Computer Not Starting After Stock CPU Fan Replaced

[ZeroPresence]

Hi All,

Specs:
ASRock X370 Killer SLI AM4 AMD
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Seasonic 750W Prime Titanium
New CPU Cooler: Deepcool Assassin III (Amazon reference here )
NZXT H700i Tower

Recently noted the stock Ryzen fan wasn't performing as adequately as I would have liked (as noted by almost 30c temperature rise when playing 1440p Assassin's Creed Odyssey or 1440p Shadow of the Tomb Raider). Went ahead and ordered the Assassin III along with another fan (to replace a stock NZXT fan) for the front of my NZXT case. No problems with installations... motherboard LED light turns on as normal, however the PC does not start. Went ahead and did a little troubleshooting as follows...

Replaced lithium battery
Checked all cables leading from motherboard to PSU - nothing noted out of place - however I'm considering breadboarding it
To note: When taking the CPU & new cooler out I noticed it was pretty easy to take out... which lead to me to believe I simply did not "lock" the CPU in place. Redid removal of old thermal paste with 70% alcohol, applied thermal paste and placed it in correctly while ensuring it was locked in this time.
Originally: Assassin III cooler's wires were connected to the back of the tower where the stock fans were connected... rotated sites and plugged the Assassin cooler into the CPU connectors where the CPU stock fans were originally connected. Still nothing

Like I said, I'm thinking of breadboarding it. I may also replace the Assassin III with the stock - but will need to buy more thermal paste as I am out at the moment.

Any help is appreciated. Pictures can be provided if need be. Thank you!

 

[JohnDigital]

To note: When taking the CPU & new cooler out I noticed it was pretty easy to take out... which lead to me to believe I simply did not "lock" the CPU in place. Redid removal of old thermal paste with 70% alcohol, applied thermal paste and placed it in correctly while ensuring it was locked in this time.

This is the most likely to be interconnected. The fan itself couldnt really cause this. Look for bent pins or other signs of an issue.. If you powered that board with the chip not seated properly you might have caused something bad.

 

[Alecmascot]

edit : what he said

 

[joeschmuck]

1) Do you have a speaker connected to the motherboard SPKR header? Is it beeping and if it is, what is the beep code?
2) Do any fans come on when you power on the computer? Andy LEDs and if so, which LEDs?

If you have no indications of Power when you try to power it on then maybe the power button is not wired to the correct spot on the motherboard.
If everything tries to power on but turns off immediately, you probably have a short.

Worst case, pull it all out and start over. You should not need to remove the CPU again, those things fit in only one way, and either it's locked in place or not. Also, while this may sound stupid (yes there are stupid people out there) I just want to say that the CPU socket lever needs to be fully open before installing the CPU, then you close the lever and lock it in place and then install the CPU. Yes, I'll bet someone has installed a CPU onto a closed socket. Since you used the term "breadboard" I have faith that you know better.

 

[ZeroPresence]

1) Do you have a speaker connected to the motherboard SPKR header? Is it beeping and if it is, what is the beep code?
2) Do any fans come on when you power on the computer? Andy LEDs and if so, which LEDs?

If you have no indications of Power when you try to power it on then maybe the power button is not wired to the correct spot on the motherboard.
If everything tries to power on but turns off immediately, you probably have a short.

Worst case, pull it all out and start over. You should not need to remove the CPU again, those things fit in only one way, and either it's locked in place or not. Also, while this may sound stupid (yes there are stupid people out there) I just want to say that the CPU socket lever needs to be fully open before installing the CPU, then you close the lever and lock it in place and then install the CPU. Yes, I'll bet someone has installed a CPU onto a closed socket. Since you used the term "breadboard" I have faith that you know better.

1) I do not have speakers connected to the motherboard
2) No fans turn on when attempting to power the computer. There is one LED that turns on, on the motherboard, but I believe it is more of an aesthetic feature rather than a diagnosis LED. But in case I'm wrong... it does a "breathing" LED red (which is what I customized in the HUD on desktop), but no other LEDs turn on.

Honestly, probably better to take everything out and start over to ensure everything is in the right sockets and such... then I can proceed to determine if it's a hardware issue and not just a simple "forgot to plug this back in" type of thing. Thermal paste will be here by Friday, in the mean time I will disassemble everything. Definitley will post back here if anything changes.

It's funny you mention that with the CPU - hasn't happened to me... YET ;)

 

[ZeroPresence]

So I went ahead and pulled everything out and started over. Same conclusion - motherboard LED light on but no power to the rest of the system. Tried jump starting but no power up.

Will try with the stock CPU fan once the heat sink arrives... but I don't think it's the new CPU fan, either.

I have another 750W PSU that's never been used I could try. Could the PSU be the issue?

 

[joeschmuck]

So just that you are aware, this is clearly not a FreeNAS/TrueNAS problem, it's your hardware. Because of this I'm planning to move this thread.

The fact that you have the one LED on the motherboard is good, you have some power.

