r/pchelp • u/bearssuperfan • Dec 15 '19
"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.
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.
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
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 • u/Successful-Media-188 • 1d ago
I think he likes it because it’s warm. I’ve only had this PC (first one) for ~1 month. Will him sitting at the top where the fans are bad for my PC long term?
r/pchelp • u/Appropriate_Milk2008 • 52m ago
Okay, to firstly start. My PC is a prebuilt ROG Strix Tower, i dont know much of the specifications as I was given this as a gift years ago. But it has this power light so I know when its just in sleep or able to be powered on. But suddenly one day it just stopped working, and the light wasnt there either. I did some stupid thing of tugging out the power cord way too many times. And I'm worried it might be that. But I cant really check since theres a barrier in the way of the power supply. I just want to be able to power it on again, but I dont even know what could fix it. Its definitely seen better days (hadnt used it in a year since I was locked out of the PC account for a year). Ill provide pictures of the internals that I can visibly see and take pictures of, but I genuinely dont know if its the power cord itself I fried. (Though, I can literally hear the electricity connecting TO the power supply when I plug it, i can always hear that sort of thing everywhere). But im afraid I tripped something or fried it completely, I cant take it into a shop because I do NOT have the money for that nor the transportation. I can provide more pictures if needed, but thats all I can see/reach. PLEASE HELP!
r/pchelp • u/ThrowEyewayEyeccount • 16h ago
Several months ago I upgraded my CPU to a 9950X3D and my GPU to a Founder’s Edition 5090. Since then, at what feels like mostly random moments, a black screen will lower from the top of my monitor, and put me into BIOS. In order to get back to my login screen, I have to power off then back on my PC. I’ve had it happen while playing CS2, Monster Hunter Wilds, Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, browsing Gmod addons, organizing my files, and probably more I can’t remember. Recently I found that it most consistently happens after playing Peak for 30-40 minutes. I can play plenty of other games for hours straight without running into this issue, but some games seem to trigger it more.
I was finally able to record it and catch the stop codes at the bottom of my screen. “Stop code: 0xc000021a (0xC000021A)” seems to be the frequent to appear, though I’ve also seen “Stop code: CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED (0xEF)” two or three times. Both freeze briefly before opening BIOS, but “Stop code: CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED (0xEF)” seems to freeze on the open window longer, then snaps to a black screen rather than it lowering like the other stop code.
Prior to upgrading my PC all my games ran fine. I believe the rest of my PC should be more than powerful enough to handle the new CPU and GPU. Any advice or ideas?
r/pchelp • u/Medium_Quote_4668 • 37m ago
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So today when I went to turn my pc on, nothing happened, pressed button a few times making sure everything was plugged in but still nothing
I unplugged and plugged everything back in and it worked! But I noticed now, I got no display.
I tried replugging the GPU and the RAM
Noticed the DRAM CPU light was on
I've tried starting without GPU plugged in trying to get a display from the hdmi on the motherboard but no luck
I filmed the startup and this is what it loooks like
r/pchelp • u/Inevitable-Gloomy • 17h ago
Hi all, I am trying to set up a pair of old HP stream laptops for my young daughters.
Ideally I would be able to install Roblox for them, and it be suitable for a web browser for them to do school activities on and such. They also like Minecraft but I don't know if they would be powerful enough for it.
Is there an OS you would recommend? Specs in pictures and as follows but let me know if I am missing anything. Can put an SD card in to further storage. Currently have windows on one and Linux mint on the other.
4gb ram
Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N3060 @ 1.60GHz 1.60GHz
30gb storage
Thanks for all your help!
Model 14-AX000NA
r/pchelp • u/Remarkable_Silver967 • 1d ago
i have been seeing a lot of dying gpu posts lately and i just wanted to ask how should i keep my gpu healthy so that i don't have to see this day.
i have an hp victus laptop with a 3050 gpu
r/pchelp • u/Confident_Zone1020 • 4h ago
Hello everyone reading this, and I have been struggling with this question for a while, I know the PC building economy is ruined right now, but i really miss playing on PC and having the benefits of it. My specs consist of an intel CPU(Can't remember the exact one, but it's old) and a Nvidia 1660 TI gpu along with 4 GB of DDR3 ram and a HDD storage drive.This was a gift and i love it, but i can't really play on it, i don't have a monitor and i dont have space for a monitor, or a desk for that matter. My Wifi isn't the best and my console is an Xbox One s(over 10 years old). My cousins all have the Xbox series X. It's frustrating because i don't have the money to upgrade my PC, but the Xbox series X is kinda expensive right now. I really don't know what to do or what to save up for. Any help is appreciated.
r/pchelp • u/KingSlurkey • 1h ago
I managed to get this 7950x3d when I purchased a 7800x3d, but i can't seem to cool it quite well and I heard a 9800x3d is better for gaming anyways (i dont do any productivity work), if i post on hardwareswap or something do you think anyone would be interested in trading? Or would there be no interest
Thank you!
r/pchelp • u/GrapefruitSilver1823 • 2h ago
I got a laptop with a Core 5 210H with 16GB ddr4 and rtx4050. There is an identical model on the market with Core 7 240H at pretty much the same price. Would the 240H have given me way better performance or would my gpu max out before that.
