PC not booting up, some debug LEDs lighting up on mobo

S

Santa Maria!

Disciple
I'm having trouble diagnosing the problem with my PC not booting up properly.

Here is my machine:

- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- MSI MAG X570 Tomahawk Wifi ATX motherboard
- 2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHZ UDIMM C16 Desktop RAM
- SAPPHIRE Pulse Radeon RX 580 8G GDDR5
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2
- Antec EA750G Pro 80 Plus PSU
- Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh
- 3x BenQ PD3200U monitors - 2 DP, 1 HDMI
- Manjaro Linux



- Additional notes:
- All bought around Aug 2020, barely used.
- Recently untouched for 6 months, left on standby. When I got back and turned
it on, nothing showed on the display. Did a hard reset, then ran fine.
- Went through a move, sent PC cabinet in original cabinet packing. Seems
physically fine when reached destination - glass and all intact. Looking inside, was some dust and spider webs, which I removed.
- Now, turning it on leds to problems - described below.


**What happens**

- When I turn on the machine, I see the CPU running (well, its fan+lights), I
see the motherboard's fancy lights, I see the cabinet's lights and fans
running.
- The GPU fans DON'T seem to be running.
- I don't see anything on the monitor - no signal detected and monitors just
keep their screen 'off'.

**Observations**

- On the motherboard's debug LEDs, I've seen some different behaviour on
subsequent runs.
- I see the 'boot' LED on almost always.
- Sometimes, the 'RAM' LED is also on along with the 'boot' LED. I removed one
of the sticks, and this LED is now usually off, except on 1 or 2 runs.
- Only on one of many runs, the 'boot' LED also stayed off, but still nothing on
screen, GPU fans were still not spinning.
- The 'VGA' and 'CPU' debug LEDs area always off.
- Holding the power button for many seconds isn't turning the system off. I end
up having to turn off the PSU power switch.


**What I tried**

- I tried reseating the RAM sticks, the GPU and the SSD.
- I tried having only one HDMI monitor connected.
- I tried connecting the HDMI cable to the HDMI slot on the motherboard, same
problem.
- I don't really have other/alternate components to aid with troubleshooting.


Help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Santa Maria! said:
I'm having trouble diagnosing the problem with my PC not booting up properly.

Here is my machine:

- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- MSI MAG X570 Tomahawk Wifi ATX motherboard
- 2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHZ UDIMM C16 Desktop RAM
- SAPPHIRE Pulse Radeon RX 580 8G GDDR5
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2
- Antec EA750G Pro 80 Plus PSU
- Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh
- 3x BenQ PD3200U monitors - 2 DP, 1 HDMI
- Manjaro Linux



- Additional notes:
- All bought around Aug 2020, barely used.
- Recently untouched for 6 months, left on standby. When I got back and turned
it on, nothing showed on the display. Did a hard reset, then ran fine.
- Went through a move, sent PC cabinet in original cabinet packing. Seems
physically fine when reached destination - glass and all intact. Looking inside, was some dust and spider webs, which I removed.
- Now, turning it on leds to problems - described below.


**What happens**

- When I turn on the machine, I see the CPU running (well, its fan+lights), I
see the motherboard's fancy lights, I see the cabinet's lights and fans
running.
- The GPU fans DON'T seem to be running.
- I don't see anything on the monitor - no signal detected and monitors just
keep their screen 'off'.

**Observations**

- On the motherboard's debug LEDs, I've seen some different behaviour on
subsequent runs.
- I see the 'boot' LED on almost always.
- Sometimes, the 'RAM' LED is also on along with the 'boot' LED. I removed one
of the sticks, and this LED is now usually off, except on 1 or 2 runs.
- Only on one of many runs, the 'boot' LED also stayed off, but still nothing on
screen, GPU fans were still not spinning.
- The 'VGA' and 'CPU' debug LEDs area always off.
- Holding the power button for many seconds isn't turning the system off. I end
up having to turn off the PSU power switch.


**What I tried**

- I tried reseating the RAM sticks, the GPU and the SSD.
- I tried having only one HDMI monitor connected.
- I tried connecting the HDMI cable to the HDMI slot on the motherboard, same
problem.
- I don't really have other/alternate components to aid with troubleshooting.


Help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I too have somewhat same config on other pc. check if you can post to bios with and without gpu. now if its booting to bios then gpu is not an issue then check the port of gpu for dust and all. also check for the cable. that can be loose or damaged.
 
Most of the today's Gpu fans only spin when the gpu is under stress. Else they remain off under normal circumstances.
 
