Disabled Internal Graphics Now PC Wont Boot

[typos1]

I ve got a new pc with an AMD A63400m/6520G APU - its a small pc built with a laptop board.

Its going to replace my current HP DX5150 SFF/Athlon64x2 4200+ with a 8400GS.

I m no gamer but I m massively disappointed with the graphics - just the way it renders the desktop is nowhere near the standard of the 8400GS, even though the specs are actually very similar and the 6520G supposedly outperforms the 8400GS ( =1207&cmp[]=40]http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1207&cmp[]=40 ), but it seems a lot worse to me.

Anyway I was playing with the BIOS and enabled performance but it didnt seem to make much difference, so I turned off VGA (as I m using an HDMI connection) and I also disabled onboard graphics, thinking it had a CPU graphics processor as well as a discrete graphics card and that maybe it was only using the cpu one for rendering the desktop, only switching to the other for heavy stuff like gaming etc.

Stupid mistake - it doesnt have dual graphics and now when it boots I get the usual boot up beeps, then 5 beeps which apparently means a CPU fault. Resetting the BIOS resulted in 8 beeps (display memory/faulty video card error) on first start, then 5 beeps again. I ve tried pressing "delete" many times but I cannot get back into the BIOS to change the settings back.

I cant believe I ve done any damage just by turning off video, but I cannot find any way of getting back into the BIOS and changing the settings back and I dont understand why removing the battery does not put it back to factory settings. Can anyone help ? Thanks

 

[Tradesman1]

Have you tried clearing the CMOS?

 

[typos1]

I left it off overnight, now I get the 8 beeps which is a slight improvement over 5 I guess. But the machine only has a mini pcie slot so I cant connect a graphics card to re-enable onboard graphics. I cleared the CMOS by removing the battery, I thought this was the only way of doing it with no jumpers on the board ?

 

[typos1]

Everything appears to be working apart from that - the fan and HD makes noises and the LED lights up, so its like its still alive, it may well still be letting me in the BIOS even though I have no display, if I could remember the key sequence I could try and re-enable on board graphics.

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello typos1,

I did almost the exact same thing a few months ago with my old Lenovo Thinkstation - complete with beeping and everything! Well, actually I went further because first I messed with the graphics settings in Windows effectively cutting off any video output, but at least the BIOS was still available. Then I did more or less what you did in the BIOS for more or less the same reasons! I was ready to throw the damn thing out, when someone suggested I reset the BIOS.

OK, like tradesman1 said, you need to reset the BIOS by removing the small CMOS battery. I know you tried it once, but you need to do it again - and again if need be. Make sure you follow all necessary procedures, such as grabbing a piece bare metal regularly, and emptying the machine of all electricity: When you disconnect the AC cord, keep pressing the power button until all fans die out. Do this every time you disconnect the AC cord.

Once the battery is out, leave the system alone for an hour or so. Put the battery back in, connect the AC cord and press the power button. Hopefully, the system will show you some kind of Windows emergency screen allowing you to access the OS.

I got my Lenovo up and running, but I lost everything in the reinstallation process, of course. I didn't mind, because I basically got a "brand new" PC.

Best of luck,
GreyCatz.

 

[typos1]

Thanks very much for your reply, its really appreciated, I was hoping for more help than 2 replies !

Unfortunately I ve already tried all you suggested.

I ve pressed the power button continually many many times, I ve left the battery disconnected all night, I ve shorted the battery terminals with a screw driver, I ve removed all components and done all these things, I also done them with the components still in place (well not when I shorted the battery terminals). I ve also taped the power button "on" for over an hour to diffuse all charge. I ve spent all day researching solutions on the the internet.

And I ve managed to find the manual for the BIOS and now know how to do everything with the keyboard - I ve reset the BIOS with the keyboard, I ve also rest the CMOS with the keyboard.

Nothing has worked. I did think I was getting there when after taping up the power button for over an hour then replacing the battery - I got 10 beeps which means a "CMOS shutdown register read/write error", but still no output on HDMI or VGA and turning off and on again afterwards resulted in the 5 beeps ("a processor error, a damaged expansion card, the CPU, or the motherboard could be prompting this beep code").

I ve also got 8 beeps a few times ("display memory error usually caused by a faulty video card"), but most of the time its 5 beeps and I never get a video signal. I ve also loaded the "failsafe CMOS values" using the keyboard and "initiated BIOS recovery" with the keyboard, but nothing, no video output at all.

I m not using Windows, I m using Linux (Ubuntu), so I wont get a Windows recovery, not that that makes any difference Ubuntu did not fail, there was no problem with the OS, its what I did in the BIOS thats caused the problems. Who would have thought that turning off VGA and integrated graphics would have "broken" the cpu ?

