[SOLVED] Black Screen after installing three video cards

[fiuasfbja]

Hello all,

I was running one 2080 Ti and decided to add back in two 1080 Ti cards I've used in the past so that I have a total of three cards. However when I boot now I get a black screen, followed by a monitor going to sleep like there isn't any input. When I unplug the monitor I do get a beep from the motherboard indicating the computer is recognizing it. I tried taking the cards out, using the one card to boot, put it in safe mode, install the two cards but it wouldn't even boot into safe mode after I got the two cards back in. Any idea why this is? I am not using the computer for gaming and do not have SLI setup, not sure if that's important. Thanks!

 

[Darkbreeze]

What is your EXACT power supply model number?

I'm going to assume that by "put it in safe mode, install the two cards " you don't mean that you installed the two cards WHILE it was in safe mode, right? You mean with one card it will POST and boot into windows, but afterwards, when you shut down and try it with just the two other cards, no luck? yes?

 

[fiuasfbja]

I booted into windows with the one card, changed the boot to safe, minimal. Powered down and unplugged, installed the additional 2 cards (3 total including the original) then plugged back in and went to turn it on but it did not reboot at all. I had to reset the cmos on the board to get it to turn back on, then got the black screen again.

Edit: the power supply is:
EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1300 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

 

[Darkbreeze]

What is your motherboard model?

 

[fiuasfbja]

EVGA X299 Dark

 

[Darkbreeze]

What CPU?

 

[fiuasfbja]

CPU: Intel Core i9-7960X 2.8 GHz 16-Core Processor

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Motherboard: EVGA X299 DARK EATX LGA2066 Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB Aorus Waterforce Xtreme

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB Aorus Waterforce Xtreme

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA T2 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Monitor: Dell 24” Monitor

 

[SgtScream]

Are you able to see the bios splash screen/or get into the bios right when you push the power button, or is the screen black the whole time? If it's black the whole time try unplugging the monitor power cable and plugging it back in. What does it say on the post indicator led on the upper right hand corner of the motherboard?

 

[fiuasfbja]

No bios splash screen, no display at all. I've tried unplugging the monitor, going directly into the wall, and plugging the monitor into each video card (thinking maybe the primary had changed). The post code that is displayed is Ab or Setup Input Wait. Not sure what that means but looks like it is a display issue based on another thread on here. Any ideas?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Check your BIOS for multi-card settings. I don't know on the dark board, but I know there are a few boards out there that I seem to recall having some kind of multi card configuration settings in the bios.

Also, looking a the manual it seems 4 way SLI is only supported with SOME CPU models, while others only support two card. I didn't look to see which yours falls under but you may want to check that because it sounds like it might be applicable.

 

[SgtScream]

Does the system post with one graphics card? Is there a change in the post indicator with only one card? If you still don't get a post with one card, try the other one.

 

[fiuasfbja]

Does the system post with one graphics card? Is there a change in the post indicator with only one card? If you still don't get a post with one card, try the other one.

I got it up and running! I booted with the two 1080 cards into windows, still in safe mode. Then I added back in the 2080 Ti and was able to boot back into windows still in safe mode. However it looks like the 1080 in slot 1 is the primary video card as it's clear the driver is incorrect. Is there a way to set the 2080 in slot 3 as the primary video card? Thank you.

 

[fiuasfbja]

Nevermind, it looks like when I took it out of safe mode everything is back running perfectly. I just kicked out a render to test it and didn't have any problems. All three cards are recognized and running.

Just to recap it seems like taking out the cards and putting them back in, in a different order, for some reason fixed my problem. Thank you for your responses, I really appreciate it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cool man. Glad you got it sorted out. Best of luck to you.