First time building a Ryzen system and it's not going well....

duffbeer

duffbeer

duffbeer

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I could really do with some advice here.

I have been building nothing but Intel PCs for years but the current Ryzen CPUs look awesome so I thought I'd give it a go. First time with an MSI board too but I like the spec of this one compared to my usual favourites.

Here's my main components:
AMD 3950x
MSI MEG x570 Unify
16GB Corsair 3200 DDR4 (Ryzen Optimised)
MSI GT 1030 GPU
Samsung 970 Pro 1TB M2 SSD
Corsair AX650 PSU

Put everything together and fired up for the first time and it was slow to post but got there in the end. Boot from USB to install Windows and after install it got stuck in a boot loop. I ran the install again and cleared all the partitions on the SSD. This time it installed fine - Windows updates applied and x570 chipset drivers installed......happy days.

I then entered the bios to check some basic stuff and I noticed that the memory was not set to 3200 so I enabled A-XMP and restarted. Now it won't post at all. I tried the clear CMOS button on the back of the board a few times but the problem persists. All fans spin (including the chipset fan) and all the usual lights for power etc on the case are on.

I was going to try the CMOS jumper but there isn't one included - just the bare pins on the motherboard. Next thought was to pull the battery for a few minutes but that is under the GPU and I ran out of time.

Sat at work this morning trying to decide what to try tonight. I can't believe turning on XMP would kill it, and why on earth doesn't the CMOS reset button work?

I guess my only option is try the USB flash method using the other button on the board but I'm nervous that if this doesn't work I may make the problem worse and not be able to return the board.

Any suggestions from someone with a similar setup?
 
You probably haven't killed anything - AMD systems + memory = lots of 'fun'

I don't have your board but it's likely you are suffering from (very common) memory issues with Ryzen - I had lots of fun with my system trying to get it to post at all with memory that was on the approved list for it.

According to the manual the CMOS jumper should be present and set to 'keep data' (see troubleshooting) so it's odd you're missing it. Are there any beeps? Have you tried trying to post with just one stick of RAM in? Have you got a crappy basic video card to use whilst troubleshooting?

My ASUS board recovers if i power it off 3 times in a row (failsafe) which is what got me going again but i had lots of fun getting it to post with four sticks of RAM (I actually changed RAM in the end) and they seem very picky about timings and DDR voltages.

https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/E7C35v2.0.pdf

See page 48 - debug LEDs may show why the board won't post.
 
The frustrating thing is, I read about Ryzen memory problems and so I made sure that I bought RAM from the QVL list and I even paid a little extra for the Ryzen optimised version (whatever that means - probably nothing as the timings are the same).

Are these latest Ryzen's really that picky with RAM? I thought that situation had improved?

The troubleshooting section has confused me. The manual states "use a jumper cap to short JBAT1" and remove it when done. I'll have to see if I can find an old jumper cap in my box of bits.

No beeps on power on and I haven't tried with just one stick of RAM - that would have to be a last resort at this point as it's covered by the cooler and would mean I have to remove the motherboard again. I also don't have another GPU - I usually just use the integrated graphics so I never needed one before.

Good shout on the debug LEDs - I had forgotten about that.

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.
 
I did the same - bought approved RAM. First set of corsair - all four sticks in - no post. Removed all but one posted. Then found that one of the four sticks stopped it posting. I have a lot of confidence when I put this set in my mates intel system tomorrow it will be flawless.

Second set - ended up messing with bios settings a lot before they would work but now all four post (albeit it takes a bit longer than it should so it's likely memory training) but i've had the occasional BSOD which means i'm still probably not fully stable. I feel the system ought to post much quicker too. I'm using DOCP (XMP for AMD in ASUS land) settings currently but obviously have some 'fun' yet.

I'm using
CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 32GB (2X16GB) 3600MHZ (BLACK)
(two sets = 64gb)
 
duffbeer said:
Thanks for the link. Do you think this is a good idea for me at this point?
Click to expand...

Yes i think if your having issues and what you have tried so far hasnt worked then a bios update is worth while, baring in mind the CPU you have wasnt released till november so bios after that date would be recomended and also install new chipset driver from AMD.
 
I just double checked my RAM spec and apparently it's Samsung B-Die. As far as I understand, that's the best you can get for Ryzen.

Really confused as Windows installed fine and updates were installed fine so it's not like the bios was too old for the CPU. There's no suggestion on the MSI support page that a minimum bios version is required for the 3950x.
I'll try and update the bios tonight after I've cleared the CMOS with a jumper cap. Wish me luck.
 
Ok I've cleared the CMOS with a jumper and that didn't work so I pulled the battery for 20 mins but it still won't post.

I tried the bios flashback but pressing the button on the rear of the motherboard does nothing at all. I did notice that the clear CMOS button next to the flashback button is permanently lit. Is that normal? It's not mentioned in the manual.

When I power up the debug LED stops at 15 which is "pre-memory system agent initialization is started"

I'm starting to think this thing is fubar.
 
