My PC is in boot loop after restarting

[kerneljay]

Hi, I have a problem with my pc (about 7-8 yrs old running windows 10). Its a pce x77h2-a3 mobo, i5 cpu (i think 3.3gHz), 2x8g corsair vengeance ram (i think ddr3 but I don't see where it says so), gtx 650 ti boost graphics. I have a 128g ssd with the os, and a Seagate nas 2tb storage drive. Rosewill 80+ 650w psu. It has always run well for years.

The other night I updated the driver for my graphics card, and restarted the system. It went into a boot loop (I think) where it will turn on, some case fans and CPU fan turn on. Nothing else happens, no bios, no signal to the monitor. After about 20-30 sec it shuts off and does it all again until I hold down the power switch.

I've tried resetting cmos, I disconnected everything but the atx and cpu power, used the onboard graphics (I only have an hdmi, but I think given the symptoms that the issue has nothing to do with graphics). I put one ram stick in slot 2 per mobo manual, no hard drives or dvd drive, mouse, keyboard, speakers all unplugged. It hasn't made any difference. I feel like this must be a hardware issue but I can't figure out what. I'm thinking mobo or cpu but idk how to tell which without replacing one of them. I really don't have the funds to just start replacing things blindly, as evidenced by my 8yr old pc. Any guidance?

 

[menlui]

Remove everything from your MOBO except the CPU and Cooling, reset the CMOS and insert 1 ram stick in A1 and boot to BIOS, if that works wipe your SSD and reinstall Win10 and try booting. If that works insert your other ram stick and boot, if that works install everything else and update just don't update to the latest GPU drivers as your got stuck in a boot loop from them. If the first stick doesn't work try the next slot, and then the next and so on until all 4 are tested then try the other stick. Let us know how that goes.

 

[kerneljay]

Ok thanks. I won't have a chance to work on it for a bit, but I'll keep you posted.

 

[kerneljay]

So, I unplugged both ram, gpu, mouse, keyboard, speakers. I left the hdmi in so I could see if bios started. Internally, all that was connected to mobo was cpu, cpu fan, atx 12v, atx power, f audio, and f panel. I didn't see how I would be able to turn it on without the f panel running, or without power to the cpu or mobo slots to test ram. Without any ram in it will power on and stayed on for about 5 min until I turned it off. Of course no bios. With 1 stick of ram in (tested both sticks in all 4 slots) it would shut itself off after 30 sec just like before. Still no bios. Let me know if I should unplug more from the mobo and retest, I am not experienced with fixing computers and may have misjudged which connections are needed.

 

[menlui]

If you only had MOBO, CPU, Fan, power connectors and front panel plugged in when testing the RAM it should get to BIOS, you can leave Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor plugged into MOBO only (no GPU) if you tested 1 stick in all four slots and then the other stick on its own in all 4 slots and its still not booting its most likely your MOBO has died. Did you try and get to BIOS by pressing F2/DEL?

 

[kerneljay]

Ok well no luck. I'm inclined to agree that it's the mobo. Unfortunately it's so old that I can't find one that will fit my 2nd gen i5 cpu and my gpu and ram. Not on newegg, amazon or ebay. So I ordered a new msi mobo with ryzen 5 and 16g ddr4 gskill. And an rx580 8g gpu. Way more than I was hoping to spend but I should have a good rig for the next few years. Thanks for your help.