I'm having a lot of trouble getting my new PC build to post, and I suspect my CPU might be the problem. Here's a rundown of what I'm working with:
Old parts: Ryzen 5 3400G and an RX 590.
New parts: Ryzen 7 5700X and a 5060 Ti (I chose to stay with AM4 so I wouldn't need a new motherboard or RAM).
After the upgrade, I updated my BIOS for the new processor, installed everything, and tried to boot, but it just wouldn't POST—both the VGA and BOOT lights were on. I tested my GPUs to rule out a dead GPU, cleared CMOS repeatedly, and tried different PCIe slots but had no luck. Eventually, I figured that a corrupted BIOS update bricked my board (the old one didn't have flashback support), so I bought a new motherboard, the ASUS ROG STRIX B550-A GAMING.
Excited to set it all up, I repeated the process, but faced the same issue: failing to POST with both lights on. This has made me suspicious about my CPU since it's the only part that's consistent throughout my failed attempts. I think the CPU might be failing to detect the GPU due to a faulty PCIe controller. I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether this makes sense before I consider returning the CPU for a replacement. Thanks!
2 Answers
You mentioned that all three builds failed to boot with the same CPU. Just to clarify, did you swap the boot drive at all, or is it still the same one? If the POST fails at the VGA light, the BOOT issue could be arising because the system can’t get past that point. Testing the boot drive could be worthwhile if you haven’t yet.
It sounds like the VGA light is pointing to an issue with your GPU. A solid way to isolate that is to plug your old GPU back in and see if it still fails to POST. As for the BOOT light, that indicates your system isn’t detecting the boot device, likely related to your SSD. Start with swapping in the old GPU; if that works, you can focus on the boot issue afterwards.
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