Boot issues, No Display, DRAM Light On. Every component works on another PC.
Posted by MoeApocalypsis@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 6 comments
TLDR: PC has no display or beeps. Replaced the MOBO, DRAM light is on. Tested all components on another PC and they work. No idea whats going on.
I was working when my PC cut to black, the fans kept going though. So I held the power button and that didnt work. I flipped the PSU and started troubleshooting.
Original Machine
- MOBO - Asrock B450 Pro4
- CPU - Ryzen 7 5800X
- GPU - GTX 3070
- RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x16GB (cmk32gx4m2e3200c16)
On boot, the fans would start spinning and no beeping would occur. The keyboard would light up after about 30-60 seconds which is an unusually long time.
The things I did
- Swapped the GPU out for a GTX 1050 from my TV PC
- Tried one stick of ram at a time in A2 then B2
- Tried an old stick of ram
- Cleared CMOS (i know this worked because the CPU fan now started always spinnning from cleared settings) then tried with old GPU + one stick of ram
From there I went and bought a MOBO and a PSU. I swapped the MOBO and the PSU then pressed power. All the fans and lights started but still no display. Holding down the power button does shut down the machine now!
Current Machine
- MOBO - ASUS Tuf Gaming B550-Plus WIFI II
- CPU - Ryzen 7 5800X
- GPU - GTX 3070 / GTX 1050
- RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x16GB (cmk32gx4m2e3200c16)
The new MOBO has no beeping but its DRAM light was on & it was not flashing. I looked around and saw that it could either be ram issue or a cpu issue. I saw the CPU needed a later bios. So I downloaded the latest BIOS and did a BIOS flashback with a USB stick. The bios light flashed for about five minutes before stopping so it was probably successful.
Still no display on power but the DRAM light has started blinking. From here I tested all my components on my TV PC which has an Asrock B450M Pro4.
Ryzen 5800X + One stick of Ram + GTX 1050 - Booted to Windows
I put all of these same components into the B550 afterwards. Still no display. I looked on the motherboard compatibility list and can't find my ram on it. So I guess the the ram is incompatible? It doesnt make much sense because it supports other Corsair Vengeance 2x16GB serials (cmk32gx4m2 Z 3200c16 & cmk32gx4m2 A 3200c16).
I'm pretty lost at this point. My guess was that my previous MOBO was broken because the power button didnt work and there was no beeping. Now it seems like this MOBO is also not working either by being broken or having some sort compatibility issue.
I don't really know what my options are at this point except
- go out and buy expensive ass ram thats on the compatibility list
- do another bios flashback cause maybe the previous one failed
- get the motherboard replaced
- throw it in the ocean and never touch computers again
postsshortcomments@reddit
This ones rough as heck if all of the details you provided are accurate.
When you say "all," do you mean all as in RAM, CPU and got them to boot to desktop? You definitely have enough parts to isolate. I think you need to do more isolating using the TV PC's parts to find both a working motherboard and BIOs update (if you can do this, checking the current BIOs version on the board will make it really easy to see if it was a CPU compatibility issue). Using TV PC Parts, update the BIOs on that board and also verify the 5800x is still working (using the TV PC PSU if it's up to wattage spec). Don't assume the original motherboard is dead, either. You may want to test that with the TV PC CPU/RAM/1050.
I'd run down this checklist first:
Did you make sure to have a CPU fan plugged into a CPU_FAN header? That's a legacy safety feature that a lot of boards still have and can cause no-posts. Some people will forget to do this when they're trying to do counter-top, no-case troubleshooting and quick posts. Some people will also think "AIO_PUMP goes to AIO_PUMP (it technically can, but you still need something in the CPU_FAN header for some motherboards). Also make sure the CPU_FAN is a working one (I've never heard of a dead CPU_FAN triggering a no POST for what it's worth).
You had the monitor plugged into the GPU and not the motherboard, right? A 5800x has no iGPU, so you will need to plug the monitor into HDMI/DP. Also: confirm the monitor & cable are working (just in case you're the unlucky person who had an HDMI cable die mid-way thru another hardware issue).