Knock the ram back to its default speed 2333 and get it running first. Then build up the ram speed once stable.

Ive had similar issue with bios updating... For whatever reason some bioses just don't like certain speeds and 4 sticks .... Even though they may have worked before.

Other times bios updates have only taken with 2 sticks installed etc.
 
I've too little blood in my alcohol stream right now, but I think I saw something about 4 DIMMs having slower max speeds than 2 DIMMs. Or maybe that was Threadripper.
 
duffbeer said:
Ok I've cleared the CMOS with a jumper and that didn't work so I pulled the battery for 20 mins but it still won't post.

I tried the bios flashback but pressing the button on the rear of the motherboard does nothing at all. I did notice that the clear CMOS button next to the flashback button is permanently lit. Is that normal? It's not mentioned in the manual.

When I power up the debug LED stops at 15 which is "pre-memory system agent initialization is started"

I'm starting to think this thing is fubar.
Click to expand...

It might be, who knows, but you are way too quick to think the worst.

You need to go into a bit of detail about how you tried the Flashback so those trying to help are all on the same page, knowing what you did. i.e.:

Only CPU power cable and 24-pin ATX cable connected to motherboard? No RAM, no GPU, nothing else.

Did you re-label the BIOS file to MSI.ROM

Was it the only file on the USB flash drive?
 
Danny75 said:
It might be, who knows, but you are way too quick to think the worst.

You need to go into a bit of detail about how you tried the Flashback so those trying to help are all on the same page, knowing what you did. i.e.:

Only CPU power cable and 24-pin ATX cable connected to motherboard? No RAM, no GPU, nothing else.

Did you re-label the BIOS file to MSI.ROM

Was it the only file on the USB flash drive?
Click to expand...

lol....fair play. You're not the first person this week to highlight my pessimism!
In my defence I said "I'm STARTING to think this thing is fubar".....I'm not totally convinced yet.

Anyway to answer your questions, I did rename the file to MSI.ROM and it's the only file on a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
I tried removing and reinstalling the RAM and I tried it with one stick but these changes made no difference.
The motherboard is still in the case with everything connected except the GPU while trying to flash. I guess the next thing to try is removing it from the case and connecting only power and see what happens then. This will have to wait until the weekend as I just don't have time in the evenings.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I'm not expecting anyone to fix it for me, I was just hoping to stumble on someone who has similar hardware with a similar issue. I'll get it sorted one way or another, I won't let it beat me!

I'll update the thread when I make some progress just in case it helps someone else in future.
 
duffbeer said:
lol....fair play. You're not the first person this week to highlight my pessimism!
Click to expand...

:)


duffbeer said:
In my defence I said "I'm STARTING to think this thing is fubar".....I'm not totally convinced yet.
Click to expand...

Fairy muff.


duffbeer said:
Anyway to answer your questions, I did rename the file to MSI.ROM and it's the only file on a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
I tried removing and reinstalling the RAM and I tried it with one stick but these changes made no difference.
Click to expand...

Can you clarify that the only two things plugged in were the CPU power cable and the 24-pin ATX cable? Not to be a pedant but removing and reinstalling the RAM could mean you didn't try it until you reinstalled the RAM.


duffbeer said:
The motherboard is still in the case with everything connected except the GPU while trying to flash. I guess the next thing to try is removing it from the case and connecting only power and see what happens then. This will have to wait until the weekend as I just don't have time in the evenings.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what you need to do, otherwise you won't know if there's an issue with the hardware if you don't follow the flashback method to a T.


duffbeer said:
Thanks for all the advice so far. I'm not expecting anyone to fix it for me, I was just hoping to stumble on someone who has similar hardware with a similar issue. I'll get it sorted one way or another, I won't let it beat me!

I'll update the thread when I make some progress just in case it helps someone else in future.
Click to expand...

That's the spirit. :)
 
Have a 3600X with Teamgroup 16gb 3600mhz on a Tomahawk Max, booted at 2400mhz, zero issue. I had to manually set VDDP VDDG? and SOC voltages to boot with the higher ram speeds. If I simply enabled XMP, which was 3600mhz, would get no post and system stuck on CPU debug led, had to do a manual cmos clear with the jbat jumpers
Once/if you get the initial issue sorted with the BIOS update, you may need to manually set some voltages to get it to post successfully with XMP enabled.
 
OK I think I'm making some progress.
The short version of events is as follows:

I cannot get the board to post or run the bios flashback via USB. I tried with the board out of the case with only power connected but it still refues to do anything at all.
Next step was to borrow some memory from my mate who has an MSI x470 of some sort. I inserted both sticks and it posted absolutely fine so I updated to the latest bios and swapped back to my Corsair sticks. This produced the same result as before no post or flashback working.
I then tested my Corsair memory in his x470 board and they seem to work perfectly.
Kind of frustrating but at least my board is working OK I suppose. I suggested to him (as a joke) that we swap memory but he declined!

I've ordered some new memory exactly the same spec as his (not on the QVL) so hopefully that will solve the problem.

Moral of the story is...........ignore the QVL
 
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