Getting a Red + Yellow Debug light after an hour of use

[jameschrst2714f502ca]

Got this build https://pcpartpicker.com/list/n4Fp9C working yesterday, didn't notice any issues with it besides the WIFI adapter not being found in the device manager, though I managed to connect to the wireless anyway by using my phone with USB tethering. Before long, an MSI menu appeared, listing all the drivers I had to install, which included the WIFI adapter. At a point, a notification popped up saying that I'd need to restart, and not long after that, my PC suddenly switched off. After this, I couldn't get it back on, with the Red + Yellow light on the motherboard, denoting a failure in the CPU and VRAM - though after everything I've checked, I'm not sure they're even related to the actual issue. Here's everything I've tried so far:

- Removing the Video Card and one Ram stick, leaving only the remaining one in the second slot, and switching on that way.
- Checking all the plugs in the PSU, unplugging and replugging.
- Leaving the computer on, with everything on, for about twenty minutes. The lights stay on, nothing happens on the display.
- BIOS flashes. Lots of BIOS flashes.
- Shorting JBAT1 for 15+ seconds (with the power cable disconnected, which didn't sound right, but whatever.). Did this three times.
- Reconnecting the Windows 11 USB stick, trying to switch on that way.
- Downloading the BIOS drivers onto a separate stick, and putting that in. Nope, I didn't have much faith in that.
- Removing the CPU cooler fans, looking for physical damage around that area. Nothing.

What I haven't tried
- Removing the CMOS battery. After at least three hours trying, I've given up. I've seen videos of others doing this easily, yet I couldn't, not without putting in way too much physical force. The contact looks fine, it just doesn't seem to work. Shorting JBAT1 is supposed to have the same effect, and that didn't do anything - though there's also no feedback to prove that I even successfully did that
- Reattaching the CPU. This seems like a total pain, and it *was* working fine. I don't want to risk damaging it, and doing this is somewhat of a last resort for me, not having a particularly steady hand.

If there's anything I'm missing short of disassembling the entire machine and starting again from scratch, I'd love to hear it.

As an additional note, my phone (plugged in to a usb slot) was restarted when the computer suddenly switched off, so for a time I was assuming a short circuit had occurred, and caused my phone to switch off. I'm unsure if that means anything.

 

[citay]

Got this build https://pcpartpicker.com/list/n4Fp9C working yesterday

Just like most people with the CPU+DRAM LEDs issue, your components are good. In most cases this is probably to do with the board. We have too many cases of this for it to be much else.

with the Red + Yellow light on the motherboard, denoting a failure in the CPU and VRAM

No, VRAM would refer to Video RAM (on the graphics card), the DRAM LED is just about the normal system RAM. But the CPU+DRAM LED usually means, something is not right either about the CPU (since it also houses the memory controller), the contact between CPU and board, or the board. Of course, without testing with a different CPU, it's hard to tell which of those causes it. You can check the socket pins though. Sometimes they can even cause delayed problems. But my money would be on the board.

- BIOS flashes. Lots of BIOS flashes.

With the Flash BIOS Button, it should take 5-8 minutes followed by a reboot. Then the BIOS was sucessfully flashed. Under a minute, or over ten, and it didn't work.

- Shorting JBAT1 for 15+ seconds (with the power cable disconnected, which didn't sound right, but whatever.). Did this three times.

You remove the power cable because the PSU provides standby power to the board. When you unplug the power cable, the part of the BIOS where your settings and date/time etc. are stored relies purely on the power from the CMOS battery. When you short JBAT1, it uses a bit of that power to wipe those settings. Of course, this only helps if the issue is BIOS-settings-related, which a CPU+DRAM LEDs issue rarely is.

- Reconnecting the Windows 11 USB stick, trying to switch on that way.
- Downloading the BIOS drivers onto a separate stick, and putting that in. Nope, I didn't have much faith in that.

This is way before the board ever tries to boot anything, so nothing Windows-related will help here. The only small chance with an USB stick is to do the proper Flash BIOS Button procedure.

- Removing the CMOS battery. After at least three hours trying, I've given up. I've seen videos of others doing this easily, yet I couldn't, not without putting in way too much physical force. The contact looks fine, it just doesn't seem to work. Shorting JBAT1 is supposed to have the same effect, and that didn't do anything - though there's also no feedback to prove that I even successfully did that

You can trust that it clears the CMOS (wipes the custom BIOS settings). It just doesn't has a high chance of helping here at all.

- Reattaching the CPU. This seems like a total pain, and it *was* working fine. I don't want to risk damaging it, and doing this is somewhat of a last resort for me, not having a particularly steady hand.

Remounting the CPU and checking the socket for bent pins is absolutely worthwhile. Here i talk about bent socket pins, but also, how to properly install a CPU into an LGA-type socket. For taking it out of the socket, you just grip it left and right with the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand and lift it straight up. Just never touch the socket pins with anything other than the flat underside of the CPU, that's the main thing. They're very delicate. Once the CPU is out, you could take some photos of the socket, upload to an image hoster and link them here, even if you don't think there are bent pins (sometimes they are not that easy to spot for the untrained eye).

