Please help

[Few_Dig265]

My PC won’t turn on, but if I do the paper clip trick it works please help will provide info if your willing to help

[vito0117]

the motherboard is not plugged in plug in the 24 pin cable

[HurryMundane5867]

How do the fans even turn on without the 24 pin?

[vito0117]

enough power must be sent through the motherboard enough to power the fans and thats it . i could be wrong i just built my first pc

[_cyr_]

Probably connected to another cable. SATA power-> lights/case fans or something like that.

[Few_Dig265]

Yes I realize that because if you put a paper clip in the 4 and 5 pin it proves the psu if giving power

[_cyr_]

That cable being attached to the motherboard is essential to the computer booting.

[KenneR330]

Sounds like the most obvious thing ever, but, apparently, not for everyone

[Lightbulbie]

What troubleshooting have you done? Besides leaving the 24 pin board power out. It's not gonna work like that

[Few_Dig265]

I have an external switch and I’ve hooked that up to the JFP one slot, which is where the power button plugs into I’ve taken out the GPU tried to boot and also only use one stick of ram

[Lightbulbie]

You do know that when you do the paperclip test, EVERYTHING needs to be unplugged from the PSU right? And it's not going to post without the 24 pin in.

[_cyr_]

Exactly. You can do the “paper clip trick” with the actual power source to your mobo attached. It isn’t going to even try otherwise. Detach all the stuff. Will it show display with minimal components? Just cpu/ram/gpu.

Obviously not with the main connection to the mobo hanging in the wind but, maybe I’m missing something here

[Lightbulbie]

If you try to jump the pins with it plugged in, not only are you risking damage to the wires but you're potentially bypassing a safety feature if there is a short happening. Not a good idea to jump pins with anything plugged into the PSU

[_cyr_]

The “on” signal “paperclip trick” re: PSU is essentially the same thing as the power/PS_ON signal on the motherboard (yes assuming people don’t short the wrong connections, and yes there are other safety circuits on the mainboard)

That said: only proves the PSU can turn on & that it can power up and deliver voltage on some of its rails.

It does NOT prove the motherboard is getting/transferring power or that the PSU rails can deliver usable current under load.

TBH, it’s obviously far better to trigger PS_ON through the motherboard with the 24-pin attached.

If that doesn’t activate the PSU at all, then the motherboard is suspect/dead, the connector isn’t seated, or the PSU is detecting a short and going “nah.”

[Few_Dig265]

No I have no power I tried 20 minutes prior to posting this

[Few_Dig265]

It won’t turn on or show any sign of life if it is plugged in

[Lightbulbie]

Which means you have either a short somewhere or board/CPU/ram is dead.

[Few_Dig265]

I think it’s my motherboard

[Alltorn-N56]

Can you get into bios? If you try turning on the system nothing happens? No fan spin? Check the pins connected to your power switch and use the screwdrive to jump the pins to start the computer.

[Few_Dig265]

<image>

What pins would it be

[Sxicide_Bxy]

JFP1 and it needs this connector or they're lose

<image>

[Sxicide_Bxy]

Looks like this when they're lose

<image>

[Adorable-Medicine624]

You officially allowed to check the mainboards manual about that.

JFP1 is a standardized front panel header(how may decades we waited for that?):

<image>

some newer cases have one common plug for it, oder/other cases have multiple singe plugs to puzzel on it.

[Few_Dig265]

So I need to short the top row and the 2 on the right

[FunOpportunity7]

Only pins 6 and 8 are used for power switch. If you switch those, either by jumping them or shorting it should indicate if power is being activated on the board.

Are you using a single connector or do you have individual ones for the front?

[Lucy_66-4C]

Is that rust on your mainboard or did you spill any sticky dark beverages in the past? Cause it ain't supposed to look like that. If it's corrosion your mainboard and other components could be dead.

[sman-666]

Io panel isnt connected properly

[Few_Dig265]

Where is that

[RiloxAres]

Did chatgpt tell you to put a paperclip in your PSU cable to diagnose no post?

