[SOLVED] Computer not booting after RAM Overclock

jamesyboy1111

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Dec 2, 2013
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Hey Everyone,

I have an MSI B450-A Pro Max which has a BIOS that includes their "Overclock! Try it" thing that makes overclocking RAM somewhat simple. I previously had it on a setting that I found my computer was stable on, but yesterday I was experiencing frame stutters so I lowered the clock on it and restarted my computer.

Since I did that, my computer will power on and the fans will hit their maximum speed for startup, but they stay at that speed and the screen stays "no signal" until I hold down the power button. The motherboard is also showing the CPU light in the EZ-Debug section of the MOBO. I have tried using different RAM slots and just using one of my two sticks at a time, I have also pulled out the CMOS battery and left it out for over an hour to no success.

Could it be that my RAM somehow broke during the overclock process and is that what may be causing the CPU light to show? Or am I potentially looking at a fried MOBO or fried CPU now?

Any advice greatly appreciated!
 
Solution
I doubt you are looking at a "fried" anything.

So, before doing anything, what are your FULL hardware specifications including the model of your memory kit, how many DIMMs you have, whether your full memory capacity is made up of ONE kit or multiple kits regardless of whether those kits are the same model or not, exact power supply model, CPU model, etc?

For now, I'd make sure the memory is in the correct slots which are the A2 and B2 slots, which are the second and fourth slots to the right of the CPU socket with the fourth slot being the one closest to the edge of the motherboard. Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS EXACTLY as outlined below. Do not deviate from the listed steps in ANY way regardless of whether you THINK there is a...
I doubt you are looking at a "fried" anything.

So, before doing anything, what are your FULL hardware specifications including the model of your memory kit, how many DIMMs you have, whether your full memory capacity is made up of ONE kit or multiple kits regardless of whether those kits are the same model or not, exact power supply model, CPU model, etc?

For now, I'd make sure the memory is in the correct slots which are the A2 and B2 slots, which are the second and fourth slots to the right of the CPU socket with the fourth slot being the one closest to the edge of the motherboard. Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS EXACTLY as outlined below. Do not deviate from the listed steps in ANY way regardless of whether you THINK there is a better or easier way of doing it. Do NOT use the CMOS jumper pins, CMOS reset button (If your board has one) or any other "method". Perform it EXACTLY as outlined here:


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for about three to five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes while the CMOS battery is out of the motherboard, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 15-30 seconds, in order to deplete any residual charge that might be present in the CMOS circuit. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the BIOS to fully reset and force recreation of the hardware tables.
 
Solution
I doubt you are looking at a "fried" anything.

So, before doing anything, what are your FULL hardware specifications including the model of your memory kit, how many DIMMs you have, whether your full memory capacity is made up of ONE kit or multiple kits regardless of whether those kits are the same model or not, exact power supply model, CPU model, etc?

For now, I'd make sure the memory is in the correct slots which are the A2 and B2 slots, which are the second and fourth slots to the right of the CPU socket with the fourth slot being the one closest to the edge of the motherboard. Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS EXACTLY as outlined below. Do not deviate from the listed steps in ANY way regardless of whether you THINK there is a better or easier way of doing it. Do NOT use the CMOS jumper pins, CMOS reset button (If your board has one) or any other "method". Perform it EXACTLY as outlined here:


BIOS Hard Reset
I doubt you are looking at a "fried" anything.

So, before doing anything, what are your FULL hardware specifications including the model of your memory kit, how many DIMMs you have, whether your full memory capacity is made up of ONE kit or multiple kits regardless of whether those kits are the same model or not, exact power supply model, CPU model, etc?

For now, I'd make sure the memory is in the correct slots which are the A2 and B2 slots, which are the second and fourth slots to the right of the CPU socket with the fourth slot being the one closest to the edge of the motherboard. Then, do a hard reset of the BIOS EXACTLY as outlined below. Do not deviate from the listed steps in ANY way regardless of whether you THINK there is a better or easier way of doing it. Do NOT use the CMOS jumper pins, CMOS reset button (If your board has one) or any other "method". Perform it EXACTLY as outlined here:


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for about three to five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes while the CMOS battery is out of the motherboard, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 15-30 seconds, in order to deplete any residual charge that might be present in the CMOS circuit. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the BIOS to fully reset and force recreation of the hardware tables.

procedure


Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for about three to five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes while the CMOS battery is out of the motherboard, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 15-30 seconds, in order to deplete any residual charge that might be present in the CMOS circuit. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the BIOS to fully reset and force recreation of the hardware tables.

Thank you for the help with properly resetting my CMOS. I previously followed a way that I found online and it didn't work, but the steps you gave me worked perfectly and reset it to allow my computer to POST.

Appreciate the help!