A Really Bizarre Problem And Don't Know If It's The Psu, Mb Or Something Else!

In a nut shell when I have everything connected and try to boot the computer all I get is a blank screen. The MB does have a neat feature as it has 4 tiny trouble led lights; each representing a problem with the following: CPU, RAM, VIDEO, and BOOT compliments of the MSI B450 Tomahawk MB ( with a Ryzen 5 2600 cpu ). The issue is when I have everything connected, which includes a DVD with 2 HHDs and a SSD, the led trouble light for video stays on and all I get is a blank screen. No beep codes sounded.
The PSU is a new EVGA 600BQ Bronze unit which is modular. I can have 3 peripherals connected to one sata cable and boot to win10, but as soon as I connect the second sata cable and connect it to a peripheral the little led video problem light comes on and a blank screen. I can leave the second sata cable connected and still get into win10 as long as there are no peripherals connected to it.
I tried a different PSU ( a Sentey XPLUS 725 ) and still had the same problem. I know it's kinda a low end PSU which is why I got the EVGA PSU.
Can a bad MB be the cause of this issue?
Thanks,
Mcduke

 

Did it ever work correctly?

Is it one drive in particular, or doesn't matter?

Since that EVGA is modular, try different cables and see what happens. Just remember, there is no industry standard for the PSU side of modular cables. So you can't swap cables from a different PSU, unfortunately.

The fact your 2nd PSU is low end doesn't matter in this case (especially since it has a higher wattage capacity). It is too unlikely two different PSUs would give the exact same results.

If you cannot isolate the problem through a process of elimination to a specific cable, a specific drive, or a specific port, then sadly, it could be the motherboard. Have you checked the motherboard's webpage to see if there is a BIOS firmware and/or driver update for that board?

 

Hi Digerati,
After doing some switching around with sata connections the problem does seem to be with just the SSD (Kingston A400 960gb). It was the last one I checked using a single connection with none of the other sata cables connected.

I could connect the DVD and two HDD and the computer worked fine.
So why would connecting the ssd cause problem with video (according to the led problem light onboard the mb)?

 

I did try a different ssd - samsung 840PRO 128gb and the computer booted up fine. Does that suggest that the Kingston A400 ssd is faulty even thought it's new?

 

The SSD being new really is not a guarantee. Until Man can create perfection 100% of the time, even the best models from the best brands can have a unit that fails prematurely.

In fact, when it comes to electronics in general, if they survive the first power up cycle, they typically fail within the first few hours and days of use, or after many years of reliable service. This is why years ago, electronics manufacturers used to test their products right off the assembly line for what they called "burn-in" tests. It was actually worth it to "burn-in" products, for 24-72 hours before shipping them out instead of dealing with the logistics and expense of dealing with warranty returns.

I even remember back in the day early computer makers (Northgate comes to mind) advertising that all their computers were burn-in tested before shipping to the customers. This marketing tactic was used as a confidence builder for potential buyers that the computer would be reliable and provide years of service.

As raw materials, designs, and production techniques improved, so did reliability and fewer and fewer products were failing during these burn-ins. Reliability improved so much so and return rates plummeted so much that burn-in tests were no longer cost effective. But still, there is, and likely always will be the few units that do fail prematurely. You were just one of the lucky ones, it seems.

So, assuming the data and power cables, and the motherboard connection you used with that Kingston SSD all work fine with other drives, and because you already tried a different PSU, I think it safe to say that Kingston SSD has failed. Sorry - but nice troubleshooting work!

 

Thanks for your help. I have an older computer using a generation 4 intel cpu that I hooked up the kingston A400. The computer did boot and go into window so I went to disk management to format the ssd. It shows up as Disk 0 unknown with a red circle and a white + sign in it. Guess I'm sending this one back. Have a great day and once again thanks for your help.

 

Good luck. Hopefully they won't give you problems. I know for me, I accept product failures happen - even with the best companies. I won't let that persuade future purchases, unless I see a trend with multiple failures.

But how a company handles and treats me, as a customer, when dealing with a failed product sure will persuade me, one way or the other. Excellent (and fair) after-sale service can make me a very loyal customer, happy to recommend them to others. Treating me poorly will have the total opposite effect - potentially with me being very vocal about it to all my friends, colleagues and anyone else who will listen, too.