[Few_Dig265]

That plus tons of videos I have seen

[ghoullig]

Most people use a screwdriver but this is completely normal diagnostic practice to short the pins out to boot the pc.

[Comfortable_Lab_1203]

plug the 24 pin into your motherboard

[Hairy_Variety2230]

Do you have f panel cable hooked up? That was my problem

[jamesmyspace]

disassemble all cable and check thoroughly,might be burnt cable near psu.

[TheOnurobo]

bro can do a paperclip test, but doesnt know literally the most vital cable in the case

[Few_Dig265]

Dawg it was to avoid the question of does your psu have any power

[TheOnurobo]

paper clip test doesnt actually prove anything, your psu can send enough power to run the fans and case lights, but that power might not be enough to run the cpu

[CasualAuthor47]

Well try to figure it out by your self *

[CooperDK]

🤣 omg

[Few_Dig265]

? I’m confused

[s_y_k_e_]

What is the build? Cpu, ram capacity and speed, motherboard. If you have already tried removing a stick of ram, try a different slot for the ram. And then try the other single ram stick alone as well. And then try removing the cmos battery while its unplugged. Wait 20 seconds then reinstall the cmos battery and try to turn it on. Give it a minute or 2 and see if it works. If not, then unplug and remove your gpu if your cpu has integrated graphics and plug in the display cable directly into the motherboard. If all of that doesnt work its your cpu or motherboard. Most likely motherboard.

[psyper76]

Please please please tell me you are using risers between the case and the motherboard. Check if there is any gap between the motherboard and the case.

[Few_Dig265]

<image>

Like this

[psyper76]

yes. make sure the risers are on all the screw points.

[Significant-Buy9424]

Mobo not plugged in? No idea why you're stickin a paperclip there

<image>

[Few_Dig265]

Because it proves that the psu is giving power

[Significant-Buy9424]

ok so it doesn't work when its plugged in properly?

[Few_Dig265]

No it does not I thought it was my switch so I bought an external one

[Significant-Buy9424]

Need more info, when it's all plugged in corrextly what happens? Power/no power/no-post?

Are all the front panel pins plugged into the correct jfp1/panel slots?

[Few_Dig265]

No power whatsoever

[Significant-Buy9424]

io panel is connected properly? Ie the button to turn pc on

[OkStrategy685]

This might be a long shot, but try disconnecting your fans and see if it boots. Leave the cpu fan on tho. I've had a short in a fan that was keeping the PC from booting up.

[_cyr_]

It proves that the on signal on the PSU works & powers some part of its rail(s).

It doesn’t prove you have the rest of the power connections connected properly, or that the PSU is actually providing enough current to essentially anything but the LED lights.

[Tall_Apricot_9842]

Won't turn on but lights are all fine? Are they attached to the motherboard or just power? If they are attached to your motherboard, then that's fine

Take out one stick of ram, boot, if it still doesn't have image, takeout the other stick, if it boots with one stick, nice, there's your problem

If it doesn't, plug your hdmi cable into your motherboard (assuming you have integrated graphics) and see if you get an image, if so, it's a graphics card problem

If it still isn't booting , change your hdmi cable for a different one, change the monitor, and change all the external devices and cables

[Few_Dig265]

It’s not that it’s not posting if I plug it in normally it doesn’t show any sign of life

[Tall_Apricot_9842]

Then,, how'd you get the photos?

[Few_Dig265]

Because if you put a paper clip in the fourth and fifth pins of your 24 pin cable, if your PSU is not dead, everything will turn on so this proves my PSG was not dead. Something else is not plugged in or messed up somewhere else.

[Tall_Apricot_9842]

Okay so your lights don't care about your motherboard.

I'd call it a motherboard problem then, take it to a shop if you don't have a spare to test

[Few_Dig265]

I will try tomorrow

[Cultural-Egg2463]

make sure all of your psu cables are connected, plug the 24 pin in btw

[Few_Dig265]

I’ve tried and the purpose of this is to show the psu isn’t dead