Question Red CPU LED after returning from vacation, PC won't post. Buy new CPU or no?

[glimmy]

So, my friend returned from a 3-week vacation today, only to find that his PC won't post. Only fans spin, and the CPU LED lights up red. DRAM, VGA and BOOT lights remain off, which should mean they're fine. Everything worked fine before he left, and he had unplugged the computer before leaving.

He already tried disconnecting and reseating everything except the SSD. Switched CMOS battery since it was completely dead. Checked for bent pins but didn't find any.

Specs:
Ryzen 7 2700
B450 aorus m
G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL15 Memory
Gigabyte WINDFORCE GTX 1070Ti 8 GB
Corsair TX550M Gold 550 W 80

Currently the main question is whether or not he should just order a new CPU, or could something else be wrong?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Unfortunately your motherboard doesn't have a Q-Flash BIOS option, meaning you can't flash the BIOS without it being operational. I'm suspecting that your BIOS might've ended up being corrupt. You could look into a CH341A BIOS programmer and reflash the BIOS chip on the board.

You could conversely take your processor and drop it onto another known working motherboard with the latest BIOS version, to see if the issue persists. If the CPU doesn't work on the latter board, then you have your answer.

How old is the Corsair unit in your build?

 

[glimmy]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Unfortunately your motherboard doesn't have a Q-Flash BIOS option, meaning you can't flash the BIOS without it being operational. I'm suspecting that your BIOS might've ended up being corrupt. You could look into a CH341A BIOS programmer and reflash the BIOS chip on the board.

You could conversely take your processor and drop it onto another known working motherboard with the latest BIOS version, to see if the issue persists. If the CPU doesn't work on the latter board, then you have your answer.

How old is the Corsair unit in your build?

Thank you!

We might try to look into this CH341A BIOS programmer then if there's no other ideas. Do you have any good materials or videos that would guide on how to use this device? Never heard of it before.
Also the motherboard does have dual bios right? I might be misunderstanding but doesn't this mean both of them had to be corrupted or no?

We don't have any other motherboards to try the CPU on unfortunately.

The power supply should be about 4-5 years old at this point.

 

[Eximo]

Start with the basics. Remove everything not necessary for operation. So CPU, Motherboard, PSU, Memory, GPU. Disconnect everything else, even peripherals to make sure. Shorted out keyboard or mouse or USB port can have weird effects.

Remove, inspect, and re-insert the CPU. If there are signs of physical damage, then you have a more clear answer.

Try a single ram stick, move that ram stick to the other channel, then try the other ram stick in both channels. Ryzen CPUs have been known to have memory channel failures, so could just be having memory in the bad channel.

Then yes, maybe consider a motherboard or CPU. Or take the CPU to a shop and have them test it.