[SOLVED] First custom build PC, Boots with no display

[mperez11412]

Just finished putting together a PC. First boot was a success, fans and LEDS running, including the GPU. Monitor displayed a prompt to reboot to BIOS setup and choose boot media, I called it a day and shut it down. The next day, 2nd boot and everything looks good except....no more display. No prompt, nothing. Tried 4 different HDMI cables, both to the GPU and the board itself, as well as alternating between the 3 monitor hdmi ports. No luck. Checked the mobo manual for any tidbit of info, all it said is if there's no display, then maybe the monitor is bad. Tested the monitor with a sibling's game console, no issues. Not sure what to do. Even checked the debug codes for the LED on mobo but none of the error codes occur, just the normal ones.

Here's the build

 

[dimtodim]

do u try boot without gpu?

 

[mperez11412]

do u try boot without gpu?

Just did as per your suggestion. Still no luck

 

[dimtodim]

and what happens when is gpu on board, u can see if fan working

 

[mperez11412]

and what happens when is gpu on board, u can see if fan working

Yes GPU fans definitely working

 

[dimtodim]

Yes GPU fans definitely working

strange...can u access to bios?

 

[mperez11412]

strange...can u access to bios?

How to do this without seeing what's happening on screen though?

 

[dimtodim]

How to do this without seeing what's happening on screen though?

try starting the board and see what red led goes on but not off (locations: near CPU. near RAM slots. near PCIe slot)..

 

[mperez11412]

try starting the board and see what red led goes on but not off (locations: near CPU. near RAM slots. near PCIe slot)..

Here's a picture of the only red LED that lights up on the boadd

 

[dimtodim]

Here's a picture of the only red LED that lights up on the boadd

try boot with only one ram stick...if nothing happens...u must recover bios or u have ground problem, red light indicate problem with motherboard...pull out motherboard from pc case and tray boot with cpu, cooler and one ram stick be sure u plug all cables for motherboard and cpu 8 + 4 pin connector

 

[mperez11412]

try boot with only one ram stick...if nothing happens...u must recover bios or u have ground problem, red light indicate problem with motherboard...pull out motherboard from pc case and tray boot with cpu, cooler and one ram stick be sure u plug all cables for motherboard and cpu 8 + 4 pin connector

What do I need in order to recover BIOS, if that's indeed the issue

 

[Dankhola]

Have you given it plenty of time in case it's training the memory? Can sometimes take a few mins after a hardware change and it's lead me to think boards are dead when they haven't been.

(A simple, fool-proof way to reset the BIOS is to remove the circular CR2032 battery from the motherboard and leave for a minute or two. Replace the battery and it should have reset the CMOS and BIOS settings. There's also sometimes a jumper on the motherboard which will do the same thing)

EDIT - I'd also gently re-seat the Ram

 

[mperez11412]

Have you given it plenty of time in case it's training the memory? Can sometimes take a few mins after a hardware change and it's lead me to think boards are dead when they haven't been.

(A simple, fool-proof way to reset the BIOS is to remove the circular CR2032 battery from the motherboard and leave for a minute or two. Replace the battery and it should have reset the CMOS and BIOS settings. There's also sometimes a jumper on the motherboard which will do the same thing)

EDIT - I'd also gently re-seat the Ram

Alright I've taken out all but one of the RAM sticks, reseated the remaining one, removed the circular battery for a few mins before putting it back in. Nothing different happened, issue persists.

I can't even begin to know where the issue is even coming from being that it booted fine yesterday on initial attempt. As far as I can tell, there's no "signs" that something is busted or dead, I don't know what else to try.

This is what was displayed on the screen when I did initial boot yesterday

One thing I think my be of note is the debug LED repeats the same sequence every 2 seconds. Some numbers are shown almost too fast to see but here's the obvious ones: 15, C2, C3, C4, C5, 5d, 36, 32

 

[dimtodim]

Alright I've taken out all but one of the RAM sticks, reseated the remaining one, removed the circular battery for a few mins before putting it back in. Nothing different happened, issue persists.