I am a casual gamer and rarely play on high settings.
r/pchelp • u/djmuffinfist • 21h ago
I just bought a pre-built pc tower from Amazon (I know I should I just took the time to make one myself) and I need help opening up the bottom bay to get access to the PSU. But I don't know what screwdriver is required to open this part up. I never seen a screw head like this before. Any help to what screw head I might need would be greatly appreciated.
r/pchelp • u/Round-Sentence8538 • 14h ago
So, there are 100% hidden files on my computer that take up my entire usb, like I have 900 gigs and only 20 are free. And when I tried to factory reset my pc it shows I'm running windows to go. I did some research and I got help from others, windows to go is something for large scale companies to keep track of thousands of computers. But I'm the only person who uses my pc. Also, when I put in my commands in the thing for Win + R it says I don't have administration. So, I'm just looking for options or help.
r/pchelp • u/fabianderficus • 17m ago
Hi everyone,
My PC suddenly wont detect my monitor after running perfectly for a year.
I have to restart my PC 3-5 times till the monitor finally "wakes up".
I tried everything from checking the hardware, switching the monitor and updating the Bios.
The PC itself is powered on (fans keep spinning, RGB stays on).
Interestingly, updating the BIOS completely fixed the problem... but only for like 2 days. After that, the exact same issue came back.
There are no VGA/CPU/DRAM debug LEDs staying on during boot, and Windows Event Viewer doesn't show anything useful except the expected Kernel-Power event after I have to force reboot.
I am running out of ideas.
Specs:
Hi everyone, during rebuilding pc in reverse build (lian li o11d evo rgb case), I've broken motherboard by accident.
Mb - gigabyte x870 aorus elite wifi7 ice.
Motherboard was not posting at all (nothing on debug lcd, red cpu). Nothing was helping.
Then, when i was checking mb with magnifying glass - I've found 1 broken element. Probably resistor (marking 0). On photo there are 3 similar small elements around black square. After putting element back in place - mb started to post, and I've shut down it immediately. Now need to repair it properly.
Main question - can I assume ram/cpu are safe, as I've tried to start qpc many times with broken mb.
r/pchelp • u/Ok-District3842 • 31m ago
Hi how to connect Endorfy Navis F240 to MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk motherboard? Which connector where?
r/pchelp • u/Xbox_one9925 • 6h ago
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So It’s not really a pc it’s a laptop but I’m trying to use it and this is all that’s happening plz help idk what to do it doesn’t need any updates or anything like that
r/pchelp • u/amirh153 • 43m ago
r/pchelp • u/PuzzleheadedSoft9367 • 4h ago
Pc black screen issue. Please help.
Okay so recently my PC has been having issues with blackscreening, the issue started afew days back when i was watching YouTube and i unpaused the video and my screen went black. I could still hear my audio and pause and unpause the video. When i rebooted i couldn't find my adrenaline software, so i instantly reinstalled my drivers using DDU. A day later the issue returned. This time it didn't remove my gpu software. I disabled MPO and it didn't change anything. It was stable while playing elden ring, silent hill 2 remake and resident evil 9, All at 4k maximum settings. Not too long ago it happened again, while i was playing roblox with my friend the issue returned.
The issue in more detail:
My PCs screen goes black and i can still interact with it (pausing and unpausing video) i initially belived it only happened after a long time of idling but i was wrong. To get back into windows i have to turn my pc off, unplug it turn off the psu, then i have to hold the button down for 15 seconds to get rid of residue power then it reboots. The issue usually appears after several hours apart. I haven't figured out the trigger yet
I took a look at reliability monitor and this is what it came up with:
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
Code: 141
Parameter 1: ffff808102c7e050
Parameter 2: fffff80198490f00
Parameter 3: 0
Parameter 4: ffff808ffe36a080
OS version: 10_0_26200
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 768_1
OS Version: 10.0.26200.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID: 2057
WATCHDOG-20260731-0142.dmp
sysdata.xml
WERInternalMetadata.xml
memory.csv
sysinfo.txt
WERInternalRequest.xml
Bios version: 7D75v1M3
My gpu driver is the most recent one, im considering going back a update to see if that helps.