Santa Maria! said:
**What I tried**

- I tried connecting the HDMI cable to the HDMI slot on the motherboard, same
problem.
Click to expand...
You mean you connected HDMI cable from monitor to HDMI Port on motherboard ??
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X doesn't comes with inbuilt graphics so it won't work on HDMI port on motherboard.
you should connect it to HDMI port on Graphics card.
also try changing hdmi cable.

1. Check if GPU fan spins for a while then stops (when you turn on) or it doesn't spin at all.
2. Try Bios reset , clear cmos.
3. Try GPU in different Pcie slot.
4. Check if GPU power cable or connector is loose, you can also try some other spare power cable it available or some other port on PSU.
 
princeoo7 said:
I too have somewhat same config on other pc. check if you can post to bios with and without gpu. now if its booting to bios then gpu is not an issue then check the port of gpu for dust and all. also check for the cable. that can be loose or damaged.
Click to expand...

Nothing seen on monitors with and of course without GPU. I guess I would need some speaker to see if there are any POST codes being emitted, since the mobo doesn't have speakers.

bigb123 said:
Most of the today's Gpu fans only spin when the gpu is under stress. Else they remain off under normal circumstances.
Click to expand...

I have seen the GPU fans run on power up on all previous occasions. It prolly turns of during runtime as needed.

john1911 said:
Was the GPU plugged in the mobo during moving/shipping?

You can try GPU in another PCI Slot to see if it works.
Click to expand...

Yes it was. I tried installing it to the other slot - same result. GPU fan not spinning, no signal on monitor, 'boot' LED lit up on mobo.

Synth-Pop said:
You mean you connected HDMI cable from monitor to HDMI Port on motherboard ??
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X doesn't comes with inbuilt graphics so it won't work on HDMI port on motherboard.
you should connect it to HDMI port on Graphics card.
also try changing hdmi cable.

1. Check if GPU fan spins for a while then stops (when you turn on) or it doesn't spin at all.
2. Try Bios reset , clear cmos.
3. Try GPU in different Pcie slot.
4. Check if GPU power cable or connector is loose, you can also try some other spare power cable it available or some other port on PSU.
Click to expand...

Yes, on the mobo HDMI port (not slot). I figured at least the bios screen should be visible but I guess a display unit needed even for that.
I've tried connecting various combinations of my 3 monitors to the various ports on the GPU. No dice.
The monitors work fine with my laptop.

- The GPU fans don't spin at all, even for a bit.
- I powered off, discharged, removed the CMOS battery for a few minutes, and reinstalled. Same result - boot LED still lit up, GPU fans not running, no signal on monitors.
- Tried GPU in alternate PCIE slot - same result.
- Tried 2 power connectors along same wire length on PSU - no change. Will have to dig up cables to try with another set of wires coming from PSU.

:(
 
It might be the case that GPU PCB got fractured because it was attached while moving/shipping. Less likely (as your GPU isn't that massive/heavy) but still possible.

Try testing the GPU in any other working system or a computer store.
 
Most likely it's the GPU as fan doesn't spins at all. If possible try this GPU on some friend or relatives PC.
If not possible, take GPU or full system to the nearest shop for a check.
 
Santa Maria! said:
Nothing seen on monitors with and of course without GPU. I guess I would need some speaker to see if there are any POST codes being emitted, since the mobo doesn't have speakers.



I have seen the GPU fans run on power up on all previous occasions. It prolly turns of during runtime as needed.



Yes it was. I tried installing it to the other slot - same result. GPU fan not spinning, no signal on monitor, 'boot' LED lit up on mobo.



Yes, on the mobo HDMI port (not slot). I figured at least the bios screen should be visible but I guess a display unit needed even for that.
I've tried connecting various combinations of my 3 monitors to the various ports on the GPU. No dice.
The monitors work fine with my laptop.

- The GPU fans don't spin at all, even for a bit.
- I powered off, discharged, removed the CMOS battery for a few minutes, and reinstalled. Same result - boot LED still lit up, GPU fans not running, no signal on monitors.
- Tried GPU in alternate PCIE slot - same result.
- Tried 2 power connectors along same wire length on PSU - no change. Will have to dig up cables to try with another set of wires coming from PSU.

:(
Click to expand...
which led light debugging is on on the motherboard ? it will clearly tell you what component is bad. also without gpu you can connect to mobo hdmi port and boot to bios. check that is working or not. else the issue is mostly with mobo or processor.
 
Try with another gpu. Gpu fans do spin during post and only on login screen they tend to turn off unless one has set them to remain on always.
 
