Help Needed - B450M Mortar Max Motherboard Boot Issues

[Fyuusha]

Hi all,

 

I'm having issues with my current build not booting, and I was hoping someone may be able to chime in on a solution. I've booted the build successfully before so I don't believe any parts are faulty.

 

First, the build:

• CPU = Ryzen 7 3700X
• Motherboard = MSI B450M Mortar Max
• Memory = Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro (DDR4 3600)
• GPU = EVGA RTX 2080 Super
• PSU = Corsair CS650M

 

Issue = PC would not boot up when assembled, so I took it apart to troubleshoot. Found that motherboard does not boot or power fans when CPU is installed.

 

I have been troubleshooting this issue outside of the case using the motherboard box and I have tried the following:

 

• Test #1:  Boot motherboard with nothing installed except 24 pin and 8 pin connectors.
  Result = PSU fan spins and EZ Debug LED lights up the "CPU" light.
   
• Test #2A: Boot motherboard with a minimal setup (CPU, CPU Cooler, 1 stick of RAM, GPU and PSU with 24-pin and 8-pin connectors connected). 
  Result = No boot or any fan spin. Mobo lights do not light up (including EZ Debug LED). 
   
• Test #2B: Boot motherboard with a minimal setup using different components (Ryzen 5 2600, GTX 1060, EVGA SuperNova 1000W PSU). Tested attempted using different combinations of the components.
  Result = No boot or any fan spin. Mobo lights do not light up (including EZ Debug LED). 

 

At this point I assumed it might be a BIOS issue, so I did the following:
^{(BIOS taken from https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B450M-MORTAR-MAX)}

• Test #3A: Clear CMOS by jumping JBAT1 for 10 seconds. Then, attempt boot with minimal setup.
  Result = No boot or any fan spin. Mobo lights do not light up (including EZ Debug LED). 
   
• Test #3B: Remove CMOS battery for 30-60 minutes, reinstall and attempt boot with minimal setup,
  Result = No boot or any fan spin. Mobo lights do not light up (including EZ Debug LED). 
   
• Test #4A: Attempt to update BIOS by using BIOS Flashback button and latest version found on MSI's website put onto the root of a 4GB FAT32 formatted USB drive. This was done with no components installed and the 24-pin and 8-pin power connectors connected. Test also attempted with another 4GB and 8GB FAT32 formatted USB.
• Result = BIOS Flashback LED does not flash at all, and the motherboard boots up after a few seconds, spinning up the PSU fan and lighting up the "CPU" EZ Debug LED. After this, I attempted to boot with a minimal setup to no avail.
   
• Test #4B: Attempt to update BIOS by using BIOS Flashback button and latest version found on MSI's website. This was done with minimal components installed.
• Result = No boot or any fan spin. Mobo lights do not light up (including EZ Debug LED). 
   
• Test #4C: Attempt to update BIOS by using BIOS Flashback button and latest version found on MSI's website. This was done with only RAM installed (attempted 1 stick and 2 sticks in dual channel).
• Result = BIOS Flashback LED does not flash at all, and the motherboard boots up after a few seconds, spinning up the PSU fan and lighting up the "CPU" EZ Debug LED. After this, I attempted to boot with a minimal setup to no avail.

 

I assume the BIOS Flashback button does work and the LED does light up, as if I press the button with no USB attached, it flashes 3 times (to signify it was not able to find the BIOS file). This also happens if I use an NTFS-formatted USB drive.

 

After this, I was curious if I would get the proper lighting sequence for the EZ Debug LED. People online have said that the CPU light will light up for ~3 seconds, then turn off. Then, the DRAM light, then VGA, then BOOT. Since I only ever got as far as a solid CPU light, I did the following:

• Test #5: Boot motherboard with only CPU, CPU cooler, and PSU attached.
  Result = No boot or any fan spin. Mobo lights do not light up (including EZ Debug LED).
   
• Test #6: Boot motherboard with RAM, GPU, and PSU attached.
• Result = PSU fan spins, RAM lights up, GPU lights up and fans spin.

 

Now I'm stumped and no amount of Google-fu has been able to solve my issue. Anyone have any ideas as to what might be wrong or potential solutions?

 

Thanks!

 

============================

Update (2019-11-15): MSI swapped my B450 Mortar, which had the exact same issue. Assuming they couldn't fix the issue with that board, I will be sending my B450 Mortar Max for RMA as well. Thanks for the replies.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Fyuusha
Resolution

[Flying Sausages]

Seems like you got a DOA or defective mobo

[Streetguru]

21 minutes ago, Fyuusha said:

 

Just return/exchange the motherboard

 

X570 ASUS Prime-P boards are down to $125 now

[Fyuusha]

2 hours ago, OlympicAssEater said:

Seems like you got a DOA or defective mobo

I would assume this as well, but this exact same issue also happened to my B450M Mortar (non-max) last month. Just sent that for RMA, but I had used that for over a year before this happened. This new B450M Mortar Max was good for a few days before it fubar'd.

[Mark Kaine]

I was also unable to update the BIOS on MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX... and I did everything as instructed... It just wouldn't detect a BIOS... 

 

Returned the POS (also had frequent random reboots) and flashed the BIOS of my B350M Mortar instead, which worked (after several tries eventually) 

 

And yes, it's incredibly hard to find a solution for these problems, MSI  "support"  is no help at all. 

 

I'd suggest return the mobo and try with another one as most likely yours is defective.