[SOLVED] Self-build PC won't boot to BIOS, nothing on screen

[gwitkamp]

I have an issue with my self-build pc that I made about 2-1/2 months ago.

MB: ASUS ROG strix b450-f gaming
CPU: RYZEN 5 3600
GPU: AMD RX5700xt

I had been using this machine for almost 2 months before this issue came up. I decided to test out some of the ASUS optimization programs that came with the mother board. I ran the system optimization program which overclocked by CPU by 12%. Everything was still working fine at that point.

Then there was another ASUS program that was supposed to optimize the system for a specific application. I had been using Nicehash on the machine with success and thought I would give it a try with that. Not long after starting that, one of my two screens went black, then the whole machine went dead.

Tried to reboot... nothing, no signal to the monitors, just nothing. The motherboard has a LED that indicated boot issues. It would cycle through some color, then settle on white, which indicated a VGA issue. So I proceeded to do all the troubleshooting steps:

• reseat the GPU
• move it to a different PCIe slot
• pull the battery to clear the CMOS
• try a different GPU
• try the different GPU in the other PCIe slots
• Contact Asus tech support and do all their steps

Still nothing. The conclusion with tech support was to send in the motherboard for them to check out. Just received it back with their note that they could not replicate the issue, but did update the BIOS.

I got everything put back together, same white led light indicating it's a VGA issue. While I was waiting to get my motherboard back, I bought a second motherboard (ASUS TUF gaming b450-PLUS II) as a back up. Same issue, nothing on the screen, doesn't boot to BIOS, no beeps. The TUF motherboard doesn't have a status LED to let me know if it's a VGA issue. I tested both video cards as well, nothing.

So I decided to removed some variables, removed all dimms of ram except one, nothing.
Removed my SSD and HHD, nothing.

This makes me think that either I have two bad GPUs, or I have a bad CPU. I'm leaning towards buying a second CPU to test because it seems less likely that I would have two dead GPUs.

Any recommendations on next steps forward would be appreciated,

-GW

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Which slot is the single stick of ram populating on your motherboard? What is the make and model of your PSU? Have you tried leaving the CMOS battery out of the motherboard for at least 30 minutes? Prior to doing that, you should disconnect from the walls power outlet.

 

[gwitkamp]

• PSU: Corsair CX650
• I did have the CMOS battery removed for an entire day.
• I had the ram in two configurations, all 4 locations filled with 8GB dimms as I had from the original build, and a single dimm in the location required by the manual.
• the power was disconnected for all hardware changes.

 

[Blackink]

I have never had any luck using the Asus Optimization software.
It didn't matter what I did, I always got a blue screen after setting it up.

 

[Fiorezy]

Can you try both GPUs on another working system?

 

[gwitkamp]

Update: I was able to test one of the two GPUs(quadro m2000) in a different machine and it worked. The computer I used to test didn't have the power to support the RX5700xt. I had a conversation with a coworker who has built several machines and had used the exact same board that I have B450-f gaming. He had similar experience after using the machine for a few months, but his went into an endless boot cycle. He switched to an x570 chipset and everything worked for him. Has anyone else run into that issue?

I came across this on the AMD site( https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-100) that would support that claim of boot issues with the Ryzen and 400 series motherboards.

I have never had any luck using the Asus Optimization software.
It didn't matter what I did, I always got a blue screen after setting it up.

I wish I had a blue screen.

 

[gwitkamp]

Update: I decided to try out a new chipset since I read about some compatibility issues with B450 and the Ryzen 5, and stories from my coworker of his b450 boards dying on him.

New Chipset: ASUS PRO WS x570-ACE

Result: no change. White LED, no signal to the monitor using either gpu (Quadro, and RX5700xt). As stated before, I tested the Quadro that it worked. I have not tested the RX5700xt due to the power requirements.

Removed the GPU completely, get white LED
Removed the Ram and GPU, get yellow LED

I will be testing a third GPU and different ram shortly. If those don't work, then it leads me to believe it's the CPU even though the MB LED says it's a VGA issue.

 

[gwitkamp]

Update: I was able to get my RX5700XT test, works great in an different machine. I still get the white LED on my board.

So, since I've tested two cards that work, and I get the same white LED on 2 of the 3 Motherboards that had a status LED, and ASUS RMA came back that nothing was wrong with the first board, this leads me to believe it might be a power issue to the MB. I have a new Thermaltake PSU coming to test, it should arrive tomorrow.

More to come...

 

[gwitkamp]

Tested a new PSU... white LED persists. I will hopefully have a different CPU to test tomorrow.

 

[gwitkamp]

I have some progress. I got a Ryzen 5 2600x to test and I actually got something on the screen. It progressed past the white VGA light to the green boot LED. The CPU I'm testing with came from another machine that kept locking up and rebooting. I'm having an issue with it freezing in the bios. My original windows usb doesn't give me an option to repair the boot manager either. I'll get a windows usb to booth from that will hopefully repair the boot manager and get one step closer

So it seems there CPU was causing a false VGA light issue.

 

[gwitkamp]

IT'S WORKING!!!
After placing the MB, CPU and the RAM with new, I could get it to boot reliably and hasn't crashed yet 🤞.

Whatever happened jacked up my CPU and Ram, even though I was getting MB LED saying it was VGA.