PC suddenly won't POST

[Kaos]

Hi all,

My PC was working fine. I shut it down, then when turning back on it suddenly does not POST. The motherboard shows a VGA light and doesn't POST. I've tried many solutions but none have worked so far.

What I've tried:
- Reseat GPU and change PCI slot
- Reseat RAM, used 1 stick and also tried all slots
- Reseat CPU, pins are fine, thermal paste is fine
- Reset CMOS and shorted JBAT pins
- Breadboard the PC (removed it from the case and added each component one by one to find the issue)
- Flashed latest BIOS using Flashback button

I'm not really sure what else to try/do. The components are not under warranty due to age. I don't have extra components or another desktop to test each component.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

EXTRA INFO:
Ryzen 7 1700
16GB RAM HyperX Predator
B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
512GB SSD
Sapphire Nitro+ RX 580 4GB
Raidmax Cobra 700W PSU

I installed Windows 10 onto the SSD using bootable USB. I then installed GPU drivers, game launchers and drivers from mobo website. The PC was working fine. I shut it down, then turned back on to download some games and it just won't POST anymore. The VGA light is now on but the GPU is receiving power since the fans rotate and lights are on. There is no display to the monitor.

 

[BearZA]

Does the GPU have dual BIOS? If so have you tried toggling the switch?(When the machine is powered down obviously)

 

[Areola Grande]

Try a different slot on the GPU and a different cable. Is this on HDMI or DP? DP cables can cause all manner of issues including boot issues.

 

[Kaos]

Does the GPU have dual BIOS? If so have you tried toggling the switch?(When the machine is powered down obviously)

It does have dual BIOS. I've tried toggling the switch and it doesn't POST on both options.

Try a different slot on the GPU and a different cable. Is this on HDMI or DP? DP cables can cause all manner of issues including boot issues.

This was on HDMI. I tried 2 different cables and still the same issue. There is a DP port but monitor doesn't support DP. I tried the GPU in both slots but still no POST.

 

[BearZA]

It does have dual BIOS. I've tried toggling the switch and it doesn't POST on both options.


This was on HDMI. I tried 2 different cables and still the same issue. There is a DP port but monitor doesn't support DP. I tried the GPU in both slots but still no POST.

Well seems the GPU is failing or not being detected, Your next move would be to try a different GPU, if you have something basic like a GT 210 or even a 1050 that does not require power that would be ideal to test with.

 

[BearZA]

Any Luck? If you don't have a spare card take it to your local Matrix/PC World or the like, they can test and confirm what the issue is before you spend any more money.

 

[Kaos]

Any Luck? If you don't have a spare card take it to your local Matrix/PC World or the like, they can test and confirm what the issue is before you spend any more money.

No luck yet. Think that's my best option right now. Thank you

 

[odtech]

Can the bios chip be removed or is it soldered?

If it can be removed give it to someone with a programmer. Resetting isn't always enough.
I have one if you want to send it to me, just drop me a pm.

 

[Kaos]

It turned out that the BIOS wasn't actually being flashed when using the BIOS flashback because the USB wasn't MBR partitioned. So I reconfigured the USB and flashed the BIOS successfully. There is no VGA light anymore but this time the CPU light is lit and the PC does not POST again. So it seems to be one issue after another :/
The CPU does get warm when I removed it to check the pins so not sure what the issue is now...

Can the bios chip be removed or is it soldered?

If it can be removed give it to someone with a programmer. Resetting isn't always enough.
I have one if you want to send it to me, just drop me a pm.

The chip is soldered on, but thank you for the offer.

 

[TheJudge]

It turned out that the BIOS wasn't actually being flashed when using the BIOS flashback because the USB wasn't MBR partitioned. So I reconfigured the USB and flashed the BIOS successfully. There is no VGA light anymore but this time the CPU light is lit and the PC does not POST again. So it seems to be one issue after another :/
The CPU does get warm when I removed it to check the pins so not sure what the issue is now...


The chip is soldered on, but thank you for the offer.

But you have a Ryzen 1700, pretty much any newer BIOS will kill 1st gen Ryzen compatibility.

 

[JackB]

Push down CPU Cooler While attempting to boot keep it pushed until booted. Go ahead try it and let me know. This was how I had to boot my FX series System years ago would also do the same attempt to post and VGA light stayed on...

 

[Kaos]

But you have a Ryzen 1700, pretty much any newer BIOS will kill 1st gen Ryzen compatibility.

I initially flashed the latest BIOS (2023) and then realized that incompatibility may be the case. So then I flashed the first BIOS update for the motherboard from 2018 and still the same problem.

Push down CPU Cooler While attempting to boot keep it pushed until booted. Go ahead try it and let me know. This was how I had to boot my FX series System years ago would also do the same attempt to post and VGA light stayed on...

I'll try this and update here.

 

[Kaos]

So I've finally managed to fix the issue and the PC is back up and running.

The fix was a BIOS update using the BIOS flashback. I flashed an update from 2020 and it fixed the issue. The previous times I flashed a BIOS from 2018 (which caused a VGA light) and then the latest 2023 one (which caused a CPU light). It seems that not all BIOS updates from MSi are actually fully stable.
I hope this helps anyone encountering a similar issue.