I decided to clean out my CPU fan as it was clogged, when I assembled everything again it won’t turn on 🙁

It’s an old desktop PC. There are no lights glowing on the motherboard at all, though there is none specifically labelled “power”. Just CPU, RAM, BOOT. None of these light up, not even a flash when it starts.

I have reseated the RAM, CPU, power cables. Removed the GPU to check.

The cord leading in to the PSU works but I don’t have a way to test the PSU itself or the out cables, but I have reseated them at each end.

This PC was working fine before. But with no lights on the motherboard I suspect either the mobo or PSU?

Mobo is asrock x570 PSU is silverstone 650w strider gold S series

Any help appreciated!

Edit: I made a new post asking for hardware recommendations.

Edit 2: I managed to get a light on the motherboard, going to buy some more thermal paste and keep tinkering to see if I can get it started!

Edit 3: I never got that light to go again. In the end the comments on the other post convinced me that I had all that I needed for what I wanted (no upgrade needed), so I changed tack to seeing how to fix it. I had suspicions about the power connection still, so I bought a cheap PSU and tested it, no change. Then I bought a new motherboard (also a pretty cheap one, the cheapest that had what I needed and was also in a local store) and in the end that was the issue. Everything is up and running again now! Thanks for all the help everyone, you can now settle your bets.

  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    25 days ago

    it seems almost every generation you have a new CPU socket and new RAM type

    I bought AMD, and I keep old computers around. Here’s my progression so far:

    1. AM3 CPU as my desktop PC
    2. AM3+ CPU as SO’s desktop PC
    3. AM4 CPU to replace 1 (OG Ryzen), 1 becomes NAS
    4. AM4 CPU to replace 2 (Ryzen 5000), 2 is hot spare
    5. AM4 CPU upgrade (Ryzen 5000) to replace 3, also got mobo to replace NAS

    So, if I needed to, I could:

    • downgrade to AM3+ CPU, using DDR3 RAM from either build (or both)
    • upgrade my or SO’s computer to AM5 and reuse desktop for NAS

    For extra parts, I have:

    • 1 PSU
    • 1 GPU - GTX 960; GTX 750 Ti is in NAS
    • 2 CPU/mobo combos for AM3 and AM3+
    • 2 computer cases - one is trash though, I’ll throw it out soon
    • various cables and whatnot

    If I was doing this solo, I’d still have my old mobo and CPU, so I could at least downgrade to that.

    • Dave@lemmy.nzOPEnglish
      1·
      25 days ago

      I think your advantage is needing two machines. Then you can swap stuff between them to test as well.

      I gave away my previous build in whole and built a new one. No spare parts 🙁. And my SO and I are generally using laptops day to day, no need for more desktop machines and can’t swap pieces between laptop and desktop.

      I don’t think having an old mobo/CPU would help anyway, I’m pretty sure one of the two is broken and swapping both out won’t help work out which one.

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        25 days ago

        Sure, but even without a P2, reusing the old PC when upgrading was the main thing. I haven’t actually used my SO’s computer for anything yet, it’s just a hot spare should I need anything.

        I honestly can’t use a laptop as my main machine because I (and my SO) play games, and using a laptop would mean a lot more frequent upgrades. I have a laptop, but it doesn’t need very high specs since it’s just for trips (mostly videos and web browsing). My laptop is ~6 years old and still does everything I need it to, whereas I upgraded my desktop three times in 7 years (CPU twice and GPU once).

        If you had an old mobo and CPU, you could downgrade and keep the NAS running until you had a replacement. I upgraded my NAS because I already had the hardware and wanted better power efficiency, so I could totally go back if I needed to. In my case, I’d downgrade until I upgraded my desktop, then re-upgrade my NAS. I’d probably use my SO’s old machine, but it works with any spare PC.

        • Dave@lemmy.nzOPEnglish
          2·
          24 days ago

          I don’t do a lot of gaming these days. When I played Baldur’s Gate 3, once I got to Act 3 I switched to streaming from the desktop to the laptop using the Steam function as my laptop couldn’t handle it. I also don’t do upgrades as frequently as you.

          If you had an old mobo and CPU, you could downgrade and keep the NAS running until you had a replacement.

          Good point, I didn’t think of that.

          • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            2·
            24 days ago

            I don’t do upgrades very often either. Here’s my rough history:

            1. Phenom II full PC (no GPU)
            2. GTX 750 Ti - wanted to play games
            3. GTX 960 - SO needed a PC but didn’t play games, so I upgraded mine
            4. Ryzen 1700 + mobo + RAM + nvme drive - CPU was severely lagging - 1 became NAS
            5. RX 6650, Ryzen 5600 + mobo + case - GPU was lagging and the 1700 couldn’t sleep (CPU fault), so I figured it was time to upgrade; 4 became NAS

            I’m still using 5 today, so in 10-15 years, I had 3 GPUs (gave 2 to SO when I got 3), 3 CPUs, and 3 mobos, and I only upgraded the mobo in 5 because I wanted to reuse my 1700 in my NAS. My NAS currently has 2 & 4, and 1 & 3 is a hot spare if anything dies.

            In that time, I’ve had 3 laptops:

            1. HP POS for school (forget the model)
            2. Thinkpad T440 - 2013 - HP fell apart
            3. Thinkpad E495 - T440 died from water damage

            1 & 2 are e-waste and cannot be reused.

            If you don’t count my SO’s devices, I think I’ve spent about the same on laptops as desktops, and my laptops have been very budget devices (no dGPU), whereas my desktops have been pretty midrange and I’ve been able to play whatever I want.

            I’m thinking of giving my kids a PC, and if I do, it’ll be my SO’s old PC. If I do, 3/4 of our PCs over the past 15 years will still be in use vs 1/4 of our laptops (SO had a laptop that died before I built the first). That’s a pretty good track record IMO.

            • Dave@lemmy.nzOPEnglish
              2·
              24 days ago

              I use a laptop most of the time because then I can sit in a recliner with my feet up. I spend the day at a desk I don’t much fancy doing the same in the evening.

              I have a Framework laptop from the first ones they made, which are upgradeable and repairable. Unfortunately they don’t ship to NZ, I got mine by freight forwarding and also got parts a bit later the same way. But now they have cracked down hard on freight forwarding as I recently learned, so I can’t get any more upgrades until they start shipping here (no announced plans).

              • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                2·
                24 days ago

                That sucks about freight forwarding.

                I’m considering getting a Framework for my next laptop as well. But my current laptop works well enough, so I’m in no hurry. If they offered a Trackpoint option or at least put physical mouse buttons above the trackpad, I wouldn’t have any hesitation because I love that on my Thinkpad.

                But honestly, I use my laptop a few times/year, other than my kids playing Minecraft on it (hence wanting to get them a computer of their own). Most of my gaming is on my Steam Deck or Switch, so I only really use the laptop when we travel or if we have guests over and I need to get something done when everyone is watching a movie or something, and a lot of the time I’ll use my work laptop instead since my kids often use both my desktop and laptop.

                • Dave@lemmy.nzOPEnglish
                  2·
                  24 days ago

                  Yeah they only have the one trackpad option. I tend to use a mouse anyway.

                  Probably not much point in getting one if you’re going to build your kids a PC anyway.

                  By the way I managed to get a light on the motherboard, so it might not be dead after all. I’m planning to get some more thermal paste today and keep tinkering, I might save it yet.