Question My New PC Won't Boot into Anything

[alexandrajjj]

##UPDATE: I managed to get this to work. Here's exactly what I did:

First, I removed all RAM sticks, then inserted one stick into the very bottom slot (B2). I then unplugged the main power cable, and also removed my motherboard's CMOS battery. I then used a screw driver to short the two pins for 10 seconds to reset BIOS. I then plugged the power cable back in and powered up my PC. Same issues. I then did the exact same thing with the second RAM stick and it worked!

So it turns out it was a single RAM stick that was faulty. I hope this post can help someone in the future.

##ORIGINAL POST:
Hey, I was hoping someone here could help me. So I decided to build a PC with all new parts (except my Samsung 870 SSD that I'm transferring over from my old PC). Here are the parts:

Motherboard: MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi Gaming Motherboard
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700x
RAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) 5600MHz
GPU: ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge OC LHR 8GB
PSU: CORSAIR RM850xSSD (transferred from my old PC): Samsung EVO SSD SATA 1TB

I made sure to follow the manual instructions meticulously, and even followed along a Youtube video guide at the same time. So after I put everything together and powered on the PC, there are a few different outcomes every time:

1. My HDMI monitor display stays off, and says there's no HDMI signal.
2. My HDMI monitor gets a signal, but the screen is black.
3. The BIOS selection screen (that tells you to press F2 or Del to enter BIOS) shows up, then hangs permanently.
4. The BIOS selection screen shows up, and I'm able to get into the BIOS settings, then it freezes after a random amount of time between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.
5. I don't enter BIOS settings, and the PC attempts to boot into Windows Boot Manager, but instead takes me to a screen saying, "Preparing Automatic Repair", and freezes here.
6. I don't enter BIOS settings, and the PC attempts to boot into Windows Boot Manager, but instead takes me to a black screen.

Note that each time, all my fans and RGB lights work. Also, sometimes the white VGA light on the motherboard lights up.

Here's what I tried:

1. I wondered if something was wrong with my SSD (which works perfectly fine on my old PC), so I created a live USB with Ubuntu. This USB booted perfectly fine on my old PC. On my new PC, if I was lucky enough to get past BIOS, it takes me to the selection screen where you can choose to boot Ubuntu, but as soon as I press enter it just takes me to a black screen and freezes.
2. I then created a live USB with Arch Linux. Same issue. I tried both USBs with and without SSD connected. Both these USBs boot fine on my old PC and a laptop.
3. I plugged in my monitor directly to the motherboard.
4. I plugged another monitor with Displayport to both GPU and motherboard.
5. In BIOS settings I set boot to enable Legacy mode. This would cause it to boot into a black screen (with display off) 100% of the time, regardless if connected to the motherboard or GPU.
6. I reset BIOS settings by removing the CMOS battery and shorting those 2 pins.
7. I flashed BIOS according to MSI's website's instructions.
8. I plugged my new GPU into my old PC, and it works fine there.
9. I removed 1 stick of RAM and tested each RAM stick separately in each slot.

At this point I figured my motherboard was faulty so I replaced it with an Asus Rog Strix B650E-F. Unfortunately, exact same issues. It just cannot boot into anything past BIOS (if I'm even lucky enough to get there).

Could anyone give me any insight into what the problem could be? Faulty CPU, RAM or PSU??

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Could anyone give me any insight into what the problem could be?

it's possible that the old SSD is the culprit.
try formatting it first and have a new Windows install package ready to go for the new build.

it's never a good idea to try booting from an old OS installation with a new motherboard.

 

[alexandrajjj]

it's possible that the old SSD is the culprit.
try formatting it first and have a new Windows install package ready to go for the new build.

it's never a good idea to try booting from an old OS installation with a new motherboard.

Thanks for your response. However, if it was an SSD problem, why would it still fail to boot into a live USB? I also run into the same issues (BIOS freezing, or not booting into BIOS at all) with my SSD removed.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

However, if it was an SSD problem, why would it still fail to boot into a live USB?

i don't know what your boot priority is set to but the disk can interfere with secondary managers.

I also run into the same issues (BIOS freezing, or not booting into BIOS at all) with my SSD removed.

the fact that you have the same issue with 2 different motherboards leads to a different external problem.

if you are correct about the troubleshooting that you have already attempted then your only option is to try replacing every component one-at-a-time to see what the culprit may be.
you seem to have already gotten >halfway through this.

a lot of times the easiest option in this type of situation is to take the system to a local shop and have them test the components.

 

[alexandrajjj]

I managed to get this to work. Here's exactly what I did:

First, I removed all RAM sticks, then inserted one stick into the very bottom slot (B2). I then unplugged the main power cable, and also removed my motherboard's CMOS battery. I then used a screw driver to short the two pins for 10 seconds to reset BIOS. I then plugged the power cable back in and powered up my PC. Same issues. I then did the exact same thing with the second RAM stick and it worked!

So it turns out it was a single RAM stick that was faulty. I hope this post can help someone in the future.