I just built my very first PC using some pretty impressive parts, including an MSI MEG X870 Tomahawk motherboard, Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, and AMD 9070XT graphics card, along with 4TB of Samsung 990 Pro SSD and an Arctic Liquid Freezer 3 Pro cooler. After pressing the power button, everything turns on, but I'm seeing a "15" code on the debug display and a green LED labeled "boot" is lit up. I'm feeling pretty anxious and need guidance on what to do next, especially since I've invested so much time and money into this setup.
3 Answers
Just remember that "Progress = something is happening." It's frustrating, but sometimes it just takes a while for everything to sort itself out. If it surpasses the 20-minute mark and nothing changes, you might want to check your connections or try to reset the CMOS to see if it helps!
Don't stress about the green LED! That usually means your PC is just in the process of booting. You should try installing Windows or Linux, and that LED will likely turn off afterward. If you can't get to BIOS first, hang tight!
But I can't even get into BIOS! What should I do?
The "15" code typically indicates that your RAM is being trained, which means it's working on recognizing your memory settings. It might take a while, sometimes over 10 minutes on the first boot, and the system may reboot a couple of times during that process. Make sure your monitor is connected directly to the GPU, not the motherboard. Once it eventually boots, check your BIOS settings to enable memory context restore for faster boot times.
I've waited for about 20 minutes now, though.
Yeah, I know, but waiting that long makes me nervous. Here's the manual link for more context: https://download-2.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/MAGX870TOMAHAWKWIFI_English.pdf.