Ryzen 5 3600 & MSI Tomahawk Max - CPU Fail Led light, not working?

Jonnyfriendly · 8 Aug 2019 at 21:35

Hello - Just put my new build together and upon powerin up I get all fans spinning etc, but it doesnt post. The CPU led on the mb lights up red. Ive reinstalled the CPU, swapped cables, tried with no ram, reseated cables, all with no joy. Has any body got any ideas what I shoudl try next??

Plec · 8 Aug 2019 at 21:39

Spec?

Have you tried a CMOS reset?

Journey · 8 Aug 2019 at 21:47

Needs flashing with 7C02v31 to work properly with the R5 3600. It will be on 7C02v30 or a Beta version older than that. Even the Max boards don't solve some issues.

Make sure you use BIOS flashback without the CPU or RAM installed.

Jonnyfriendly · 8 Aug 2019 at 22:25

Yep, just done that - appeared to successfully flash the bios to the latesrt version - still get the red light. I thought the Max version were meant to have sort ed this. To say I am ****** off is a pretty big understatement

Journey · 8 Aug 2019 at 22:35

Jonnyfriendly said:
Yep, just done that - appeared to successfully flash the bios to the latesrt version - still get the red light. I thought the Max version were meant to have sort ed this. To say I am ****** off is a pretty big understatement

How long have you left it to boot before you reset it?

EDIT: Did you reset CMOS using the jumper/pins and remove the power once you flashed, and before installing the CPU?

orbitalwalsh · 8 Aug 2019 at 22:40

Jonnyfriendly said:
Yep, just done that - appeared to successfully flash the bios to the latesrt version - still get the red light. I thought the Max version were meant to have sort ed this. To say I am ****** off is a pretty big understatement

If board is under 14 days then you don't have to go through MSI slow RMA in EU hopefully.

MSI was smart to rush and bring the MAX brand out, but with AGESA, they aren't to blame. Solely on AMD. Explained enough times on here the process of how it's done and vendors have a sort leash with it .
X570 and current Chipset launches will always have most resources with bios development

Jonnyfriendly · 8 Aug 2019 at 22:51

Journey said:
How long have you left it to boot before you reset it?

EDIT: Did you reset CMOS using the jumper/pins and remove the power once you flashed, and before installing the CPU?

Yes to all of the above.

Journey · 8 Aug 2019 at 23:00

Jonnyfriendly said:
Yes to all of the above.

Hmm... at a bit of a loss then. If you live local you can fetch it over and I'll use some of my spare hardware to test your kit if you want.

Jonnyfriendly · 8 Aug 2019 at 23:02

Nope im in Leicester, but thanks for the offer. Could the CPU be faulty?

Journey · 8 Aug 2019 at 23:05

Jonnyfriendly said:
Nope im in Leicester, but thanks for the offer. Could the CPU be faulty?

It's possible but incredibly unlikely. It is much more likely there is a fault with the board, but again it is hard to confirm with out putting another CPU in it. Do you know anyone that can loan you a CPU R5 2600 or something?

Journey · 8 Aug 2019 at 23:17

Can I also assume you re-downloaded the BIOS again, in case of corruption. Freshly formatted a nice 4/8GB USB drive to FAT32, then extracted the .zip file to the USB drive, and rename it MSI.ROM. Then ejected it from the O/S correctly,?

MIght be worth doing if you have not already, as a corrupt file could easily look like it is flashing fine, as it is effectively a dumb flash as long as the name and file size are correct.

Harl0 · 11 Aug 2019 at 09:21

I have the 3700x and the MSI Tomahawk Max and I was just plug and play. No updates required.

Simple question but have you tried removing everything from your board expect CPU? Will it at least post to the CPU recognition?

cyber69 · 11 Aug 2019 at 14:53

If you are not sure if it’s the cpu or mobo then I would suggest buying an x570 mobo off another retailer and trying that. If it does not work still then must be cpu and you can return the mobo under dsr to that other well known internet retailer (as long as its sold by them). Catch my drift here?

Norris197 · 19 Aug 2019 at 19:45

Did you ever find a solution to this? I have the Tomahawk Max + Ryzen 5 3600 combo and am also getting the red LED.

I’ve followed all tips in this thread (updating to latest BIOS, reset CMOS etc.)...nothing

Chaze · 20 Aug 2019 at 19:43

Also have a 3600 & Tomahawk Max as part of a custom build.
Updated all the usual, worked well for a couple of days and then constant blue screens of death, black screens, complete lag fest just trying to type in the search bar and then wouldn't even post.
Been collected tomorrow for a refund.

OpenToSuggestions · 20 Aug 2019 at 20:24

I have a Mortar (non-max) which is just an mATX version of the Tomahawk.
You need to flash the BIOS with the latest version (took me two attempts) then clear the CMOS and then repeatedly turn the PC on and off. Mine was a total **** to get to work in all honesty. Even with the latest BIOS it does not post every single time.