While there are probably a dozen or so instances each week of the CPU+DRAM LED with MSI AM5 builds for no particular reason (also despite using good components), you still want to make sure that there are no bent pins. Cause they could cause this as well, and then all other troubleshooting would be a waste of time.

 

[jameschrst2714f502ca]

Just like most people with the CPU+DRAM LEDs issue, your components are good. In most cases this is probably to do with the board. We have too many cases of this for it to be much else.



No, VRAM would refer to Video RAM (on the graphics card), the DRAM LED is just about the normal system RAM. But the CPU+DRAM LED usually means, something is not right either about the CPU (since it also houses the memory controller), the contact between CPU and board, or the board. Of course, without testing with a different CPU, it's hard to tell which of those causes it. You can check the socket pins though. Sometimes they can even cause delayed problems. But my money would be on the board.



With the Flash BIOS Button, it should take 5-8 minutes followed by a reboot. Then the BIOS was sucessfully flashed. Under a minute, or over ten, and it didn't work.



You remove the power cable because the PSU provides standby power to the board. When you unplug the power cable, the part of the BIOS where your settings and date/time etc. are stored relies purely on the power from the CMOS battery. When you short JBAT1, it uses a bit of that power to wipe those settings. Of course, this only helps if the issue is BIOS-settings-related, which a CPU+DRAM LEDs issue rarely is.



This is way before the board ever tries to boot anything, so nothing Windows-related will help here. The only small chance with an USB stick is to do the proper Flash BIOS Button procedure.



You can trust that it clears the CMOS (wipes the custom BIOS settings). It just doesn't has a high chance of helping here at all.



Remounting the CPU and checking the socket for bent pins is absolutely worthwhile. Here i talk about bent socket pins, but also, how to properly install a CPU into an LGA-type socket. For taking it out of the socket, you just grip it left and right with the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand and lift it straight up. Just never touch the socket pins with anything other than the flat underside of the CPU, that's the main thing. They're very delicate. Once the CPU is out, you could take some photos of the socket, upload to an image hoster and link them here, even if you don't think there are bent pins (sometimes they are not that easy to spot for the untrained eye).

While there are probably a dozen or so instances each week of the CPU+DRAM LED with MSI AM5 builds for no particular reason (also despite using good components), you still want to make sure that there are no bent pins. Cause they could cause this as well, and then all other troubleshooting would be a waste of time

Checked the CPU and couldn't see any bent pins, from any angle. The pictures I took came out pretty much useless - my phone's camera isn't any good, sorry. I was as thorough as I can be, and the LGA looked exactly as I remember it looking when I first had it open. I've even looked up a few other pictures of other people's CPU sockets to check what I should be looking for, and found it fairly straightforward to recognise in their images where exactly the issue was. I'll also note that I was very careful when mounting the CPU both times, I was watching a guide the first time round just to ensure I didn't mess this particular part up.

One potential issue that I hadn't previously recognised was that I had hit the BIOS flash button, then powered off soon after (before I even knew that I was supposed to be doing that with another BIOS downloaded to a memory stick), several times. Seems careless now, but I'd read the manual, and seen nothing about the potential risks I've now been warned about from elsewhere. Quite new to this, if it wasn't obvious. Since I did this after the issue first arose, I don't think it could be the cause, but I suppose it might have negated other fixes I've tried since.

Lacking for a better option, I've formatted a memory stick properly, and I'm going to run through the list of compatible BIOS updates. If you've any further ideas, I'd be glad to hear them - either way, your explanations so far have been quite a help, thank you.

 

[jameschrst2714f502ca]

On second thought, I guess if I didn't even have a bios for it to update to at the time, it probably wasn't doing much beyond switching the LED on. I'm still an idiot, but whatever.

 

[citay]

Yes, try flashing the BIOS using the button, using the proper procedure. I'd try with the newest BIOS, and then maybe trying one or two versions before that, no need to try much more on that end.

Flash BIOS Button procedure:
1. Download the latest BIOS from the MSI support site for your board and extract it.
2. Take a USB stick and format it to FAT32 (it's best for it to have a size of 32 GB or less). You can also try Rufus for formatting, as FAT32 non-bootable.
3. Rename the extracted (!) BIOS file to MSI.ROM and save it to the root of your USB flash drive / USB stick (not in a subfolder).
4. Plug the USB flash drive / USB stick that contains the MSI.ROM file into the marked Flash BIOS Port (!) on the rear I/O panel.
5. With the PC off, press the Flash BIOS Button, and the LED should start flashing for about 5-8 minutes and then the board reboots.

 

[jameschrst2714f502ca]

Already ran through almost all of the available BIOS'. Next step for me is to take this all out of the case, try again with nothing else plugged in. If not, I can maybe get a better look at the CPU pins with the motherboard out the case. After that, suppose I'll have to try my luck returning it. I can replace it, either way.

 

[citay]

If it's really a case of the CPU+DRAM LEDs for no apparent reason (trust me, i've seen a lot of those by now, easily 50+), then you should have no problem getting the board replaced. But first due diligence has to be done in troubleshooting, so you can tell them that you tried everything already.