MSI Z590 Gaming Plus - DDR and CPU lights blinking with no post.

[wrobelx]

So today I was cleaning out my rig, took off the cooler, new paste, and after I put the thing back together fully, I tried to turn it on but got no post. Important to note is I also installed new, faster ram while at it. All lights turned on as usual, fans ramped up, no display, no post, nothing.
I checked the debug lights and noticed that the DDR light would come on for a while, before turning off and the CPU light would turn on instead, before turning off and repeating. The DDR light is on for around 2-3 seconds, and CPU light for about a second. I found a thread before that mentioned a similar issue, but the guy there had bent pins in his socket. I know mine are fine as I checked twice now to be sure, and I cannot see anything out of the ordinary. I tried flashing new bios onto the board with the BIOS flash button, but after 2 hours nothing changed. The LED was just flashing away and nothing was happening. I'm fairly sure my motherboard is dead, but I wanted to ask here to see if there is anything else I could try. I can't afford to build a new system, so best I could is a used replacement.

Full specs are as follows:

i7 11700k
Crucial Pro Series DDR4 3200mhz CL22 32GB (2x16)
Z590 Gaming Plus
MSI GTX 1070ti
Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
1x 250GB Crucial P5 Plus NVME drive
1x Crucial P3 2tb
1x WD 2tb HDD
Seasonic Focus GX 650w PSU

 

[wrobelx]

Potentially, any suggestions for a replacement board that will be a straight swap in? Something comparable, maybe better.

 

[FlyingScot]

Maybe this is a silly question, but did you try going back to your old RAM kit? Also, did you remove the CPU when you were doing the original repaste?

 

[wrobelx]

Maybe this is a silly question, but did you try going back to your old RAM kit? Also, did you remove the CPU when you were doing the original repaste?

I did try the old ram kit, each slot with one ram stick, of both kits. Nothing helped. And no, I did not remove my cpu when originally repasting it. The only thing out of the ordinary was the new crucial kit I installed had mild trouble getting into the slots, as if it was slightly too long to slide in nicely.

 

[FlyingScot]

Well, given the additional information you just shared with us, my mind goes down the following logic path - although, I aint no Sherlock Holmes:

Point #1: Unless you dropped something on your motherboard (which I think you would have volunteered) or shorted it with static (which is highly unlikely - especially if you unplugged it during the "surgery") then it's very hard to imagine that your motherboard chose that specific moment in time to die. I think you would probably agree.

Point #2: You stated that you did not remove the CPU during the initial repasting effort. So, that means you did not check for bent pins until you already were having POST problems. So, I think we can rule out bent pins.

Point #3: Given point#1 and #2 above, that leaves us the following "original" possibilities:
(1) You damaged the "golden fingers" of the motherboard DRAM slots. Action Point: Inspect very closely with magnifying glass and good lighting. Remove motherboard if you have to. EDIT: Also check for debris in the DRAM slots.
(2) You have too much or too little pressure on the CPU from your NH-D15 cooler. Action Point: Try loosening up the CPU cooler first. Then try evenly tightening it down.
(3) You definitely want to go back you your original memory kit for all further troubleshooting. The lesson we PC builders and tinkerers always have to be mindful of is that the best course of action is always to change one thing at a time; because it certainly helps when it comes to troubleshooting problems. But of course we all forget that one from time to time.

I'm sure others will have some additional follow-up ideas, especially if they can interpret the EZ-LED behaviour.

BTW, I have your exact motherboard in one of my PCs. I think it's a terrific motherboard for the money! I really hope you can get it working again.

 

[wrobelx]

I will try your suggestions when I can find the time. Thank you, and yes this board is terrific for the price. My first proper, pc build, soaked up two months of student loan back in 2022 to build this pc. I'll report back here if anything changes. Thank you again.

 

[FlyingScot]

I will try your suggestions when I can find the time. Thank you, and yes this board is terrific for the price. My first proper, pc build, soaked up two months of student loan back in 2022 to build this pc. I'll report back here if anything changes. Thank you again.