I can't even begin to know where the issue is even coming from being that it booted fine yesterday on initial attempt. As far as I can tell, there's no "signs" that something is busted or dead, I don't know what else to try.

This is wha
t was displayed on the screen when I did initial boot yesterday

One thing I think my be of note is the debug LED repeats the same sequence every 2 seconds. Some numbers are shown almost too fast to see but here's the obvious ones: 15, C2, C3, C4, C5, 5d, 36, 32

what is your model motherboard and ram?

 

[mperez11412]

what is your model motherboard and ram?

Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 Memory

 

[egda23]

Here's a picture of the only red LED that lights up on the boadd

This LED indicates that the motherboard tries to boot from the backup bios.
There is a Bios switch on the MoBo th choose from which bios to boot.
Read page 22 from you manual
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-z97x-ud5h_e.pdf

 

[dimtodim]

This LED indicates that the motherboard tries to boot from the backup bios.
There is a Bios switch on the MoBo th choose from which bios to boot.
Read page 22 from you manual
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-z97x-ud5h_e.pdf

2: Backup BIOS (Boot from the backup BIOS) switch in position 2 for backup bios

 

[mperez11412]

That switch is currently set in the down position for the main BIOS. I'll flip it and try using the backup BIOS now. The switch beside it is set to dual BIOS as well.

 

[dimtodim]

That switch is currently set in the down position for the main BIOS. I'll flip it and try using the backup BIOS now. The switch beside it is set to dual BIOS as well.

ok we will see what happens next

 

[mperez11412]

Ok this time the screen showed something, so that's good news. It's only showing a text insertion line/underscore, nothing else. Should I put back in the GPU and RAM sticks?

Edit: I read somewhere that perhaps the BIOS needs to be updated. This case doesn't support internal optical drives but I have a usb powered CD/DVD reader that I use to burn software via my laptop. If I put the BIOS update from the mobo website on a CD and plug it in, will the PC process the update or am I missing a step (or will this not work regardless)?

 

[egda23]

Ok this time the screen showed something, so that's good news. It's only showing a text insertion line/underscore, nothing else. Should I put back in the GPU and RAM sticks?

Edit: I read somewhere that perhaps the BIOS needs to be updated. This case doesn't support internal optical drives but I have a usb powered CD/DVD reader that I use to burn software via my laptop. If I put the BIOS update from the mobo website on a CD and plug it in, will the PC process the update or am I missing a step (or will this not work regardless)?

You need at least one RAM stick to boot completely

 

[mperez11412]

You need at least one RAM stick to boot completely

I have one stick already in

 

[egda23]

I have one stick already in

Disconnect all hard drive or SSD . Leave on RAM stick.
Try to boot
Are you sure that all small connectors from the front panel are placed correctly ?
Are you sure the CPU Fan is correctly connected to the CPU_FAN connector, and not the one just near to it ?
Are 100% sure that the PSU works, even if it worked once yesterday. If you have another PSU try with the other one

 

[mperez11412]

Disconnect all hard drive or SSD . Leave on RAM stick.
Try to boot
Are you sure that all small connectors from the front panel are placed correctly ?
Are 100% sure that the PSU works, even if it worked once yesterday. If you have another PSU try with the other one

Disconnected HDD, same result.

I did notice however the debug LED now shows the code A9 which according to the manual means bio setup has started but it just stays on that code. PSU seems to be working fine, It's only a few days old and everything in the case such as fans and LEDs seem to be powered fine.

 

[egda23]

Disconnected HDD, same result.

I did notice however the debug LED now shows the code A9 which according to the manual means bio setup has started but it just stays on that code. PSU seems to be working fine, It's only a few days old and everything in the case such as fans and LEDs seem to be powered fine.

OK. switch off computer. REMOVE POWER CORD. Do clear CMOS again by removing the battery; 10 min
And try with another RAM stick in place to the one in place