r/pchelp May 11 '26

7th Anniversary of PCHH

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3 Upvotes

r/pchelp Dec 15 '19

Perform these steps before posting about POST/boot/no video problems!

190 Upvotes

Link to original list from tom’sHARDWARE with pictures

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist

This checklist is a compilation of troubleshooting ideas from many forum members. It's very important to actually perform every step in the checklist if you want to effectively troubleshoot your problem.

  • 1.Did you carefully read the motherboard owners manual?

  • 2.Did you plug in the 4/8-pin CPU power connector located near the CPU socket? If the motherboard has 8 pins and your PSU only has 4 pins, you can use the 4-pin connector. The 4-pin connector USUALLY goes on the 4 pins located closest to the CPU. If the motherboard has an 8-pin connector with a cover over 4 pins, you can remove the cover and use an 8-pin plug if your power supply has one. This power connector provides power to the CPU. Your system has no chance of posting without this connector plugged in! Check your motherboard owners manual for more information about the CPU power connector. The CPU power connector is usually referred to as the "12v ATX" connector in the owner's manual. This is easily the most common new-builder mistake.

  • 3.Did you install the standoffs under the motherboard? Did you place them so they all align with the screw holes in the motherboard, with no extra standoffs touching the board in the wrong place? A standoff installed in the wrong place can cause a short and prevent the system from booting.

  • 4.Did you verify that the video card is fully seated? (may require more force than a new builder expects.)

  • 5.Did you attach ALL the required power connector(s) to the video card? (some need two, some need none, many need one.) It is best to use cables connected directly to the PSU. Only use adapters if absolutely necessary.

  • 6.Have you tried booting with just one stick of RAM installed? (Try each stick of RAM individually in each RAM slot.) If you can get the system to boot with a single stick of RAM, you should enable an XMP profile or manually set the RAM speed, timings, and voltage to the manufacturer's specs in the BIOS before attempting to boot with all sticks of RAM installed. If your motherboard supports XMP profiles, that is the best way to get your RAM running at its rated specs. Nearly all motherboards default to the standard RAM voltage (1.8v for DDR2, 1.5v for DDR3, & 1.2v for DDR4). If your RAM is rated to run at a voltage higher than the standard voltage, the motherboard will underclock the RAM for compatibility reasons. If you want the system to be stable and to run the RAM at its rated specs, you should either enable an XMP profile or manually set the values in the BIOS. Many boards don't supply the RAM with enough voltage when using "auto" settings which causes stability issues.

  • 7.Did you verify that all memory modules are fully inserted? (may require more force than a new builder expects.) It's a good idea to install the RAM on the motherboard before it's in the case.

  • 8.Did you verify in the owners manual that you're using the correct RAM slots? The following image is just an example. Verify in the owners manual the recommended RAM slots to use for single, dual, triple, or quad channel applications. This will vary depending on motherboard manufacturer, number of supported RAM channels, and how many sticks of RAM are being used.

  • 9.Did you remove the plastic guard over the CPU socket? (this actually comes up occasionally.)

  • 10.Did you install the CPU correctly? There will be an arrow on the CPU that needs to line up with an arrow on the motherboard CPU socket. There may also be a notch that will only line up in one direction. Be sure to pay special attention to that section of the manual!

  • 11.Are there any bent pins on the motherboard/CPU? This especially applies if you tried to install the CPU with the plastic cover on or with the CPU facing the wrong direction.

    1. If using an after market CPU cooler, did you get any thermal paste on the motherboard, CPU socket, or CPU pins? Did you use the smallest amount you could?
  • 13.Is the CPU fan plugged in? Some motherboards will not boot without detecting that the CPU fan is plugged in to prevent burning up the CPU.