I edited my original post to tidy up my typos. But I also added the point to check for debris in the DRAM slots. That can happen. Besides that extra tip, I would go over the PC very carefully looking for cables that have come dettached or loose. I also have a NH-D15 and it is a monster that can obscure your view to the top CPU power cables and RAM modules.

You should definitely double-check that your RAM is always seated correctly, i.e. the two end-tabs are locked in a vertical position. These are simple things, but they do catch people out from time to time. I continue to hope that it‘s something simple. Keep us posted.

 

[pandaz]

if nothing helps, I will suggest you to use Bios Flash button again but try to use other USB storage device and make sure that your system bios could be updated.

 

[wrobelx]

I edited my original post to tidy up my typos. But I also added the point to check for debris in the DRAM slots. That can happen. Besides that extra tip, I would go over the PC very carefully looking for cables that have come dettached or loose. I also have a NH-D15 and it is a monster that can obscure your view to the top CPU power cables and RAM modules.

You should definitely double-check that your RAM is always seated correctly, i.e. the two end-tabs are locked in a vertical position. These are simple things, but they do catch people out from time to time. I continue to hope that it‘s something simple. Keep us posted.

I did and there was nothing that I could see. Ended up buying a quick replacement z590 and 10600kf. Put my old cpu in first with the new board, and same issue. Replaced it with the 10600kf and it fired right up. I have no idea how the cpu managed to die, but well it did. Went over the cpu very carefully and again, didn't see anything wrong with it.

When I can find the time I'll test the old board but, I don't have my hopes up. I did the bios flashback which after 2 hours i terminated, so it's most likely cooked. I'll update this when I do check it.

 

[FlyingScot]

I did and there was nothing that I could see. Ended up buying a quick replacement z590 and 10600kf. Put my old cpu in first with the new board, and same issue. Replaced it with the 10600kf and it fired right up. I have no idea how the cpu managed to die, but well it did. Went over the cpu very carefully and again, didn't see anything wrong with it.

When I can find the time I'll test the old board but, I don't have my hopes up. I did the bios flashback which after 2 hours i terminated, so it's most likely cooked. I'll update this when I do check it.

That's interesting. I'm fairly sure I read that 11th gen CPUs were experiencing higher failure rates than both Comet Lake and Alder Lake. I suspect the 1.4+V Vcore and/or excessively high VCCSA eventually catches up with these CPUs. Perhaps that's what happened in your case, especially being that it was an i7 and not an i5. Although, I guess the new memory or your cleaning could have played a major role somehow.

Not to worry, though. I happen to think that one of the best Intel combinations of the 21st century is a 10th gen Comet Lake installed in a Z590 motherboard. That has to be one super-mature platform! In fact, I'm still on the original release BIOS. I suspect that most new BIOS versions were much more 11th gen fix focused than 10th gen.

Well, if you're interested, I provided a screenshot of my 10600K overclock settings. Maybe these will work for you, too - unless you have better settings. I let the motherboard's automatic drop from CPU Lite Load Mode 9 to Mode 1 (when you manually overclock) provide the necessary undervolt. I found that I can only add a very modest -20mV Adaptive+Offset undervolt on top of that (if I want to be Prime95 stable), which is hardly worth the trouble. I also have my 10600K under a NH-D15, so we should have a lot in common - at least on that particular PC of mine.

Other Complimentary Settings:
DDR4-3600 Samsung B-Die (XMP)
CPU SA Voltage [VCCSA] = 1.180V Set (1.200V Get) - could probably go lower but I ran out of time
CPU IO Voltage [VCCIO] = 1.150V Set (1.160V Get) - ditto
CPU Loadline Calibration Control [LLC] = 4
CPU Lite Load Control = Normal
CPU Lite Load = Auto (1)
CPU Over Temperature Protection = 92
Long Duration Power Limit (Watts) [PL1] = 220
Long Duration Maintained (Sec) [TAU] = 128
Short Duration Power Limit (Watts) [PL2] = 220
CPU Current Limit (Amps) [IccMax] = 200

Cheers!
FS