Fatal1ty X399 Pro - Blinking Red LEDs, no POST

If the Debug LED display isn't showing anything make sure:

1. The power connectors are all hooked up correctly, AFAIK you need the 8 pin
CPU power connected, the 4 pin alone isn't enough though I think the 8pin alone is fine.
2. The CPU is properly seated and tightened down evenly and correctly.
3. A single stick of RAM is properly seated in slot A2

Power the system on and leave it on for at least 10mins. The first post on these
x399 boards can take a lot longer than you may think. After the initial post it
will power on normally. I had a very long first post on my current system too.

I also just noticed that while it's blinking, if I push the power button on the motherboard I can the smallest "tick" in the PSU if I have my hand on it.

It's one of those "zero spin" models that doesn't run the fan unless the loads demands it, but I was able to prove that it spins momentarily on startup when doing the paperclip test. So whatever that tick noise/feeling is, it's for sure not powering all the way up.

Just something else I noticed in case it's helpful.....

I have had a CPU and case fan attached hoping that I would see them at least "jump" when I push the power button on the motherboard, but unfortunately they do not react in any way.

When you ask if I'm sure that the PSU is actually powering on, are you referring to when I'm pressing the power button on the motherboard or when I'm flipping on the power switch?

The red blinking LEDs occur when the power switch is flipped on. Immediately and without having to press the power button on the motherboard. The "tick" that I feel/hear in the PSU is a one time thing when I press the power button the first time after having turned the PSU on via the switch. It will not occur again until the PSU is powered off via the switch or unplugged. So it is not a repeatable tick without completely starting the process over again.

This PSU model when it powers up will spin it's fan a few cycles before stopping, which I have seen with a paperclip test. It's one of those zero-RPM mode models but will still spin the fan as a test or to let you know that it's working. So I know that the PSU isn't "firing up" when I press the power button as that spin up never occurs. It's fan does not jump or bump either.

You make a good point about the legs and storage. It was in a bag in a mobo box, but regrettably was not on a foam pad. So I went ahead and spent some time with my cell phone camera going over the bottom of the board to see if anything looks wonky, out of place, or otherwise damaged. I have some experience with both through-hole and surface mount soldering, and everything looks to be in pristine condition. There's always the possibility that I missed something, but I feel confident that I was pretty thorough.

Back onto your line of "first post" thinking. Is that something that might include these blinking red LEDs, and if so is it something that with sufficient time left on and blinking should stop? I obviously do not doubt the long "first post" concept you're describing, I'm just unfamiliar with it and don't have any experiences to draw from. These x399 board seem to have all kinds of quirks that I'm learning about. May be part of the reason that they've moved on and left this tech behind.

Thanks again for all of your time!

Andrew.

OK - That little piece of information about the lights blinking was as soon as the PSU is turned on put me down an interesting path. The short story is, I've got it working. And I can't thank you enough!

Here's the long story

I had decided that there my only next step was to trade out my PSU. Nothing else is "new," so there was no return option for this several years old hardware. As a final nail in the coffin, I begrudgingly pulled the 24pin and 8pin from my working tower and precariously hooked the board up in an odd floating vertical position. I'll be damned the son of a bitch powered up when I hit the button and starting throwing codes.

OK - PSU is bad. problem solved. Nope.... decided to try one more thing. I hooked the new PSU up WITHOUT the extra 4pin cpu cable and it worked. If I apply the 4 pin, it doesn't. Not sure what that's all about.

But - for now I've been able to load video and ram to get into the bios. So I'm at a workable position to start building from. And the first thing I did was disable the LED controller to stop the blinking. lol

Again, I can't thank you enough for your patience and suggestions.