[SOLVED] PC suddenly won’t boot with GPU installed.

Sep 19, 2021
6
1
15
Hey there,

So I wake up this morning, PC won’t boot. It shows a Q 53 code, which is memory related on my board. Also shows the Dram LED. I tried to mess around with ram, took it out, put it back in, in different orders and all slots and only 1, etc..

Went through everything, no luck. Tried to boot without GPU and boots up fine. I also have a spare GPU (AMD 4870) which it boots up with fine. Tested the 980ti in all PCIE slots, no luck. Never had this happen before. Will not POST with the GPU, even if I have the hdmi connected to the motherboard instead.

Any ideas what it could be? I pulled my card apart and blew all the dust, replaced thermal paste and had a look at the PCB. Nothing jumped out as ‘fried’ to me. No water damage, PCB seemed in good shape. Checked for any blown capacitors, resistors or whatnot and nothing seemed off.

PC boots fine off the integrated graphics. I was using my PC less than 12 hours ago, and it just refuses to boot. Nothing was out of the ordinary about last shutdown either, just like every other time.

All signs point to a dead GPU, but really hoping this isn’t the case as prices (especially here in australia) are obscene. $1200+ for a 3060ti is ridiculous, and something I cannot justify paying even remotely when I hardly play games nowadays as it is.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
i7-6700k (custom loop)
Asus Maximus VIII Hero z170
16gb (2x8) Corsair Vengeance Pro 3200mhz
Gigabyte Windforce Xtreme 980ti 6gb (stock cooler)
Corsair RM650i PSU
256gb Samsung 840 2.5”
2tb HDD
 
Solution
Hey there,

So I wake up this morning, PC won’t boot. It shows a Q 53 code, which is memory related on my board. Also shows the Dram LED. I tried to mess around with ram, took it out, put it back in, in different orders and all slots and only 1, etc..

Went through everything, no luck. Tried to boot without GPU and boots up fine. I also have a spare GPU (AMD 4870) which it boots up with fine. Tested the 980ti in all PCIE slots, no luck. Never had this happen before. Will not POST with the GPU, even if I have the hdmi connected to the motherboard instead.

Any ideas what it could be? I pulled my card apart and blew all the dust, replaced thermal paste and had a look at the PCB. Nothing jumped out as ‘fried’ to me. No water damage...
Hey there,

So I wake up this morning, PC won’t boot. It shows a Q 53 code, which is memory related on my board. Also shows the Dram LED. I tried to mess around with ram, took it out, put it back in, in different orders and all slots and only 1, etc..

Went through everything, no luck. Tried to boot without GPU and boots up fine. I also have a spare GPU (AMD 4870) which it boots up with fine. Tested the 980ti in all PCIE slots, no luck. Never had this happen before. Will not POST with the GPU, even if I have the hdmi connected to the motherboard instead.

Any ideas what it could be? I pulled my card apart and blew all the dust, replaced thermal paste and had a look at the PCB. Nothing jumped out as ‘fried’ to me. No water damage, PCB seemed in good shape. Checked for any blown capacitors, resistors or whatnot and nothing seemed off.

PC boots fine off the integrated graphics. I was using my PC less than 12 hours ago, and it just refuses to boot. Nothing was out of the ordinary about last shutdown either, just like every other time.

All signs point to a dead GPU, but really hoping this isn’t the case as prices (especially here in australia) are obscene. $1200+ for a 3060ti is ridiculous, and something I cannot justify paying even remotely when I hardly play games nowadays as it is.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
i7-6700k (custom loop)
Asus Maximus VIII Hero z170
16gb (2x8) Corsair Vengeance Pro 3200mhz
Gigabyte Windforce Xtreme 980ti 6gb (stock cooler)
Corsair RM650i PSU
256gb Samsung 840 2.5”
2tb HDD
You could try these step by step:
  • Unlplug gpu, use igpu only
  • Disconnect from internet
  • Uninstall gpu driver using DDU for both intel and nvidia, no gpu connected needed (clean and do not restart).
  • Uninstall all the processors on device manager (should be 8 on yours) like this:
    unknown.png
  • Restart the pc to bios, and update to the latest bios(download, extract the files and copy it to flashdrive, plug it on top rear usb slot then reboot to bios and flash the bios). Then go to bios again after update and load default or optimized settings.

  • boot up to windows and install the latest Chipset driver, reboot and connect to internet.

  • Shut down your pc and try to boot with the gpu.

  • Install the latest nvidia driver.

    *do this all offline until reboot after installing chipset driver, also you may reboot to bios after all of this to set the XMP (and previous settings you did), make sure your ram is on slot 2 and 4. Download needed files (highlighted word) before doing step 1.

  • And check windows update (and optional updates) if there is any and install them all. Turn on Hardware Accelerated Graphics Scheduling (available in the latest windows update) in graphics settings and and reboot.
Make sure the psu connected to the gpu is 1 pcie cable per 1 slot (use main cable, not the branches/split) like this:

unknown.png
 
Solution
Sep 19, 2021
6
1
15
Hey man,

Thanks for the fast reply. I'll give this a shot - with the uninstalling the processors, it asks to restart after each one? Do i restart, then boot in, DDU the intel stuff, shut down, then try boot with GPU?
 
Sep 19, 2021
6
1
15
You could try these step by step:
  • Unlplug gpu, use igpu only
  • Disconnect from internet
  • Uninstall gpu driver using DDU for both intel and nvidia, no gpu connected needed (clean and do not restart).
  • Uninstall all the processors on device manager (should be 8 on yours) like this:
    unknown.png
  • Restart the pc to bios, and update to the latest bios(download, extract the files and copy it to flashdrive, plug it on top rear usb slot then reboot to bios and flash the bios). Then go to bios again after update and load default or optimized settings.

  • boot up to windows and install the latest Chipset driver, reboot and connect to internet.

  • Shut down your pc and try to boot with the gpu.

  • Install the latest nvidia driver.

    *do this all offline until reboot after installing chipset driver, also you may reboot to bios after all of this to set the XMP (and previous settings you did), make sure your ram is on slot 2 and 4. Download needed files (highlighted word) before doing step 1.

  • And check windows update (and optional updates) if there is any and install them all. Turn on Hardware Accelerated Graphics Scheduling (available in the latest windows update) in graphics settings and and reboot.
Make sure the psu connected to the gpu is 1 pcie cable per 1 slot (use main cable, not the branches/split) like this:

unknown.png
Unfortunately,
Still nothing.
PC does a little ‘hiccup’ boot - it starts to boot up, (lights come on, fans spin, shoots a bunch of Q codes) then power cuts off (only mobo lights remain on) ~5 seconds later, PC tries again, only to show the Q 53 again.
I followed everything in that list to a T, but no luck. PC will not boot to bios or anything with the GPU in there.
 
Sep 19, 2021
6
1
15
Unfortunately,
Still nothing.
PC does a little ‘hiccup’ boot - it starts to boot up, (lights come on, fans spin, shoots a bunch of Q codes) then power cuts off (only mobo lights remain on) ~5 seconds later, PC tries again, only to show the Q 53 again.
I followed everything in that list to a T, but no luck. PC will not boot to bios or anything with the GPU in there.

I should add, the pc looks as though it’s on, all the lights and fans inside the case are on but no power to peripherals or monitor.
GPU lights are all on and so are the fans, like it looks like it should be working but she ain’t.