Send help ASAP - Ryzen doesn't want to boot (sometimes)

[FrankNStine]

So, I've recently switched from a 2600k to a R5 1600AF. Did a clean windows install, and now it often refuses to boot and I have no idea why. I've tried clearing CMOS, disconnecting the PSU from the wall completely, and even booting without the GPU and/ or RAM. PLease tel me someone knows how to fix this, or at least can diagnose the cause of it.

System specs:
R5 1600AF
Asrock A320m-HDV
16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill Aegis 3000MHz DDR4
SuperFlower 600W PSU
Gigabyte RX580 8GB
WD green 128GB SSD (Boot)
Seagate 1TB 7200RPM HDD (Game Drive)
Thermaltake Versa H17 case
Gamdias 5x120mm fans + controller

 

[goldfritter]

At what point of the boot process does it get stuck? E.g. doesn't POST at all, stuck at POST, powers on and off several times before POST, POSTs but then doesn't go into Windows, no lights/fans at all?

 

[Jinzaroth]

Have a look at the EZ Debug LED lights on the mother board during one of the 'failed' boots. Many MB models have a set of lights somewhere on the board (Above the 24 pin power connector on my B350M Mortar). In my case, there are 4 lights, CPU, RAM, VGA, Boot. Check to see if any of these are on and which are one.

Then, listen if your CPU fan is running in max RPM during this 'failed boot'.

When you say failed boot, do you mean that the PC has power, fans spin, just no display? Or is there a boot loop where it cycles power on and off?

 

[FrankNStine]

At what point of the boot process does it get stuck? E.g. doesn't POST at all, stuck at POST, powers on and off several times before POST, POSTs but then doesn't go into Windows, no lights/fans at all?

Doesn't post at all. Motherboard lights up, but nothing happens when I press the power button. I've also tried shorting the pins with a screwdriver

 

[FrankNStine]

Have a look at the EZ Debug LED lights on the mother board during one of the 'failed' boots. Many MB models have a set of lights somewhere on the board (Above the 24 pin power connector on my B350M Mortar). In my case, there are 4 lights, CPU, RAM, VGA, Boot. Check to see if any of these are on and which are one.

Then, listen if your CPU fan is running in max RPM during this 'failed boot'.

When you say failed boot, do you mean that the PC has power, fans spin, just no display? Or is there a boot loop where it cycles power on and off?

It's a very budget A320 mobo, so there's no lights but I do have a case speaker hooked up that usually beeps when it comes on. To answer your other question, there definitely is power as my peripherals light up, but pressing the power button doesn't actually do anything, ie the boot sequence doesn't start

 

[FrankNStine]

5/11: PC hasn't booted once today, and I have tried multiple times. Getting kinda desperate, I use this rig for gaming but also all of my university work. Any help/ advice will be much appreciated 🙌🏽

 

[Jinzaroth]

Alright, one of my previous configurations used to occasionally do a similar thing. However, in my case it used to have the CPU debug light on. Fans spinning, peripherals have power, however power button does nothing. Have to switch off directly from PSU switch.

Try this, switch psu off, unplug kettle plug from psu, remove CMOS battery, jump cmos to clear it, hold power button for 20 seconds to drain power, reseat ram (use only one ram stick in the primary dimm closest to cpu). Reconnect everything, try booting.

If nothing, clear cmos, reseat cpu, try booting.

If nothing, remove everything from MB, remove ram, remove gpu, remove all connected sata, every power cable (no need to remove case fans or the case power led and switch connectors), Remove CPU. Drain power. Reconnect only CPU, CPU Cooler and Power cables for cpu and 24pin (NO ram, No GPU, No sata), connect kettle plug to psu and try booting. It will not boot ofcourse. Then switch off, put in the one tam stick in dimm 1. Put back GPU. Try booting now. If it works, magic (this fixed my issues every time).

If nothing works, breadboard. MB outside case in the MB cardboard box, connect everything try booting.

Then, when you get it booting, i found out my issues were caused by a setting in the bios that limited the watts supplied to the processor. It was on auto, which was below the rated tdp of my cpu. Changed it to manual and set it to the tdp and it worked. No issues after that.

Hope something here works for you mate.

 

[JansenSensei]

Guh... I used to have the problem where my Pcwon't wake after going to sleep but that was because my Windows was installed on an nvme drive and my mobo was always powered on even when the system was asleep due to a messed up configuration with an internal USB hub. Removing the power from the hub solved that problem just fine...

Now I replaced my GPU and now I am back to my screen staying black whenever I wake from sleep. Even pulling out the HDMI and reinserting it still gives me only a black screen. Wonder if that is a driver issue or if it could be that watts issue you mentioned. Also wondering if that was the actual reason why my system didn't boot with the bub connected... unfortunately I am way too tech-n00b to ever figure out how to determine/fix that value if so.

Still, nice catch! Can't boot due to too low electricity supplied during boot... who knew? I always assumed the PC just had power and everything took whatever they needed! Who knew...?

 

[ShabROIDS_ZA]

Remove CMOS battery for 30min - then put back and try to boot.

