Fixing simple problem broke computer

It shouldn't be this hard!

I upgraded my main desktop 5 months ago.

Previous:
MBD: ASUS Prime X370-Pro
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
CPU: CORSAIR H60 CPU Water Cooler
RAM: G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB)
GPU: ASUS ROG Strix V2 OC RTX 3060 Ti
OPT: ASUS Blu-Ray Burner SATA BW-16D1HT
CAS: Cooler Master MasterCase 5

Upgrades:
MBD: ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
CPU: Scythe Mugen 6 CPU Air Cooler

Today I realized that the ASUS Blu-Ray Burner didn't work. It had power but the computer didn't see it. Pulling off the case side panel I could see that the SATA data cable wasn't plugged in. I could see two of the SATA data ports on the motherboard so I plugged it into one of them.

After I booted the computer I still couldn't see the ASUS Blu-Ray Burner. Looking at the motherboard user manual I saw why. It seems that if the 2nd M.2 drive was used then SATA 5-6 were disabled. The problem was that I couldn't get to SATA 1-4 because they were under the GPU card.

From the left side I could only see and access SATA 5-6. I pulled off the other side panel and saw that I could access SATA 1-4 from a case cable pass-though hole. I was able to plug the SATA cable into SATA 1 or 2.

What started out to be a simple fix turned into a nightmare when the computer would no longer power on. Unplugging the SATA cable made no difference.

Note that normally there are always some lights on the motherboard as long as the power cable is plugged in. Now the motherboard is totally dark.

Before I totally dismantle my computer down to only the basic components can anyone offer any suggestions in getting my compute going again.

Just go round all the power connectors as a first effort.

MisterEd said:

can anyone offer any suggestions in getting my compute going again.

Click to expand...

As @MrPig said... double check all the power connections.

Double check the case switch (mainly the Power On connection), connections on the motherboard side as well.




You may not have the Intruder Detection...

when you push button on disk tray. can it move out/in?

MisterEd said:

(snip)

Note that normally there are always some lights on the motherboard as long as the power cable is plugged in. Now the motherboard is totally dark.

(snip)

Click to expand...

The obvious conclusion is that the motherboard isn't receiving power.

The power connections at the MB and PSU have locks, so it'd be nearly impossible that one of those came loose.

Is the power switch of the PSU in the on position? That's the only thing I can thick of that'd be easy to change while doing maintenance.

I hope that's not an insulting suggestion. It's the only thing I can think of that doesn't involve major component failure.

Well, allow me to add... make sure it's plugged in and the power strip is turned on.


If worse comes to worst... just take it apart and rebuild it.

MisterEd said:

Before I totally dismantle my computer down to only the basic components can anyone offer any suggestions in getting my compute going again.

Click to expand...

To rule out the power switch, you could, with a small blade screwdriver, very carefully
short the two power switch pins on the motherboard. If the system powers up, there's
a problem with the power switch.

Scott said:

To rule out the power switch, you could, with a small blade screwdriver, very carefully
short the two power switch pins on the motherboard. If the system powers up, there's
a problem with the power switch.

(snip)

Click to expand...

The motherboard seems to not be getting power. There are LEDs on the board that should light when power is applied, but the PC hasn't been turned on yet.

Try the PSU paper clip test to ensure the PSU is working PSU: How to test a PSU (Power Supply Unit)

Do you have a spare PSU to try?

Let's hope you didn't accidentally short-circuit the motherboard and fried it...

I would like to thank everyone that offered suggestions. I started this thread yesterday because I was really depressed. After all the work I did yesterday I was so tired last night that I had to put off working on it again until a few hours ago. The cause of the problem was obvious after I removed the CPU cooler and GPU.

A little backstory…

I have owned a home computer since 1979. I bought my first Windows PC in 1995. After taking it apart and upgrading it over the next 2 years I learned enough so by 1997 I was started building my own desktop PCs. I am still doing that.

Unfortunately, my health has deteriorated over the years to the point that it has become difficult the work on my computers. My eyesight is such that sometimes even a magnifying glass is not enough. Getting off the floor is so hard that sometimes it takes 10 minutes or more to get up. That is even with my desktop on one side and my computer chair on the other. Note the desktop that I have been working on is under my computer desk.

Click to expand...

Things making it hard to work on my desktop

• Because of my poor health it is enough to just put the computer together. Cable management is not done.
• Since my case is black it makes it difficult to see all the black cables.
• The GPU is about 3 inches longer that the motherboard is wide. This blocks access to the SATA ports 1-4.
• With this upgrade I switched to a tower CPU air cooler. My previous cooler was an AIO water cooler. The air cooler is only about ½” from the GPU. Because of this I can’t get at the PCIe connector release lever
• I have to remove the air cooler to remove the GPU. That is necessary to get access to the PCIe GPU release lever.
• Another thing I had problems with was getting the GPU into the PCIe connector.
• I discovered that I needed to bend the metal plate at the back of GPU a bit so that it was a lot easier to clear the edge of the motherboard.

Another thing I did that cause confusion for me was lack of any LEDs lit on the motherboard. Normally there are some LEDs lit on the motherboard when the computer is turned off but still plugged in. I forgot that I had previously run ASUS Armoury Crate and set it to turn off all LEDs when the computer is powered down.

