[SOLVED] Mobo has white VGA light, can't enter BIOS, but PC boots normally ?

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JunkSniperJoe

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Feb 15, 2021
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I have a small persistent issue with my new build. Sometimes when I turn on the pc the white Q-LED VGA light on my motherboard turns on. Following this, no BIOS screen is displayed on my monitor. However, I'm able to boot into Windows 10 a few seconds later with no issue. I've also had no issue playing games or running any other programs. The main problem is that I cannot access the BIOS menu when this issue occurs.

So far, I've tried turning off fast startup in Windows 10 and the BIOS, removing and reinserting the GPU, and removing and reinserting the RAM.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PRO (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card
Case: Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
 
Solution
Turn off all sleep/power saving/ hibernation, etc, modes - at least temporarily.

Then if the white light goes off and remains off (provided everything else is well) test sleep mode(s) device by device as applicable.

Be methodical and deliberate. Determine if the problem is indeed related to the monitor or some other device.

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
This:

"The main problem is that I cannot access the BIOS menu when this issue occurs. "

Any pop-up windows, error messages, or other display when attempts to access BIOS fail?

What do you do or what is needed to access BIOS? Sometimes you must immediately start pressing F2, F10, or some other key very rapidly as soon as the computer is powered on.

Appears that F2 or even Delete will do so with respect to your motherboard.
 

JunkSniperJoe

Prominent
Feb 15, 2021
61
5
545
This:

"The main problem is that I cannot access the BIOS menu when this issue occurs. "

Any pop-up windows, error messages, or other display when attempts to access BIOS fail?

What do you do or what is needed to access BIOS? Sometimes you must immediately start pressing F2, F10, or some other key very rapidly as soon as the computer is powered on.

Appears that F2 or even Delete will do so with respect to your motherboard.
No pop-up windows nor error messages are displayed. The only indications of some problem are the white light and the BIOS boot screen not showing up. When that happens, I cannot access the BIOS menu at all. I have tried pressing F2 and/or delete very quickly when this happens; however, I am still unable to get into the menu. When the light isn't on and I can see the boot screen, I can access the menu as intended.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
If you remove the GPU card (RTX 3080) will the system boot with integrated graphics?

Does the following link present the User Manual applicable to your motherboard?

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...I/E16844_TUF_GAMING_X570-PRO_WI-FI_UM_WEB.pdf

If the User Manual refers you to the manufacturer's website for more current information then do so. Likewise pay attention to all fine print, warnings, etc..

Details matter.

Double check the following: Supported graphics hardware, the current physical connections, and the applicable configuration settings (if you can get to them).

Review the User Manual first and note any pages, etc., relevant to graphics. At the same time verify other connections and configurations.

Hopefully, the problem at hand is just an error of omission or commission.
 

JunkSniperJoe

Prominent
Feb 15, 2021
61
5
545
If you remove the GPU card (RTX 3080) will the system boot with integrated graphics?

Does the following link present the User Manual applicable to your motherboard?

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...I/E16844_TUF_GAMING_X570-PRO_WI-FI_UM_WEB.pdf

If the User Manual refers you to the manufacturer's website for more current information then do so. Likewise pay attention to all fine print, warnings, etc..

Details matter.

Double check the following: Supported graphics hardware, the current physical connections, and the applicable configuration settings (if you can get to them).

Review the User Manual first and note any pages, etc., relevant to graphics. At the same time verify other connections and configurations.

Hopefully, the problem at hand is just an error of omission or commission.
To my knowledge, the Ryzen 5 5600x does not have integrated graphics. Unless I'm misunderstanding something , I don't think the system would boot without a discrete GPU, but I can give it a shot.

The manual in the link is the correct one for my motherboard. Along with the info in the manual, I did a little more research and found this information regarding Q-led troubleshooting from ASUS. Based on what I've read, it's possible the GPU and/or mobo PCIe pins are dirty, but I don't recall seeing anything other than dust on the pins. Other then that, physical connections look and feel solid.

As a side note: I'm seeing a few reddit post with similar issues saying the light may be related to the monitor somehow. Apparently, if the pc turns on and the monitor is off, the white light will be present. However, my monitor is usually kept in sleep mode when the pc isn't on, so I'm not sure if that's the problem either.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Turn off all sleep/power saving/ hibernation, etc, modes - at least temporarily.

Then if the white light goes off and remains off (provided everything else is well) test sleep mode(s) device by device as applicable.

Be methodical and deliberate. Determine if the problem is indeed related to the monitor or some other device.
 
Solution

JunkSniperJoe

Prominent
Feb 15, 2021
61
5
545
Hopefully this post doesn't jinx anything, but I may have solved the problem. I turned off something called "deep sleep" in the monitor's menu. So far, after turing the pc off and on 7 times, I have not experienced the white light/BIOS issue. Since the problem isn't consistent, I can't say for sure that it's gone, but I'll keep playing with the monitor's settings if it pops back up.
 
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