Completely dead but PSU works (paper clip confirmed) - New/first build

Jan 21, 2019
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This is my first ground up PC build - little gaming box for my son. He's been collecting parts for the past 4 months or so. He finally got everything and I assembled last weekend. Pressed the power button for the first time... and nothing!

Completely dead - no fans, no LEDs, no noise. As if the PSU was dead. It did flash for a barely a split second one or twice (fan spun up and LEDs blinked on) but immediately turned back off - otherwise everything is lifeless.

All parts are brand new. Have triple checked all cables plugged in correctly (to the best of my knowledge, at least), triple checked the pin connections for the power/reset/LED buttons are connected correctly and confirmed the PSU works with the paper clip method (fan spun up and it actually did something when tested). As soon as I connect back to MOBO, nothing happens.

I'm at a loss... Any tips/advise what to troubleshoot next would be greatly appreciated.

Losing major "Cool Dad" points here not being able to figure this out! :)

Ryzen 5 2600 CPU
MSI B350 Gaming Plus MOBO
G Skill Flare X 16 GB RAM
Seagate 1 TB hybrid HDD
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GPU
Thermaltake Smart DPS 500W PSU
Thermaltake Versa N24 ATX Tower Case
 
Solution


yes the motherboard was made well before the CPU, the BIOS update tells the motherboard what is different and how to use...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems
this is a handy little checklist.
the paperclip test is like a pulse, the PSU is alive but we still dont know if it can handle any load. it only tells you the PSU can power itself.
swapping the PSU with a known good model for testing would be the next step.

is the motherboard bios updated to support the ryzen 2xxx series?
you may need a ryzen 1xxx series to flash support for the newer CPU
the b350 supports the CPU only WITH THE PROPER BIOS.

caps for emphasis only
 


Curious where you have seen that. Other then possibly needing a BOIS update, I have seen no official statements to this fact.

The MSI site on the B350 page says "Supports AMD® Ryzen™ 1st and 2nd Generation / Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics Processors and AMD® A-series / Athlon™ Processors for Socket AM4".

And their compatibility chart for the B350 lists: "RYZEN 5 Pinnacle Ridge YD2600BBM6IAF 2600 100 3.4GHz 3MB 16MB B2 65 N/A 7A34vM9.zip"

Also confirmed while picking out parts using PCPartPicker.com.

Please elaborate...
 
Partpicker Warning when selecting the combo:

I was stating that because unless you had a recent BIOS loaded:

Some AMD B350 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Pinnacle Ridge CPUs. Upgrading the BIOS may require a different CPU that is supported by older BIOS revisions.
 


Right, so that means it MIGHT need a BIOS update. Which I was aware of. Doesn't mean "can't boot 2600 you need B450". With the correct BIOS update the B350 works fine. Again, unless you have seen otherwise - I'm all ears.

So would an outdated BIOS result in this symptom? Nothing happens at all??

 


yes the motherboard was made well before the CPU, the BIOS update tells the motherboard what is different and how to use the new CPU.
unless and until the firmware is updated the motherboard will continue failing POST (Power On Self Test) as it cannot ID that there is a CPU in it, it is proceeding as if there is no CPU at all.

updating will require another CPU that the motherboard recognizes. after the update install 2xxx CPU and go.
 
Solution

Yes. Without a compatible BIOS in place, before installing the gen 2 CPU, it will fail to start at all. This is a fairly common issue. If you can find a gen 1 CPU, it is easily rectified. Even AMD has a program to assist with this.

https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-100#faq-Short-Term-Processor-Loan-Boot-Kit


 




This is exactly the response I was looking for. Sounds like this is my issue.

I knew this was a possible issue but was hoping the MOBO would come with a new enough BIOS that it would at least boot up and then I could update to the latest...appropriately that might not be the case.

I requested a "boot kit" from AMD earlier today and will give that a try once it arrives. Fingers crossed!

Thanks again!!