Easy mistake - Easy fix

[neatfeatguy]

I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out why my ASUS Z790 Apex wouldn't post. After doing everything but checking the wires, I finally saw the problem. The GPU power wasn't connected....

Just a reminder for troubleshooting 101. Check the cables before anything else.

Moved from 2x8GB RAM to 2x16GB RAM in my computer a handful of months back.

Pulled out the old RAM, put in the new. Powered on the system - won't POST. First immediate thought was the RAM was DOA. I was upset, back to Micro Center.....man, I didn't want to have to drive through traffic again and spend 20+ minutes going back there and then 20+ minutes driving back home.

Looked in the case and realized my dumbass didn't push the sticks down hard enough to actually get them inserted all the way and locked into the slots. Pushed the RAM down all the way and everything worked.

 

[A Computer Guy]

I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out why my ASUS Z790 Apex wouldn't post. After doing everything but checking the wires, I finally saw the problem. The GPU power wasn't connected....

Just a reminder for troubleshooting 101. Check the cables before anything else.

I've done that before. One time while in a hurry I forgot to plugin the ram.

 

[Beginner Macro Device]

Amateurs. I once had been the guy who forgot to press the power button.

 

[R0H1T]

Takes me an hour n a half to watch 60 minutes : )

What, you don't watch documentaries new age "drama" at 1.5x on YT

 

[Ivan Bliminse]

I once took out my graphics card too clean and after cleaning the whole pc went to switch it on when i spotted my card on the other table beside me...oop's

 

[Solaris17]

Built my current system on a table last year.

got it all strung up and it literally would not post. I was losing my mind looking up the post codes. Used bios flashback. Tore the system apart and reseated the GPU and cpu.

the error led indicated no console device.

I was like damn you know, the GPU is a dud, or the cpu is a dud or maybe the board is scratched or micro cracked and it’s breaking the pcie traces.

but you know. A lot of manufacturers don’t use the sense pins on hdmi or DP. But both cables have them. For shits and giggles I went and grabbed a spare monitor and plugged it in.

up to this point it was just the machine. I was going to boot it. Wait for the led codes and the post beep, shut it down and then move it to its final location.

nope. Plugged the monitor in and I shit you not evga boards atleast my model waits for the sense pins. It booted right up no issues.

was literally like 45min of my life.

not the dumbest shit iv ever done though. Maybe if you want one day I’ll tell you how I waited like 3 hours for windows xp to install.

 

[Vayra86]

It's not being rude. It's the "length of the time" to discover a cable not being plugged in. Yes I have many times discovered I missed cables, but half an hour. I normally discover this under 1 mins. If I discover a problem without taking everything apart again because I really hate dismantling things again, I do a voltage check with a meter by probing the pins.

Besides this good observation or a small tug/pull on the cable is another way to discover it's not plugged in.

You too will have a weak moment sometimes. Guaranteed

 

[Double-Click]

The one that always used to get me were front panel connections to the board.
Either pins were off by 1 or the +s or -s were flipped, any time a new build wouldn't power on it was almost always that.

 

[kilo]

I broke a mobo when I didn't put stand offs in the case. It wasn't my first build either. I was just impatient and forgot. It powered on for all of 1 second, then popped.

 

[bug]

The one that always used to get me were front panel connections to the board.
Either pins were off by 1 or the +s or -s were flipped, any time a new build wouldn't power on it was almost always that.

Hear, hear.

It was such a huge improvement when mobos started to include a "connector" so you wouldn't have to keep trying to find the right pin...

 

[Beginner Macro Device]

It was such a huge improvement when mobos started to include a "connector" so you wouldn't have to keep trying to find the right pin...

Power LEDs are still separate pins for no apparent reason. However, LGBT friendly hardware makes it apparent whether if my PC is on or off. Makes for an easier life for attackers, however, yet I'm the danger here.

 

[Mr. E]

Back in 2005 I upgraded my desktop with an AMD Sempron processor and new motherboard. The CPU did not use a heat spreader, instead showing a pink silicon surface (like a modern delidded processor). I installed the thermal grease and heat sink with the board installed in the case, not realizing that the heat sink could easily be installed upside down. The system worked fine, but the next day I thought about the possibility, so I removed the motherboard and looked closely at the heat sink coverage.

About 1/3 of the silicon surface was naked ! I removed the heat sink, removed all the paste and reapplied paste and heat sink correctly. Somehow, the CPU was not damaged due to the short abuse.
Needless to say, I have since mounted air coolers before installing motherboards, and removed the boards when repasting.

 

[Bill_Bright]

An extra standoff got me. I assumed replacing a µATX motherboard with a similar µATX motherboard, both from ASUS, would have the same mounting hole placements. Not so. The 2nd board had circuitry where the 1st board had a mounting hole. The result was the standoff I should have removed shorted out the board. Only after I bread-boarded the system, and it worked, did I double check (as I should have done in the first place) to ensure I only had stand-offs in the case where a board mounting hole existed.

It was particularly frustrating for me because I knew full well cases are designed to support 1000s of different boards, and that inserting extra stand-offs was a common newbie, and distracted pro too, mistake. But I wasn't distracted. I just assumed - something I also know full well often leads to mistakes. I was lucky the short did not result in permanent damage.

@Keullo-e might have said it best,

I think that having too much experience with computers will result in simple mistakes like these, whereas a novice would most likely check everything twice just to make sure that everything is connected.