Guess try from basics. Remove all connected devices to motherboard. Clean ram... contacts with eraser and connect just one. Try booting with just the power supply and connected to the default vga port. if you get display try connecting the hdd only and see if it works.
 
Uff. The few people I know in this place all have laptops only so having trouble getting alternate components.

I tried calling some 'repair shops' - didn't inspire confidence - maybe since I'm at the end of Noida. those guys don't seem to have alternate GPUs or even mobos to test my GPU; yet they said will try to figure out. I expect they'll just say it's some issue with mobo and try to get me to buy a new one from them.

I guess I need to make a journey to Nehru Place to shortlist good shops, or at least Sector 18.

thedeadghost said:
Guess try from basics. Remove all connected devices to motherboard. Clean ram... contacts with eraser and connect just one. Try booting with just the power supply and connected to the default vga port. if you get display try connecting the hdd only and see if it works.
Click to expand...

I guess I can try from scratch. Although the 'default' vga port on mobo approach won't work since no integrated graphics on my Ryzen?
 
Santa Maria! said:
Uff. The few people I know in this place all have laptops only so having trouble getting alternate components.

I tried calling some 'repair shops' - didn't inspire confidence - maybe since I'm at the end of Noida. those guys don't seem to have alternate GPUs or even mobos to test my GPU; yet they said will try to figure out. I expect they'll just say it's some issue with mobo and try to get me to buy a new one from them.

I guess I need to make a journey to Nehru Place to shortlist good shops, or at least Sector 18.



I guess I can try from scratch. Although the 'default' vga port on mobo approach won't work since no integrated graphics on my Ryzen?
Click to expand...
Try a different vga card you never know if the one you have has become faulty. Also try hdmi port with a different cable. If you get display using either of them you can find out the problem. Dont try both at once.
 
The GPU seems to be an Issue because you have never seen the fans turn on. They should turn on briefly when you power on your PC. Once windows loads drivers of the GPU, the fans will stop. I recommend you pull out
1. Powersupply connections (GPU, HDD, 24 Pin ATX power, 4/6/8 pin CPU power connectors) and cabinet connections like power, reset, hdd led and USB connector.
2. Pull out GPU
3. Pull out motherboard with processor and RAM
4. Power supply from the cabinet
5. Lay the motherboard with processor on a piece of cardboard. Reseat the RAM
6. insert the GPU after inspection if anything is broken/burnt
7. check cables on powersupply side and ensure that they are plugged in properly
8. connect 24 Pin power connection, 4/6/8 cpu power, GPU power
9. Connect HDMI/DP cable from GPU to monitor
10. power on the computer by shorting the power pins on your motherboard
11. see if you get a display on the monitor.
 
omfg. I pulled out and dusted an ancient desktop rig stored at parents' house. It had a PCIE slot that accepts my GPU (I think mobo was replaced at some point). And the GPU fan spins! I see output from the ancient rig on the monitor!

So... considering GPU wasn't spinning on either of the current mobo PCIE slots... culprits could be RAM - which randomly throw on the mobo RAM debug LED. Could it also be mobo given CPU and case fans are spinning ok? Or could it be SSD (which I tried on both m2 slots).

Old mobo has DDR3 RAM but seems the groove on the RAM stick is in a different spot? Can't seem to fit it into my current mobo...

:banghead:
 
Only for confirming if the issue is due to your SSD, you could boot from a pen drive, disconnect SSD. There are ways on YouTube to create bootable pen drive of various operating systems - you don't even need to fully boot to the OS, just beginning of the boot process is enough.
 
kiran6680 said:
Only for confirming if the issue is due to your SSD, you could boot from a pen drive, disconnect SSD. There are ways on YouTube to create bootable pen drive of various operating systems - you don't even need to fully boot to the OS, just beginning of the boot process is enough.
Click to expand...
I actually have had a bootable USB in since the start. My plan was to have a fresh installation. I later removed the USB while debugging. But have not tried only USB with SSD disconnected.
 
Santa Maria! said:
Or could it be SSD (which I tried on both m2 slots).
Click to expand...
It has got nothing to do with SSD, You should get a display and BIOS menu even if there isn't any storage attached.
GPU fan spins now , so it's not the GPU but it's not getting power I guess. If possible try with PSU from your ancient old rig.
 
Synth-Pop said:
It has got nothing to do with SSD, You should get a display and BIOS menu even if there isn't any storage attached.
GPU fan spins now , so it's not the GPU but it's not getting power I guess. If possible try with PSU from your ancient old rig.
Click to expand...
The PSU seems fine as I powered my old rig with my new PSU. Old rig's intex PSU didn't have extra connectors to power GPU, so used new PSU to power whole old rig.
 
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