I m still not even sure if it has a CPU/GPU combined on the same chip and a separate discrete GPU or not - most of my research suggests the CPU and GPU are actually combined, but removing the heat sink reveals TWO chips about an inch apart, one deffo the A6-3420 and the other I would presume a GPU, so I m confused as hell.

And I think I have a broken PC :-(

 

[GreyCatz]

I'm sorry to hear about your predicament - losing a computer is never easy!

But it's early days, so keep an eye on this site - suddenly out of nowhere, someone will appear with the one piece of information you need.

I'm also sorry I couldn't be of more help - I was convinced it was déja vu on my part..

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

 

[typos1]

I was hoping it was deja vu on your part !

Oh well, thanks for responding though, nothing worse than being ignored on top of everything else.

🙂

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello typos1,

I don't have a solution, but I do have some questions (because now I'm baffled AND curious):

a) Any progress?
b A silly oversight, but what is the name of your computer?
c) I'm a bit confused: We are talking about a desktop?
d) How old is your computer?
e) Have you disconnected, i.e. physically removed, the graphics card?
f) Do you have a fresh CMOS battery available?
g) Are there any jumpers next to the CMOS socket? My Lenovo is too old for that so I forgot to ask.
h) And finally, what's the name of your motherboard? Modern MoBos often have a small CMOS reset button on the edge of the board.

Now, you seem like an analytical sort of squire, so correct me if I'm wrong:

1) Ubuntu is OK but unable to transmit video signals, i.e. it's blinded.
2) You say you can access the BIOS with your keyboard but you still get 5 beeps = Video error, because Ubuntu is blinded.
3) I don't understand: If you can access the BIOS with your keyboard, you should be able to restore the video settings manually, i.e. undo what you did earlier. I'm sure there's even a "Default settings" option in the BIOS menu.
4) You also get 8 beeps = CMOS error. Ignore that. If you can access the BIOS, CMOS can wait.
5) When you do regain access to Ubuntu, prepare for some kind of emergency screen because of the mess you've made.

I don't mean to add to your aggravation with a lot of nosy questions, but I'd really appreciate a few words from you.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

 

[typos1]

Thanks for you interest again Greycaz. Here are my answers :

a) No !
b) Its one of these : http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6616950411.html?orderId=66865214540288
c) Its a small desktop made using a laptop motherboard and components
d) Less than a month
e) Its got an AMD APU - a cpu and gpu combined, some of these have dual graphics with a discreet graphics card soldered to the board as well. I wasnt sure if I had this set up and when I lifted the heatsink there were two chips one the A6 and another (didnt remove the paste on that to read what it said on it). As the APUs are supposed to have a gpu on the same die as the cpu it seemed like I did indeed have a dual graphics set up and as just rendering the desktop was very poor compared to my 8 year old 512mb 8400GS graphics card on my old pc (the 6520G graphics have a very similar spec to the 8400GS so was expecting at least as good) I was thinking that switching to the discreet card only would improve things. I disabled the internal graphics in the BIOS and that has caused the problems - I get usually 5 beeps when I start it and sometimes 8 or 10 (after disconnecting the CMOS for ages). So I guess that it has not got a dual graphics set up and therefore disabling graphics means no display at all which is my problem. A long winded answer but no, I havent removed the graphics card because its either integral with the cpu or its next to the cpu and soldered to the board, so non removable either way.
f) I could try one sure I ve got some around, but I dont think this is the problem as the battery seems ok.
g) I ve spent a long time studying the board and I cant see any jumpers anywhere and as I understand it laptops often done have them.
h) The name of the board is "Sabine_Minibox_a2", have not seen any reset buttons.

1) Ubuntu is fine, I think - I cant get that far as soon as it powers up I get the usual start up beeps and then straight away I get the 5, 8 or 10 beeps.
2) It seems its failing the POST and therefore not booting to the OS, I guess its doing this as there is no graphics available. I have found the AMIBIOS keyboard shortcuts ( https://www.ami.com/ami_downloads/AMIBIOS8_Keystrokes.pdf ) as I said a few posts back and I have tried all sorts of things but none appear to work - I have tried pressing certain keys to, for instance to reset the CMOS - all the while with no video output - in the hope that it would reset it to factory defaults and a reboot would restore the graphics. I ve tried these things both as soon as I have pressed the power button and after its given the 5 beeps, nothing works.
3) See above, I get no video output but the BIOS is deffo alive - its beeping ! so I was hoping that entering certain keystrokes from AMIBIOS would reset it even though I cant see it.
4) I realise the 8 and 10 beeps are CMOS errors and they have only happened when I ve held down the power button for 10 mins with the battery out, so I thought I was getting somewhere, but still no picture after the 8 or 10 beeps and rebooting results in 5 beeps again.
5) I wasnt expecting any emergency screen in Ubuntu as, if I do get things restored, I dont think it would know anything about it as its been "asleep" all the time because the pc has not got as far as booting into the OS, only the BIOS has booted. I could be wrong and I I dont mind, I can deal with that ! I ve only got as far as setting it up, all my stuff is still on my old pc's hard drive. Also with pretty much everuything I ve tried I ve tried it with the HD removed as well as with it in place, but neither makes any difference.

