Question Help with Red VGA light troubleshooting

[bajaHammer]

I know there's tons of threads about red vga light and no post etc, but I feel my questions are a little different. I built a pc 3 weeks ago and it has been working completely fine the whole time. Gamed last night for about 4 hours like usual and went to boot up this morning to a red VGA light and no display on my monitor. I've tried alot of troubleshooting and am now assuming it's the motherboard but would like to see what everyone's thought on this is.

Build:
Mobo: Gigabyte b650 aorus elite ax Rev 1.2
Cpu: ryzen 7 7800x3d
Gpu: xfx 6700xt
Ram: gskill flare 32g x2 6000mhz cl30
Psu: corsair rmx series 1000w
Storage : samsung 980 pro m.2 2tb
Cooler: thermalright peerless assassin

I've tried using an old evga 1050ti, fans spin just like my 6700xt but still red vga light.
I've tried taking 1 stick of ram out and (yes it's in A2 slot like manual says for using 1 stick) booting with one stick in 4 configurations.
1 stick w 1050ti, the other stick with 1050ti, 1 stick w 6700xt, the other stick w 6700xt.
Still red vga light.
I've taken cmos battery out and cleared cmos. Positive it worked because boot took awhile just like on first boot.

For clarification the pc boots on, everything is running, fans spinning, just out of nowhere I have a red vga light and no display.
I was on the most recent bios FC up until now. I see there is a new bios that came out on the 23rd but I don't see why gigabyte pushing out a new bios would give me a red vga light. All graphics drivers and chipset drivers and monitor drivers up to date as of gaming last night.

I've made this post to see if my feeling that my next step is to RMA the motherboard as I feel after using 2 working gpus, both sticks of ram alone with both working gpus and reseating the ram that the gpu and ram are not the issue. Psu is brand new and working fine for 3 weeks, tier 1 on psu cultists psu and way more wattage than I need. At this point the only 2 things I can think of that are bad are the mobo or cpu. Cpu seems to be rare that they die. Albeit this all seems too rare to me that something died within 3 weeks. Also my temps have never gotten above 70c. Usually 50-65c for cpu past 3 weeks.

What would you do? Thanks

 

[Aeacus]

What would you do? Thanks

1. Remove dedicated GPU from your system.
2. Hook monitor to MoBo.
3. Look if you can get an image.

Your CPU has iGPU in it, so this is godsend for troubleshooting the issue. Could be that the main PCI-E slot has gone bad.

 

[bajaHammer]

So the only problem with your suggestion is that I had disabled completely the iGPU in my bios previously to this. Because of that I don't think this would work? As I can't get into bios since no display and red vga light.

 

[bajaHammer]

Okay so actually I tried this and got it too boot with a display while plugged into the motherboard. However I got the blue Recovery screen "it looks like windows didn't load correctly."

I should also have mentioned this in my initial post but I was on Xmas vacation for 5 days, when I came back I got this same blue recovery windows didn't load correctly on my first boot up. I hit the restart my pc and it started just fine and I gamed all night for 4 hours. Then this morning my problem started.

So now I truly am confused, could the windows didn't load properly be causing this? I don't see why that would make a red vga light. But as of now I have display by plugging into the motherboard. If I didn't get this blue screen I would assume what you said that maybe the PCI-E slot had gone bad. Maybe it has but why am I getting windows didn't display properly.

I was about to head out and buy a new motherboard to see if I could fix it and return the old one as it's only 3 weeks old. But now I don't know what to do, why would windows do this and could that be causing an issue?

 

[Aeacus]

So the only problem with your suggestion is that I had disabled completely the iGPU in my bios previously to this. Because of that I don't think this would work?

If you remove dedicated GPU and system won't detect it, iGPU is automatically enabled.

You can disable iGPU only when you have dedicated GPU in the system. But you can't disable iGPU if you only have that for display.
So, it won't hurt to try.

could the windows didn't load properly be causing this?

Could be, since when OS is corrupt, you can't boot to OS. Though, system should boot to BIOS instead.

why would windows do this and could that be causing an issue?

Could be either software corruption or OS drive failure.

But to start from clean point;
* can you see image with iGPU?
* can you boot to OS with iGPU?
* can you see image with Radeon GPU?
* can you boot to OS with Radeon GPU?