CPU cooler should be finger tight, not hand tight. Overtightened coolers can occasionally cause pins to not connect correctly.
CMOS reset on new motherboard if you haven't done one (perhaps it was a returned as new product because motherboards typically aren't sealed and perhaps the previous owner accidentally enabled quick boot to bypass BIOs? still doesn't explain the lights, but worth trying). CMOS reset the old motherboard, too.
As I said: confirming the new motherboard is not dead is where I'd work from next. Which CPU does your TV pc have? If it has a Zen 2 or Zen 1, definitely take TV PCs ram/CPU/PSU and see if you can get new motherboard working (you can do the same with old motherboard if you'd like). Then do a BIOs update the standard way.
I'd specifically try to verify that A. 5800X CPU is confirmed good, B. New motherboard is confirmed good and on most recent firmware C. Old PSU isn't broken (I wouldn't plug the old PSU into the TV build, though). You should have all the parts to do this with the old build. Your goal here is to update all the BIOs on confirmed good motherboards.
Instincts are saying: dead old motherboard, outdated BIOs on new motherboard (or monitor plugged into motherboard I/O, overtightened cooler, missing CPU_FAN).. leaning towards a different diagnosis of a possible dead 5800x (which is probably still under warranty if you didn't buy it used, import it, or from a strange seller). You also could have gotten a DOA replacement motherboard.
It seems like a very solvable problem given that you have a working AM4 build. But if for whatever reason you can't figure it out, instead of throwing it into the ocean you may want to ask for a quote to test parts from a local shop (test disassembled parts is often cheaper than testing a system). They can also do BIOs updates etc., But I wouldn't do it without a quote as it can get very expensive, very quickly.
MoeApocalypsis@reddit (OP)
Super good advice thanks so much for the reply! I did check on different variations with with the cpu_fan connected and sitting on the side. I also tried every combination with the OG motherboard. I did do the CMOS reset on the new motherboard too.
Good instincts for it was the BIOS here! I installed the latest version and that didnt work but when I installed the oldest supported version for the CPU it booted suddenly. So that was the issue for the new mobo the whole time and confirmed that the old mobo was indeed dead. I was insanely lucky that the PC TV had compatible components or otherwise this would have taken so much longer to figure out.
Thanks for writing this all up!
postsshortcomments@reddit
Woohoo! Good call, glad you figured it out.
That always makes it a ton easier. I don't see it mentioned often, but if you're ever stuck without a CPU you can usually find some dirt cheap old, used CPUs. AM4 has quite a few 1000-series and 2000-series CPUs in the $20's (and it's usually better to have an early gen one to ensure it can boot to BIOs). With AM5, you're sadly stuck to $100-140+ options, but you can usually recover that locally.
I'd say upwards of 80%+ of the time I see not obvious no boots, no POSTs, blackscreens around here it's usually BIOs related, CMOS clears (usually RAM profile related), or a dead motherboards. The other 18% are dead GPUs, dead PSUs, and the other issues I posted. CPUs and multi-stick RAM issues seem to be extremely rate (assuming they've tested one stick and A2/B2 already, because I'd consider that an obvious no-boot).. but perhaps CPUs are a bit of Abraham Wald survivorship bias based on parts on hand.
Tatsuya1221@reddit
So i have to ask, have you tried putting that motherboard and ram in another case and trying it?
Also make sure your cpu's fan is plugged into the cpu header, that might sound silly but some motherboards will not boot without it plugged in.
The 2 ideas if literally everything should be working is that your case is shorting it or there's some component interfering, such as a fan.
Also make sure to try a different video cable, rare but that can cause issues.
You tested the ram on another setup and it worked correct?
Guessing you tested the cpu too.
If you want to be as sure as possible that it's not a faulty wire somewhere, disconnect everything but the power button (or even that if you know how to trip the power switch without a button) and test it with as little connected as possible.
MoeApocalypsis@reddit (OP)
Thanks so much for the response! It was the bios version, such a pesky little problem but its all working now. Having no display to work with the whole time was so tricky.
Tatsuya1221@reddit
Glad to hear you got it fixed, happy gaming!