I note the latest version of the ATX Form Factor standard hopes to eliminate these issues by dictating where standoffs will go, not just where they may go. But not all existing boards or cases comply with those latest standards - yet. So, we still should verify we only insert a standoff where there is a corresponding motherboard mounting hole.

***
@ir_cow Kudos to you for sharing your story! And for inspiring others to share theirs.

***

@To the mod who cleaned up the thread: Thanks and my apologies for my part in that.

 

[Solaris17]

Hear, hear.

It was such a huge improvement when mobos started to include a "connector" so you wouldn't have to keep trying to find the right pin...

Yeah but I liked trauma bonding over stabbing those little pins in under my nail trying to feel and count pins.

Iv done the bolt board to tray too. Socket A system. It lived!! I miss that old VIA board.

Later it also survived me plugging in “HDAudio” to the “AC97” header. Found out that was not correct when front panel audio didn’t work and the wire started to smoke.

 

[A Computer Guy]

Yeah but I liked trauma bonding over stabbing those little pins in under my nail trying to feel and count pins.

Iv done the bolt board to tray too. Socket A system. It lived!! I miss that old VIA board.

Later it also survived me plugging in “HDAudio” to the “AC97” header. Found out that was not correct when front panel audio didn’t work and the wire started to smoke.

I keep some old HP front panel power and LED harnesses that I ripped out of old systems for quick motherboard test hookups since they have the block already pinned out for it.

 

[Solaris17]

I keep some old HP front panel power and LED harnesses that I ripped out of old systems for quick motherboard test hookups since they have the block already pinned out for it.

View attachment 343986

I always had mixed luck with them. Iv had to modify the connectors with razor blades and cut pins out because they didn’t map to the board header. So for now I still live in individual lead purgatory.

 

[ir_cow]

Doesn't the Apex have Q-Code? Shouldn't it point to the GPU?

Yes, when I finally cared to read it lol. Though i didn't get a chance to look up F6 because that's when I noticed the GPU cable not connected.

Lots of things lead up to me not doing the basics. 10hr shift at work, come home to do some review work. Reseat the CPU (for reasons). Slap 8200 ram in and get stuck. Pasted the normal code 55 non boot, past the white LED and to the "we are good" green led.

I even reseated the CPU again before checking cables. Yes I've done the PSU switch before as well.

 

[neatfeatguy]

The one that always used to get me were front panel connections to the board.
Either pins were off by 1 or the +s or -s were flipped, any time a new build wouldn't power on it was almost always that.

I had a board that came with a little adaptor that allowed you to connect all the cables for the HDD light, power switch, reset switch and such right to it. The adaptor had all spots on it clearly marked, easier to read over the small font on the board itself. You didn't have to to strain to read the tiny print on the board itself hoping you plugged everything in correctly or dig through the manual to see the pin layout. Then you simply plug the adaptor into the pinout location on the board (only went on one way so you couldn't screw it up). Easy peasy. I wish more boards came with one.

I think it came with the AsRock K10N780x3SLI-WiFi board, but just a guess since I don't have it anymore.

 

[ir_cow]

Looked in the case and realized my dumbass didn't push the sticks down hard enough to actually get them inserted all the way and locked into the slots. Pushed the RAM down all the way and everything worked.

Done this too. It's worse when a review product won't post. Don't want to be the idiot emailing the PR rep just to tell them you didn't seat it all the way later on.

After nearly 25 years of PC building, I've done pretty much everything people have mentioned so far.

Please forgive my PC sins!

 

[Double-Click]

Hear, hear.

It was such a huge improvement when mobos started to include a "connector" so you wouldn't have to keep trying to find the right pin...

Oddly enough I didn't get them with my current board or the B450 Tomahawk either.
The last 2x I had before them though did (Maximus III & V Gene).

 

[overclockedamd]

I once was working on my PC late night overclocking and troubleshooting my limits and had reset the bios with a jumper about a dozen times got sloshed then passed out and woke up the next day to a non posting system after work and realized after two days that i had left the BIOS jumper in reset.

 

[Solaris17]

I once was working on my PC late night overclocking and troubleshooting my limits and had reset the bios with a jumper about a dozen times got sloshed then passed out and woke up the next day to a non posting system after work and realized after two days that i had left the BIOS jumper in reset.

Haha that sucks. I’m glad today’s boards come with a button now most of the time. At one point though I bought a power button and just connected it to those jumpers so I could just reset it with a button press.

 

[Beginner Macro Device]

At one point though I bought a power button

Real shit.

ЭВМ 1 = Электронно-вычислительная машина 1 = [literally] electronic computing machine #1 = computer #1

 

[AndyGawg]

This thread is great!
1. It's comforting - although I still think I probably make more daft mistakes than the, "average."
2. Folks on this forum are really honest - that's pretty cool.
3. Indeed, we are all human. PCs are indeed not.

 

[Beginner Macro Device]

I still think I probably make more daft mistakes than the, "average."

Really depends on the average whom. Average mega brains capable of managing a dozen chess games simultaneously are probably blundering less frequently than you. Average diesel maniacs who eat potato AMD chips on any occasion don't strike me as people you really have to worry about in this competition. Their error rate exceeds billions before yours becomes non-zero.
No reason to compare youself to them anyway. You are you, they are them. You became smarter than you from the past, that's all that matters.

Just be cautious and check what you're applying to your equipment. Don't let it be beer!