Unusual behavior during boot on the new Z690 board
Unusual behavior during boot on the new Z690 board
I recently purchased an i5-12600K and an MSI Pro Z690, but I'm facing some unusual problems. After setting everything up, I couldn't connect my GPU (GTX 1080) or the motherboard to any display via HDMI or DisplayPort. The motherboard also showed a boot error on its LED debugger. I reset the CMOS, removed the graphics card and M.2 drive, and rebooted. Once I got into BIOS, I reinstalled the boot drive and managed to enter it, which was a good sign. However, progress halted there—I couldn't advance past the BIOS and reach the Windows login screen.
Many users suggested changing the boot mode from UEFI to CSM, which seemed like a common fix, though I hadn't used CSM before. I tried that too, but it didn't help. After rebooting back into BIOS, I was told CSM wasn't supported and automatically switched back to UEFI. Some advice mentioned changing to CSM, powering down, installing the card, and rebooting again. But after trying that, the issue persisted: the GPU installation still showed nothing in BIOS, even though the boot drive was detected.
I'm puzzled because the system displays nothing with the card installed, yet it does reach the BIOS. The boot LED warning persists despite detection. I'm unsure if these problems are connected or entirely separate. Any guidance, experience, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Previously I used an older version of the system. This approach usually isn't advised. A fresh installation is the safest option. For verification, if you can access another machine, you could make a bootable Linux USB that uses UEFI and secure boot—like Mint or Ubuntu. Power on the USB and check if it starts up. If it does, it indicates the problem lies with your previous setup. Although you might be able to fix it later, starting over provides peace of mind and prevents future issues.
It was the 9th generation Intel i5 paired with an Aorus Ultra motherboard. Earlier, I ran the same setup as my current configuration on an i7-3770k, which began on Windows 7 before Windows 10 was released. Additionally, I've observed that although the BIOS recognizes my drive, it doesn't appear as a boot option when I press F11 during startup. Unclear if this is helpful or anticipated given the issue.
It seems your system was initially configured in legacy mode for optimal compatibility. Now that you've switched to the Z690 board, you've enabled secure boot, which works smoothly even with Linux installation. In Windows 11, you won't need any adjustments. Linux also allows transferring critical files from your Windows drive to another storage device for a clean wipe and fresh setup. The system probably requires a formatted partition to function properly.
I mainly recommended Linux for testing and extracting important data from your current drive. The media creation tool isn’t compatible with Linux since it’s a Windows application. You can download the Windows ISO and use unetbootin, which offers a Linux version. Etcher is another popular choice for handling ISOs, though I’ve faced some issues with it and Windows images. If you have access to another computer, you could create a Linux USB there as well while you’re working. That way, you stay within what you’re comfortable using.
Right now I’m not connected to another Windows system, but maybe my friend could assist me. Honestly, the machine is mainly for gaming and most relevant stuff is in the Steam cloud. I also just replaced the hard drives recently and haven’t cleared the old one, so it still holds a lot of data. In short, I’d be happy to reset everything and reinstall Windows 10 if that seems like the simplest solution.