Problem Tower PC Wont Boot

[SnowMonkey]

Three year old build from new parts that has worked fine since assembly until yesterday.

Power up to 'no signal detected' with black screen on all (3) monitors. Monitors go into hibernate.
Same issue despite several restarts.
Disconnected monitor to a known working single test unit. Same result.
Checked all wiring for tight connections. All good. Nothing loose, no obvious breaks.
Nothing looks burnt or smells fried.
Removed graphics card and replaced with GForce 3070 RTX (NIB replacement).
Removed DDR4 Memory leaving one stick behind. A2 Front Slot (per manual).
RM 850 seems to be working/can tell fan is operating. Tight connections there as well.

After replacing the GPU. Turn on and now get the Republic of Gamers logo screen and text saying 'press hold del or F2 to enter bios'
but no boot circling graphic and pressing del/F2 has no effect.
Replaced M.2 SSD sticks with NIB replacements. No change.

Have cleared the CMOS via rear panel button and popped the battery out.

The Q COde LED on MB stays at 0.0 (Before this it would run through a number sequence on boot).
Color code below on start goes Yel., Red, White then Green, with the white and green on together.
No beeps.

OS:
MS vanilla Win 11 OS

Parts:
AMD Ryzen 7 5700 CPU - Mild overclock
ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero MB
GPU Zotac GE Force 3080 TI Trinity 12 GB
Rip Jaws DDR4 Mem Stick - 4 Original, Removed 3 for testing
Samsung 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD (2) - Removed - installed Crucial SSD NIB replacement.
Corsair RM 850x
Arctic Liquid Freezer 360 in front push/pull configuration.
Two bottom fans intake. Single Exit fan out rear panel below power. All fans working.
Fractal Torrent case.

Have done google searches to get to this point. Thinking the MB maybe fried or if I need to reinstall the OS/BIOS update? But would really appreciate advice from one with more experience with this stuff than me.
Its late here now, so will follow up later. Appreciate taking the time. TIA!

 

[Taurus]

90% chance ...... motherboard is dead.

 

[choli]

Agree with taurus...
If your mobo still in warranty period, claim warranty..

 

[raj7000]

If after replacing the GPU if you are getting the ROG Screen and says Press Del or F2 for bios do that and wait for sometime. If your Motherboard was dead then you would not be gettiing any display or power to your components. Most probably the chances are that your OS has Problems. check the Drive on another windows Computer for errors by Connecting it to a external case and making it USB and fix it and then see. Also if possible remove all the connections from the board including the NVME, RAM and any other drive and then power on the Motherboard and see if it goes into bios or not. Also check all the RAM sticks 1 by 1 in all slots and see if you are getting Errors or not. If your Motherboard Powers on and enters the BIOS without any drives connected then your Motherboard is OK. Do a full reset of the Motherboard withour any drives and then restart and shutdown and then connect your NVME and try to enter the BIOS again. If you are able to enter the BIOS with Drive Connected then it s all OK but if you are not able to enter the BIOS after connecting the DRIVE containing the OS then you have a OS Fault. I am saying this by experience as i have faced this issue and the problem was in the DRIVE and the OS had errors.

 

[Elzer]

1. Check OS Drive on Another Computer: Connect the NVMe SSD containing the OS to another Windows computer using an external case to check for errors and fix them if necessary. This step will help determine if the issue lies with the OS drive.
2. Test Motherboard with Minimal Components: Disconnect all connections from the motherboard, including NVMe SSD, RAM, and any other drives. Power on the motherboard and see if it enters the BIOS without any drives connected. If it does, perform a full reset of the motherboard.
3. Test RAM: Test each RAM stick one by one in all available slots to check for errors. If the motherboard powers on and enters the BIOS without any issues, the RAM may not be the cause of the problem.
4. Reconnect Drive and Enter BIOS: After performing a full reset of the motherboard without any drives connected, reconnect the NVMe SSD containing the OS. Try entering the BIOS again. If you can enter the BIOS with the drive connected, the motherboard and drive are likely functioning properly. If you still can't enter the BIOS, it suggests an issue with the OS.

