Dead G20CB - looking for troubleshooting resources

[Optimisto]

Greetings all. I am new to the ROG group, just now able to post in the forum.

I purchased a G20CB-B21 last week, and promptly killed it. I opened the machine and installed an M.2 SSD. This is not a new task for me, I have performed drive and memory upgrades, laptop repairs and desktop builds continually for the last 15 years.

However, when I put the machine back together, it would not boot. The power LED comes on, the case accent lights come on (all three zones). The CPU and GPU fans are powered, the hard drive and optical drive receive power. However, the machine does not appear to POST. No video signal is detected on either the 1070 or the onboard HDMI. The mouse and keyboard are not receiving power from the USB ports. The same symptoms exist when I put the original drive back in.

I felt that I was being careful in removing that hard drive bracket next to the CPU cooler. I've checked all of the cables, even though I didn't disconnect anything other than the CU fans and the GPU power. I didn't change any jumpers (is there are jumper that disables the onboard HDMI?).

I have tried clearing the residual power. I've even relocated the power supplies to another outlet, just for giggles.

I have opened an case with ASUS, but I am hoping that this group may have some insight in what I should check? Does anyone have a detailed schamitc of the motherboard.

Thank you for reading, and I hope that it's a case of me missing something simple and fixable.

[Optimisto]

The more I look at it, the more I think that the motherboard has given up the ghost. Without any technical documents, there's not much I can check.

Perhaps ASUS will get back to me with the location of a repair facility. Maybe I can find a motherboard.

Sucks to be me.

[cl-Albert]

Welcome to the forums and sorry that it couldn't be under better circumstances.

Anyway, ASUS doesn't expect (or allow?) customers to repair their own units, so technical documentation or even parts like a motherboard for the G20 will probably not be available from the ASUS end, but you may want to look into it more just in case I'm wrong.

If you want to send in the unit though, you can contact ASUS support through the page below to request the RMA number which can probably be arranged through email or chat as well through a different page.

http://www.asus.com/support/CallUs

Although I haven't taken apart a G20 system myself, if you didn't do anything too crazy (or zap anything with static?), expect the motherboard should still be okay and wonder if you do want to try re-seating cables, memory, video card connections, etc. if you haven't already. Others might have more ideas if you want to wait longer for a reply.

Not sure how much this can help, but try to slowly tilt the system to and fro just to make sure isn't anything loose inside.
Haven't really looked much into this myself, but if you search the forums, G20AJ customers report there are jumpers that need to be set when using an extra AC adapter, so wonder if possibly those were moved or changed at all during the process, otherwise, would probably avoid touching them and check other things instead if they look okay.

Anyway, hope this helps and you can get that system up and running again soon.

[Optimisto]

cl-Albert wrote:
Welcome to the forums and sorry that it couldn't be under better circumstances.

Anyway, ASUS doesn't expect (or allow?) customers to repair their own units, so technical documentation or even parts like a motherboard for the G20 will probably not be available from the ASUS end, but you may want to look into it more just in case I'm wrong.

If you want to send in the unit though, you can contact ASUS support through the page below to request the RMA number which can probably be arranged through email or chat as well through a different page.

http://www.asus.com/support/CallUs

Although I haven't taken apart a G20 system myself, if you didn't do anything too crazy (or zap anything with static?), expect the motherboard should still be okay and wonder if you do want to try re-seating cables, memory, video card connections, etc. if you haven't already. Others might have more ideas if you want to wait longer for a reply.

Not sure how much this can help, but try to slowly tilt the system to and fro just to make sure isn't anything loose inside.
Haven't really looked much into this myself, but if you search the forums, G20AJ customers report there are jumpers that need to be set when using an extra AC adapter, so wonder if possibly those were moved or changed at all during the process, otherwise, would probably avoid touching them and check other things instead if they look okay.

Anyway, hope this helps and you can get that system up and running again soon.

Thank you for the response. I'm truly at a loss. My tech support ego has taken a critical hit. 😕 It doesn't make sense to me or the other techs that I am floating this past.

Electrostatic shock could have occurred, even though I am careful with grounding and touching only what I'm working on. All screws are accounted for (I keep them organized in order of removal). It's possible that the HDD bracket knocked something loose while removing it to get access to the m.2 slot beneath it. This system board is fairly well laid out as far as connectors and jumpers. Since I didn't unplug anything other than SATA data and power, Video card power and the wifi card and m.2 SATA, I ran out of things to check and look at. The third time through inspecting, I removed the CPU cooler and checked the seating of the RAM and CPU. My nest step is to remove the board and check the underside of the case.

