Question Hardware problem that I can't figure out ?

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Commendable
Aug 5, 2020
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1,510
I've built a few PCs before but this time I just can't figure out what's wrong. (all my previous builds were intel and this one is an AMD so i'm not as familiar with them) I'm no IT expert just a hobbyist gamer and pc builder. Really sorry for the whole life story but here it is.

My friend gave me his old PC after he built himself a new one and he didn't need it anymore (very generous of him). There was something wrong with the hard drive so i got a new one and installed windows on a new SSD. It was working fine for a while but i noticed the CPU temps were a bit high so I got a new cpu cooler, it was working perfectly after that. Stable temps in all the games and programs I ran, no problem. then A different friend of mine asks me to play Apex Legends with him. I install the game and after a couple seconds after it loads and i get into the main menu, my PC crashes. I thought it was just CPU overheating because the same thing happened before and it happened just like that. CPU under load, pc shuts down.

That only happened once or twice before I bought and installed a new cpu cooler. I let it cool off on its own for about 15 minutes thinking temp was the problem. But then I turn it back on. All my components seem to be working, all the fans, cpu and gpu fans, all the RGB lights and everything turn on, but nothing. Black screen like my monitors aren't even plugged in. Keyboard and mouse not responding (caps lock and num lock don't turn on the indicator lights on the keyboard like they should). No POST, no flash screen, can't get into BIOS or anything. I try taking everything out (cpu, gpu, ram, drive SATA cables, everything), cleaning all the contacts and pins but the same thing happened. My old PC was an intel system and this one is AMD so i couldn't test the cpu but i swapped out the GPU and it was the same thing.

So then I thought my motherboard got fried. After lurking on ebay for a while i found a good deal on a used motherboard of the same model (ASUS crosshair v formula Z) that came with a CPU+cooler, and RAM already installed. The product description says everything is tested and working. So I thought i would first just put the whole motherboard with all the components already on there so I wouldn't have to fuss with replacing everything like the cpu and RAM, but same exact thing. No POST, no bios screen, nothing. I tried it without any drives connected thinking it might be a corrupted drive. But with no drive connected it should still let me get to the BIOS, right? Or it would say something like (no boot device)... Still nothing.

The ONLY combination I found that actually worked was my old GPU from my old pc (asus geforce 9800gtx) with no drives connected. Only then could i even get to the BIOS. So i guess the new motherboard is OK... but when I plug the drive back in, the same thing happens. I can't figure out what's wrong. Did that crash fry my GPU AND my SSD? Because everything was working perfectly before that, now my main drive with windows on it AND my gpu both seem to be faulty. when it can't boot, the 2-digit error code on the motherboard's little LCD display says b2 and the little red LED on the side labeled "LEDBOOT" stays on. Its hard for me to believe that a new SSD with a fresh install of windows could fail on its own after about a month or 2 of use. I don't think its a compatibility problem either because every component was working perfectly and nothing new was installed before that fatal crash.

Aside from the new SSD and cpu cooler i bought, all the hardware was from the original build. I'm thinking it might be a power supply issue maybe. Is 500W enough for this system?

Here are the specs of the original system:
Motherboard: asus crosshair V formula Z
GPU: MSI R9 380
CPU: AMD FX 8370
2x4GB DDR3 RAM

Again, sorry for my long rambling post, i just thought i would try to make it detailed because someone's gonna ask about some detail or other so I thought I'd just be as specific as I can from the start. Any help would be much appreciated. I think I might have an old version of bootable windows on a USB stick around here somewhere so I might try that if i can manage to find it.
 