 

[FrankNStine]

Alright, one of my previous configurations used to occasionally do a similar thing. However, in my case it used to have the CPU debug light on. Fans spinning, peripherals have power, however power button does nothing. Have to switch off directly from PSU switch.

Try this, switch psu off, unplug kettle plug from psu, remove CMOS battery, jump cmos to clear it, hold power button for 20 seconds to drain power, reseat ram (use only one ram stick in the primary dimm closest to cpu). Reconnect everything, try booting.

If nothing, clear cmos, reseat cpu, try booting.

If nothing, remove everything from MB, remove ram, remove gpu, remove all connected sata, every power cable (no need to remove case fans or the case power led and switch connectors), Remove CPU. Drain power. Reconnect only CPU, CPU Cooler and Power cables for cpu and 24pin (NO ram, No GPU, No sata), connect kettle plug to psu and try booting. It will not boot ofcourse. Then switch off, put in the one tam stick in dimm 1. Put back GPU. Try booting now. If it works, magic (this fixed my issues every time).

If nothing works, breadboard. MB outside case in the MB cardboard box, connect everything try booting.

Then, when you get it booting, i found out my issues were caused by a setting in the bios that limited the watts supplied to the processor. It was on auto, which was below the rated tdp of my cpu. Changed it to manual and set it to the tdp and it worked. No issues after that.

Hope something here works for you mate.

Thanks bro, I'll get to this today and update accordingly. Getting so frustrated with this rig of mine 😂😂

 

[Fife]

Guh... I used to have the problem where my Pcwon't wake after going to sleep but that was because my Windows was installed on an nvme drive and my mobo was always powered on even when the system was asleep due to a messed up configuration with an internal USB hub. Removing the power from the hub solved that problem just fine...

Now I replaced my GPU and now I am back to my screen staying black whenever I wake from sleep. Even pulling out the HDMI and reinserting it still gives me only a black screen. Wonder if that is a driver issue or if it could be that watts issue you mentioned. Also wondering if that was the actual reason why my system didn't boot with the bub connected... unfortunately I am way too tech-n00b to ever figure out how to determine/fix that value if so.

Still, nice catch! Can't boot due to too low electricity supplied during boot... who knew? I always assumed the PC just had power and everything took whatever they needed! Who knew...?

Oh my word, I have this issue. Screen stays blank, and after restarts and removing cables and peripherals and plugging them back etc. it eventually works!

To be honest, AMD hasn't exactly won me over with the PC and the issues I've had so far..

 

[FrankNStine]

I don't think I've mentioned this, but the system also goes through random crashes. I'll be in chrome or the desktop or something, and it will freeze for like 2 seconds, then restart but it won't actually boot. Sounds like the cpu cooler fan spins up then slows down, spins up and slows down, continuously. After clicking the restart button while it's stuck in that loop, then it boots like normal

 

[Fife]

I don't think I've mentioned this, but the system also goes through random crashes. I'll be in chrome or the desktop or something, and it will freeze for like 2 seconds, then restart but it won't actually boot. Sounds like the cpu cooler fan spins up then slows down, spins up and slows down, continuously. After clicking the restart button while it's stuck in that loop, then it boots like normal

One issue I had was that the screen was flashing green and hanging green like a "Green Screen of Death".

Turned out to be an Issue with CPU auto regulation of the RAM. once I hard set it in the BIOS, it seemed to go away...

 

[Deku]

so hope this help as my wife's pc has the same mobo and it took me days to get the thing to post......SO plug in a low profile graphics card that has no power connectors this was the only thing that got the pc to post did not want to post with a 1070ti or a 5700XT had to plug in my media pc gpu for it to actually post after first post and windows installed i was able to swap out gpu's and now its running fine

 

[zsde]

1. Suggest you test with another known working PSU.
2. Test with only one memory stick. If you know soemone that has a stock DDR4-2133 or 2400 kit. Try that. Check the QVL list and compare your memory model number with what has been tested by Asrock. I don't see any A320 board support for these mem modules on the G.Skill QVL list F4-3000C16D-16GISB-G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Official memory support for this CPU is Up to 2667MHz.
3. Test the board outside the case. Possible intermittent short to ground or even a case cable that may be shorting?

 

[FrankNStine]

Okay, current update. Nothing worked until I assembled it on the mobo box. Booted into the bios now, everything seems to have reset which was expected since I cleared cmos a million times. Here's the kicker, I shorted the power button pins and nothing happened. I left it plugged in for a few minutes and IT BOOTED ON BY ITSELF

 

[FrankNStine]

1. Suggest you test with another known working PSU.
2. Test with only one memory stick. If you know soemone that has a stock DDR4-2133 or 2400 kit. Try that. Check the QVL list and compare your memory model number with what has been tested by Asrock. I don't see any A320 board support for these mem modules on the G.Skill QVL list F4-3000C16D-16GISB-G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Official memory support for this CPU is Up to 2667MHz.
3. Test the board outside the case. Possible intermittent short to ground or even a case cable that may be shorting?

