AMD build: no boot/post, no fans, just the motherboard LEDs come on!

bstock

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Jan 4, 2011
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14
Hello

A friend of mine asked if I could have a look at a new PC 15 year old her son has put together.

He can not get it to work. I have a fair bit of experience building computers but I would not say I am an expert.

The PC is:

MB: Asus ROG Strix B450-E
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
RAM: Corsair CMK Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4 3200 MHz
PSU: Corsair CV650
M.2: Western Digital Blue 3D NAND Internal SSD M.2 SATA 500GB
Case: NZXT H510 Compact ATX Mid-Tower PC Case

All brand new from Ebuyer (UK) from what I was told.

Any compatibility issues with that list?

I have never built an AMD system so I am a bit in the dark about some of the issues that I have reading about while looking into this.

Having had a good look at the PC it looks like he has done a fine job putting it all together.

When you switch the PSU on the LEDs on the motherboard come on.
However when the power button is pressed there is an audible click, but nothing happens. None of the fans come on no post, nothing.

The front panel cable is a bit strange and requires an adaptor. I am not sure if I have got it right (and it is not that clear in the manual).
However, I think I have a least got the power switch correct as the audible click on pressing the power button only happens when the front panel switch is attached.

I have tried one stick of the RAM and in different slots and removing the GPU so as to run it from the onboard graphics.
I have also taken all the power and connections out and putting back just the necessary essentials to get it running. Still, the same happens.

Have I missed something obvious?

Like I said I am not familiar with AMD. I have been building Intel systems since the late 90s and never had anything like this happen before.

I do not have a spare PSU to try and I don't really want to dismantle my work computer to see if the PSU is the issue. I can't imagine that it is the brand new PSU though!

Any help, thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
B
 
First thing, a Ryzen 3600 does not have integrated GPU so you will still need a dedicated GPU for display. Second, I will try is to make sure the front panel connector for the power switch is connected correctly to the motherboard as that is a pretty common mistake to make. If that doesn't work, I will take a screwdriver to bridge the two pins on the motherboard front panel connector for the power switch to try to jump start the computer just to see if it is just a power button issue.
 
I always bench test before I install parts. You never know when you are going to get a stretch of bad luck and get defective parts from the factory. Plus, it eliminates errors like case / mobo shorts or as you've said yourself, issues with the power switch.
 
what they said^^. you need a gpu and to tear it apart and bench test. also, corsair ram can be a bit finicky. you might want to try with one stick and if you get it to post, up the ram voltage .1v before adding the second stick.
 
Since this is a B450 chipset based board the BIOS might not be updated on the board to handle the Zen2 line of CPUs. You would need a Zen or Zen+ CPU to check this out and update the BIOS if this is the case assuming that board doesn't have the ability to flash the BIOS without a CPU installed.
 
Since this is a B450 chipset based board the BIOS might not be updated on the board to handle the Zen2 line of CPUs. You would need a Zen or Zen+ CPU to check this out and update the BIOS if this is the case assuming that board doesn't have the ability to flash the BIOS without a CPU installed.
asus' site says all bios versions for that board support it. was the first thing i checked :)
never mind, i misread. it needs bios 2301 and up. op, might need a upgrade kit or borrow a lower series cpu.
 
Hello

A friend of mine asked if I could have a look at a new PC 15 year old her son has put together.

He can not get it to work. I have a fair bit of experience building computers but I would not say I am an expert.

The PC is:

MB: Asus ROG Strix B450-E
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
RAM: Corsair CMK Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4 3200 MHz
PSU: Corsair CV650
M.2: Western Digital Blue 3D NAND Internal SSD M.2 SATA 500GB
Case: NZXT H510 Compact ATX Mid-Tower PC Case

All brand new from Ebuyer (UK) from what I was told.

Any compatibility issues with that list?

I have never built an AMD system so I am a bit in the dark about some of the issues that I have reading about while looking into this.

Having had a good look at the PC it looks like he has done a fine job putting it all together.

When you switch the PSU on the LEDs on the motherboard come on.
However when the power button is pressed there is an audible click, but nothing happens. None of the fans come on no post, nothing.

The front panel cable is a bit strange and requires an adaptor. I am not sure if I have got it right (and it is not that clear in the manual).
However, I think I have a least got the power switch correct as the audible click on pressing the power button only happens when the front panel switch is attached.

I have tried one stick of the RAM and in different slots and removing the GPU so as to run it from the onboard graphics.
I have also taken all the power and connections out and putting back just the necessary essentials to get it running. Still, the same happens.

Have I missed something obvious?

Like I said I am not familiar with AMD. I have been building Intel systems since the late 90s and never had anything like this happen before.

I do not have a spare PSU to try and I don't really want to dismantle my work computer to see if the PSU is the issue. I can't imagine that it is the brand new PSU though!

Any help, thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
B



There are two power connectors on that board.
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) Right side of board
1 x 8-pin EATX 12V Power connectors top left corner of board.

Make sure power is plugged into both.
 
Thanks for the comment.

I got it to all turn on.

All the fans including the GPU fans are now all coming on.

Turns out it was a fan header that was causing the problem. When I swapped to a different header on the board it started to work. Maybe a bad header?

