upgraded to HD 7770, now PC won't POST - SOLVED

[noonesshowmonkey]

I just got my HD 7770 in the mail today and slapped her into the PC. First boot was a little slow, but got into Windows with the card in the Device Manager as an Unidentified VGA Adapter. During the installation of the latest ATI drivers (straight off their website), right during the 'identifying hardware' segment of the driver installation, the system hard-reset. During the bootup after the reset, the PC failed to POST and was sitting at a black, blank screen with a blinking cursor in the upper left.

From then on, powering the PC on has produced a power-on / power-off loop that never makes it to POST and does not have any VGA signal output to the monitor.

Dismayed, I replaced the HD 7770 with my old HD 4850. The same power-on / power-off loop occurs.

The mainboard is a Gigabye GA EP-45 DS3L. The CPU is an Intel Q9450 overclocked to 3.2 ghz, running alongside 4 gigs of RAM. Powering the whole shebang is an Antec Earthwatts 500w power supply.

I am having a hard time figuring out why the system would boot to windows at all if there was such a problem... Further, why driver installation was the moment of failure... And finally, what kind of failure would produce the restart loop that I am in...

Halp!

[killadark]

did you try a different pci-e slot and maybe even try turning system on without the overclocks

[noonesshowmonkey]

The system only has the one full PCI-E x16 slot. Second, I can't POST the system to get into the BIOS and return all voltages / core speeds back to their stock settings. =/

[muontrack]

Did you try clearing CMOS? There should be a simple way to do it for your mobo.

EDIT: Clearing CMOS resets BIOS to its default settings. Worth a try for sure. I've had a similar problem in the past, and this helped me.

[killadark]

try clearing CMOS
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloa ... 8&pid=2844

[highlandr]

Unplugging the machine while it is running may help too, to drain the power completely. (ruling out a possible power supply hangup)


If that works, check your bios version - Gigabyte's website has an old version "F5" which says it corrects some VGA compatibility issues. They're up to version F10, so I kinda doubt that is the issue...


On a related note, I have the same card waiting for me at home, so I hope it isn't a bad omen!

[cjcerny]

Interesting. I had a HD7770 that worked fine for a couple of weeks and then starting doing the same thing. It would also cause the same problem in other PCI slots or in another PC. I had to clear the CMOS on my mobo to get it to post to then use the IGP. I returned my HD7770 to Gigabyte for a replacement. Still waiting on the replacement. Asrock Z77 Pro-M mobo in my case.

[metalhead]

I just had a power supply go out that caused the same power on power off loop. It would come on eventually and would work for hours sometimes, only to go off again and start the loop all over. It was a corsair 850W. Unrelated to my psu problem, I have my nieces pc here at my house with a bad psu, its an Antec Earthwatts 500W same as yours. I hope the clearing cmos works for you but if not you can always check into the psu next.

[noonesshowmonkey]

I reset CMOS (screwdriver held against the Reset jumper pins), and no joy.

I would imagine that it is the power supply. During the 'identifying device' section of driver installation, perhaps the device was ID'ed and windows allowed it to call for full power past a default VGA card? Bango, fried the power supply. It would make sense that it has to be a PSU or main board issue, since swapping back to my Radeon HD 4850 presents the same behavior.

Suggestions for a 500w+ PSU that is pretty cheap?

[JustAnEngineer]

$70 -10 code "EMCNDNC53" or $60 Corsair CX600 v2 ( 40 A @ +12 V )
$69½ SeaSonic M12 II 520 ( 40 A )
$70 -20MIR PP&C Silencer Mk. III 600W ( 46 A )
$80 Rosewill Capstone-550 ( 45½ A )

[P5-133XL]

If the machine won't post any more, you now have a HW problem. My guess is that when you replaced the video card you didn't physically unplug the power beforehand and you fried the MB. On modern machines, even when you totally shut them down the MB still has power coursing through it unless you have physically unplugged it from the wall or the PS has a power-off button that was used. Motherboards do not normally like things like video cards to be hot-swapped (i.e. swapped out when the power is still on). It is very easy to accidentally destroy a motherboard by hot-swapping.

[Arclight]

Before buying anything you should test your new card and old PSU one by one on a different machine that works (maybe a friend's computer). I'd rather think it's the mobo if you can't get it to post but when you press the power on button the system fans start to spin (but ofc without getting signal out to the monitor).

The procedure i always used for installing, replacing video cards and just about anything really, is to:
1. Unplugg the power supply and any other data cable (mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, net cable, etc) so you can move the case onto a flat surface for easier access
2. Hold down the Power button until the LEDs of the mobo shut down.
3. Flip the case on the side, pop the side panel and touch a metal part of the the chasis to discharge any electrostatic charge, before touching any components
4. Procede to install/replace parts.

[noonesshowmonkey]

I unplugged the PSU, activated the power switch to dump any residual power in the unit, grounded myself on a metal object (a table frame), and then popped out my old video card.

Remember, the failure occured with the system live, booted fully into windows and installing drivers. Weird one, no?

I've been working on the guts of PCs for ages. Always discharge the PSU, always ground yourself.

I am planning on hitting a buddy up for a PSU swap to see if that is indeed the problem.

[noonesshowmonkey]

Just got a line on a Rocket Fish RF-900WPS.

Anyone know anything about these? The price is right: FREEEEE!

[noonesshowmonkey]

The new PSU did it. The machine POSTed just fine, booted into windows, the whole shebang.

I had to take off the CPU cooler to fit the new PSU (and thus had to clean and re-thermal grease the whole bit). Re-mounting the cooler was a mega pain in the butt. Thankfully, that's the last time (I hope?) I'll have to do that.

[Arclight]

The new PSU did it. The machine POSTed just fine, booted into windows, the whole shebang.

I had to take off the CPU cooler to fit the new PSU (and thus had to clean and re-thermal grease the whole bit). Re-mounting the cooler was a mega pain in the butt. Thankfully, that's the last time (I hope?) I'll have to do that.

Glad you found the culprit, but that PSU sounds fishy (pun intended)
http://www.rocketfishproducts.com/produ ... 00WPS.html

With 1 year warranty i wouldn't trust it. Now you say you got if for free?!
I'd advise buying a new one from Seasonic or Corsair, something with 520W (or higher) with modular design.

Best of luck.

[flip-mode]

Glad you found the culprit, but that PSU sounds fishy (pun intended)
http://www.rocketfishproducts.com/produ ... 00WPS.html

The PSU might be pretty decent. Warranty length does not necessarily indicate anything. The PSU is possibly made by CWT for Best Buy. CWT has also produced power supplies for Corsair.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ ... Review/748
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/02/ ... ly_review/

Those aren't reviews of the model in question, rather they are reviews of CWT power supplies.

I say keep the PSU.