The PSU is new, but I have also tried it with my old PSU and it had the same issue. I actually assumed the memory would be fine, I'll double check now. Maybe I just won't enable the XMP, should be fine right?

 

[orange_jo0se]

Sup bud, have you tried different Ram modules all together?

 

[FrankNStine]

Sup bud, have you tried different Ram modules all together?

I haven't, I don't have any DDR4 on me 😂🙈 I know the ram does work, it's also only 2 or 3 months old but @zsde did inform me on the cpus lack of support for the 3000mhz profile, so I'm gonna leave it at 2133 for now and hope that helps

 

[dash09]

You say it only started after the fresh windows? Tried using a different drive with a working windows install on it? Like just grab a drive from another pc and use it temporarily.
Also boot it without the game drive connected

 

[rex01]

most overlooked issue bent mobo/cpu pins ,had a few of those lately

 

[FrankNStine]

most overlooked issue bent mobo/cpu pins ,had a few of those lately

So I had a few slightly bent pins that I noticed when I was installing the cpu. Straightened them with a blade and they look perfect now since they were in the mobo for quite a while

 

[FrankNStine]

06/11 Update: Reassembled everything in the case, hooked up everything and it seems to be fine for now. Booted fine, Windows seems normal. I think @zsde was on the money, I disabled the XMP and left the Ram at 2133MHz, and it seems to be fine now. I'm gonna leave the thread open for a while in case someone else has the same issues or if it starts acting weird again. All the help has been much appreciated, thanks a lot everyone!! Time for me to get back to studying lol

 

[FrankNStine]

You say it only started after the fresh windows? Tried using a different drive with a working windows install on it? Like just grab a drive from another pc and use it temporarily.
Also boot it without the game drive connected

I did the fresh install because of the change of platform. I ruled that out because it refused to boot at all, so I figured it was something else

 

[goldfritter]

06/11 Update: Reassembled everything in the case, hooked up everything and it seems to be fine for now. Booted fine, Windows seems normal. I think @zsde was on the money, I disabled the XMP and left the Ram at 2133MHz, and it seems to be fine now. I'm gonna leave the thread open for a while in case someone else has the same issues or if it starts acting weird again. All the help has been much appreciated, thanks a lot everyone!! Time for me to get back to studying lol

Glad you got it working again. RAM instability can get ugly. If it's not a huge amount of effort I would reinstall Windows with the RAM at Non-XMP speed. It's quite possible that the current install is now corrupt due to the RAM running out of the mobo's specified range, which could continue to give crashes, etc. even with the RAM now at 2133.

Later on you can try setting the RAM clock higher, but only with proper stress testing.

 

[zsde]

I did the fresh install because of the change of platform. I ruled that out because it refused to boot at all, so I figured it was something else

Memory normally applies the default SPD and has to be manually set to DOCP or XMP. There are so many RAM kits that MB manufacturers cant test them all. Even though your memory may work for now, whether it's default is 2133 or 2400 doesn't mean it will be stable if the timings and subtimings of this kit werent optimised in the BIOS. And seeing that GSkill themselves havent got it on their own QVL list means that no one has probably tested it officially as compatible with the A320 chipset. You may be lucky that it remains stable, so test it for a wile. You should also be able to manually set your DOCP to 2400 or even 2666 and their programmed timings. Just check the programmed JEDEC SPD for those memory speeds. Not sure if your BIOS has got the ability to read them out there, else use CPU-Z to check and try to at least get some benefit out of this OC mem kit.

 

[JollyJamma]

@R3aL1Ty

 

[FrankNStine]

Memory normally applies the default SPD and has to be manually set to DOCP or XMP. There are so many RAM kits that MB manufacturers cant test them all. Even though your memory may work for now, whether it's default is 2133 or 2400 doesn't mean it will be stable if the timings and subtimings of this kit werent optimised in the BIOS. And seeing that GSkill themselves havent got it on their own QVL list means that no one has probably tested it officially as compatible with the A320 chipset. You may be lucky that it remains stable, so test it for a wile. You should also be able to manually set your DOCP to 2400 or even 2666 and their programmed timings. Just check the programmed JEDEC SPD for those memory speeds. Not sure if your BIOS has got the ability to read them out there, else use CPU-Z to check and try to at least get some benefit out of this OC mem kit.

I'll try playing around with it in the next week or so, this was supposed to be a temporary setup till black Friday. Hoping to score a decent b450 and a 3300x, so I didn't pay attention to the 1600AF memory specs

 

[FrankNStine]

I'm back guys 😒 So I had my PC on yesterday, it seemed fine and had no weird restarts. I shut it down this morning about 4:30am, and now it's doing the same thing. I used to think it was the mobo, because my peripherals light up when the PSU switch is flipped on, but I'm at my wits end now

 

[FrankNStine]

I'm back guys 😒 So I had my PC on yesterday, it seemed fine and had no weird restarts. I shut it down this morning about 4:30am, and now it's doing the same thing. I used to think it was the mobo, because my peripherals light up when the PSU switch is flipped on, but I'm at my wits end now

I left the PSU on and made some coffee. This PC booted by itself. I don't understand!!!🤣🤣