Today I removed the CPU air cooler and the GPU. I was then able to see that the ASUS Q-Connector was disconnected. All the front panel wires are plugged into the Q-Connector. The Q-Connector then plugs into motherboard front panel header. I forget I was using one of these.

I plugged in the Q-Connector. When I pressed the power button at the front of the case, the motherboard LEDs lit up and the computer booted.

Note that I know which pins on the front panel header to jumper to start the computer just like the power button does. However, with the GPU installed it was hard to get access to the front panel header.

BTW, while the GPU was removed, I was able to plug in the SATA data cable for the Blu-Ray Burner. This time I didn’t forget it.

Something I had to fix after starting my computer again...
I have two external hard drives connected. Previously I was seeing this.
E: WD Easyshare (20TB) shared on network as \\DarkMatter\Easyshare
F: WD Elements (12TB) shared on network as \\DarkMatter\Elements

After the computer started seeing the Blu-Ray Burner it automatically changed the drive letters.
E: Blu-Ray Burner
F: WD Elements (12TB) shared on network as \\DarkMatter\Elements
G: WD Easyshare (20TB)

I went into disk Management and fixed that
E: WD Easyshare (20TB)
F: WD Elements (12TB) shared on network as \\DarkMatter\Elements
M: Blu-Ray Burner

I had to go back into properties>sharing for E: and add it again
E: WD Easyshare (20TB) shared on network as \\DarkMatter\Easyshare
F: WD Elements (12TB) shared on network as \\DarkMatter\Elements
M: Blu-Ray Burner

This was absolutely necessary because this desktop and two laptops are backed up to the WD Easyshare. The backup program backs up the desktop to E: while the laptops use WiFi to backup up to \\DarkMatter\Easyshare

Sorry to hear your health issue.
Take care of yourself.

Since now used computer is really inexpensive. you can save your labor and time, just buy from 2nd-hand market.
Look around your local market, during layoff people, office equipment flushing into local market, my local market, HP 800 G5 DM (desk mini) i7-9700. $60 - $70. these used HP computers run Windows 7 well.

A suggestion: re-enable the LEDs on the motherboard. They aren't just for decoration. (I assume that your case has a side window, so you can see them.)

@MisterEd

Armoury Crate is a well hated utility from ASUS.
Most folks don't install it at all.
Others, don't install it and burn it at the stake for good measure.

siliconbeaver said:

Sorry to hear your health issue.
Take care of yourself.

Since now used computer is really inexpensive. you can save your labor and time, just buy from 2nd-hand market.
Look around your local market, during layoff people, office equipment flushing into local market, my local market, HP 800 G5 DM (desk mini) i7-9700. $60 - $70. these used HP computers run Windows 7 well.

View attachment 137474

Click to expand...

Mini PCs can be used to replace desktop computers. However, they are not as powerful because they are using laptop CPUs and APUs. Some APUs have good enough graphics for some games but can't replace a dedicated GPU.

Right now I have too many computers to consider replacing them. I had 5 desktops and 3 laptops but am now down to 2 laptops and 3 desktops. I play games on some of them. They all have dedicated GPUs which helps in playing games.

I mainly use my best desktop and laptop for playing games. They are both running Windows 11 Pro and have dedicated graphics. I haven't seen a MiniPC that could replace them.

spapakons said:

Let's hope you didn't accidentally short-circuit the motherboard and fried it...

Click to expand...

What SATA port was the Blu-Ray drive plugged into before?

Reseat all power plugs to the motherboard. Messing around with the cables, you might have unplugged something. If you had the PSU plugged in while moving cables you may have shorted the motherboard.

If that fails Clear the CMOS of the motherboard.

GPU can be an issue.
but CPU is NOT an issue. DM uses standard CPU (i7-9700 or similar). my office PCs are DM ones. NOT laptop/mobile CPU.

MisterEd said:

Mini PCs can be used to replace desktop computers. However, they are not as powerful because they are using laptop CPUs and APUs. Some APUs have good enough graphics for some games but can't replace a dedicated GPU.

Right now I have too many computers to consider replacing them. I had 5 desktops and 3 laptops but am now down to 2 laptops and 3 desktops. I play games on some of them. They all have dedicated GPUs which helps in playing games.

I mainly use my best desktop and laptop for playing games. They are both running Windows 11 Pro and have dedicated graphics. I haven't seen a MiniPC that could replace them.

Click to expand...

bobkn said:

A suggestion: re-enable the LEDs on the motherboard. They aren't just for decoration. (I assume that your case has a side window, so you can see them.)

Click to expand...

Good idea. Its enabled again.

Location of ROG Logo on motherboard


The ROG logo is still lit when the computer is turned off.

Ghot said:

@MisterEd

Armoury Crate is a well hated utility from ASUS.
Most folks don't install it at all.
Others, don't install it and burn it at the stake for good measure.

Click to expand...

I use it on my main desktop and laptop.

Sure it is bloated but it has its uses. I use for:

• Adjusting power modes
• Adjusting fan curves
• RGB lighting control