Currently the battery and hard drive are removed and the power button has been taped down for about 12 hours to dissipate all charge - I ve read a few things that say you have to wait as much as 15 hours for it to reset.

Another thing I was thinking of trying is to buy a miniPCIE to PCIE adapter (no PCIE slots on the board only mini PCIE) and using the graphics card from my old pc to try and get a video output and then switch it back to internal graphics. Its a specialist thing though, mail order only you cant buy them from shops

Thanks

Typos.

 

[GreyCatz]

My dearest typos,

I had no idea! I thought you had either a traditional desktop or a modern laptop.

Well, that explains a lot, though not everything. Because you talked about installing a new graphics card, I assumed it was a desktop, but then you referred to components being 'soldered' onto the board, which threw me a bit. To be honest, I don't think you're supposed to make that kind of alteration to your motherboard - much like modern laptops, your setup is pretty much "carved in stone" (or "soldered onto the board").

That said, I must say it's a very sleek and good-looking machine, and it needs to come back to life!

Just be sure, this is what we're dealing with, right?

http://www.pioneercentury.com/eng/s/SABINE-MINI-BOX-A3/index.html

I take it you've already downloaded their BIOS update v1.0 onto a USB. And you said you've removed the CMOS battery and the HDD (what about the RAM? If not, remove them as well).

Somehow, we need to force the computer to boot into either the BIOS/UEFI or into a USB loaded with an upgrade or factory BIOS version, i.e. change the boot sequence. Also, even if it may prove superfluous, I'd use a new CMOS battery, just to cover everything.

Going by your AMI pdf file, the relevant keystroke is either F12 or F8.

Anyway, your machine is rather a niche product and I agree with you that it's difficult to find online resources.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.

 

[typos1]

Thanks for your reply !

I did say in my opening sentence it was a pc built with a laptop board ! I guess you missed it and I didnt mention installing a graphics card either, although I did mention graphics cards, still, not having a go at all, your help is really appreciated and thanks for the resource ! It lists an A1 and an A3, my A2 fits in between, I guess as it has 6520G graphics.

But essentially its a laptop without a screen. As I was trying to explain, some AMD APUs (CPU and GPU on one die) also have a discreet graphics card soldered to the board as well as the gpu on the chip, this is why I was trying to disable the internal graphics, to force it to run the discreet gpu soldered to the board. I found several people who have done this in their laptop with a dual graphics setup and they disable the discreet graphics so it uses less power, I was trying to disable the integral graphics and use the discreet graphics, I guess it does not have one, or if it does what I did disabled both ! I am still undecided as to whether it has this dual graphics set up or not, online research suggests not, but under the heat sink there are TWO chips, one the A3420 and another one. If you have not heard of dual graphics there is info online.

I have not tried the BIOS update. I also removed the RAM and I ve tried all sorts of combos of RAM out HD in HD in RAM out etc. I did not try F12 or F8 because I thought it would not show me anything as graphics is disabled.

I will give them a go and try updating the BIOS. I changed the boot sequence to SD, as that is how I installed Ubuntu, cant remember if I changed it back, but we ll see when I put an SD in with the BIOS update. I dont think the BIOS is letting it get to the point of OS boot because it is sensing that there is no graphics.

Thanks

Typos

EDIT: Pressing F12 or F8 has no effect, still 5 beeps, was 10 after untaping the on button after 15 odd hours, then 5 beeps as before.

EDIT 2: Loading either an SD card or USB stick whilst pressing F8 or F12, with the BIOS update on, in either zipped or unzipped form, results in nothing but the same old 5 beeps and no picture :-( I did this with RAM and HDD present I guess I could try with them removed.

 

[typos1]

Did lots more research and apparently 5 beeps is not a graphics problem, its mean "processor fault" so its buggered. :-(

 

[GreyCatz]

Did lots more research and apparently 5 beeps is not a graphics problem, its mean "processor fault" so its buggered. :-(

Dear typos,

I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear that - at this point I'm not even going to bug you with more ideas that lead to nowhere.

I sincerely hope that you can find a replacement motherboard somewhere.

Best regards,
GreyCatz.