However, now I cannot get it to post, just getting a blank screen.

Again I have tried different RAM configs including one stick. I have also tried the GPU in a different PCIe slot.

So far no good.

Starting to think this may need the BIOS update?

If it is the BIOS update, how does he go about it? Is the company that he purchased the CPU and MB from obligated to send a 2000 CPU to send back?

Again any suggestions would be great

Thanks in advance
B
 
Update...

It is the BIOS update. I have checked the link he got the MB from and it says Ryzen 2nd Gen.

I guess I am going to have to help him return the MB and get a different 3rd gen supported board.
 
Update...

It is the BIOS update. I have checked the link he got the MB from and it says Ryzen 2nd Gen.

I guess I am going to have to help him return the MB and get a different 3rd gen supported board.

Regarding BIOS upgrade, I would ask if they can help facilitate BIOS upgrade free of charge if you don't want to get a new motherboard.

Edit, by they, I mean Ebuyer.
 
Last edited:
yeah if he bought parts locally, ask the shop to flash it for you, theyll do it.
 
Update...

It is the BIOS update. I have checked the link he got the MB from and it says Ryzen 2nd Gen.

I guess I am going to have to help him return the MB and get a different 3rd gen supported board.

Didn't you notice the solid red light on the mb? There should be on on it...
 
Update...

It is the BIOS update. I have checked the link he got the MB from and it says Ryzen 2nd Gen.

I guess I am going to have to help him return the MB and get a different 3rd gen supported board.
The board itself supports 3000 series CPUs, it just needs a compatible CPU to upgrade BIOS to get the support. Not sure if AMD is still doing the bios kits, but they were sending out a free bios boot kit with on older CPU that you could use to flash and send back. Otherwise maybe find someone local with a 1000/2000 series chip to help? Could also ask the seller if they can do it, but would probably require shipping costs at the least.
One more note, some boards (I don't believe this is relevant to the current board) have a bios flashback feature that allows the board to flash the bios without needing a CPU. If he gets a new board either verify 3000 support or get one with this feature so you can upgrade without another CPU.

Link to AMD boot kit info:
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-100#faq-Short-Term-Processor-Loan-Boot-Kit
 
Thanks for the comments.

I was able to get my hands on a Ryzen 2nd gen CPU off a friend and update the bios.

It worked and I can now get a post and into the bios with the Ryzen 3600 now re-installed.

However, it will only boot with one stick of RAM. I have tried all possible configurations ('A2' and 'B2' are the recommended slots for two sticks in the manual) and tested both sticks.
Nothing works but one (or the other) stick in the 'A2' slot, as recommended in the manual for one stick.

I checked on the Corsair site and it says that the memory in question is compatible with 3rd gen but not 'Ryzen optimised'. For reference - Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16W.

I have also tried different RAM speeds starting with 2666 MHz with no luck.

I also tried the RAM out of the Ryzen 2600 PC my friend let me borrow to do the BIOS upgrade. Again both sticks and one stick in all configurations. This ram was ‘Ryzen optimised’ but a year old. Still only one stick worked.

Is there anything I have missed or any additional setting I need to look at in the BIOS?
 
Thanks for the comments.

I was able to get my hands on a Ryzen 2nd gen CPU off a friend and update the bios.

It worked and I can now get a post and into the bios with the Ryzen 3600 now re-installed.

However, it will only boot with one stick of RAM. I have tried all possible configurations ('A2' and 'B2' are the recommended slots for two sticks in the manual) and tested both sticks.
Nothing works but one (or the other) stick in the 'A2' slot, as recommended in the manual for one stick.

I checked on the Corsair site and it says that the memory in question is compatible with 3rd gen but not 'Ryzen optimised'. For reference - Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16W.

I have also tried different RAM speeds starting with 2666 MHz with no luck.

I also tried the RAM out of the Ryzen 2600 PC my friend let me borrow to do the BIOS upgrade. Again both sticks and one stick in all configurations. This ram was ‘Ryzen optimised’ but a year old. Still only one stick worked.

Is there anything I have missed or any additional setting I need to look at in the BIOS?
also, corsair ram can be a bit finicky. you might want to try with one stick and if you get it to post, up the ram voltage .1v before adding the second stick.
 
I always bench test before I install parts. You never know when you are going to get a stretch of bad luck and get defective parts from the factory. Plus, it eliminates errors like case / mobo shorts or as you've said yourself, issues with the power switch.
I had a front USB ground out a system once as in noting would happen ..
 
Did you (or the bios) enable XMP/DOCP? I would put it to back default settings (I think that's 2400 off hand) and see if it boots. Also, most dmp/docp profiles are going to up voltage to 1.35vz so make sure if it's the running faster than 2400 your voltage has increased as well. A lot of folks use the Ryzen dram calculator with thaiphoon to help dial in ram speeds/timings.

Some people as well have had issues with the SOC voltage for the ram and needed to bump it up on notch , if your soc is at 1.05 bump it up .05 to 1.1 or there about. I think 1.15 is the max but you want to keep this as low as you can while stable.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.
I am having another look at this computer over the weekend. I will have a look at the voltages a see if I can make any progress.
I will post how I get on.
Thanks
 
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