Stuck in a non posting boot loop

Ordered a 4x2 idc ribbon connectors with a pitch of 2.54mm. I'll pick them up tomorrow.

Also watched this thrilling video
figure I can just use a clamp to apply an equal pressure to the connector.

If this doesn't work, I'll get the mortar max.
 
Deaths_Calling said:
I can just use a clamp to apply an equal pressure to the connector.
Click to expand...

Used that very method prior to having access to the correct tools, and worked well as long as you take your time. :)

Good luck, I hope it works out for you. You can start selling board flashes if it does :D
 
Journey said:
Used that very method prior to having access to the correct tools, and worked well as long as you take your time. :)

Good luck, I hope it works out for you. You can start selling board flashes if it does :D
Click to expand...

Ha yeah, I've got deep into this rabbit hole. Even made a lubuntu live USB yesterday to see if the flashing software worked better outside of Windows. Next step would be learning how to solder, which would be a very practical life skill to have but I'm not getting into that now, as I'll end up just spending more money than buying a new motherboard costs.
 
Shortened the cable.
Using the clamp worked perfectly.

Flash seems to have worked and verified successfully however the computer still doesn't post and shows the CPU led. I'm not convinced the CPU is broken as the motherboard is behaving differently from when it was just boot looping but i'm not sure what the issue is now
 
Deaths_Calling said:
Shortened the cable.
Using the clamp worked perfectly.
Click to expand...
Good news.

Deaths_Calling said:
Flash seems to have worked and verified successfully however the computer still doesn't post and shows the CPU led.
Click to expand...
Not such good news.

Deaths_Calling said:
I'm not convinced the CPU is broken as the motherboard is behaving differently from when it was just boot looping but i'm not sure what the issue is now
Click to expand...

Buy another board, that's about the best scenario here. You could even flash the new board if you wanted to be sure what you are doing is working. :)
 
Journey said:
Buy another board, that's about the best scenario here. You could even flash the new board if you wanted to be sure what you are doing is working. :)
Click to expand...

Yes I think that's where i'm at.
I flashed a v1 bios, just in case the latest one was just an update rather than a full image. It seemed to flash fine again, so i'm fairly sure i've cracked that part but still didn't post.
I gave all the cables a good push and reconnected the CPU cable.
Resat the CPU
Tried various ram combos......

I actually ordered the Mortar Max yesterday just in case it didn't work today and it should arrive on Friday.
 
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Arghhh!!! Just realised that I was actually in the warranty period by a few weeks when I started this but since getting fobbed off by MSI and trying to fix this myself, i'm now a few days out.
Contacted the supplier now but i'm expecting to get push back.
 
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Deaths_Calling said:
Arghhh!!! Just realised that I was actually in the warranty period by a few weeks when I started this but since getting fobbed off by MSI and trying to fix this myself, i'm now a few days out.
Click to expand...

You can't get push back for flashing a board, regardless of the method unless you overvolt the flash chip, hence the need for 1.8v. Chances are the board has a fault elsewhere so I'd ensure you get the service you are eligible for, and don't take no for an answer! :)
 
Edited now I've got the new motherboard to test with.

It behaves the same, so now it must either be the CPU or PSU.... Going to be expensive to diagnose
 
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The CPU was bought in 2018, so i've submitted a warranty request with AMD. What a palaver.
I was wrong to blame MSI but I do stand by the shoddy customer service from them.
 
Deaths_Calling said:
The CPU was bought in 2018, so i've submitted a warranty request with AMD. What a palaver.
I was wrong to blame MSI but I do stand by the shoddy customer service from them.
Click to expand...

How infuriating. CPUs fail so infrequently especially when they've been behaving well. Maybe the auto voltage on the new BIOS pushed it to much and killed it.
 
AMD confirmed the CPU has passed (broken) their inspection and will send a replacement. Hopefully if I'm lucky I might get a 3 series.

I'm actually not convinced that it wasn't a PSU issue though... We'll see.
 
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This has essentially turned into a conversation between Journey and I. :)
New CPU arrived. A new and boxed 2700x. Unfortunately no upgrade but at least it's a working cpu.

Unfortunately I can't test it as I ended up being able to rma the motherboard and PSU. I wasn't sure which was broken at the time and as I've said I still feel like there may have been issues with the PSU so I'll see what they both say.

Depending on what gets returned and when Ryzen 4000 comes out, I may sell up and upgrade.
 
Interesting convo though. :)

Well you are clearly a very patient and persistent person, lets hope for your sake nothing else goes wrong.

You've got a good wait yet for Ryzen 4xxx desktop parts that are based on Zen3 at least, if things go well then I'd wager it will be the very end of 2020, and who knows if there will be stock around or price gouging going on.
 
These days I think I prefer tinkering and the hunt for new parts then actually using them for much... Between work, the kids and a new one on the way I've not had a great deal of time so I've haven't minded not having my desktop. The next month atleast is a write off with the new baby too.

I really wasn't interested in investing any money in non upgradable parts. So this seems like it might be a good chance to get on a new line. We'll see if there's any news on Ryzen coming out around new consoles launching.
 
PSU has got replaced. Great service by Corsair, giving me a slight bump to a higher wattage. Despite this being my 2nd RMA with them over 10 years they've always sorted me out at no cost to me.

It's a little odd that both the PSU and CPU have been replaced which does make me question whether they always test them... MSI are sending my old motherboard back with a new CMOS battery, which is fair enough if it actually works.
 
With PSU's there could be many factors when they test them, you could have slight 12v ripple which may be out of spec, but the PSU works fine, but they've replaced it as it is out of spec, or many other reasons. It is good to know they still offer great service :)

The motherboard obviously tested OK, however the default for (almost) any board vendor is to flash the BIOS (SPI) before even diagnosing the issue, and if that fixes it the FAE will label the board as fine once they complete the functional tests. BIOS battery may have been reading well below 3.3v, and again sometimes they just replace them as a default action depending on the vendor.

All in all I think you'll end up with a fully working system even if it has taken a while and a bit if a spend to get there. :)
 
That's interesting to know. Yes should hopefully be up and running again soon.

Just before the computer failed to post I kept getting drive errors when starting Windows. Presumably because whatever was failing was causing errors to happen. I've seen this happen on my NAS with a dodgy SATA power cable. Anyway hopefully it's something Windows is able to recover from with a restore like it did previously but worst case I need to format and reinstall. I store everything worth keep on my NAS or in the cloud anyway.
 
For closure. I sold the new 2700x and my old refurbed motherboard and got a 3700x and b550 mortar. Probably not the best time to upgrade but it's cost me about £130 after selling parts, so not that bad.

Essentially have a new PC apart from the graphics card. Even gave my case a deap clean and spent an hour cable managing.

Finally my ram runs at its rated speed using xmp 3600. So I'm happy.
 
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