BIOS and POST screen stay black over DisplayPort, but Windows works
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MellowPine47
My PC boots into Windows normally, but I no longer see the manufacturer logo, POST messages, or BIOS screen during startup when using DisplayPort. The BIOS itself seems to be working because I can enter it, and Windows recovery screens are also invisible. Switching the same monitor to HDMI fixes everything, including the BIOS display. Fast Boot is disabled, and I already updated both the NVIDIA driver and motherboard BIOS without success. I'm using an MSI X570 Unify motherboard, an MSI RTX 3080 Suprim X 10G, and a Ryzen 9 5900X. I haven't changed any BIOS settings or hardware recently. Has anyone run into a similar DisplayPort-only issue?
Answers
This sounds more like a DisplayPort initialization or monitor-handshake problem than a BIOS problem. Some monitors or cables do not wake quickly enough for the GPU’s pre-Windows output, even though they work normally once the graphics driver loads. Turn the monitor on first, wait a couple of seconds, then power on the PC. It’s also worth trying another certified DisplayPort cable or a different DisplayPort input on the monitor and graphics card.
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Since HDMI works on the exact same system, check the DisplayPort path specifically: test another cable, another monitor input, or a different monitor if available. Some RTX 3080 and monitor combinations have firmware-level DisplayPort compatibility issues that only show up before Windows loads. Updating the monitor’s firmware, if one exists, may also help.
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Try forcing the BIOS to use the other graphics output temporarily and compare the results. If every pre-Windows screen appears through HDMI but not DisplayPort, the likely causes are the DisplayPort cable, the monitor’s startup timing, or a GPU-monitor compatibility issue—not the CPU or motherboard itself.
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MellowPine47: The monitor is connected before I start the PC, and Fast Boot is disabled. HDMI displays the BIOS and recovery screens correctly, so the issue appears to affect DisplayPort only.