 

[bajaHammer]

If you remove dedicated GPU and system won't detect it, iGPU is automatically enabled.

You can disable iGPU only when you have dedicated GPU in the system. But you can't disable iGPU if you only have that for display.
So, it won't hurt to try.

Okay so actually I tried this and got it too boot with a display while plugged into the motherboard. However I got the blue Recovery screen "it looks like windows didn't load correctly."

I should also have mentioned this in my initial post but I was on Xmas vacation for 5 days, when I came back I got this same blue recovery windows didn't load correctly on my first boot up. I hit the restart my pc and it started just fine and I gamed all night for 4 hours. Then this morning my problem started.

So now I truly am confused, could the windows didn't load properly be causing this? I don't see why that would make a red vga light. But as of now I have display by plugging into the motherboard. If I didn't get this blue screen I would assume what you said that maybe the PCI-E slot had gone bad. Maybe it has but why am I getting windows didn't display properly.

I was about to head out and buy a new motherboard to see if I could fix it and return the old one as it's only 3 weeks old. But now I don't know what to do, why would windows do this and could that be causing an issue?

I don't see why a windows didn't load correctly would cause a red vga light. But obviously something is going on. I assumed my motherboard but now I'm getting even more confused

 

[Aeacus]

I just edited my previous reply. Do look at it for additional questions i have.

 

[bajaHammer]

If you remove dedicated GPU and system won't detect it, iGPU is automatically enabled.

You can disable iGPU only when you have dedicated GPU in the system. But you can't disable iGPU if you only have that for display.
So, it won't hurt to try.


Could be, since when OS is corrupt, you can't boot to OS. Though, system should boot to BIOS instead.


Could be either software corruption or OS drive failure.

But to start from clean point;
* can you see image with iGPU?
* can you boot to OS with iGPU?
* can you see image with Radeon GPU?
* can you boot to OS with Radeon GPU?

I can boot to OS with iGPU. Not with Radeon GPU or old nvidia gpu, both work, tested in roommates pc. I'm on my desktop now and seems everything working (except weirdly if I click chrome to look up clean reinstall windows guide, chrome doesn't do anything, doesn't open). Other programs like steam, msi afterburner etc are opening fine, don't know what that's about.

 

[Aeacus]

chrome doesn't do anything, doesn't open

You don't happen to have Firefox installed as 2nd browser, do you? If not, try opening the built-in Microsoft Edge web browser and look if you can access the net.

Not with Radeon GPU or old nvidia gpu, both work, tested in roommates pc.

Your MoBo has 3x PCI-E x16 slots. Now the most upper one you've tested with both GPUs, but how about the other two PCI-E x16 slots? (To rule out main PCI-E slot being gone.)

to look up clean reinstall windows guide

We have good, in-depth guide for that in our forums;
Win10: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/windows-10-clean-install-tutorial.3170366/
Win11: https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/windows-11-clean-install-tutorial.3831442/

 

[bajaHammer]

Okay I am doing a reinstall of windows, then I will test the other pcie slots. I Def don't want to use those long term but at least could tell me main pcie slot is bad. Will keep you updated shortly thanks for all the help

 

[bajaHammer]

Okay I really don't understand but I am up and running again. I connected to iGPU, did a reinstall of windows. Popped the gpu into the main pcie slot and it booted up with display. Makes no sense. Shut down and reinstalled the 2nd stick of ram and booted up again with display good to go. I don't really get why windows would have been bad after only having for 3 weeks and also don't get why that would give me a red vga light and not boot at least to the bios. I truly am stumped but I am up and running so not going to complain. Thanks so much for the iGPU suggestion even though it didn't help me troubleshoot whether the pcie slot was bad. The only conclusion for me is windows but again don't see why I wouldn't boot to bios. Here's to hoping justnlike last night that I'm not going to have a fully functional pc tonight only to find when I boot up in the morning a red vga no display problem again.

 

[Aeacus]

a red vga no display problem again.

At this point, i'd replace MoBo.

Red VGA LED means that MoBo can not communicate with GPU. You may get it working when using 2nd or 3rd PCI-E x16 slot but it wouldn't be ideal.

