Not sure if this is the right place to post this but thought it might help some people, or at least be entertaining.
This is partly a cautionary tale and partly a story of how I nearly got outsmarted by a tiny switch. I’ve been tinkering with custom-built PCs for over 10 years now, so I’m not exactly a newbie. I’ve followed all the troubleshooting advice, tried every step, and usually nailed down the problem quickly. But this time, a little thing decided to teach me a big lesson.
A few days ago, my PC was purring along perfectly. No hiccups, no warning signs, just smooth sailing. Then one morning, I hit the power button, the fans start spinning, the lights flash on, and… nothing. Nada. No beeps, no display, just a PC with stage fright.
Cue several hours of troubleshooting. I strip it down to the essentials: PSU, CPU, RAM, and motherboard. Still no love. I try the RAM sticks one at a time in different slots, like some desperate game of PC bingo. No luck. I swap in a different PSU. Same old story. Now I’m getting that sinking feeling; it’s either the CPU or the motherboard, and I’ve got no spares to test with.
So I think, “Well, if I’m going to buy a new CPU or motherboard and risk guessing wrong, I might as well upgrade everything!” I go all-in and order a whole new setup: motherboard, CPU, cooler, and even DDR5 RAM since my new board demands it. Problem solved, right?
Fast forward to the next day, and the new gear arrives. I spend a couple of hours installing everything. Okay, maybe a bit longer because I forgot the cooler bracket and had to reinstall the motherboard a couple of times. But hey, that’s normal, right? Finally, it’s ready. I hit the power button, fans spin, lights come on, and… nothing. No beeps, no display. Again.
Now I’m thoroughly confused. Thankfully, this new motherboard has indicator lights to show boot progress. It shows the CPU is working, but it gets stuck on RAM and restarts. I go through all the RAM troubleshooting steps again. Still nothing. Then, in a fit of frustration, I don’t push a RAM stick in all the way. Suddenly, a beep code! I look it up: “No RAM installed.” I push the stick in properly, and the beep goes away.
So now I know the RAM isn’t the issue. Then, it hits me. I reach beneath the GPU, yank out the CPU reset switch header, and power it up again. Single beep. I have never sighed so hard in my life.
Nowhere in all the troubleshooting guides or videos I’ve seen did it mention unplugging case headers. No one said, “Hey, maybe your reset switch has decided to go rogue and mess with you.” But here I was, having just bought a bunch of shiny new hardware because of a pesky, broken reset button.
The moral of the story? If your PC fails to boot and gives you no beep codes, unplug the RAM. If you get a “no RAM installed” beep code, your CPU is fine. Then, check the case headers. You won’t find advice telling you to try a different case, but sometimes, the smallest culprits cause the biggest headaches.
TLDR: My PC wouldn’t post because of a faulty CPU reset switch on the case constantly restarting the CPU. This led me to think it was the motherboard or CPU and buy a bunch of new hardware unnecessarily.
Helped a friend order and build a custom PC. His biggest purchase at the time, all the money in the world (not loads but to a kid, a lot).
Wouldn’t boot. Nothing would work. Almost in tears.
Send almost everything back to supplier
Three days later
“Hi the power switch was broken so heres a new one”
Never felt so relieved
That’s rough, glad it turned out well!
I usually just plug in the power switch and leave the rest.
Probably wise, would’ve avoided this issue entirely.
That said I recently did a full upgrade because my PSU failed and I was kinda sure it was the motherboard. Waited a bit with the GPU and now I have a 4070 to play rocket league at the same fps as before.
I don’t even do that. I short the header pins with a screwdriver.
You can also power on a PSU directly, by taking a paperclip and shorting green to black. Only for ATX standard 20- or 24-pin connectors, though, not others.
I have never even heard of a switch failing like that, definitely a unique failure mode. Was it a well known case brand or a cheap no-name brand? I would have thought good switches would last 10s of thousands of cycles, but maybe you were very unlucky?
It’s a CoolerMaster case so not a small brand but the case is getting pretty old now. Definitely think I was unlucky either way. I probably won’t need to upgrade any hardware for a while now so a new case is next on the list!
Problem:
The next troubleshooting step implies need for a MB+CPU+RAM.
A Solution:
Buy a used rig as a cheap, not often used, but critical tool. Strip it of the case and PSU, put it in an ESD bag, in a box, on a shelf.
MB have proprietary plugs, or the old standard phased out IIRC early DDR3, or the new standard (old standard + more power pins and connectors). A modern gold PSU likely comes with the adapter to the old standard, serving MBs into DDR2. An adequate tool needs integrated graphics preferably on the CPU (not MB) for reliability; should POST past CPU and RAM; and preferably doesn’t need an adapter to the old standard.
One reactive experience like OP costs how much money and effort? Most could proactively set a budget of half and easily find a appropriate test rig. It’s cheap insurance.
That’s a great story! Thanks for sharing. Did you take any photos during your tear down?
I think with all this pain, you’ll never forget this lesson!
Unfortunately I didn’t but here’s a photo of the shiny new setup! (Don’t mind the terrible cable management) I’ll probably repurpose the old hardware into a PC for my girlfriend or something so at least she’ll have decent specs.
That’s really good cable management! Not blocking airflow at all.
Thanks! The case doesn’t have the best cable management channels but I did my best to route most of the cables. I appreciate the kind words!
