[SOLVED] Asus z97 blank screen at boot

[Cale810]

Hey, I just finished putting my first PC together and at start-up, I get a signal but it's just a blank screen. The motherboard I'm using has a red light on Boot_Device_Led and I have tried everything I can think of. Thanks.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Of course. Anytime. Once you know if the graphics card is ok or not, let me know, and we can go from there if necessary. Good luck.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Full hardware specs including exact model numbers?

CPU, motherboard, memory kit, power supply, graphics card, storage devices, CPU cooler, etc?

 

[Darkbreeze]

You have ECC memory and that motherboard does not support ECC memory.

Also, your CPU does not have integrated graphics so you MUST have a graphics card installed or you will never get a display signal and you must have your display cable connected to one of the outputs on the graphics card since the motherboard outputs will not work without a CPU that has integrated graphics. But the ECC memory is your problem here.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You are welcome. So, if you get non-ECC memory, just standard DDR3 DIMMs, probably 1600mhz or 1866mhz for that configuration, you should be fine.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Those should, but these would be perfectly fine in that board.

PCPartPicker Part List

Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 Memory ($35.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $35.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-04 23:54 EDT-0400

 

[Darkbreeze]

Then depending on what you definition of "light gaming" is, you might want to consider something a little better. The GTX 1630 is pretty much a joke in that regard.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 Review: An Insult to Gamers?

The GeForce GTX 1630 is an utter embarrassment if marketed as a gaming graphics card. We don't see a single redeeming feature to speak of and therefore...

www.techspot.com

Especially considering you can get a WAY, WAY more capable RX 580 that will grossly outperform it at 1080p for like ten bucks more. Or even a RX 6500 XT for twenty bucks more than the GTX 1630.

PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: XFX GTR XXX Radeon RX 580 8 GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $149.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-13 21:09 EST-0500


If you just need basic graphics and the ability to play like browser based games, then save yourself some money and go with something really cheap like the GT 730 or RX 550.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, graphics card verified working. Power supply brand new. Memory brand new (Assuming you did buy a new kit and not a used one).

That leaves the motherboard and CPU and while either of them could be bad we definitely see problems with faulty motherboards FAR more often than we do CPUs. However, finding a good motherboard that is compatible with that CPU is probably more expensive than finding another CPU that is compatible with that motherboard, so if you have to GUESS and roll the dice on throwing money at it to see what the problem is I'd probably go with the CPU first. This works in two ways.

One, if it is the CPU you will know and the problem is solved.

Two, if the problem is NOT the CPU, then you now know and have an extra CPU to keep around as a backup or you can simply resell it to recoup your money.

I'm not suggesting that you should buy THIS particular one, I am only posting a link to it as an example.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275254325670

 

[Darkbreeze]

yeah if you think its the motherboard do you have any other recommendations for a motherboard that would work with my current setup and within a $200 or so price range? Also, I changed my mind and I'm going for a decent-budget gaming setup if you have any ideas for that

So, Caleb, at the beginning I was very dubious about purchasing used hardware especially when it's more than six or seven years old. Seems that didn't play out well, which is what I was afraid of in the beginning BUT at least the CPU didn't cost much in order to get where we are. Memory, IDK what to tell you on that. Sell it. Somebody out there needs it like you did or return it if you can.

This is a perfect example of why buying used hardware from anybody you don't personally know, and trust, is, more often than not, a bad idea. Sure, you'll get plenty of people who are willing to drop into any thread, on any forum and say "But I've never had a problem and I buy used hardware all the time". So, ok. Sure. Maybe. But your sample of ONE is not representative of what MOST people experience, especially these days, in the power days of the scammer. People know they can get away with it and they know that when it comes to retribution, there is very little you can do. Ebay doesn't do a whole lot to protect buyers like they used to and in fact will go out of their way to protect the seller because without sellers they have no site, at all. They can live with 50% fewer buyers, but they can't live or survive if nobody is selling on their platform. So tie or questionable goes to the seller these days. And most sellers won't explicitly say "this part absolutely works like new or I'll replace it" in which case Ebay will tell you to shove off.

Non-Ebay used purchases are even, way worse risks.

So if you want to say this was a failed experiment and get something that you can get a guarantee on that works, and get the most for your money, then I have recommendations. If you want recommendations on trying to find more used parts, that will still have no guarantee, I can do that too but I think it is a much less desirable idea.