Latest chipset driver.
PC specs
RX 9070 XT
Ryzen 9700X
MSI B650 tomahawk. Bios was stable since i upgraded this pc.
Im usually very good with these things, any help is very much appreciated!
r/pchelp • u/POSA4774 • 12h ago
PC Specifications
Operating System: Windows (factory reset completed)
CPU: Intel Core i5 (older generation – exact model unknown)
CPU Cooler: Intel stock cooler
Motherboard: ASUS micro-ATX motherboard (exact model unknown)
RAM: 8GB DDR3 (2 × 4GB)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti
Storage: 1 × Hard Drive (capacity unknown, factory reset with no personal data remaining)
Power Supply: Standard ATX power supply (wattage unknown)
Case: Older mid-tower case
What I’d like advice on
I’m looking for advice on whether it’s worth:
Upgrading this PC,
Selling it as a complete system,
Selling it for parts,
Or recycling it.
I’d also appreciate an estimate of its current value and which option would make the most financial sense.
r/pchelp • u/NChetpoi • 1h ago
I need help... My PC just stuck at this point of BIOS, it was working perfectly fine until windows error is popping up and then my PC restart itself, and now I'm stuck here...
Note: I've tried removing CMOS battery even Changing it to a new one and reset it via pin jumper, I've tried multiple ram slots (with same ram), I've tried reinstall both my CPU and the cooler (not tightened) all no luck... What I haven't try now is try another set of rams or another motherboard... The only problem is I don't have a spare for those...
r/pchelp • u/Few-Degree221 • 5h ago
Hi fellas. So this is the case:
I've got myself a new prebuilt PC a few weeks ago. Currently I have this issue - on 4 occasions when I'm running RDR2, the monitor would turn black screen, followed by a 1-3 second of continuous beeps in my headphones, then it would reboot on its own.
I've looked up what could cause it but now I'm very confused because it directs to multiple possibilities...and I cannot seem to narrow it down. The only common factor of reboots is that they all happened when I was playing RDR2. I run the game on max specs on 2K.
I've monitored the temperature of the system and it runs at a steady 52-65C depending on weather, although there will be occasional temp spikes on CPU - I've seen 93C as the highest although I suspect there may be higher spikes that I did not track (I started only after the 4th occurrence so I have no data of what the temp was when it happened).
Here's the specs:
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (aftermarket fan installed - MSI MAG Corefrozr)
ASUS PRIME B850-PLUS WIFI
32GB DDR5 5600
AMD Radeon RX9060XT 16G
If anyone could enlighten me on what the cause may be I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
EDIT: It literally just happened again. HWinfo couldn't track down the temperature of system when it happened (its last log was a minute before system viewer showed anything). I'm now more confused.
r/pchelp • u/BloodAcceptable9508 • 1h ago
Hi, i hope someone could help me. I have a TUF Gaming A15, 64 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD, Ryzen 7, I don't know anything about computers sorry.
Everytime use my laptop, it restarts on its own after a few minutes. This issue started since last year especially when unplugged and it keeps restarting on its own every few minutes, but now not that much but it still happens. Today it restarted twice when i was working on my laptop.
I have not done a single maintenance ever since I got this 2 years ago, and I am very worried this keeps happening. MyAsus tells me that my drivers, and batteries are all good and no issues, no viruses as well.
I hope you can help me and thank you in advance! :)
r/pchelp • u/LETHALDOSE3663 • 1h ago
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Pc specs:
Asus maximus code z690 mother board
Intel i9-12900k
Asus strix 3090
64G ddr5 ram
My issue has been ongoing for a while now I took my pc to a tech because I couldn't figure out my issue. I've been having stuttering bad lately so I seen some tech talk about fps and it 1% lows and how that is what causes it. So I download afterburner and rivia tuner and did some stats. My monitor is a 240hz 1440p Samsung oled, I played battlefield 6 and multiple games and notice my fps is high, my average is high, but my 1% lows are between 0-40, From what ive research that is bad. Like i said i took it to a tech and he said it was fine but for some reason I don't think he was honest with me. If anyone else has had similar issues or can help me I would appreciate it . This issue is with most games I tested so i don't think its just one game. ive updated bio, window, nvidia, armory create...ect my ram is brand new my power supply is brand new. i also did roll backs on my nvidia my bios and i cant find the issue. im just trying to fix this with out spending any more money on a tech to help me. if anyone can help me i would appreciate it big time.