I would do the following if you haven't already done so.
1) Connect a speaker to the motherboard SPKR header, it will produce a POST Beep Code and often can point you in the right direction.
2) Disconnect ALL fan's from the motherboard, yes the CPU fan electrical connector too. The objective is to remove/reduce any power shorts.
3) Unplug your hard drives and any other device connected to your power supply. Same reason, remove/reduce power shorts or high current draws.
4) At this point the only thing you should have plugged into your power supply is the motherboard to the large ATX Power connector (Item 6) and one 8 pin CPU power connector (Item 1), and if you have a fan that connects to the power supply directly (4 pin molex or even the internal power supply fan).
5) On the motherboard, disconnect everything from the headers except the SPKR connector (Item 23), nothing else is required at this point in time.
6) If you have power connected to anything else, like a video card, well you need to have that but if you unplug the video card you should still be able to get your system to power up.
7) Take a small screwdriver or something metal (could be a jumper or test lead), momentarily short together the PWR connection (PWRBTN# and GND) (Item 15) and reference your manual on page 29. This "should" tell the power supply to turn on.
8) If the power supply does not turn on (fan not running) then your problem is in the power supply or motherboard. You could use a hard drive as the indicator if you have no fans in your system.

Good Luck.

 

[ZeroPresence]

So just that you are aware, this is clearly not a FreeNAS/TrueNAS problem, it's your hardware. Because of this I'm planning to move this thread.

The fact that you have the one LED on the motherboard is good, you have some power.

I would do the following if you haven't already done so.
1) Connect a speaker to the motherboard SPKR header, it will produce a POST Beep Code and often can point you in the right direction.
2) Disconnect ALL fan's from the motherboard, yes the CPU fan electrical connector too. The objective is to remove/reduce any power shorts.
3) Unplug your hard drives and any other device connected to your power supply. Same reason, remove/reduce power shorts or high current draws.
4) At this point the only thing you should have plugged into your power supply is the motherboard to the large ATX Power connector (Item 6) and one 8 pin CPU power connector (Item 1), and if you have a fan that connects to the power supply directly (4 pin molex or even the internal power supply fan).
5) On the motherboard, disconnect everything from the headers except the SPKR connector (Item 23), nothing else is required at this point in time.
6) If you have power connected to anything else, like a video card, well you need to have that but if you unplug the video card you should still be able to get your system to power up.
7) Take a small screwdriver or something metal (could be a jumper or test lead), momentarily short together the PWR connection (PWRBTN# and GND) (Item 15) and reference your manual on page 29. This "should" tell the power supply to turn on.
8) If the power supply does not turn on (fan not running) then your problem is in the power supply or motherboard. You could use a hard drive as the indicator if you have no fans in your system.

Good Luck.

It appears I found the issue(s). Guessing it happened when taking off the original stock CPU fan (DOH!). Tried realigning the pins and was successful with that - but still no progress with signs of life besides the one LED on the motherboard. Lesson learned I guess. Not sure if I should just buy another 3900x or upgrade. The same with the motherboard

 

[Dan Tudora]

So just that you are aware, this is clearly not a FreeNAS/TrueNAS problem, it's your hardware. Because of this I'm planning to move this thread.

The fact that you have the one LED on the motherboard is good, you have some power.

I would do the following if you haven't already done so.
1) Connect a speaker to the motherboard SPKR header, it will produce a POST Beep Code and often can point you in the right direction.
2) Disconnect ALL fan's from the motherboard, yes the CPU fan electrical connector too. The objective is to remove/reduce any power shorts.
3) Unplug your hard drives and any other device connected to your power supply. Same reason, remove/reduce power shorts or high current draws.
4) At this point the only thing you should have plugged into your power supply is the motherboard to the large ATX Power connector (Item 6) and one 8 pin CPU power connector (Item 1), and if you have a fan that connects to the power supply directly (4 pin molex or even the internal power supply fan).
5) On the motherboard, disconnect everything from the headers except the SPKR connector (Item 23), nothing else is required at this point in time.
6) If you have power connected to anything else, like a video card, well you need to have that but if you unplug the video card you should still be able to get your system to power up.
7) Take a small screwdriver or something metal (could be a jumper or test lead), momentarily short together the PWR connection (PWRBTN# and GND) (Item 15) and reference your manual on page 29. This "should" tell the power supply to turn on.
8) If the power supply does not turn on (fan not running) then your problem is in the power supply or motherboard. You could use a hard drive as the indicator if you have no fans in your system.

YA Old Man
this can be put on a hardware diagnostic in resources for GOOD
I think you a working in hardware diagnosting/repair on your job (like me)
good for you
cheerss

 

[joeschmuck]

I think you a working in hardware diagnosting/repair on your job (like me)

Yes sir, I've been designing hardware (integrator) and programming and with that naturally comes hardware and software diagnostics for about 48 years. I'm both electrically and mechanically inclined. So we are similar, very cool. Sometimes I see folks jumping into trying to fix something without taking a step back to see the big picture, and folks should take a simple steps by step procedure to troubleshoot problems, which is why I tend to number my steps. Also if someone tells me that it failed, I can ask exactly which step failed and what was the last step that worked. It helps me help them. So thanks for the recognition.

