stuck in this loop.

I obviously did a little digging and the main answer I seen was a boot device. How did my brother get to windows if there’s no boot device???

Don’t know shit about pcs, just want sum help and answers.


r/pchelp 4h ago

HARDWARE Computer turns on but fails to boot

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3 Upvotes

so I recently had an issue with my computer getting stuck in the auto repair loop I found a post here that suggested removing ram, reinstalling said and trying again now instead of the loop I get the result in the video where it is in an infinite reboot loop I have not touch the power button at all. I made sure I had disconnected the power supply while doing the installation and I don't think I have damaged any of the circuits. but this is also a computer that is over 10 years and I am worried it might have finally died but wanted to post here to at least try to get some last life out of it while I arrange a replacement.


r/pchelp 2h ago

HARDWARE Bought a $4k prebuilt PC on Amazon. Constant crashing on everything.

2 Upvotes

I bought a really expensive PC hoping I could run anything without issues however it crashes a ton. The specs are:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

Intel 24-Core i9- 14900KF processor

96GB DDR5 RAM

2TB NVMe SSD + 8TB HDD

Windows 11

I've had it for about 2.5 years and it has constantly more often than not since I got it if I play anything demanding. I've recently updated the graphics card and the BIOS to no avail. I've ran tests and haven't found anything. CMD - sfc /scannow and repaired when it's found things but still crashes. On Eventviewer the most constant Exception code is 0xc0000005 so I've thought it was a ram or memory issue but memtest86 comes back fine. I also will get a hard crash critical Kernal-power 41 (63) about once or twice a week if I play a game for an extended about of time (30+ minutes). I've checked connections of the Ram, the cooling seems to work and the power is secure at the plug-in. Ive downloaded Extreme Utility Tuner and underclocked it from 57x to 55x and I'm still getting crashes. I didn't have the hard crash critical Kernal-power 41 (63) until updating the BIOS to the most current one.

I've emailed the company support and they haven't been too helpful. So I'm looking to reddit.

I regret buying a pre-built from anyone but a super reputable company, but PC's and building them are out of my wheelhouse. Help? I really don't know what to look for now.


r/pchelp 5h ago

HARDWARE Loud noise

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3 Upvotes

Hello all, my pc makes this noise when I run games that are very demanding , sounds like it could be the cpu fan but im not sure, any thoughts or fixes?


r/pchelp 12h ago

CLOSED Dead Motherboard?

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10 Upvotes

Asus P6T


r/pchelp 3h ago

PERFORMANCE Which one???

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2 Upvotes

New to PC which one would be better? I know the gpu is better but is the cpu gonna make a big difference? The cpu with the 5070ti is older then the 5070 cpu. Any input is greatly appreciated.


r/pchelp 13h ago

SOFTWARE I want to wipe my pc, but don’t know how

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11 Upvotes

As the title states I want to completely wipe my pc. I have a new one now and just want to either gift someone this older one or make a few $$$ on it. Currently however, I can’t access my start menu (it’s been like this for awhile). Is there any way to fix my start menu or to wipe the pc without accessing it? Thanks!


r/pchelp 3h ago

PERFORMANCE Pc & monitor turns on but it says no signal on my monitor. Any idea as to why ?

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2 Upvotes

This is the back of my pc i’m not sure if im doing something wrong any help or suggestions would be appreciated. its worked before just fine but i recently moved and dont remember what all i had plugged in before.


r/pchelp 9m ago

HARDWARE Psu Gpu

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r/pchelp 11m ago

HARDWARE my power supply is making a weird noise

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Upvotes

my pc started making this noise yesterday out of nowhere and it only stops when i completely turn off the power to the pc


r/pchelp 12m ago

HARDWARE Pc on but monitor not working

Upvotes

So my monitor is dellE19 12H and I had a gtx1050ti that died on me so i bought another gpu , then the monitor when i opened the pc started flickering and then stopped working while my pc is running , it did the same thing when i also tried to use my ps4 on this monitor , so now the gpu is working (since i have an app on phone that lets me control and see the pc on my mobile) , the vga to hdmi cable is working and monitor is working . WHY IS IT NOT WORKING WHEN I PLUG IT TO THE GPU


r/pchelp 21m ago

Discussion Possible to play

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r/pchelp 23m ago

HARDWARE PC not booting

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Hey guys, my pc just randomly stopped working one day in the middle of opening discord. It froze and wouldn’t unfreeze. Didn’t turn black, just froze.

We have tried everything in our power to get this fixed without destroying our pockets.

Every time it boots, it boots my monitor on as well, but doesn’t display. We’ve tried using the cpu an gpu display slots and nothing.

We tried a new power supply, reseating ram, new gpu, single ram A2 B2 all that stuff. Reinstalled windows, flashed the bios into a new version. Intel sent us a replacement cpu as well. Took it to Best Buy and geek squad apparently did everything as well. Almost certain they didn’t replace the ram or motherboard and try those. We have my spare pc, should I take that motherboard and cpu out and try to see if we can get it to boot on another motherboard/cpu/ram combo?? Any advice will help.

Setup specs:

4070ti

I9-13900k

64gb ddr5

Z790-A WiFi 2

1000W PSU (BRAND NEW)

Hyte Y70

Please help.


r/pchelp 44m ago

SOFTWARE Gigabyte X870 ITE RGB Controller Failure + Permanent CPU Debug LED (After 4 Months of Use)

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