Question Motherboard swap nightmare

Lasagnasmoothie

Reputable
May 5, 2015
9
0
4,510
Hello,

I've encountered a very frustrating problem after swapping motherboards and I'd hugely appreciate any help that can be provided. Here goes...

I recently upgraded from a Asus Sabertooth X99 motherboard and an i7 to an Asus Crosshair motherboard with a ryzen processor. I didn't have any trouble swapping out the components, however, one mistake I made right off the bat is that I failed to delete the drivers from the old motherboard or create a clean install of Windows 10. I've since learned that it's always best to do this as it helps prevent hardware conflicts.

Anyway, after booting my computer up for the first time, I was greeted with the bios screen from my new motherboard saying a cpu change was detected. It also said that it detected two errors: a cpu fan speed error, and I believe an error involving a PCI express lane. I later discovered that I had plugged the cable for the CPU cooler into a port for the case fans rather than the port for the CPU, so I believe this accounts for the error. (I've since corrected this mistake.) Unfortunately, I can't recall exactly what the PCI error said - I should have taken a screen shot.

After exiting the BIOS screen, everything went black and since that moment I've had absolutely nothing on my computer screen. Everything time I attempt to boot up my system, I'm greeted with nothing but darkness - not even a BIOS screen from the motherboard. The error light on my motherboard indicates a "boot device" error. After trying a number of things to get the board to boot, I decided to swap back to my old motherboard and unfortunately I'm experiencing the exact same problem, the motherboard LED indicates a "boot device" error and I'm getting absolutely nothing on my computer screen. So, here are my theories so far on what might be going on:

-Somehow I corrupted my installation of Windows 10. While this is certainly a possibility, what I don't understand is why I'm not getting even a BIOS screen on either of my motherboards. It's my understanding that even without a hard drive connected I should at least be getting a bios screen from my motherboards.

-I somehow damaged/fried my GPU. This is once again a possibility. however, I'm not getting a VGA error LED on my motherboard. If I somehow messed up my GPU, I'd assume the VGA LED would be illuminated?

-Somehow I messed up both of CPUs. Rather than thermal paste, I'm using a graphite thermal pad - something I've never used before. However, once again, I'd assume that if I fried both my CPUs that the CPU error LED would be illuminated - also I'd assume at least the BIOS screen should boot.

Anyway, at this point I'm at a total loss as to what' going on. I was hoping that when I switched back to my old motherboard I could get at least a BIOS screen to display (or even better, windows to once again boot), but event that turned out to be wishful thinking. Any suggestions on how to remedy this situation would be HUGELY appreciated. Thanks in advance to any who respond.

System Specs (old):
Asus Sabertooth x99 motherboard
Asus Strix 1080ti
Intel i7 5820k
16gb ddr4 2400mhz
ADATA 256gb ssd
OS: Windows 10 64-bit

System Specs (new):
Asus Crosshair VII Hero motherboard
Asus Strix 1080ti
Ryzen 2600x
16gb ddr4 3200mhz
ADATA 256gb ssd
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
 
Last edited:

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Please post your full system specs.

*A corrupt Windows install should not result in a failed post.
Disconnect any/all HDDs and SSDs from the system and try to boot. Do you at least reach the BIOS?

*Seems unlikely, but possible. If the GPU had been damaged, the system may still detect one as present (hence no VGA LED) but the card may be incapable of outputting a display. Unlikely, but theoretically possible.

*Same as GPU, possible, and the LED is no guarantee of anything. However, the thermal pad isn't likely to cause an issue. Provided you've seated the CPU correctly, and haven't broken any pins?


If/when you do get things up and running, you can create your own bootable media for Windows 10, and install fresh - highly, highly recommended when changing components, even more so between Intel & AMD.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10
https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-do-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.3170366/
 
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Lasagnasmoothie

Reputable
May 5, 2015
9
0
4,510
Please post your full system specs.

*A corrupt Windows install should not result in a failed post.
Disconnect any/all HDDs and SSDs from the system and try to boot. Do you at least reach the BIOS?

*Seems unlikely, but possible. If the GPU had been damaged, the system may still detect one as present (hence no VGA LED) but the card may be incapable of outputting a display. Unlikely, but theoretically possible.

*Same as GPU, possible, and the LED is no guarantee of anything. However, the thermal pad isn't likely to cause an issue. Provided you've seated the CPU correctly, and haven't broken any pins?


If/when you do get things up and running, you can create your own bootable media for Windows 10, and install fresh - highly, highly recommended when changing components, even more so between Intel & AMD.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10
https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-do-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.3170366/

Thank you very much for your response; I really appreciate it. As requested, I've amended my post to include my system specs.

-I've disconnected all hdds/ssds and powered on the system. I still get absolutely nothing on my screen - no BIOS, no anything. This is using the old motherboard/cpu which worked fine prior to the swap.

-I'm beginning to suspect the GPU may be culprit. However, what still confuses me is that I'm getting a boot error LED on the motherboard. This seems to suggest the problem lies within the motherboard, but to have the same error LED on both boards (one that is brand new) seems quite strange. I may have to break down and just purchase a cheap used GPU to see if things work with a different graphics card.

-I've seated the CPU correctly, and as far as I can tell there are no broken pins.

Thanks again for your thoughts.
 

Lasagnasmoothie

Reputable
May 5, 2015
9
0
4,510
Please post your full system specs.

*A corrupt Windows install should not result in a failed post.
Disconnect any/all HDDs and SSDs from the system and try to boot. Do you at least reach the BIOS?

*Seems unlikely, but possible. If the GPU had been damaged, the system may still detect one as present (hence no VGA LED) but the card may be incapable of outputting a display. Unlikely, but theoretically possible.

*Same as GPU, possible, and the LED is no guarantee of anything. However, the thermal pad isn't likely to cause an issue. Provided you've seated the CPU correctly, and haven't broken any pins?


If/when you do get things up and running, you can create your own bootable media for Windows 10, and install fresh - highly, highly recommended when changing components, even more so between Intel & AMD.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10
https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-do-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.3170366/

Alright, well this is rather embarrassing, but it seems I simply didn't have the GPU fully seated on the motherboard. I thought it was properly inserted, but with these over-sized GPUs it can be difficult to tell when they're properly connected. I'm at least getting a BIOS screen now, so hopefully I can do a clean windows install and get the new cpu/motherboard working the second time around. Anyway, it's always nice when it turns out a simple solution is the correct one. Thanks so much for your input and I apologize for the confusion.
 
Last edited:

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
Alright, well this is rather embarrassing, but it seems I simply didn't have the GPU fully seated on the motherboard. I thought it was properly inserted, but with these over-sized GPUs it can be difficult to tell when they're properly connected. I'm at least getting a BIOS screen now, so hopefully I can do a clean windows install and get the new cpu/motherboard working the second time around. Anyway, it's always nice when it turns out a simple solution is the correct one. Thanks so much for your input and I apologize for the confusion.

Trust me, it's way better to be slightly embarrassed and have everything work!
 

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