[SOLVED] A55M-P33 + GTX 1050ti = A computer that won't POST... help?

Sep 25, 2020
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Hi folks, long time lurker, finally registered because my old school hobby computer build is giving me a headache.

So i decided to build a dedicated media transcoding server/storage box using old parts i boxed up when i upgraded to Ryzen gen hardware. In the box was an MSi a55m-p33 board with 8gigs of basic mem and an A6 cpu with integrated radeon graphics. I had 2 graphics cards to choose from , an old Club RoyalQueen R9-280x (which eats up to 250watts of power) and a GTX 1050ti which has no external power ports and eats its 75watts right through the PCIe slot. Since i only had a crappy 300watt PSU left in the box, i decided to go with the GTX.

Put all the parts into the new case minus the graphics card, using only the onboard graphics, and after figuring out i wired the case panel into the header incorrectly, i finally got my system to boot and post. Since i don't have an OS yet, i'm only jumping into the BIOS to confirm everything is working. BIOS version is 1.7. Under the PCI integrated menu the graphics was set to PEG, shared mem and multi monitor.

Now here's the kicker, i have tried EVERY variation of BIOS settings for the PCI graphics (PEG vs IGD, shared vs auto, multi monitor, etc), at whatever point i try to plug my GTX into the mobo, the computer will never POST. If i plug it in, set it to PEG and connect the HDMI cable to the GTX, i get nothing. If i plug it in and set it to IGD and connect the HDMI to onboard i get nothing. It's as if the act of plugging the GTX into the system halts all progress.

Fans on the GTX spin so i know its getting power, cpu fans spinning too.

CPU Partpicker states the mobo is compatible with the GTX1050ti. However my experience is telling me no.

Lastly, i cannot upgrade the BIOS at present.. there is an update to get the mobo up to 2.0 from 1.7 which might work? But it's an .exe file on MSI's website, so i cannot use the UEFI within the BIOS itself to flash it, i need an OS so i can launch it. Until i get the new drive delivered from Amazon.. i'm all out of ideas on what i can do.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
Solution
Ok, going to answer my own question.

So i got the drives and installed Win10 on the SSD, then tried to run the .exe bios update from inside Windows, but it kept failing to do anything after the reboot. The boot up would state there was no OS on the USB, to remove it and press any key to restart. So all that was pointless.

Turns out, all i had to do was use Roofus to create a FreeDos bootable USB, then copy the .exe onto it after it was formatted as a bootable USB. Restarted the system. From the dos prompt ran the executable. BOOM, bios updated from 1.7 to 2.0 (always scared during a flashing process, this time was no diff)

After confirming the motherboard was now v2.0 in the BIOS, made sure the graphics options in bios were set to...
Sep 25, 2020
5
0
20
Ok, going to answer my own question.

So i got the drives and installed Win10 on the SSD, then tried to run the .exe bios update from inside Windows, but it kept failing to do anything after the reboot. The boot up would state there was no OS on the USB, to remove it and press any key to restart. So all that was pointless.

Turns out, all i had to do was use Roofus to create a FreeDos bootable USB, then copy the .exe onto it after it was formatted as a bootable USB. Restarted the system. From the dos prompt ran the executable. BOOM, bios updated from 1.7 to 2.0 (always scared during a flashing process, this time was no diff)

After confirming the motherboard was now v2.0 in the BIOS, made sure the graphics options in bios were set to PEG and auto, shut'r down and installed the GTX graphics card. Plugged the HDMI into the GTX, plugged the power back in, fingers crossed...

Computer posted with video coming from the GTX. Booted into Windows, installed GeForce Experience drivers. Done.

TLDR - A55M-P33 requires BIOS to be at 2.0 in order to run GTX1050ti discreet graphics with Intergrated Graphics on mobo disabled (set to PEG).
 
Solution