I'm having a frustrating issue with my MSI GT70 2PE Dominator Pro laptop. It powers on, the fans start spinning, and after 3-5 seconds (right when the HDD light flashes), it shuts down and reboots, starting the whole process over again. There's no display at all, no beeps, and I can't access the BIOS. This issue has happened before, but it would loop a few times before starting up normally. After leaving it unused for two years, it now gets stuck on this boot loop.
Here's what I've tried:
- Removed the battery and used just the charger.
- Attempted to access BIOS blindly.
- Discharged residual power by holding the power button.
- Replaced the charger and power cable.
- Took out all drives one by one.
- Reapplied thermal paste.
- Reseated the RAM (even tried a new stick).
- Played around with the dedicated GPU and CPU as well.
- Left the CMOS battery unplugged for a while.
- Let the boot loop run for 15 minutes.
- Tried powering on without any RAM, which made the laptop stay on for 30 seconds before rebooting.
At this point, I'm starting to think it might be a faulty motherboard, and replacing it isn't cost-effective. Is there anything else I could check before I give up? Would trying a new CMOS battery be worthwhile?
1 Answer
Have you tried connecting an external monitor? Sometimes, you can get a display that way when the laptop's built-in screen isn’t functioning. Also, just a heads up, a faulty CMOS battery typically won't prevent booting; it usually just resets the settings. If you have one lying around, you could replace it, but don’t expect miracles from that alone. It might be good to reseat the HDD again; you could even try booting with it disconnected to see if you get a POST message about a missing OS. At this point, I’d recommend removing components one at a time to help narrow down if it’s a specific part causing the issue. Overall, I’m with you on the suspicion of a bad motherboard.
I do have both VGA and HDMI ports, but I haven’t connected to another screen yet. I’m a bit skeptical since I think I’d still get a BIOS access with no display if it were working. I’ll give it a shot tomorrow though—could be worth trying. I don't have a spare CMOS, but I might get one since it’s cheaper than a new motherboard. I’ve already gone through all the drives and reseated or removed everything else as you suggested. I might just take it all apart and reassemble in case there’s a loose connection. Thanks for the tips, I’ll update if I get anything on an external monitor!