PC powering on for 1 second then turning off and repeating

I have just finally put my PC together for the first time and am having an issue I can't seem to find a solution for. I am trying to test operability without my gpu installed, while having every other component installed and connected, when I power on my psu, the lights and fans inside the PC and on the motherboard light up and spin for roughly half a second. I hear the psu click on and off but then it does it all over again and again.

The most notable light that turns on is the cpu led which is amber solid amber for that half second.

I have already done the psu jump test and verified that the psu is working properly

I have also tried to do intensive searching of exactly what a solid amber cpu light on this motherboard means but to no avail.

I would like to add that this is my first time building a PC, I am very familiar with the process (i think) and the basics but this issue illudes me.

This is my parts list:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Master
GPU: MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDRR6X (not installed yet)
CPU: Intel i9 13900k 13 Gen
CPU cooler: NZXT Kraken 120
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 GT, 80 Plus Gold 1000W
RAM: G.skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 6400 16gig (×4)
Storage: SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 M.2 2280 (×2)
Case: Mycherrytree Borg Cube Full ATX( has 2 other 120 mm off brand fans)

Are the RAM sticks firmly seated in the motherboard sockets?

Are you using the CPU's graphics then? You have to have some kind of graphics or it won't boot to BIOS.

"Boomstix" are... "UNREAL"








Make sure you have the CPU cooler set up properly.
Sometimes there's a clear plastic protector on the bottom of the CPU cooler. You need to remove that if present.
And the CPU thermal compound.
Another thing to check the the motherboard front panel connector(s).

1. Unhook everything except the power on connector, the RAM and the CPU and cooler.
2. Make sure you have the CPU voltage connector hooked up (top left).
3. Make sure the CPU cooler is connected properly (top right)
4. Make sure the RAM is in the slots with the BLUE dots.
5. Make sure the Clear CMOS jumper is removed. (bottom right)
6. Make sure you have only hooked up the case power switch (bottom right). Leave the other things unconnected for now.

I'm sorry folks, I completely forgot to plug in the CPU power cables from the PSU. I got ahead of myself when I put everything in the case and the empty plugs were hiding in the corner. I am a nincompoop.

I am trying to use the CPU/ motherboard integrated graphics graphics just to post and make sure everything is good.

Ghot said:

"Boomstix" are... "UNREAL"

View attachment 64176






Make sure you have the CPU cooler set up properly.
Sometimes there's a clear plastic protector on the bottom of the CPU cooler. You need to remove that if present.
And the CPU thermal compound.
Another thing to check the the motherboard front panel connector(s).

1. Unhook everything except the power on connector, the RAM and the CPU and cooler.
2. Make sure you have the CPU voltage connector hooked up (top left).
3. Make sure the CPU cooler is connected properly (top right)
4. Make sure the RAM is in the slots with the BLUE dots.
5. Make sure the Clear CMOS jumper is removed. (bottom right)
6. Make sure you have only hooked up the case power switch (bottom right). Leave the other things unconnected for now.

View attachment 64174


View attachment 64175

Click to expand...

Would I only need one of the cpu power cables or both?

iko22 said:

Are the RAM sticks firmly seated in the motherboard sockets?

Click to expand...

Previous to finding the issue, yes I repeated the RAM a few times.

Boomstix said:

Would I only need one of the cpu power cables or both?

Click to expand...

If you have TWO, then use them.
The 2nd one is really only needed for overclocking.

Best thing to do is disconnect the PSU (Meaning inside as well "MB connectors") . Power cycle it. If it still happens it's the PSU

Alright, now that the GPU came in, I have had nothing but terrible problems. When I initially started the computer with all the components, the computer would just freeze. It wouldn't crash, just froze. I reimaged probably 10 times with Win 11 and the same thing every time. I Reimaged with Win 10, now instead of freezing it would crash and reboot immediately after logging in and sometimes would take me to the boot error screen. Someone suggested I remove the GPU and all but one ram card and boot up and verify the card then swap with another to validate the ram card's functionality. Everything worked with the GPU removed, all 4 cards installed, and using the integrated graphics of the CPU everything works beautifully. I have updated everything fully. Windows 11, all motherboard drivers, and the newest BIOS version. The moment I went and installed the GPU again and powered up, it took 5 times longer just to get to the login screen. but everything seemed to work for all of 5 minutes until I tried installing the GeForce experience GPU updates. then it would freeze again. After a few power cycles of trying to install the driver updates it would freeze at the exact same place. now even without trying to update (which was never completed), it freezes seconds after logging in and the blue screens with a Windows stop code of WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR.....I have no idea what to do now.

Side note the built-in Intel Killer wi-fi 6E AX1690i adapter does not work and didn't work on the previous motherboard that I replaced either. I have tried installing updating and uninstalling the drivers for it to no avail.

Did you reset BIOS?

NZXT Kraken 120 is way too small cooler for a hot beast like 13900 processor, it's one of hottest processors right now.

You need a higher capacity cooler and try just 2 16GB 6400MHz ram sticks. See if that will work. Just a suggestion, there are people here who can help you with your new system. Work Carefully as your rig is expensive. Cheers.