dead psu or dead mobo?

[Sajomir]

Just hooked up a newly assembled pc and was powering it on to get the formatting and installation of windows started. However, when I hit the power button on the case, all I get is one blink of the LED on the back of the psu. No fans start, no boot, just one blink. It does not matter if the switch on the psu is turned on or off, I still get one blink.

This is a new problem for me, I'm not sure whether it means there's a short somewhere, or if the component is dead, or if it's even a dead cpu.
Obviously the signal is getting from the case button to the mobo to the psu, but nothing else is happening.

 

[gaspah]

you really need to get another psu or mobo to test that to be certain. have any friends that trust you enough to rip open their pcs? or any psus laying about.

sounds like a psu problem but it also sounds like a mobo problem

 

[maddude]

Now you have to ask yourself, did I put all the MB standoff's in the case correctly? The MB might be shorting out. I'd also double check the power switch connection, and unplug all unnecessary components. Just have the cpu, video card, and ram plugged in and give it a try, see if you can at least get into the bios. And for further trouble shooting, unhook the psu from your computer and see if you can jump it, on the main atx connector use a paper clip and connect the green wire to black wire.

And something I should have asked first, what components are you using? PSU and everything in between.

 

[Farva]

Sounds more like the power supply. Why? I have had 3 motherboards die on me, fans power on, but system does not boot up. That is why I think it is the power supply, but you can only be certain by swapping out the parts to make sure.

 

[vtx_]

Sounds more like the power supply. Why? I have had 3 motherboards die on me, fans power on, but system does not boot up. That is why I think it is the power supply, but you can only be certain by swapping out the parts to make sure.

Same happened to me when my motherboard died. Test it with another PSU.

 

[Sajomir]

I do have an older psu that I just replaced a few weeks ago. However, in my struggles to get all the contacts out, I was dumb and pulled on the wires of a 4-pin connection instead of the plastic - yanked the wires right out of the connector.

Right now the wires are exposed beyond the sheathing. Other than that the psu is fully operational. If I trim those wires (like cut it to an earlier spot so the sheathing covers the wiring) and then cover the ends of the wires with something like electrical or duct tape, would the psu be safe to use?
It's really the only spare I have around without disassembling another pc.

edit:
Oh, sorry - forgot all about the specs

GIGABYTE GA-M57SLI-S4
Patriot Extreme Performance 1x1GB 800MHz
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 2x1GB 800 MHz
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB
MSI PC60G IEEE 802.11b/g 32bit PCI2.2 Turbo G Wireless Adapter
AMD Athlon X2 5200+
Cooler Master 750-watt power supply

 

[Sajomir]

Sorry for the double-post, but we just got done trying the system with another psu. We used a confirmed working psu from another system, and we still only get one blink on its LED, no powering up, no fans, no lights, no nothing. I'll check for a short or something when we disassemble this machine, but if there is none, is it safe to assume the mobo is DOA?

 

[Cardboard Hammer]

CMOS jumper on the wrong pins? IIRC, I've had that happen to me.

 

[Sajomir]

Good thought, but nope, the jumper is correctly set.

RMA request sent to the vendor, just waiting for instructions now. If it's dead, they'll gimmie another one, if it's not somehow, I should at least get it back and can take another look at it.

Thanks for all the help.