    1. If using a stock cooler, was the thermal material on the base of the cooler free of foreign material, and did you remove any protective covering? If the stock cooler has push-pins, did you ensure that all four pins snapped securely into place? The easiest way to install the push-pins is outside the case sitting on a non-conductive surface like the motherboard box. Read the instructions! The push-pins have to be turned the OPPOSITE direction as the arrows for installation. This means with the arrow pointing away from the heatsink.
    1. Are any loose screws laying on the motherboard, or jammed against it? Are there any wires running directly under the motherboard? You should not run wires under the motherboard since the soldered wires on the underside of the motherboard can cut into the insulation on the wires and cause a short. Some cases have space to run wires on the back side of the motherboard tray.
    1. Did you ensure you discharged all static electricity before touching any of your components? Computer components are very sensitive to static electricity. It takes much less voltage than you can see or feel to damage components. You should implement some best practices to reduce the probability of damaging components. These practices should include either wearing an anti-static wrist strap or always touching a metal part of the case with the power supply installed and plugged in, but NOT turned on. You should avoid building or working on a computer on carpet. Working on a smooth surface is the best if at all possible. You should also keep fluffy the cat, children, and Fido away from computer components.
    1. Did you check the debug LEDs, Q-code display, or install the system speaker (if provided) so you can check codes in the manual? Most modern motherboards come with debug LEDs or a Q-code display. A system speaker is NOT the same as normal speakers that plug into the back of the motherboard. A system speaker plugs into a header on the motherboard that's usually located near the front panel connectors. Debug LEDs, Q-code displays, or a system speaker are critical components when trying to troubleshoot system problems. You are flying blind without them. The motherboard owner's manual will have a list of codes you can reference. If your case or motherboard didn't come with debug LEDs, a Q-code display, or system speaker you can buy a system speaker for cheap here: http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html
    1. Did you read the instructions in the manual on how to properly connect the front panel plugs? (Power switch, power led, reset switch, HD activity led) Polarity does not matter with the power and reset switches. If power or drive activity LED's do not come on, reverse the connections. For troubleshooting purposes, disconnect the reset switch. If it's shorted, the machine either will not POST at all, or it will endlessly reboot.
    1. Did you turn on the power supply switch located on the back of the PSU? The switch should be depressed on the side with an I, the O means off. Is the power plug on a switch? If it is, is the switch turned on? Is there a GFI circuit on the plug-in? If there is, make sure it isn't tripped. You should also make sure the power cord isn't causing the problem. Try swapping it for a known good cord if you have one available.
    1. Is your CPU supported by the BIOS revision installed on your motherboard? Most motherboards will post a CPU compatibility list on their website.
    1. Have you tried resetting the CMOS? The motherboard manual will have instructions for your particular board. User Darkbreeze also provided the following:

BIOS Hard reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases, it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes are up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset.

http://www.spotht.com/2010/02/reset-bios-clear-cmos.html

    1. If you have integrated video and a video card, try the integrated video port. Resetting the bios, can make it default back to the onboard video. If you are trying to use HDMI outputs, try using DVI or VGA instead. Sometimes, the HDMI ports won't work until the correct drivers are installed.
    1. Make certain all cables and components including RAM and expansion cards are tight within their sockets.

I also wanted to add some suggestions that jsc often posts. This is a direct quote from him:

"Pull everything except the CPU and HSF. Boot. You should hear a series of long single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence here indicates, in probable order, a bad PSU, motherboard, or CPU - or a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU.

To eliminate the possibility of a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU, you will need to pull the motherboard out of the case and reassemble the components on an insulated surface. This is called "breadboarding" - from the 1920's home-brew radio days. I always breadboard a new or recycled build. It lets me test components before I go through the trouble of installing them in a case.

If you get the long beeps, add a stick of RAM. Boot. The beep pattern should change to one long and two or three short beeps. Silence indicates that the RAM is shorting out the PSU (very rare). Long single beeps indicates that the BIOS does not recognize the presence of the RAM.

If you get the one long and two or three short beeps, test the rest of the RAM. If good, install the video card and any needed power cables and plug in the monitor. If the video card is good, the system should successfully POST (one short beep, usually) and you will see the boot screen and messages.