Based on your experience and the steps you've outlined, it seems like you've already considered many possible scenarios and are taking appropriate steps to isolate and diagnose the problem. Following these steps should help you identify whether the issue lies with the OS drive or elsewhere in the system. If you determine that the OS drive is the problem, you can focus on troubleshooting or reinstalling the OS to resolve the issue.

 

[ki_2004]

You have been told very good advice above my various users. While I am not sharing anything new, I am just telling you what you should try first to start troubleshooting

• In local hardware shops or on amazon you get a PC buzzer. It’s a 2 pin connector with speaker (buzzer). Plug that into respective mobo pins. Remove all parts including HDD, SSD, RAM etc and power on the PC without storage and without RAM
• It should give you warning thru beeps that RAM is missing. If this works, in principle BIOS is working fine.
• Now connect only RAM (still no storage) and again power on the PC, if it enters BIOS the barebone parts are working fine.
• If it does not, re-seat RAM, reset BIOS and retry
• If still it does not work, most likely it’s a HW fault which only the vendor/repair shop can solve. At least they may tell you want part has failed.

 

[SnowMonkey]

Greetz Guys, and do appreciate everyone taking the time with considered advice. This was a first build so just getting to know how the parts go together. This next level of diagnosis is a whole new learning curve. Working on a laptop now and don't have access to another computer at the time. Will be looking into each item noted and follow up. Thanks!

Update Morning:
(raj7000) Did a restart and hit Del several times on the ROG screen and waited about 10 minutes- No access to BIOS.
MB Check: Disconnected all connections from the motherboard, including NVMe SSD, RAM, and other SSD/HDD memory. Only left fans, audio and USB connections. Power on to dark screen - no ROG, no BIOS.
Connected NIB NVMe sticks (no RAM or other storage) - one upper, one lower slot - one at a time and powered on - dark screen - no ROG, no BIOS.
Connected old NVMe to lower slot and powered on - dark screen - no ROG, no BIOS.
RAM Check: Connected one RAM into each slot, one by one - powered on to ROG screen but no access to BIOS each time.

So far no error messages, no BIOS access.

The old 3080 GPU on start up had the no signal screen. The new 3070 GPU gets ROG screen. Does this mean the old GPU is toast?
(If so, since it was purchased during the pandemic when all the miners were buying up GPU's, that's one !@#$%^* expensive brick.)

Thinking about getting an adapter to connect the NVME with OS as USB to laptop. Would that work to confirm OS or allow to trouble shoot?

Would a corrupted OS block access to the BIOS?

TIA for your time!


Update 2 Afternoon:
Put the original (2) NVMe SSD, and all (4) Ram back, and re-connected the other SSD/HDD memory. Using the new replacement 3070 GPU.
Started up to a black screen. Saw the keyboard flash so hit Del a few times and it booted from the black screen directly into BIOS.
Reset BIOS to Optimized settings and restarted with the current OS.
Everything seems to be working but not sure why. On the plus side my girl thinks I'm a IT genius.

Does it make sense to shut down and re-install the old GPU, or is that just asking for trouble?

At some point will need to move the tower back into the computer room and re-connect the original monitors, but I'm scared to turn it off. lol.

 

[ki_2004]

Though it should not be relevant in todays times, but I still think the desktop PC parts due to repeated heating and cooling exhibit something called as chip-creep.
May be after reconnecting all parts life came back into system. Also sometimes dust is another enemy.

Also note that it's meaningless to test the system by connecting all parts but removing RAM, it will not run. However to test if BIOS is working fine or not (when it does not POST) is to run without RAM and hear the missing RAM beeps. If you don't have one, may be it's time to keep PC speaker (buzzer) in your kit now. It really comes in handy when PC does not POST.

