Question Trouble with MSI B450M Mortar Build

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msindia

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Jul 29, 2019
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This is my first time assembling a PC.
I have put together the following PC for my parents :

Motherboard : B450M Mortar Titanium
Memory : 2 x CORSAIR CMK8GX4M1D3000C16 Vengeance Lpx Series 8GB (8GBx1) DDR4 3000MHz
The RAMs have been placed in the first and third slots.

Processor : Amd Ryzen 5 3400G
SATA Connections to the motherboard
1 SanDisk SSD PLUS 1TB Internal SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s2
2 Western Digital 2TB Blue Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD20EZAZ)
3 Seagate 250 GB 3.5" HDD
4 LG DVD Writer
OS : Windows 10 64 bit
Power Supply : Cooler Master 550 MWE

The OS installed successfully however I have been facing a number of problems which appear intermittently and then go away on their own

1 When the Power switch is pressed the EZ Debug Light for CPU turns on, remains glowing and the system doesn't boot
2 When the Power switch is pressed the Ez Debug Light for DRAM turns on, remains glowing and the system doesn't boot
3 When the Power switch is pressed the Ez Debug Light for BOOT turns on, remains glowing and the system doesn't boot

The system doesn't boot 9/10 times. The BIOS is updated to the latest version and I have also carried out CMOS clear operation by removing the on board battery for 30 minutes.
I have also installed the RAMs in different slots and combinations. However, it doesn't seem to resolve these issues.

Other than these intermittent issues, I have come across the following problems :

1 USB Storage devices aren't recognised. When I plug a pen drive into a USB slot, it isn't recognised. However if I plug in a USB device for wireless mouse and keyboard, it works without any problems.
2 I can't a get a video output from the Display Port.

This particular RAM isn't in the list of supported RAMs for this motherboard.
In the BIOS settings, the Max Memory Bandwidth is listed as 2100 MHz.
Similarly, in the Radeon Settings app, the memory bit rate for the Vega 11 Graphics is listed as 2.1 GHz
However, in the XMP profile for the RAM, the max bandwidth is listed as 3000 MHz.

Any suggestions and advice that will help me resolve these issues will be greatly appreciated
 
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SgtScream said:
Open device manager and look at the list. Then take your flash drive and plug it in. Do you see the list move? If so do you see any yellow exclamation points or question marks? I have to leave in 5 minutes. I'll be away from a computer for the next hour or so.
Click to expand...
NO.. There was no change in any of the icons.
Thanks a lot for sticking around for so long
 
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msindia said:
Is there a basic troubleshooting guide which I can run, which will help me in identifying the cause of the problems?
If all the problems are being caused because of a faulty BIOS update, then I can do it on my own. However, I want to rule out defective /failing components .
How can I resolve the issue of the Max Memory Bandwidth for the RAM being listed as 2100 MHz instead of 3000 MHz? Does it require tinkering with certain settings in BIOS?? I want to know for sure if the memory is incompatible and will have to be replaced.
There is no output in the Display Port and the system doesn't recognise any storage device plugged in a USB port.
Click to expand...

A lot of motherboards will reset to the lowest common ram speed (2100) when they fail to run at the set speed. When my own motherboard (Asrock) fails to boot 3 times, it does a system reset to the slowest speed. You'll need to go into the UEFI BIOS and try to increase the memory clock speed in notches till it won't boot.

My memory is rated at 3000MHz, but with all 4 slots populated, my 2400g won't go past 2866MHz.

As to your USB Drive issues, I would try plugging the drive in at the back of the motherboard, and see if it shows up. IF it does, then I would suggest you have a bad USB header connection to a front port.
 
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digitalgriffin said:
A lot of motherboards will reset to the lowest common ram speed (2100) when they fail to run at the set speed. When my own motherboard (Asrock) fails to boot 3 times, it does a system reset to the slowest speed. You'll need to go into the UEFI BIOS and try to increase the memory clock speed in notches till it won't boot.

My memory is rated at 3000MHz, but with all 4 slots populated, my 2400g won't go past 2866MHz.

As to your USB Drive issues, I would try plugging the drive in at the back of the motherboard, and see if it shows up. IF it does, then I would suggest you have a bad USB header connection to a front port.
Click to expand...
The posting issue has been resolved and all usb ports both front and back are affected.
 
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SgtScream said:
The posting issue has been resolved and all usb ports both front and back are affected.
Click to expand...

Dang, missed that post. My bad, and good catch.

At this point I would try looking at the windows logger to see if any error condition is popping up when the USB Drive is inserted. I would also have disk management running to see if it shows up under the volumes.

Sometimes when a USB stick draws too much current, a polyfuse will blow. When this event occurs, windows makes note of the device that was plugged in and will refuse to "mount it" again on that port. I had this problem with a portable HDD before. A clean reinstall of windows however reset all the ports.

Other than that, I'm out of ideas. If it were me I would conclude that it was a bad motherboard.
 
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digitalgriffin said:
A lot of motherboards will reset to the lowest common ram speed (2100) when they fail to run at the set speed. When my own motherboard (Asrock) fails to boot 3 times, it does a system reset to the slowest speed. You'll need to go into the UEFI BIOS and try to increase the memory clock speed in notches till it won't boot.

My memory is rated at 3000MHz, but with all 4 slots populated, my 2400g won't go past 2866MHz.

As to your USB Drive issues, I would try plugging the drive in at the back of the motherboard, and see if it shows up. IF it does, then I would suggest you have a bad USB header connection to a front port.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the time you took to go through my post.
I have plugged in a wireless USB keyboard and mouse combo in one of the USB ports. This works perfectly well with my system. It shows up in BIOS menu as well. I installed the Windows 10 using a bootable flash storage USB device. After installing Windows 10, I put my system in a Cooler Master K380 Cabinet. When the same USB device is plugged in one of the USB ports, it is not recognized. Even after removing the front USB connectors, the USB devices don't show up in the system.
 
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digitalgriffin said:
I nearly forgot, some BIOS's allow you to turn OFF USB Ports. They do this to reduce the number of IRQs or chipset lanes in use. This allows for more lanes to be used for something like a SATA port or secondary LAN.
Click to expand...
digitalgriffin said:
I nearly forgot, some BIOS's allow you to turn OFF USB Ports. They do this to reduce the number of IRQs or chipset lanes in use. This allows for more lanes to be used for something like a SATA port or secondary LAN.
Click to expand...
I plugged the the wireless mouse and keyboard combo in each USB port. They worked just fine. I am still unable to pinpoint the cause of all troubles.
 
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