It appears I found the issue(s). Guessing it happened when taking off the original stock CPU fan (DOH!). Tried realigning the pins and was successful with that - but still no progress with signs of life besides the one LED on the motherboard. Lesson learned I guess. Not sure if I should just buy another 3900x or upgrade. The same with the motherboard

I'm glad that you found the issue. Just remember that the CPU with pins should "fall" into place, never requires any pressure to drop into the socket. If there is any pressure at all then a pin is not aligned correctly and I'd pull the CPU off and inspect it before reseating it.

I would caution you here about buying new hardware. You have no idea at this time if you toasted the CPU or the Motherboard, or Both. My advice is to get a copy of the CPU pinout, find out which pin is bent and what pin it was touching. What we are looking for here is if that short likely caused a problem. For example if you are looking at pin #43C that is Vss, Pin #42D =? But to be honest, I can't tell which pin is bent on your CPU but you can figure this out. Then if you figure it out, you need to take an educated guess if this would have caused any problems. Let's say it was a Vss pin shorted to a RAM address pin (pulling this out my rear), then the CPU "should" still be good. That doesn't mean it is good but my educated guess based on your information would be that conclusion.

So if you can't figure out that broke, my educated guess would be to connect the speaker I've been talking about and see what the beep code is, if anything. Replace the Power Supply.

Ultimately you could end up buying a new CPU and Motherboard, RAM, etc... I hope that isn't the case. You have learned a hard lesson, not soon forgot.

Good luck!

 

[Dan Tudora]

connect the speaker I've been talking about and see what the beep code

hello
we have an expression for that
no beep, no sound => no nothing
cherss

 

[ZeroPresence]

Yes sir, I've been designing hardware (integrator) and programming and with that naturally comes hardware and software diagnostics for about 48 years. I'm both electrically and mechanically inclined. So we are similar, very cool. Sometimes I see folks jumping into trying to fix something without taking a step back to see the big picture, and folks should take a simple steps by step procedure to troubleshoot problems, which is why I tend to number my steps. Also if someone tells me that it failed, I can ask exactly which step failed and what was the last step that worked. It helps me help them. So thanks for the recognition.


I'm glad that you found the issue. Just remember that the CPU with pins should "fall" into place, never requires any pressure to drop into the socket. If there is any pressure at all then a pin is not aligned correctly and I'd pull the CPU off and inspect it before reseating it.

I would caution you here about buying new hardware. You have no idea at this time if you toasted the CPU or the Motherboard, or Both. My advice is to get a copy of the CPU pinout, find out which pin is bent and what pin it was touching. What we are looking for here is if that short likely caused a problem. For example if you are looking at pin #43C that is Vss, Pin #42D =? But to be honest, I can't tell which pin is bent on your CPU but you can figure this out. Then if you figure it out, you need to take an educated guess if this would have caused any problems. Let's say it was a Vss pin shorted to a RAM address pin (pulling this out my rear), then the CPU "should" still be good. That doesn't mean it is good but my educated guess based on your information would be that conclusion.

So if you can't figure out that broke, my educated guess would be to connect the speaker I've been talking about and see what the beep code is, if anything. Replace the Power Supply.

Ultimately you could end up buying a new CPU and Motherboard, RAM, etc... I hope that isn't the case. You have learned a hard lesson, not soon forgot.

Good luck!

Thank you for your kind words.... definitely, a hard lesson...

Will try that with a pins. Will save a couple hundred bucks for sure if I can find it. Actually tried looking for that speaker, but some reason the moba didn't come with one. I even tried connecting some old headphones to the back of the mic jack, hoping that would work. I went to a Micro Store today and one guy gave me a funny look when I mentioned it. Found something pretty cheap on New Egg and will give it a try.

I know this is probably better for another topic... but there's no reason to not use the RAM in my moba if I were to get another moba, would there?

 

[joeschmuck]

I know this is probably better for another topic... but there's no reason to not use the RAM in my moba if I were to get another moba, would there?

The RAM should be fine based on what you have said so far. As for compatibility of your current RAM to a different motherboard, you will need to ensure it is.

I even tried connecting some old headphones to the back of the mic jack, hoping that would work.

That made me laugh, nope not the same connection.

I went to a Micro Store today and one guy gave me a funny look when I mentioned it.

That is because he's not into the hardware aspect of things, he's a sales person.

You can connect a simple speaker to the two wires (pins 1 and 4, the outer two) and it will work. All motherboards use to come with these speakers, over time these started to disappear. They still come in handy from time to time. Mine looks like a small buzzer on the end of a short red/black wire pair. It came with one of my motherboards many years ago.

 

[JohnDigital]

I knew immediately you had a bent pin.

 

[MiltonRose]

At first I thought it was just a problem with the motherboard, but then I saw this bent processor pin and it hurt me. It was worse only when I try to fix the same problem in the socket of an expensive motherboard on the Z370

 

[Dan Tudora]

hello
a foot in back (read a**) is just a steep/push in front