Used, this might, MIGHT, be a reasonable option:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125336006747

But this would be a far better use of your money that would give you like 200% of the performance you could EVER get from that Z97 platform which is at least 8 years old.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($105.64 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock A520M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $232.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-21 19:48 EST-0500

 

[Cale810]

alright thanks again, I appreciate all the help

 

[Darkbreeze]

No problem at all.

 

[Darkbreeze]

And if you can find the Thermalright Peerless Assassin, in any version of it, especially the SE versions, pretty hard to beat for the price or even spending much more on a cooler. Probably simply the very best bang for the buck cooler there's ever been, at like 35 bucks.

 

[Darkbreeze]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XJLDHW4

 

[Cale810]

<Mod Edit for readability>

Cpu is a Xenon e3 1220 v3 sr154,

motherboard is Asus z97 A S# (EAM0CS161239),

Memory kit is Micron DDR3 (4GBx4) PC2L-12800E MT9KSF51272AZ-1G6E1ZF ECC ram.

PSU is a Thermaltake Smart 430W 80+ black continuous power atx 12v v2.3/eps PS-SPD-0430NPCWUS-W.

Graphics card is an AMD Radeon RX460 2GB GDDR5 Video Card HP 910486-022.

The storage device is a seagate SV35.5 ST3500410SV9SK142-500 FW: CV12 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA HDD.

Cpu cooler is ID-COOLING SE-214-XT ARGB CPU Cooler (5V 3-PIN Connector) also all fans run when attempting boot up.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Did you just get all this hardware, used? Separately or did it all come together?

Have you tried using one a single DIMM, and each one separately if the first one fails to make any change? Installed in the A2 slot.

Have you tried without any storage devices connected?

In fact, what exactly HAVE you done, or not done?

 

[Cale810]

1. I bought everything used except for the pcu, CPU cooling unit, and tower.

2. I finished putting everything together and ran into my problem

3. I tried using only one stick of ram in the first slot, then the third slot. Also removed all the ram to ensure there was no dust or debris.

4. I removed the CMOS battery for around 15 minutes and then restarted it.

5. I removed the motherboard to ensure there were no wires or anything shorting the board out.

6. I tried running the unit without the hard drive hooked up.

7. I tried running it with 1 stick of ram, the CPU, and CPU cooler, no hard drive, and no GPU. Also without any wires for the case plugged in.

8. I added windows 10 and the latest BIOS to a USB grasping at straws

9. I came here and decided to see if anyone could help me in a forum. Thank you by the way I appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me.

 

[Cale810]

Ok, thank you for your advice I was stumped.

 

[Cale810]

Would sdram work for this set up or only dram?

 

[Darkbreeze]

SDRAM "IS" DRAM.

You need standard high density DDR3 SDRAM. Older low density DDR3 won't work/isn't supported on that platform. It's unlikely you'd see any of that unless you bought it used anyhow, but worth mentioning.

What country are you in? How much memory do you want and at what speed? What is your maximum budget for the purchase of memory?

 

[Cale810]

Ah, I see. I'm in the USA and really don't care what speed as I'm only planning on some light gaming for the time being. I would say my max budget is around 40-50 USD on memory for now. I saw G.Skill PC3-14900 4GB DIMM 1866 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Memory (F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR) 16GB and am wondering if that would work.

 

[Cale810]

hey, I just installed the new non-ecc ram and the boot_led is still on, and seemingly nothing has changed, any other ideas?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, that's definitely a drag, but of course you bought all this stuff used so you knew going in there was a real chance for problems and if you didn't, you should have and you do now. This is exactly why I keep trying to tell people not to buy used graphics cards or motherboards. They are usually, more often than not, faulty or have some kind of problem.

So, this is probably a motherboard issue but I suppose it could be a lot of things.


I think the first thing you need to do is verify that the graphics card works. And to do that you will need to either have another system you can try it in, or know somebody with a system that will let you try it in their machine, or take it to a shop to have them test the card in one of their systems.

 

[Cale810]

ok thank you ill try to find a shop to bring it in to. thank you for all your help.

 

[Cale810]

I havn't gotten the chance to get the GPU tested but if it turned out to be faulty would you recommend I buy a used or new GPU? Im looking at the msi GeForce GTX 1630 but the 4gb new is the same price as the 6gb used.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Is this system meant for gaming or just for general use?