Be sure to test the power supply before going too far down the rabbit hole.
this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2025
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Thank you, I just did this. Bridging the pins does nothing, it just clicks and no fan movement what so ever. So it seems the psu died. I try to get a second psu, but I may be oit of luck this weekend.
When your pc dies it's ALWAYS during the week-end or just after the stores close
Yeah, exactly. The one store I went to, right before closing did not have any psu's. So I ordered one for next week.
You have to start in order of operation. Number 1 is the PSU itself. If you motherboard does nothing at all, no lights, no fan movement, no post boot anything then your PSU as expired.
After that you remove components and try again. Your case sounds like it's either a PSU or a CPU.
Get some thermal paste and remove the CPU and check for damage on it. Pins can actually melt off of it gets hot enough.
Yeah, Maybe one of the rails on the PSU broke? Can something like this happen? Some parts of the motherboard seem to get some power but, I do not get any of the main status leds.
I will try to look at the cpu later, I try to get a second psu for testing...
I also unplugged the psu for a while. It makes a slight buzzy noise after powering the computer, but I do not know if this is normal.
I'd recommend starting with the PSU. A buzzing noise is not a good sign. This article has details on how you can test your PSU: https://www.howtogeek.com/172933/how-can-i-test-my-computers-power-supply/
You can perform a basic test with just a paper clip or a bit of 16 or 18 gauge wire.
It sounds like the PSU is giving some power, given that the keyboard lights up. The issue could be isolated to one or more rails, e.g. it's not delivering anything / enough on the 12V or 3.3V rail. I'm guessing 5V is OK since that's USB voltage and your USB keyboard gets power. You'd need a multimeter to check individual power pins on the PSU connector.
Edit: if you have access to a second PC, you can swap PSUs between them. If the problem follows the PSU then that's the faulty component. If the problem stays with the original PC then it's likely motherboard, CPU or RAM.
If you can determine that the PSU is OK then the next step is to try booting with the bare minimum amount of hardware. That's motherboard, CPU and one stick of RAM. If that won't boot then you try with a different RAM. If it still won't boot then the issue is motherboard or CPU. Before you replace either of those expensive components, try replacing the cheap CMOS battery as another poster recommended.
Thanks, I did this test and it just clicks and buzzes, without fan movement. But I did throw away my old psu while moving and I may have to wait for next week.
The last time something like this happened to me it was an Asus motherboard as well, I had to change the CMOS battery.
But it was way older hardware than today and after coming back from weeks of holidays with the PC switched off.
Thanks. I tried changing it, but sadly did not change anything.
Plug everything back in, and unplug the PW+ and PW- connectors from the motherboard.
Use a flat screwdriver to touch both of them at the same time and see if it boots. If it does, either is one of those two cables, or the power button itself.
So, I tried this, it does the same click and thereafter a buzzing sound, so power bitton seems to work.