 

[SnowMonkey]

Though it should not be relevant in todays times, but I still think the desktop PC parts due to repeated heating and cooling exhibit something called as chip-creep.
May be after reconnecting all parts life came back into system. Also sometimes dust is another enemy.

Also note that it's meaningless to test the system by connecting all parts but removing RAM, it will not run. However to test if BIOS is working fine or not (when it does not POST) is to run without RAM and hear the missing RAM beeps. If you don't have one, may be it's time to keep PC speaker (buzzer) in your kit now. It really comes in handy when PC does not POST.

Agree that over time repeated heat/cool cycles can create issues with electric connections. The multiple insert and removals may have reset those interfaces for better contact. And dust is for sure a potential problem. Had blown out the case and cleaned the filter screens a couple months ago. The PC buzzer is on my list for sure.
Appreciate the response. TY!

 

[Wichestery2k]

have you try to boot with onboard graphic from the CPU??? otherwise try a different mobo those are cheap refurbished on ebay!

 

[pleiadians]

Well done for not panicking and for trying, and for asking for help to begin with. Perhaps while it works you might look at backing up the bios and printing off and saving off the instructions to do a recovery. Sometimes this recovery procedure can get you out of trouble as it can be started without the screen working, usually a key combo invokes it. It can be hard to troubleshoot graphics cards sometimes as bios and board may not immediately bond, don't know why but it has happened to me, obscure bios settings I'd imagine. OS should be ok and doesn't sound like it had anything to do with it. You might try to find another pc to try the original card on, a friend might help. Perhaps there was some grounding or static issue? For something that is supposed to be logical, a computer can be pure voodoo sometimes.

 

[SnowMonkey]

have you try to boot with onboard graphic from the CPU??? otherwise try a different mobo those are cheap refurbished on ebay!

From the owners manual my understanding is that this setup doesn't have an onboard GPU. It needs an external plug in. If that's wrong, please let me know. And that's a great idea for an alt MB source. Think I tried to boot with the GPU out without success. TBH, I was swapping out so much stuff I may be mistaken on the test w/o the GPU. Appreciate the time for a thoughtful response. TY!

Well done for not panicking and for trying, and for asking for help to begin with. Perhaps while it works you might look at backing up the bios and printing off and saving off the instructions to do a recovery. Sometimes this recovery procedure can get you out of trouble as it can be started without the screen working, usually a key combo invokes it. It can be hard to troubleshoot graphics cards sometimes as bios and board may not immediately bond, don't know why but it has happened to me, obscure bios settings I'd imagine. OS should be ok and doesn't sound like it had anything to do with it. You might try to find another pc to try the original card on, a friend might help. Perhaps there was some grounding or static issue? For something that is supposed to be logical, a computer can be pure voodoo sometimes.

Well, your being generous. There was plenty of panicking. lol. Didn't think about BU the BIOS and getting the recovery instructions, that's a great idea. Wondering if the mild overclocking settings may have created an irregularity that the OS or other programs couldn't handle. The overclock was done about a year ago from a you-tube vid specific to my set up. The improvement was only about a15% . Hardly noticeable and really not needed. Appreciate your taking the time for the considered advice. TY!

Update: Next Day
Left the computer running all night. Checked this AM and everything was the same as before. Ran a clean up app then shut it down. Rebooted in normal sequence and time to log screen. Also watched the Q-Code and it went through a numbering sequence similar to that seen before ending with AA. The MB manual says AA indicates proper start up and all systems are functioning.
Maybe this was all just a visit from the Amp Fairy. lol.

Next is another shut down and set up at computer desk with the original monitors. Going to use the machine with the alternate GPU for the week and see how things go.
Big thanks to all the cool kids for helping out with the great advice and ideas. TY!

 

[pleiadians]

You've done better than most. Yes, overclocking, no matter how mild, can cause this kind of thing, and yes it can take time or circumstance to trigger it. High end graphics cards are problematic beasts and they create a money pit to match high end boards, ram etc to. Gamers are the most exploited customers. I've seen rtx2070 drop to 200 euros second hand now.