Question Changed ram then updated bios now get black screen and CPU light

lemans455

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Sep 10, 2015
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Hi!

The computer has been working for almost 2 years without a problem. I have the MSI B350 Bazooka mother board and the AMD AM4 Athlon X4 950 CPU. I just changed the ram from a 4gb to a single 16gb and the computer started up fine. I then went to update the bios to the latest version from MSIs website. Once the bios had completed and restarted the computer never started. It just showed a black screen and the white EZ debug light for the CPU is on.

I tired to remove the motherboard battery, tried to jump the JBAT1, unplugged and replugged the CPU power onto the motherboard, as well the power connector to the mb itself nothing has worked.

The processor doesn’t have an internal GPU so the HDMI is through the video card. I don’t know what else to try. Does anyone one have any advice? Is there a way to figure out if it is the board or the CPU? Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance.
 
It is specifically noted right on the BIOS firmware update page:

1.This BIOS does not support below Bristol Ridge CPU due to BIOS rom size limitation:
Athlon x4 970/950/940, A12-9800/9800E, A10-9700/9700E, A8-9600, A6-9550/9500/9500E

So in order to make room due to the BIOS ROM limitations on that board, if you update to that BIOS version, support for everything less than a 1st Gen Ryzen 3 gets removed. I'm not sure if you can get it back by reflashing the BIOS to a previous BIOS version, but it is probably worth a try if you can get your hands on a Ryzen CPU to use for flashing the BIOS. Otherwise, it looks like you're in the market for a new Ryzen processor.
 

lemans455

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Sep 10, 2015
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It is specifically noted right on the BIOS firmware update page:



So in order to make room due to the BIOS ROM limitations on that board, if you update to that BIOS version, support for everything less than a 1st Gen Ryzen 3 gets removed. I'm not sure if you can get it back by reflashing the BIOS to a previous BIOS version, but it is probably worth a try if you can get your hands on a Ryzen CPU to use for flashing the BIOS. Otherwise, it looks like you're in the market for a new Ryzen processor.


Oh, I completely misunderstood that. I thought it was telling me that those were ok. 😕 I do have a Ryzen in another computer, I wonder if it’s worth the trouble or if I should just upgrade as you suggest. Thanks for the suggestion. I will take a look at the processor you attached.
 
Well, TECHNICALLY, if it works, you SHOULD be able to take that Ryzen CPU and temporarily use it to flash back to the previous BIOS version prior to the Zen2 updates, and then put the Athlon back in. Again, I don't know if there are any microcode changes that make reversion impossible or not but if it were me I'd at least try it if I didn't have the means to simply grab a 60 dollar Ryzen 3. Might be better in the long run anyhow to do that rather than risk permanently bricking the motherboard.

I doubt that to be likely, but this sort of conditional BIOS versioning is somewhat new and it's not something we've ever really seen before, so who knows. Asking MSI tech support might be the best way to be SURE about the outcome.
 
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lemans455

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Sep 10, 2015
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Thanks for all the help. I think I will ask MSI support as you suggested and see what they say.

I think while searching earlier, for answers to my issue, I came across a post somewhere, that a person was able to use a different cpu and then flash back the bios like you stated. I will see if I can find it again.
 

lemans455

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Sep 10, 2015
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Thanks and thanks for your help!! I heard back from MSI supper and they said I can not revert to an older bios and that I now need to upgrade the processor. Just thought I would post the conclusion.

Thanks again.
 
Yeah, that is what I was afraid of. I'd look around a bit more though. OFTEN the manufacturer says one thing, and it's totally not true based on what we see and do in the "real world". So maybe still possible. Might be best to simply bite the bullet and grab a different CPU. Maybe sell that other one or keep it around for BIOS updating on older boards if you do that sort of thing. If you were close enough to me, I might even have been interested in that but I'm sure you could find a buyer if you wish to do that. Either way, hope it works out for you.