advanced troubleshooting tips for possible bricked tomahawk b550?
advanced troubleshooting tips for possible bricked tomahawk b550?
I recently made a post about my issues with this board being stuck on the cpu debug light after upgrading my 3600 to a 5700x. It seems like it all started when I wasnt able to hit the F1 key in time upon the first initial power up after swapping cpu's to get into the bios to reset it. The 5700x booted into windows and I immediately noticed it had a lot of instability and stuttering so I immediately restarted to try to access the bios again. Needless to say that the second time around it threw the cpu light and has been stuck there no matter what I do. I have already verified all my other components on a new board I ended up buying after trying everything I could find online. I'm reasoning that perhaps the board tried running the 5700x on the custom oc settings I had on the 3600 and caused something to corrupt badly. I have already contacted MSI through the warranty section and so far they've just asked me to test everything as usual which I already have. The last message I received from them was them telling me that my RAM wasn't supported on their mobo list which makes absolutely no sense because thats what I first looked into when selecting my RAM modules. I made sure it was supported and it had been working perfectly since day one with my 3600 so I find that hard to believe. I have tried everything from resetting CMOS, trying spare components I have to rule out all other factors, and even have flashed the bios with several different 2.0 and 3.0 usb drives formatted to FAT32 with several different bios version to see if any would stick. So far nothing I have tried works, the mobo wont let me get past the CPU debug light. Are there ANY more advanced troubleshooting techniques I can try that wont risk frying something? I am waiting for a response from MSI after replying back that my RAM was on the list when I purchased it but I dont really have faith that they'll help me out since I bought the board in 2020. I'd be willing to repair this board if the fix is relatively easy or cheap to do. What do you guys think? Should I just give up on it and trash it or try to save it to keep as a backup or even a spare build?
Remove the RAM, clear the CMOS, and start with just one stick installed. Test each slot, then move to another stick and repeat the process.
I've already tested three different kits in all slots, spending a lot of time checking that RAM wasn't the issue. I reset the CMOS both with and without the battery, left it overnight without power, tried jumping the JBAT1 pins using a flathead for up to an hour without success, and even followed a tip from MSI's FAQ about briefly turning the PC on while jumping the pins—still nothing worked. Now I’m running out of options and have no choice but to send it back to MSI for them to use their advanced tool to reflash the BIOS, based on what other users reported could help. I’d need to wait for their update regarding warranty support.
Consider testing it with additional components such as a drive or extra RAM. You've already tried running it without a CPU and the CPU debug light didn't activate.
That's surprising! I hadn't seen any guidance online about this, and I didn't expect it to function without a CPU. I'll give it a shot soon and let you know what I found. Thanks for the suggestion!
I just tried your advice, took out the CPU and left the RAM and GPU on. I powered it up and waited at least ten minutes, but the CPU debug light kept showing. I also tried resetting the CMOS pins again, both with and without the battery, but it didn’t help. I’m starting to believe this board might be outdated, unless MSI can provide another explanation besides “your CPU isn’t compatible with your RAM.” Still, it works fine with the new motherboard I just purchased. I asked them about the cost of fixing it, since it sounds like they might be trying to delay any warranty process, but we’ll find out what they say next.
It seems like you're expressing frustration about the situation. At least they've attempted everything possible, but now it's up to MSI to fulfill their warranty.
Thanks a lot! I’m ready to explore all possibilities to bring this board back, but just in case it’s not intended for revival, I’ll respect that decision.