[SOLVED] Need help with diagnostics on why my PC won't enter BIOS anymore

[jclaumann]

Hello there,
Just a few hours ago I was using my PC normally and all of the sudden black screen, the Pc rebooted straight to the BIOS screen, there I saw that my m.2 seemed missing, when I selected the "close without saving" option to try and boot the windows installer I couldn't enter the BIOS again.

What I did:

• Tried to enter bios without the m.2;
• Tried to enter BIOS without the m.2 and GPU;
• Removed and reinstalled every RAM stick;
• Update the BIOS to the same version I did update when I first built the computer;
• Tried to start the Pc with nothing but a RAM stick and the CPU (my motherboard has integrated GPU to run bios) and nothing gives, one thing I noticed is without ssdd plugged it responds to shut down faster but that I think is the BIOS searching for boot

All of that and still just a black screen....

Things that do work:

• the motherboard has a "always supply power to the USB ports" feature, if I plug my smartphone there it charges;
• when I tried to update the BIOS it seemed to do everything just fine, same thing as the first time I did, the USB stick LED turned on, the motherboard led started to blink, after a few minutes it restarted, started with power to the other components and onde again restart.

Is there any kind of diagnostics thing I can do to find the cause? The motherboard doesn't beep, even tried to plug a earbud to the audio jack but nothing gives.

The hardware:
Motherboard gigabyte Aorus Z490M Gaming X
CPU Intel Core i5 11400
RAM 4x8gb Corsair
GPU gigabyte Aorus RTX 3070
Power supply 750w
M.2 ssd
Common ssd

 

[Darkbreeze]

You need to connect a system speaker to the motherboard system speaker header before you will ever hear any beep codes. Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/RuiLing-Moth...270&sprefix=motherboard+speaker,aps,99&sr=8-3

Beep codes are never audible through the speaker jacks, only through the system speaker. I think I'd start there to see if you can at least figure out which codes are being triggered to get you in the right direction.

What is the exact model of your "750w" power supply?

 

[jclaumann]

You need to connect a system speaker to the motherboard system speaker header before you will ever hear any beep codes. Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/RuiLing-Motherboard-Speaker-Computer-Internal/dp/B07SPYB2HF/ref=sr_1_3?crid=11M84L8T3P05I&keywords=motherboard+speaker&qid=1643570270&sprefix=motherboard+speaker,aps,99&sr=8-3

Beep codes are never audible through the speaker jacks, only through the system speaker. I think I'd start there to see if you can at least figure out which codes are being triggered to get you in the right direction.

What is the exact model of your "750w" power supply?

I didn't know about the buzzer, certainly i don't have one of those, will try to order one and find out where to plug it. Thank you very much for the reply!

The exact model of my power supply is Gigabyte P750GM 80 Plus Gold.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Contact Gigabyte for a refund on your power supply, and then get one that isn't a ticking time bomb and piece of crap.

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-full-refund-product-exchange-explosive-psus

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[jclaumann]

Contact Gigabyte for a refund on your power supply, and then get one that isn't a ticking time bomb and piece of crap.

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-full-refund-product-exchange-explosive-psus

Discussion - PSU recommendations and power supply discussion thread - Tom's hardware

Below you will find MY standard list of recommended power supplies and beyond that this thread is intended as a landing place for questions or discussions regarding specific units, platforms or related PSU tech, all of which are all welcome to be discussed here. If it's related to power supplies...

forums.tomshardware.com

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

Boy oh boy am I lucky...
According to the article I can't refund "GP-P750GM units must carry a serial number between SN20243G001301 and SN20453G025430." My serial starts with SN2111, here's to hoping this means mine doesn't have the issue.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd still recommend that you at least TRY a different power supply. One that has enough capacity and is high enough quality to not simply be just a different problem. If you can borrow one, or have a spare, that's great, if not, I'd highly recommend getting one and setting that Gigabyte unit aside for use with a lower demand system or simply as a backup for temporary situations.

I've seen nothing but problems from users on here who have had those units.

 

[jclaumann]

I'd still recommend that you at least TRY a different power supply. One that has enough capacity and is high enough quality to not simply be just a different problem. If you can borrow one, or have a spare, that's great, if not, I'd highly recommend getting one and setting that Gigabyte unit aside for use with a lower demand system or simply as a backup for temporary situations.

I've seen nothing but problems from users on here who have had those units.

So, I got the buzzer, bought 3 to make sure, no beeps whatsoever, made sure it is installed on the speaker slot with positive and negative on the proper side, tried all 3 and no beep.
Tried to short the CMOS reset pins, same result, even removed the battery, no power for 10min (should reset CMOS as well) and no result...
And by no result I mean black screen, no BIOS splash screen, no underscore, just black and the peculiar behavior that if there is any storage device it takes longer to act when I press the power button.

Either my BIOS or my motherboard done goofed...

Any tips on what more can I test?

Also, about the PSU, I'm looking into it, haven't read everything on the suggested thread still.

Edit: I was recalling what happened and I failed to mention everything, once the Pc restarted on its own it went straight to the BIOS, I exited the BIOS once, it went in again, after exiting one more time I entered the "select boot" option on the BIOS splash, there was no option to choose but my dumb ass pressed enter anyways and after that only dark screen and nothing more.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so as a last ditch effort, try this, exactly as outlined.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for about three to five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes while the CMOS battery is out of the motherboard, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 15-30 seconds, in order to deplete any residual charge that might be present in the CMOS circuit. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

 

[jclaumann]

Ok, so as a last ditch effort, try this, exactly as outlined.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for about three to five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes while the CMOS battery is out of the motherboard, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 15-30 seconds, in order to deplete any residual charge that might be present in the CMOS circuit. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

Who would have tough the problem was my lack of patience.
I've done what you asked before but I gave it one more shot, this time I just turned it on and let it run, after 4 self restart a beep, Bios window popped up.
My m.2 ssd seems to have bitten the dust but the rest is just fine.

I'm installing windows as we speak.

Thank you Darkbreeze.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Right on man. Yes, sometimes you have to go through three restarts while the BIOS trains itself for the memory configuration.