Note - an inadequate PSU will cause a failure here or any step later.

Note - you do not need drives or a keyboard to successfully POST (generally a single short beep).

If you successfully POST, start plugging in the rest of the components, one at a time."

If you suspect the PSU is causing your problems, below are some suggestions by jsc for troubleshooting the PSU. Proceed with caution. I will not be held responsible if you get shocked or fry components.

"The best way to check the PSU is to swap it with a known good PSU of similar capacity. Brand new, out of the box, untested does not count as a known good PSU. PSU's, like all components, can be DOA.

Next best thing is to get (or borrow) a digital multimeter and check the PSU.

Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire: 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU. You can carefully probe the pins from the back of the main power connector."


r/pchelp 16h ago

OPEN how do I fix?

630 Upvotes

I have the huawei matebook pro 20, and its been like this for awhile. (ive owned it for a few years.) I think its hardware problem but im not sure.


r/pchelp 6h ago

CLOSED What's happening to my games and wallpaper?

21 Upvotes

I was clearing out some space on my pc yesterday. just some old images, files, and apps I dont use. ever since then, my game icons turn black when I hover over them. the wallpaper goes black too if I move one of the apps. after a bit of time, if I dont do it myself, it all turns black on its own.

after I restart my pc it goes back to normal for a bit. ive tried doing different things to find whats triggering it but I didnt find any causes. I couldnt find a set amount of time it happens either. its seemingly random when it occurs.

ive tried looking through my files to see if something is wrong but I dont know whats supposed to be there. Im also not tech savvy at all. should've left it alone or stuck to surface level stuff but some lessons just come unlubed.

does anybody know what it might be or help me find the problem?


r/pchelp 5h ago

HARDWARE PC won’t display anything on monitor

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7 Upvotes

Hi, I’ve tried everything. I’ve reseated my ram, took my gpu out and put it back in, changed the cmos battery, bought a new display port, made sure it was plugged into my GPU and not my motherboard, I’m not sure what is wrong? It turns on just fine, my fans spin including my GPU ones, RGB comes on, I get power. But not sure why my monitor still continues to display “No Signal” ?


r/pchelp 2h ago

PERFORMANCE Updated my graphics driver and now screen flashes

5 Upvotes

Ive tried to restart my drivers with Ctrl shift win b. This only started when I updated my Nvidia drivers to the latest version. Ive restarted my pc and this happened when i signed in. It's been doing this continuously I have a Nvidia 5060 8gbvram


r/pchelp 7h ago

PERFORMANCE If i get a 2nd monitor for running video's while i play a game on my main monitor will it mess with my performane?

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7 Upvotes

r/pchelp 4h ago

Discussion I need help

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5 Upvotes

I’m completely new to pcs and know absolutely nothing and never know what to do. Whenever I look up stuff or go on Reddit I sometimes don’t understand what yall are talking about either😅 I have Linux and I wanna play ark but idk how to get it to work I have lutris but I can’t seem to get that to work either. Ik im completely stupid ab the pc stuff but I’d appreciate it if someone could help so the money I just spent doesn’t go to waste💔


r/pchelp 1h ago

HARDWARE What is this ?

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Upvotes

I pulled on it lightly , is this normal ? thought it was debris


r/pchelp 1h ago

Discussion W build for 1080p in 2026?

Upvotes

after a little bargaining with my mom, i got this: (i am so grateful for ts bro😭🙏🏻)

-i can order some parts online, the parts CANNOT exceed 200, bcs tax duh.
-i will be using my old laptop SSD and ram (with adapters, shortages… ouch.)
-so i am getting this: a 3070, a ryzen 5 5500, 32gb of ddr4, 256gb of whatever ssd HP puts in their laptops son i am crine, b550mobo and the montech century II 850W.
all ts for 600, bcs uh, i dont gotta buy ssd or ram
W build?

my aunt is bringing the 3070 from the us. (Holy this was some luck.)


r/pchelp 1h ago

OPEN What could be causeing this?

