ASRock Z170 Extreme4 absolutely no reaction

ganjamaster8 wrote: Hi together, some weeks ago my PC died, so I decided to buy new MB, RAM and CPU. My Power Supply seemed to be still working and was also powerfull enough for the new setup. I bought: i5 6600K ASRock Z170 Extreme4 G.Skill RipJaws 4 rot DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-2133, CL15-15-15-35 (F4-2133C15D-16GRR) --> listet on your compatibillity list As soon as I received the parts I set up my new PC and tried to start it. ... nothing no peep noise, no error code on the mb-display no running fans. Just nothing. At first I thought it had to be the Power Supply. Therefore, I ordered a new one (Corsair Vengance 550M). Some days later with the new power supply, still the exact same issue... It seemed to be an issue with the MB. So I returned my board and got a new one. With this new MB I still run into the same issue. Even if I only plugin the power supply (8Pin and the big one) to the MB (without CPU, RAM, GPU, FANs, ...) ... nothing. I also tried to use another power cord or changed the RAM sockets and tested only with one or no one at all. I also tried not connecting the pins for the on/off switch of my case (CM690) as the board offers one by itself. BIOS reset didn't help either. I don't know what else to do. My expectation would be regardless what's the root cause of the issue, in case some parts of the PC are missing, the board should peep or show me an error code on the MB error code display. From my point of view it's still the board but it could somehow also be the CPU. But shouldn't the board show an error in case of missing/defekt CPU? Do you have any ideas or suggestions what I could try to test? I hope you are able to help me Thanks ganja

You won't hear a beep sound from the board unless you do this:

Connect a small POST beep speaker to the speaker header on the board. This speaker is not built into the board, or included with the board. These speakers are usually included with PC cases, but not all will include one. You can also buy them.

Enable the Boot Beep option in the UEFI/BIOS, Boot screen. This option is disabled by default. IMO, a questionable choice for this option, which is certainly useful when using a new board for the first time.

Assuming both of the above have been done, you will only hear multiple error code beeps for certain basic problems found during POST. Otherwise if POST completes successfully, a single short beep will be heard.

In your situation, I assure you the board will not make any sound, a beep or "peep", until you connect that speaker and enable the option in the UEFI/BIOS.

Next, your mother board will do nothing without a CPU or memory installed in it, if power is applied to it with the PSU, and you then press the power button on the PC case. That is normal.

The UEFI/BIOS chip is not a processor, nor can it perform any type of operation like a processor. The mother board is virtually helpless without a processor and memory installed.

A mother board that has not had power applied to it, is in an abnormal state. The board must actually have a CPU and memory in it before it will be able to start, and have power fully applied to it from all the rails of the PSU.

Once a mother board successfully starts, and is shutdown from Windows or simply holding down the power button, some power is still supplied to the board from the PSU. The 5V stand by rail of the PSU keeps the board semi-awake, so certain function like Wake on LAN can work.

But if the PSU is turned off or removed, the board is in a completely non-functioning state. You won't see any of the LEDs on the board turn on, with one exception.

If you have an active network cable available, connect it to the network input on the IO panel. Then turn on the PSU. No need to press the power button on the case. You should see one of the LEDs next to the network input jack light up.

I'm not sure if you've tested your latest board with the CPU and memory installed. You must install both the CPU and memory before the board has any chance of starting.

Hi,

thank you very much for your detailed response! I wasn't aware that the speakers aren't built in on the board I thought they are still shipped with the board.

Of course I tested the new board with cpu, ram and psu installed. In all my tests the psu was connected. Forgot to mentioned in my first post, sry for that.

You said that I need to turn on the speaker (I will buy one) But I even can't reach the uefi/bios. The board won't boot up nor bring up the post message, no running fans nothing.

What I'm wondering about is also the error code display, shouldn't it show something? It's always off no matter which parts I plugged in (e.g. CPU, MB, PSU, RAM).

I also tested the new mb with my old psu. Unfortunately I ran into the same problems. I will test to connect the LAN cable and see if the nic led blinks this may be a hint that still the new psu isn't working.

If you have any ideas what to test, feel free to share them.

Thanks!
ganja

What killed your original computer that the new parts were ordered?

ganjamaster8 wrote: I managed to solve the issue... it was a defective SATA power cable which was still attached to the PSU but not the mainboard. I unplugged it and used another one for my drives and SSD. Afterwards the system booted like a charm into bios. I also had some trouble installing windows, but I could solve this also. Incredible how the stupidest things can result in such big issues... :D However, I'm very happy that now everything works. Again, thank you very much for your help! :) best regards ganja

It's not stupid, that cable seemed to be preventing the PSU from starting. So no power to the board. But you missed the fan in the PSU not spinning, unless it is a model that can run fan-less at low load conditions.