I recently built a budget PC for my son using an Asus Prime B550 Plus AC motherboard and a Ryzen 7 5700G processor. Everything was working fine until recently when he reported that it got stuck on the Asus boot screen for about 20 minutes, and now there's no display at all. I've tried a bunch of troubleshooting steps, like rearranging the RAM sticks, swapping HDMI cables, trying a different monitor, and even using DisplayPort instead of HDMI. I confirmed the monitor is working too. Unfortunately, this motherboard doesn't have POST lights, so I can't pinpoint the issue. I'm wondering if there's anything I can check with a multimeter without having to desolder anything. Is it likely that the CPU is the problem, or could it be the motherboard? I want to avoid spending over $100 on new parts if I can help it. Also, just to clarify, I don't have a dedicated GPU, but the case lights are still on. After some community suggestions, I did try removing the CMOS battery and waited 20 minutes, and miraculously, it started working again! Thank you to everyone who helped out!
4 Answers
If you’re still having issues, try disconnecting your storage drives and see if the BIOS screen comes up. This can help you confirm whether the issue is with the motherboard. You might also want to look into doing a BIOS update if you manage to get in there—versions can affect how the system runs, especially with the Ryzen CPU.
Have you tried plugging in a keyboard and tapping the Caps Lock key? If the Caps Lock light turns on, it means the system is powering up but just not displaying anything.
It seems to point towards a motherboard issue, but since the lights are still on, it might not be completely dead.
You might want to get a PC speaker; they’re super cheap! It can give you diagnostic beeps like POST LEDs would. Just make sure to check the beep codes for your motherboard model because they can vary a bit.
I just ordered a pack of three from Amazon. The manual didn’t specify the beeps, but I found the information on the Asus support site. Thanks for the suggestion!
You might be on the right track by resetting the motherboard. Just make sure you flip the power supply off, unplug everything, remove the CMOS battery, and hold down the power button to drain any residual charge. Leave it for about 20 minutes before plugging everything back in securely. Sometimes, it’s Windows causing these problems, not the hardware itself.
It actually worked! I pulled the SSD too for good measure, and it booted up again! I just have to find the recovery key now so my son can play Roblox again.
Nice! Glad you got it working again; it’s always a relief when it’s not a hardware issue.
I didn’t think of that! I checked and unfortunately, the Caps Lock and Num Lock lights aren't lighting up. Does that rule out a motherboard issue for sure?