I did open a support case. I did get one response from support, recommending to disconnect the HDD and reconnect the original. I am trusting that their email reply system works, and they are not waiting for a response from me that is not being delivered.

I am slowly discovering the differences in architecture between G20CB and the G20AJ. The G20CB-B21 that I have does not have the additional jumper that controls the power delivery to the pcie slot for the video card. It does have the bank of 5 jumper pins. I didn't touch these because there was no need to.

Anyhoo. It's possible that I just bought a very expensive GTX 1070 card with elaborate and stylish packaging.

Cheers, and have a happy holiday.

[The_Conscript]

Hey, good news: You are not alone. I have the EXACT same symptoms. Everything else is thebad news.

Just like any other day, power on the rig (G20AJ), do my thing. Before I go to sleep I turn the computer off. The next morning is hell. I press the power button, all the LED lighting is fine, the CPU and GPU fan run, but it's continuous to no end. There is no video signal from the onboard HDMI port. No POST, thus I cannot access windows nor BIOS.

My intuition tells me the motherboard is where the fault lies also. This theory comes independently from yours. I made an earlier thread days before you, titled 'what type of motherboard is in the G20AJ'. I ask what other motherboards may fit into the G20AJ', if any. At the request of another user, I mention my reason for taking apart my rig completely (I included an image of the motherboard I had taken out), my motherboard seemed to be faulting.

My prognosis/thinking is this: The CPU and GPU fans both run. And the lighting turns on. Power should not be an issue, as power is supplied (although I acknowledge I don't know if it's enough). The GPU does not need to be considered as the fault, because it is not required for a computer to attempt a POST. My RAM sticks are relatively new and are credible(16gb 2 year warranty hyperx fury). OEM SSHD, no reason to fail on me, no whiring, clacking nor abnormal behaviour, nor any unusual stress has been placed on the SSHD. The CMOS battery is not needed for POST. CPU, I've never had one fault on me ever, I would like to think it's fine, heck I'd say the CPU is one of the most durable parts. I've tried alot, resetting CMOS, draining CMOS overnight, etc etc. All this leads me to conclude that the motherboard is bad. We all know the motherboard is a sensitive sob!!! And it is cold winter where I am.

Good news if you wait: I've ordered a new motherboard from eBay, along with a new SSHD just incase (1TB was always limiting anyway). Perhaps I can resolve my issie by replacing what I presume is a faulty component and verify my conclusion. And I will share my results if I remember/there is interest. I may also record a video of how to rip the thing apart and reassemble.

[Optimisto]

The Conscript wrote:
Hey, good news: You are not alone. I have the EXACT same symptoms. Everything else is thebad news.

Just like any other day, power on the rig (G20AJ), do my thing. Before I go to sleep I turn the computer off. The next morning is hell. I press the power button, all the LED lighting is fine, the CPU and GPU fan run, but it's continuous to no end. There is no video signal from the onboard HDMI port. No POST, thus I cannot access windows nor BIOS.

My intuition tells me the motherboard is where the fault lies also. This theory comes independently from yours. I made an earlier thread days before you, titled 'what type of motherboard is in the G20AJ'. I ask what other motherboards may fit into the G20AJ', if any. At the request of another user, I mention my reason for taking apart my rig completely (I included an image of the motherboard I had taken out), my motherboard seemed to be faulting.

My prognosis/thinking is this: The CPU and GPU fans both run. And the lighting turns on. Power should not be an issue, as power is supplied (although I acknowledge I don't know if it's enough). The GPU does not need to be considered as the fault, because it is not required for a computer to attempt a POST. My RAM sticks are relatively new and are credible(16gb 2 year warranty hyperx fury). OEM SSHD, no reason to fail on me, no whiring, clacking nor abnormal behaviour, nor any unusual stress has been placed on the SSHD. The CMOS battery is not needed for POST. CPU, I've never had one fault on me ever, I would like to think it's fine, heck I'd say the CPU is one of the most durable parts. I've tried alot, resetting CMOS, draining CMOS overnight, etc etc. All this leads me to conclude that the motherboard is bad. We all know the motherboard is a sensitive sob!!! And it is cold winter where I am.

Good news if you wait: I've ordered a new motherboard from eBay, along with a new SSHD just incase (1TB was always limiting anyway). Perhaps I can resolve my issie by replacing what I presume is a faulty component and verify my conclusion. And I will share my results if I remember/there is interest. I may also record a video of how to rip the thing apart and reassemble.

Thanks for the feedback. I was issued an RMA, but I doubt it will work in my favor. I am at a total loss as to what the problem could be. Unless there is an odd quirk in the system (like in some Lenovo systems where the CMOS needs to be cleared for the CPU fan to run properly). Who knows?

I am interested in what you find out.