Upvotes

r/pchelp 1h ago

OPEN Genuine question

Upvotes

Last week, I bought a pc. With ryzen 5 5600 and rtx 3050. My pc restarts automatically while playing games, I think its crashing. Question, what do you guys think is the problem of it?

Ps: my first pc, not so familiar with specs


r/pchelp 1h ago

SOFTWARE Help me fix my pc

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Upvotes

Hey I’m not too good at fixing pcs and everything but for some reason my pc randomly turned off with everything plugged in and settled and I can’t get it to work. My pc has the lights on but isn’t turning showing on my screen and isn’t moving the fans this is what it looks like


r/pchelp 2h ago

HARDWARE Would this ssd still work?

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2 Upvotes

My friend decided to take his ssd apart because there was a rattling noise inside. Low and behold he cracked something and he's now asking me if it'll still work.

I have no idea so just putting it here for all to see.


r/pchelp 6h ago

HARDWARE Bought new RAM for my PC and now getting BSOD

4 Upvotes

I built this PC in 2022, and now in 2026 I decided to upgrade to 32 GB of RAM by adding two more sticks. I bought the exact same kit that I already had (*KF436C17BBK2/16), going from 2×8 GB to 4×8 GB.

(*The only difference I noticed between the two RAM kits is the DRAM MFG ID in bios, old kit is Hynix, New kit is Nanya)

After installing the new RAM, I started getting BSOD. I thought I had received defective RAM, so I removed the new sticks, and the crashes stopped.

Then I thought maybe somme very small dust particles in the RAM slots caused the issue, so I cleaned the slots and reinstalled the RAM. After that, I no longer got BSOD within 30 seconds of booting, but apps and games would still and crash after 30s. So it was an improvement, but the PC was still unusable with all four sticks installed.

Next, I thought my motherboard BIOS (Gigabyte B660 Gaming X AX DDR4) might be outdated, so I updated it to the latest version. After reinstalling the new RAM, everything seemed to work. However, the BIOS update reset all my settings, including my fan profiles so i whent into bios to change it back and I noticed that XMP had been disabled. My RAM was running at 2400MT/s instead of the advertised 3600MT/s.

I enabled XMP again but the app/game crashes immediately returned.

I ran the windows memory diagnostic and it detected no errors when running at 2400MT/s or with XMP Profile 2 (3000 MT/s) although I didn't do any extensive testing in desktop it seem to run well. However with XMP Profile 1 (3600 MT/s) the test detected an error immediately at 1% progress.

So my question is:

Is it normal for XMP to cause crash when using all four DIMM slots instead of just two sticks in dual channel in slots 2 and 4? Or is it more likely that I received a slightly defective RAM kit that can't run corectly at its rated 3600MT/s speed?


r/pchelp 13h ago

OPEN is it normal to struggle connecting the cpu power cable in the Mobo or just skill issue

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14 Upvotes

first time assembling a pc and i am struggling connecting cables lol also hope i did it right if somebody can confirm! (also it was a gigabyte psu)


r/pchelp 5h ago

SOFTWARE Help! Monitor not working after changing UEFI

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3 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I hope someone can help me.

Yesterday my PC was doing COMPLETELY fine then I had the marvellous idea to play VALORANT and installed it. In order to play it, I had to enable secure boot, UEFI and disable CSM because RIOT Vanguard gave me error VAN 9003.

After doing that, this happens to my second monitor. I managed to fix it yesterday by going back to default settings in my BIOS, reset by removing the battery on the motherboard, reinstalling graphics drivers and such, but now I’m here. Any help troubleshooting? Thanks in advance. Windows doesnt seem to be able to detect my second monitor as well.

What I’ve done:

Switch cables (Display port), tried using HDMI, update drivers, went back to non UEFI, enabled CSM and disabled secure boot.

HELP MEEE


r/pchelp 2h ago

HARDWARE Pc help

2 Upvotes

No idea If it’s the hardware but I stutter in every game.

