No Boot or No Power Issues on Intel® NUC Products

Documentation

Troubleshooting

000005845

08/26/2020

It can be difficult to resolve situations where a system doesn't boot or doesn't appear to have power. Below are instructions for troubleshooting the most common causes for No Boot/No Power issues. 

Note

These steps will not resolve the problem in all cases, but have been proven to resolve issues for many customers. If you try all the steps below and your Intel NUC still doesn't start properly, Intel Customer Support can help with additional troubleshooting or warranty replacement. See the instructions at the bottom of this page for information on contacting Intel Customer Support.

Option 1: 

Try the Online No Boot Wizard. (Intel recommended)

Option 2:

If you're unable to use the Online No Boot Wizard, try the manual troubleshooting steps below:

Click or the topic for details:

Step 1: While starting, watch the behavior of the power LED on the chassis and click here to try these troubleshooting steps.
Power LED State Possible Causes Troubleshooting Steps
Power LED is blinking in a pattern of three. No memory is installed. Or, the memory module is the wrong voltage, incompatible, or defective.

Note: These troubleshooting steps don't apply to Intel NUCs that have soldered-down memory. 

  • Use the correct voltage memory modules for your Intel® NUC. To find the memory requirement for your Intel® NUC, go to System Memory Information.
  • Remove and reinstall the memory modules to make sure they're fully seated in the sockets.
  • A pattern of three LED blinks during boot can indicate defective memory. To isolate a specific module as defective, boot the system with just one installed at a time. You can also try testing suspected defective memory in a different computer.
  • If you installed one memory module in an Intel NUC that has two memory slots, try moving it to the other memory slot. Make sure to test slot one, closest to the motherboard.
  • See the User Guide for your Intel NUC to identify if your NUC has soldered-down memory and learn more about installing and removing memory modules.
Power LED is blinking in a different pattern. 2 red blinks: Intel NUC is in sleep mode. This LED behavior is normal for sleep mode. Press the power button to wake your Intel NUC.
16 on/off blinks: Computer is overheating.

Check that chassis ventilation holes aren't blocked and unit has sufficient airflow.
See Blink Codes and Beep Codes for Intel NUC to identify other patterns and solutions.

 
Power LED is ON (solid color). Monitor input source is set wrong. If the monitor or TV has multiple video inputs, make sure you select the correct source. This selection is usually made through an INPUT or SOURCE option on the display's remote control device.
Video cable is defective. Try a different video cable.
Video adapter/dongle or receiver is interfering.
  • If the Intel NUC is connected to a TV through an AV receiver, try connecting directly to the TV instead.
  • If you're using a video adapter/dongle (like HDMI-to-VGA), try connecting to a monitor that allows straight-through connection (HDMI-to-HDMI) with a single cable.
  • If you're using an AV receiver, check with the manufacturer for firmware updates.
TV firmware is out of date. If your TV contains firmware, check with the TV manufacturer for firmware updates.
Power LED is OFF. Bad power source
  • Try connecting the Intel NUC to a different AC outlet.
  • If using a power strip, try plugging the Intel NUC directly into an AC outlet instead.
  • If you have one, try another Intel NUC power adapter.
Drive problem
  • Check the drive is seated securely.
  • If you're using a 2.5" drive, check the drive cable is securely connected to the motherboard header.
  • Try a different hard drive or SSD. Boot failures have been observed if a drive is defective.
  • If you don't have an alternative SSD/HDD, check whether this drive is displayed in BIOS [under Advanced - Devices - SATA tab].
Different power issue Try the following:
  1. Unplug your Intel NUC from the AC outlet and wait for about 10 seconds.
  2. Press the power button on the front panel of your NUC a couple of times. Do this with no power source connected to make sure the NUC discharged completely.
  3. Connect your NUC to the AC outlet and try to turn it on.
Step 2: If BIOS settings were changed, set them back to factory default values.

Follow the steps below to revert to default values:

  1. Press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
  2. Press F9 to set defaults.
  3. Press F10 to save and exit BIOS.
Or
  1. When the Intel NUC is off, press and hold the power button for approximately 3 seconds, and then release. The Power Button menu should appear.
  2. Press F2 to enter BIOS Setup.
  3. Press F9 to restore BIOS factory default values.
  4. Press F10 to save and exit BIOS Setup.
Step 3: Determine if the boot problem is due to overheating.

The following symptoms can occur if installed components in the Intel NUC overheat:

  • The system won't boot.
  • The system randomly shuts down.

If any of the overheating symptoms appear, check the following:

  • The Intel NUC is on a hard surface.
  • The ventilation holes in the back and bottom of the chassis aren't blocked.
  • The Intel NUC is set vertically on its left or right side (for better airflow to the bottom ventilation holes).
Step 4: Identify errors when starting the computer.

Follow these steps if you receive the following error: 
A bootable device has not been detected

Check that the drive is detected in the BIOS:
(Use a USB keyboard. A Bluetooth keyboard won't be able to access the BIOS.)

  1. Press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
  2. On the Advanced > Boot menu, check the Boot Drive Order.
  3. Press F10 to exit BIOS Setup.

If Boot Drive Order shows No Boot Drive, the drive inside your NUC might have failed. In this case, perform a BIOS recovery (Step 5 below) to restore the drive. If you see this issue from the first boot, reconnect the drive to the board. Make sure the storage drive is inserted correctly and fully seated in the socket.

If you use a SATA drive inserted into a daughter card, make sure the SATA power and data wires are connected to the board. If your NUC is only equipped with one SATA wire, check that it's fully inserted to the connector on the board.

Note See Technical Product Specification for the exact SATA daughter card configuration of your NUC.
Step 5: Try a BIOS Recovery.

The Intel NUC might not start properly if BIOS becomes corrupted. Try a BIOS Recovery.

Step 6: Contact Intel Customer Support for further investigation.

If you've tried all the steps listed above and your Intel NUC still does not start properly, Intel Customer Support can help.

Click Contact Support in the blue banner below to find the support options for your region. Be ready to explain the steps you tried.