First Boot Unsuccessful (MSI Tomahawk B350 Boot LED)

[k3nobi]

I just finished putting together all of the components for my first PC. Encountered some speed bumps along the way, but after two days of building I felt confident that everything ended up where it should.

I plugged in my monitor, plugged in the PC, and went to boot. The Troubleshoot LEDs on my motherboard all lit up; first the CPU and DRAM lights (very briefly), then the VGA light for a few seconds. It finally settled on the BOOT light and stays there indefinitely. Nothing shows up on my monitor, not even BIOS.

I'm probably wrong, but my first thought was that it was a problem with my SSD or HDD (I'm trying to boot with the former and plan to have my OS on there). What else should I look at?

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi k3nobi

Always list your full system specs with a first boot error. It varies between MBs however a continually lit BOOT_LED indicates something is wrong with the Drives. Nothing will show up on your monitor till the problem is rectified.
Trying to boot from a drive from another system will almost always fail so my advice is to have your SSD as the boot drive and do a clean installation of your OS. Leave the HDD out initially which can be added later for extra storage.
Check all power cables and sata connections and ensure the SSD is properly prioritised in Bios.

 

[k3nobi]

My bad, I keep forgetting to post this:

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro M Tempered Glass (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Keyboard: Razer - Blackwidow X Chroma Wired Gaming Keyboard

Forgive me for not understanding what you mean, I'm new at this. I've yet to try anything with the OS (the installation software is on a flash drive). Should I boot with only the SSD plugged in with the flash drive in as well? I have not yet been able to even get to BIOS

 

[SkyNetRising]

Did you connect monitor to graphics card or to video output on the motherboard?
Ryzen cpus don't have integrated graphics, so video output on the motherboard will not work.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Ok as you have yet to instal the OS, prioritize the USB as first boot option and after completion of OS instal, prioritise the SSD first and your HDD last. Leave the HDD out till your up and running.

You should be able to access Bios by spamming the DELETE key during Post cycle and should work if all is OK with SATA recognition and cabling and connections are OK.
F11 function key is used to access Boot Menu.

It is also important to update your Bios once the OS is installed to address new RAM and for system stability.

 

[k3nobi]

So you're saying to start up the computer with the flash drive plugged in and the SSD and HDD unplugged from the motherboard? I've tried that a couple of times and my monitor still receives no signal while the boot fails.

 

[MeanMachine41]

No your SSD needs to be connected, just leave the HDD out of the equation for now.
With the SSD and USB in the correct port, you can then commence the OS instal. F11 function key is used to access Boot Menu.
If the USB is not recognised then try a different USB port or if no luck there then try a different USB stick containing the ISO file.

 

[k3nobi]

Sorry if I'm being difficult, I'm just still trying to wrap my head around all of this. I am unable to access any of these menus since my monitor is not receiving any signal. I assumed this was because the "Boot" LED was still indicating a problem. Could there be another issue preventing me from seeing anything on my monitor?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Could there be another issue preventing me from seeing anything on my monitor?

I'll ask again - did you connect monitor to graphics card or video output on the motherboard?

What cable are you using? Are you using any kind of adapters/ converters to connect your monitor?

 

[k3nobi]

I'm a huge fool. Problem was a monitor cable not connected to the video card. In BIOS now setting up OS

 

[MeanMachine41]

You will not see anything if Post cycle does not complete and if the BOOT_LED is lit then as said before, Post will not move on till the problem is fixed. It is most lightly a drive issue.

It can be a problem with your monitor or cabling and connections. If you can, then test the monitor in another system or try another monitor to eliminate that possibility.
How is your Monitor connected to the GPU.? HDMI, Displayport, DVI.
Ensure all power plugs occupied on the GPU and firmly in place.?

 

[bignastyid]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from k3nobi : "First Boot Unsuccessful (MSI Tomahawk B350 Boot LED)"

I just finished putting together all of the components for my first PC. Encountered some speed bumps along the way, but after two days of building I felt confident that everything ended up where it should.

I plugged in my monitor, plugged in the PC, and went to boot. The Troubleshoot LEDs on my motherboard all lit up; first the CPU and DRAM lights (very briefly), then the VGA light for a few seconds. It finally settled on the BOOT light and stays there indefinitely. Nothing shows up on my monitor, not even BIOS.

I'm probably wrong, but my first thought was that it was a problem with my SSD or HDD (I'm trying to boot with the former and plan to have my OS on there). What else should I look at?