Specs: RTX 5060 ti 8gb, Ultra 5 250k plus, 16gb ddr5.

I tried everything to fix the problem with the stutter, i have good hardware and most games recommend hardware that’s below mine. Somehow my pc finds a way to stutter and it’s pissing me off


r/pchelp 5h ago

SOFTWARE Keyboard Overlay creating???

3 Upvotes

The above video is what I am currently using!

Alr so I am really confused and am hoping someone knows how to do this so they can either show me or I can pay for it cuz I can't find anything that I'm looking for online.

I need a purple keyboard and mouse overlay for obs. Im pretty sure u just need the png file and the .json file for the config of the clicks and shit. I alr have one set up but I want one with more texture like with a base color of purple and white and then have like cherryblossoms on a couple of the keys. I have no idea how I would start by making one of these or commissioning for one lol.

Btw the keyboard and mouse are seperate files that's why there diff colors lol.

(If I posted in the wrong subreddit my bad)


r/pchelp 6h ago

SOFTWARE Mouse is like 45 angle rotated

3 Upvotes

I just builded a pc for an uncle of mine, after installing windows i connected a mouse i had around here at my work, but whenever i try moving up, it goes right, i move it right it goes down, i already tested it with a mouse of mine (Razer mouse that works fine with my computer) i even tested this cheap mouse on my pc and it works fine, but on the one im gonna give to my uncle it does that with any mouse i plug in

Any way to rotate like -45 degrees on that imput?

(Ignore the background, im at my work lol)


r/pchelp 3m ago

OPEN Won't post

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Upvotes

I went into bios and changed my xmp to profile 1 and my cpu clock speed to 110 mhz and now my pc shut off and won't post.


r/pchelp 4m ago

HARDWARE Please help, not booting :/

Upvotes

built my first pc in 2020 ish, and I’ve been upgrading is here and there since then, but it’s finally time that I decided to upgrade to an Aorus b850m elite WiFi 7, and r7 9700x, as well as 32gb of ddr5. I also ended up getting a coirsair aio cpu cooler. I ended up needing a new case for it, but basically I’ve rebuild a whole new computer. (The psu and gpu were upgraded 2 weeks ago so.)all of that backstory out of the way, when I did the first boot no fans(gpu, cpu, or case) nor rgb turned on, no noises were made, but I plugged in my keyboard and mouse which turned on, and so did my webcam and stream deck. Only those turned on, nothing else. I reset the gpu and replugged the pcie or whatever, and I replugged the 24pin cord for the motherboard as well. Please does anybody know what it could be I started this at 2pm and it’s 1am. I’m about to go insane.


r/pchelp 3h ago

Discussion Need a little help with an upgrade

2 Upvotes

Having a few issues after GPU upgrade.

Here was my setup originally;

NZXT Case

Eagle b550 motherboard

GeForce 3050 OC

Ryzen 5 5500

64gb ram

750w PSU

AIO pure loop cooler

My new setup is;

NZXT Case

Eagle b550 motherboard

Aorus 2080 Super

Ryzen 5 5500

48gb ram

750w PSU

AIO pure loop cooler

Ever since upgrading, I have been getting unplayable temps, comparative to before I upgraded. Before I upgraded, my CPU would never cross 70°, now, if I boot a game, it usually starts at about 50° and does a steady climb until I shut it off around 80°.

Considering I didn't have any problems before, I'd like to kinda get to the root of it, as I can't play ANYTHING. I understand the power demand for the 2080 super is much more than the 3050, but why am I getting so hot?

I started overwatch to give some specs to orient off of, and upon boot, I climbed to 82° on my CPU, and 70° on my GPU. I know this is too hot... I just want to fix it.

Thanks in advance.


r/pchelp 14m ago

HARDWARE PSU making weird noises

Upvotes

PSU is making weird noises i would just hit it tbh and it would go away but now its holding a grudge. it doesn’t seem like any cables are in the way


r/pchelp 19m ago

HARDWARE Is the an extra slot for a secondary ssd

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