Question Computer Posts, But BlackScreen and No Signal During Windows Loading Wheel

Oct 8, 2021
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Hi everyone, I'm completely stomped with my PC problems and am hoping that I can get some suggestions here before I make any major decisions.

My Build:
CPU: Ryzen 2700x
MOBO: MSI X470 Carbon Pro Gaming
RAM: G Skill Trident Z 16 GB DDR4 3200Mhz
GPU: EVGA 3070 FTW Ultra Gaming
PSU: Corsair RM750x
OS: Windows 10
Storage:
Segate 7200RPM 2TB HDD
Intel 240 GB SSD (This Drive has OS)
SK Hynix Gold 1 TB M.2

Last Thursday (8 days ago) my water bottle lid broke causing my water bottle to fall and splash water into the air ~ 10 feet away from my computer. To my dismay, I heard a growl of fans and my pc restarted. On reboot, mobo and windows logo appeared and then a black screen with random pixels. I turned of my pc as fast as I could unplugged and only found three drops of water, on my graphics card. I pulled it out and let it and m pc dry until Sunday Night (> 72 hours) and no luck. Thankfully I was lucky enough to have my EVGA queue spot available and I purchased a 3070 and new PSU to support it. This Thursday (Yesterday) I got both parts in the mail, rigged everything up, and it booted successfully (albeit a bit slow)! However the resolution was only at 720p, so I opened up Geforce Experience and installed the latest driver. Sometime between mid installation and when the installation completed the screen went black and my monitor reported no incoming signal. I waited almost 20 minutes just incase it was taking it's time but despite the fans and LEDs being on, no signal came back. I force restarted the machine to find that during the windows loading wheel the monitor would go dark and signal would be lost despite fans and LEDs staying on.

From Here I:
  • Attempted Windows Boot Fix option (It failed)
  • I. booted into Safe Mode with Networking, Deleted my 3070 from device manager and rebooted. This allowed the computer to start up again outside of safe mode but with the wrong resolution. I downloaded the driver this time from Nvidia's Website but again was met with a black screen mid install.
  • I booted into Safe Mode again and Deleted my Drivers using 3DGuru's Driver Remover. This allowed the computer to start up again outside of safe mode. Once I installed the drivers I was once again met with the black screen mid install.
  • I called EVGA's Service Number and mentioned these steps to the agent who suggested I start an RMA, but if I had the chance to test my 3070 in a different build.
  • I tested m 3070 in a friends build, and his computer booted normally, installed the drivers correctly, and no issues occurred. This leads me to believe that the card itself is fine and the problem is else where.

I then:
  • Downloaded the latest MSI BIOS, Successfully flashed my BIOS, but still black screens except for in Safe Mode.
  • Attempted to downgrade Windows to the most recent Major Version (this failed)
  • Attempted to downgrade Windows to the most recent Minor Version (this succeeded) but still black screens except for in Safe Mode.
  • Attempted to Clear CMOS (this succeeded) bu still back screens except for in Safe Mode.
  • Backed up my data off the drive that Windows was on and attempted to Reset Windows while keeping my files. During the installation, the screen went black with no signal.
  • Backed up my data off the drive that Windows was on and attempted to Reset Windows without keeping my files on that drive. During the installation, the screen went black with no signal.

At this point, when I try to boot into safe mode it tries to run Windows SetUp but fails because of oobe errors. I've exhausted all of my technical knowledge and ideas, and would rather not replace the whole system, but I have no idea anymore what part or parts aren't working. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. The Red EZ Debug LED for VGA is on longer than the rest of the LED's during boot, but eventually goes away. Also, I am using 2 PCIE cables instead of one to power the 3070. (A question the EVGA rep asked so figured I should include).
 
Oct 9, 2021
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First off, RIP about the water into your GPU. Second, that sounds so weird. So does booting into safe mode fix the black screening? or does it still black screen in safe mode? It kind of sounds like to me off the top of my head that if your 3070 was able to work fine in your friends PC, maybe some water got into the 3070 slot, (Or even somewhere else on your MOBO, even the smallest drop you might have not seen) perhaps busting it? Could be a total shot in the dark, but worth investigating perhaps?
 
Oct 8, 2021
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Try a different pci slot and see if that makes any difference

Initially, I was reading my mobo manual and it didn't seem like the GPU could run in any of the the other pci slots. However, I just went to try this and the 3070 actually can not fit between my hard drive enclosures in slot 3 on my board :(

So does booting into safe mode fix the black screening? or does it still black screen in safe mode?

I was able to get it into safe mode without black screens. I was able to do most things normally i.e. (search on chrome, move files around for back up). However I could not open any pictures or documents. (Honestly unsure if that's intended in Safe Mode). Since I've tried to reset windows, now when I boot to safe mode it enters the Windows Setup Process but has OOBE errors.
 
Oct 9, 2021
24
5
15
Initially, I was reading my mobo manual and it didn't seem like the GPU could run in any of the the other pci slots. However, I just went to try this and the 3070 actually can not fit between my hard drive enclosures in slot 3 on my board :(



I was able to get it into safe mode without black screens. I was able to do most things normally i.e. (search on chrome, move files around for back up). However I could not open any pictures or documents. (Honestly unsure if that's intended in Safe Mode). Since I've tried to reset windows, now when I boot to safe mode it enters the Windows Setup Process but has OOBE errors.
It sounds like to me theres an issue with either your mobo or that PCI slot in particular since you spilt water around it. I would tell you to try running off CPU graphics but i dont think that CPU of yours has built in graphics. My next suggestion but i dont think itll work would be to try your friends GPU in your mobo to see if that works, but i doubt it since your 3070 was working in his.
 
Oct 8, 2021
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It sounds like to me theres an issue with either your mobo or that PCI slot in particular since you spilt water around it. I would tell you to try running off CPU graphics but i dont think that CPU of yours has built in graphics. My next suggestion but i dont think itll work would be to try your friends GPU in your mobo to see if that works, but i doubt it since your 3070 was working in his.

Sorry for the late response, unfortunately, my CPU doesn't have integrated graphics :/ My friend is also nervous to put his card in my computer incase there is a short somewhere.

I'm thinking about buying a new mobo to see if it's a problem with the board. Is it better to get a X570 so that if it still doesn't work I can keep the board and get a matching processor, or to downgrade my current board and get a cheap b450 to see if that fixes things.
 
Oct 8, 2021
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Update:

Ended up purchasing a new MSI X570 Tomahawk Wifi. Got everything set up, Bios sees everything, but I'm still unable to boot past a black screen, windows spin wheel freezes and no signal output.
 
Oct 8, 2021
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Another Update, I made a clean boot USB and cleaned my entire drive / reinstalled windows. I'm now able to boot into windows outside of safe mode! I was able to install chrome and download new the latest drivers. However as soon as I attempted to install the driver, I was again met with a black screen.

Was able to boot into safe mode and used 3dguru to uninstall the drivers, and tried to install an earlier driver version. Same problem. Friend was over at the time and able to borrow an HDMI cable. Using the HDMI cable works after the driver installs but the display port cable does not. This is strange because the display port cable works the entire time before the driver installs. I again tried all three display ports but no luck. Only HDMI works after driver installs.

Does this point to a bad cord, bad dp cable, driver problem, or something else entirely?