PC not booting after cleaning. (No Power?)

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PCDiagnosis

PCDiagnosis

PCHF Member
Nov 8, 2023
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I wanted to clean my PC and apply some new thermal paste. I used isopropyl alcohol and canned air spray. I disconnected two fans, unscrewed the cooler and applied the new paste. I also disconnected the graphics card, opened it up and applied new thermal paste because I’ve had the 1080 since 2015, no problems there. After connecting everything back up and closing the case I plugged in the PSU cable and tried to turn it on with the power switch, nothing. At first I thought that maybe I connected some cables wrong but the only things I touched was fan cables. Since then I’ve tried a lot of different things to get it to boot with no luck. After all my attempts to try to fix it and the paperclip test I believe the motherboard might have just died. I just don’t understand how, all I did was clean the dust off, and I took the right precautions of disconnecting the power supply and keeping myself grounded



Specs:

I7-6700K

MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X

32GB DDR4

MSI Z170A PC MATE LGA 1151 Z170

800W Gold PSU



Problems:

No power to Motherboard (No LEDS on)

Pc won’t boot



Things I’ve tried:



  • Cleared CMOS
  • Disconnected and Reconnected most cables including cpu power plug, power switch and the 24 Pin connector
  • PSU Paperclip test (Outputs power, Fans spin, Keyboard lights up)
  • Tried shorting PWR SW (Nothing)
  • Removed all but 1 RAM stick
  • Removed GPU


What’s Next?



So if the motherboard is fried, what would be my next best step, I was thinking to buy another motherboard and replace it as hopefully the parts themselves are good. Is there anything I have to check for (besides if it will fit) while looking for another motherboard, or is there one you recommend. This PC was a IBuyPower prebuilt from 2015 and I’ve never done something like that, so it’s scary but it seems like the best option for me currently. Thank you all for your help.

Images
 
PCDiagnosis said:
PSU Paperclip test (Outputs power, Fans spin, Keyboard lights up)
Click to expand...

As you were also told on the other forums.

Wish that they would STOP suggesting that useless test.

Bad PSUs can pass the paperclip test. The true test that eliminates a PSU from the equation is a replacement or trying that same PSU in another known working machine. Only these 2 can truly rule out a PSU.

Paperclip tests are flawed since you're advised to induce a load on one end of the PSU to get it to start, that test does not tell you how many watts the PSU can effectively output if connected to a full build.

Recheck all power and data connections.


PCDiagnosis said:
all I did was clean the dust off,
Click to expand...

How?


Remove the entire system out of the case and put on a thick piece of cardboard and see it shows life.

Run the system bare bones.
 
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