My build:
ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Corsair H80i GT 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory
Mushkin ECO2 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive x 2
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card
Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case
Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply
Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste
This is a new build. It has never successfully booted.
My actual build went extremely well, no problems at all. Until initial boot, that is.
When the power switch is depressed, all fans (cpu cooler and GPU fans) spin up as expected. Then the EVGA video card fans stop spinning after 15-20 seconds (My assumption is that there is no load, therefore no cooling is needed). The cpu cooler fan runs continuously as long as there is current running through the system. The video card becomes warm to the touch, as though under a light load. The LEDs on the cooler and in the case also light up. Nothing else happens. Any monitor that is attached fails to sense a data stream through the cable. I have a chassis speaker hooked up to the chassis speaker out, but have never managed to get a sound from it - this motherboard does not have a digital post code display. No matter what configuration I have tried, the fans have spun up in exactly the same way, and the lights light up. Otherwise, nothing.
When I first put the computer together, it was with video card, both sticks of RAM, and SSDs. This was my first failed boot configuration.
My diagnostic process:
I stripped the system to bare bones – CPU, mobo, CPU cooler, PSU, one stick of ram. The video is running through one of the mobo’s native HDMI outs. No change. No post codes, no monitor activity.
All psu connections have been checked, rechecked, re-re-checked, etc. Video card and RAM are always well-seated.
I have switched out the one ram stick with the loose one. No change.
Switched video cable to the second HDMI slot on the back of the mobo. Nothing.
I switched out the new monitor with a known monitor, including all cabling. No change.
I put the EVGA video card back in, hooked it up via HDMI. No change.
Then I replaced the HDMI cable with the normal computer DVI cable on the EVGA card. Tried it in both plugs on the back of the video card. No change.
Finally, I pulled a PSU that is known to be fully functional from another build, and hooked it into the system. Once again, the exact same thing occurs.
I have also reset the CMOS via the button on the back of the motherboard.
Also, pulled the build out of the case and tried it, just to make sure I wasn’t having some sort of short to the case. No change.
NOW – here’s the zinger – I couldn’t come up with any further diagnostic tests, so I decided to replace the motherboard. Upon putting the new mobo (same model) in the system, I get EXACTLY the same results. I can see one of two possibilities at this point: Either I have a bad CPU, or both sticks of RAM are bad, or I’ve somehow missed something. I’ve never managed to get a post code out of either board.
This mobo model has no mini-PCI-e slot, or I’d hook in a diagnostic board to try to get a digital post code. It only has one full PCI-e slot and two slots for RAM. No others. Well, not counting the M.2 on the bottom.
Any ideas? And thanks in advance for any help you can provide.