I've built a few PCs before but this time I just can't figure out what's wrong. (all my previous builds were intel and this one is an AMD so i'm not as familiar with them) I'm no IT expert just a hobbyist gamer and pc builder. Really sorry for the whole life story but here it is.
My friend gave me his old PC after he built himself a new one and he didn't need it anymore (very generous of him). There was something wrong with the hard drive so i got a new one and installed windows on a new SSD. It was working fine for a while but i noticed the CPU temps were a bit high so I got a new cpu cooler, it was working perfectly after that. Stable temps in all the games and programs I ran, no problem. then A different friend of mine asks me to play Apex Legends with him. I install the game and after a couple seconds after it loads and i get into the main menu, my PC crashes. I thought it was just CPU overheating because the same thing happened before and it happened just like that. CPU under load, pc shuts down. That only happened once or twice before I bought and installed a new cpu cooler. I let it cool off on its own for about 15 minutes thinking temp was the problem. But then I turn it back on. All my components seem to be working, all the fans, cpu and gpu fans, all the RGB lights and everything turn on, but nothing. Black screen like my monitors aren't even plugged in. Keyboard and mouse not responding (caps lock and num lock don't turn on the indicator lights on the keyboard like they should). No POST, no flash screen, can't get into BIOS or anything. I try taking everything out (cpu, gpu, ram, drive SATA cables, everything), cleaning all the contacts and pins but the same thing happened. My old PC was an intel system and this one is AMD so i couldn't test the cpu but i swapped out the GPU and it was the same thing. So then I thought my motherboard got fried. After lurking on ebay for a while i found a good deal on a used motherboard of the same model (ASUS crosshair v formula Z) that came with a CPU+cooler, and RAM already installed. The product description says everything is tested and working. So I thought i would first just put the whole motherboard with all the components already on there so I wouldn't have to fuss with replacing everything like the cpu and RAM, but same exact thing. No POST, no bios screen, nothing. I tried it without any drives connected thinking it might be a corrupted drive. But with no drive connected it should still let me get to the BIOS, right? Or it would say something like (no boot device)... Still nothing. The ONLY combination I found that actually worked was my old GPU from my old pc (asus geforce 9800gtx) with no drives connected. Only then could i even get to the BIOS. So i guess the new motherboard is OK... but when I plug the drive back in, the same thing happens. I can't figure out what's wrong. Did that crash fry my GPU AND my SSD? Because everything was working perfectly before that, now my main drive with windows on it AND my gpu both seem to be faulty. when it can't boot, the 2-digit error code on the motherboard's little LCD display says b2 and the little red LED on the side labeled "LEDBOOT" stays on. Its hard for me to believe that a new SSD with a fresh install of windows could fail on its own after about a month or 2 of use. I don't think its a compatibility problem either because every component was working perfectly and nothing new was installed before that fatal crash. Aside from the new SSD and cpu cooler i bought, all the hardware was from the original build. I'm thinking it might be a power supply issue maybe. Is 500W enough for this system?

Here are the specs of the original system:
Motherboard: asus crosshair V formula Z
GPU: MSI R9 380
CPU: AMD FX 8370
2x4GB DDR3 RAM

Again, sorry for my long rambling post, i just thought i would try to make it detailed because someone's gonna ask about some detail or other so I thought I'd just be as specific as I can from the start. Any help would be much appreciated. I think I might have an old version of bootable windows on a USB stick around here somewhere so I might try that if i can manage to find it.
What about PSU, is it of good make and model, just as old as rest of system?
 

Vitreous Change

Commendable
Aug 5, 2020
6
0
1,510
What about PSU, is it of good make and model, just as old as rest of system?

I don't remember, it doesn't have a visible label when I take the case panels off, so I'd have to take it out of the case to see the make and model. As far as i know it is the same one from the original build. Do you think it might be the cause of the problem that I described? Because the pc is a few years old (from like 2015 or 16) so i'm not surprised that some parts are failing its just frustrating that I can't figure out what. But the hardware is still powerful enough for what I need, i mostly just use it for photoshop and blender and things like that. Otherwise i'm fine with playing newer games at like medium settings on 1080p
 
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Vitreous Change

Commendable
Aug 5, 2020
6
0
1,510
If you can get it back to bios I suggest flashing the bios. I suspect a low level graphics conflict.

Hopefully that's all it is. I'll have to look up how to do that because I've never had to do that before on any of my intel builds, those all just worked straight out of the box (after installing the necessary hardware drivers of course, which is simple enough). I'll give it a try after i get home from work
 

Vitreous Change

Commendable
Aug 5, 2020
6
0
1,510
If you can get it back to bios I suggest flashing the bios. I suspect a low level graphics conflict.

But wait, i replaced the motherboard with a different one of the same model. Doesn't that mean its can't be a BIOS problem? Because with the 2nd motherboard i still had the same thing happen. Should I try it flashing it on my original mobo or the replacement one?