As of why clean Win install fixed the issue for a short while - i don't know. OS (or any software in that matter), should not count since red VGA LED is solely hardware issue. Maybe it's an anomaly in The Matrix. 😆

 

[bajaHammer]

At this point, i'd replace MoBo.

Red VGA LED means that MoBo can not communicate with GPU. You may get it working when using 2nd or 3rd PCI-E x16 slot but it wouldn't be ideal.

As of why clean Win install fixed the issue for a short while - i don't know. OS (or any software in that matter), should not count since red VGA LED is solely hardware issue. Maybe it's an anomaly in The Matrix. 😆

Let's see if it works again when I get home from work tonight. Fingers crossed. I will most likely be replacing mobo tho as I don't want to deal with this problem. Any recommendations on a good reliable motherboard? Don't think I'll go Gigabyte again

 

[Aeacus]

Any recommendations on a good reliable motherboard?

Asus or MSI. My personal preference is MSI but some don't like the MSI brand. So, Asus is also a solid option.

And for chipset, i'd go with X670 or X670E,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&m=8,27&sort=price&c=158,159

But if you have NZXT PC case, then NZXT MoBo would be nice match,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&sort=price&m=94

For more in-depth of what i think about different Mobo brands, you can read this reply of mine;
link: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-which-windows-version.3831325/#post-23165246

Note: in there, i was focused on Intel chipsets, hence why EVGA is also listed. But EVGA doesn't make AMD chipset MoBos.

 

[bajaHammer]

Asus or MSI. My personal preference is MSI but some don't like the MSI brand. So, Asus is also a solid option.

And for chipset, i'd go with X670 or X670E,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&m=8,27&sort=price&c=158,159

But if you have NZXT PC case, then NZXT MoBo would be nice match,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&sort=price&m=94

For more in-depth of what i think about different Mobo brands, you can read this reply of mine;
link: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-which-windows-version.3831325/#post-23165246

Note: in there, i was focused on Intel chipsets, hence why EVGA is also listed. But EVGA doesn't make AMD chipset MoBos.

Thanks again for all the info/help

 

[bajaHammer]

Asus or MSI. My personal preference is MSI but some don't like the MSI brand. So, Asus is also a solid option.

And for chipset, i'd go with X670 or X670E,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&m=8,27&sort=price&c=158,159

But if you have NZXT PC case, then NZXT MoBo would be nice match,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&sort=price&m=94

For more in-depth of what i think about different Mobo brands, you can read this reply of mine;
link: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-which-windows-version.3831325/#post-23165246

Note: in there, i was focused on Intel chipsets, hence why EVGA is also listed. But EVGA doesn't make AMD chipset MoBos.

Well it was too good to be true. Ended up getting same issue tonight when I got home. Ended up messing w it again and now getting dram led and still no display. Assuming mobo is toast. Local store has ASUS - TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI (Socket AM5) AMD Ryzen 7000 Series ATX Motherboard I'm planning to pick up first thing in the morning and swapping it all over to see if it fixes the problem. And then return the gigabyte. Based on your post I'm assuming you'd recommend this mobo so worth a shot albeit a bit pricey

 

[bajaHammer]

Asus or MSI. My personal preference is MSI but some don't like the MSI brand. So, Asus is also a solid option.

And for chipset, i'd go with X670 or X670E,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&m=8,27&sort=price&c=158,159

But if you have NZXT PC case, then NZXT MoBo would be nice match,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=41&sort=price&m=94

For more in-depth of what i think about different Mobo brands, you can read this reply of mine;
link: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-which-windows-version.3831325/#post-23165246

Note: in there, i was focused on Intel chipsets, hence why EVGA is also listed. But EVGA doesn't make AMD chipset MoBos.

Sorry for another reply but I noticed the ASUS TUF x670e supported cpu list has stepping order b2 for the ryzen 7 7800x3d which i was planning to grab from a local store tomorrow to test if it'd work. Since there's no real way of knowing if it's a B2 stepping for the mobo I'm hesitant to grab it tomorrow and wondering if you have a specific mobo you would actually recommend for ryzen 7 7800x3d that doesn't ha e any weird compatibility where I'd need to flash bios for building etc. Just good to go out of box?

 

[Aeacus]

Since there's no real way of knowing if it's a B2 stepping

I get a feeling that you even doesn't know what B2 stepping for AMD CPUs means. 🤔

and wondering if you have a specific mobo you would actually recommend for ryzen 7 7800x3d that doesn't ha e any weird compatibility where I'd need to flash bios for building etc. Just good to go out of box?

If you want specific MoBo and without it costing a lot, then how about:
MSI PRO X670-P WIFI,
CPU compatibility: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-X670-P-WIFI/support#cpu
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jJhFf7/msi-pro-x670-p-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-x670-p-wifi

Do note that AMD 600-series chipset MoBos are solely created for AMD Ryzen 7000-series CPUs and you don't need to update BIOS on any of the MoBos.
E.g, did you had to update the BIOS of your Gigabyte MoBo, prior of making it to work with your CPU?

 

[bajaHammer]

I get a feeling that you even doesn't know what B2 stepping for AMD CPUs means. 🤔


If you want specific MoBo and without it costing a lot, then how about:
MSI PRO X670-P WIFI,
CPU compatibility: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-X670-P-WIFI/support#cpu
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jJhFf7/msi-pro-x670-p-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-x670-p-wifi

Do note that AMD 600-series chipset MoBos are solely created for AMD Ryzen 7000-series CPUs and you don't need to update BIOS on any of the MoBos.
E.g, did you had to update the BIOS of your Gigabyte MoBo, prior of making it to work with your CPU?

I get a feeling that you even doesn't know what B2 stepping for AMD CPUs means. 🤔


If you want specific MoBo and without it costing a lot, then how about:
MSI PRO X670-P WIFI,
CPU compatibility: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-X670-P-WIFI/support#cpu
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jJhFf7/msi-pro-x670-p-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-x670-p-wifi

Do note that AMD 600-series chipset MoBos are solely created for AMD Ryzen 7000-series CPUs and you don't need to update BIOS on any of the MoBos.
E.g, did you had to update the BIOS of your Gigabyte MoBo, prior of making it to work with your CPU?

Thanks and I specifically mentioned the mobo I saw at a local shop simply because I want to run out and grab to test rather than wait for a new one to ship. My understanding of stepping is it's the same thing as Revision numbers on other mobo manufacturers. Here is the cpu support page and as you can see all the x3d are only compatible in b2. Was just hoping for a quick easy fix rather than waiting for shipping.

But I will take a look at the msi board you've mentioned

 

[Aeacus]

Here is the cpu support page and as you can see all the x3d are only compatible in b2.

All Ryzen 7000-series CPUs have B2 stepping. Here, i think Asus hasn't updated their CPU support page to include B2 stepping for all Ryzen 7000-series CPUs,
link: https://www.asus.com/motherboards-c...desk_qvl_cpu?model2Name=TUF-GAMING-X670E-PLUS

My understanding of stepping is it's the same thing as Revision numbers on other mobo manufacturers.

In a nutshell - yes. Though, this doesn't mean that e.g R5 5600 with stepping B2 doesn't work in AMD 500-series MoBos, while same CPU with stepping A1 does. They both still work fine. Stepping is just a way to identify minute hardware changes within CPU during it's production span.

Integrated circuits have two primary classes of mask sets: firstly, "base" layers that are used to build the structures, such as transistors, that comprise circuit logic and, secondly, "metal" layers that connect the circuit logic.

Typically, when an integrated circuit manufacturer such as Intel or AMD produces a new stepping (i.e. a revision to the masks), it is because it has found bugs in the logic, has made improvements to the design that permit faster processing, has found a way to increase yield or improve the "bin splits" (i.e. create faster transistors and thus faster CPUs), has improved maneuverability to more easily identify marginal circuits, or has reduced the circuit testing time, which can in turn reduce the cost of testing.

Stepping identifiers commonly comprise a letter followed by a number, for example B2. Usually, the letter indicates the revision level of a CPU's base layers and the number indicates the revision level of the metal layers. A change of letter indicates a change to both the base layer mask revision and metal layers whereas a change in the number indicates a change in the metal layer mask revision only. This is analogous to the major/minor revision numbers in software versioning. Base layer revision changes are time consuming and more expensive for the manufacturer, but some fixes are difficult or impossible to accomplish with metal-only changes.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepping_level