# Previously working GPU not working with new motherboard



## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

Hello all. First of all excuse me if I explain things badly, I will do my best though.

A friend gave me his old motherboard, a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H, with Intel i7-2600k 3.40 GHz. He also gave me an SSD where I installed a fresh Windows 10 64bits. That's where the problems began. It wasn't letting me install Windows 10 because of disk type or something like that (I was using an USB to do that), but I managed to pull through by changing some options about Legacy and stuff. So far, so good-ish.

But here came the biggest problem. My Radeon R7 250x is not giving any output on my monitor (conected by VGA because my monitor doesn't support HDMI, but the Radeon does). I can enter the BIOS and Windows only if I have my monitor plugged to the motherboard and not my graphics card.

In Windows, my Radeon doesn't show in the device manager, only the integrated graphics.

I already tried other sockets for the graphics card, but same result. I tried many options in the BIOS, regarding UEFI, Legacy stuff but I'm not quite sure what I'm doing there, so I hope you can help me regarding that. I'm sure it has something to do with BIOS configuration but I cannot seem to land in the exact configuration my graphics card needs to function properly.

I already updated my BIOS to the lastest full release.
I already flashed my BIOS, both with the battery and the clear buttom in the mobo.

Please, can you help me? I will make sure to answer all your questions and try all the possible solutions available to me. My Radeon worked perfectly in my other motherboard, and even though my friend had this motherboard laying around for some time, he used it with a graphics card too.

Thank you.

OS: Windows 10 64bits
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Processor: Intel i7-2600k 3.40 GHz
Graphics card: Radeon R7 250x
RAM: 12gb


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 10, 2020)

In the BIOS, have you changed the video output from your motherboard to the GPU?  I will see if I canlook up that BIOS screen for you, but I’m only on my phone since cable is already out with a hurricane in the vicinity.

EDIT:
In the BIOS, do you see an “init display first' setting?  Not sure from memory which tab in the BIOS. Either MIT or System?

If you do, thenselect PEG. Save and exit the BIOS and switch your connection to the video card.  You should be abke to get into Windows after this.

Go to BIOS picture 4 on this review, under Peripherals:









						Gigabyte Z77X-D3H motherboard review
					

We review the Gigabyte Z77X-D3H motherboard. The GA-Z77X-D3H is intended for Intel's 22nm Ivy Bridge processors released moments ago based on Socket LGA1155 however the motherboard also supports Sandy bridge processors like the Core i7 2600K.  The UEFI BIOS




					www.guru3d.com


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> In the BIOS, have you changed the video output from your motherboard to the GPU?  I will see if I canlook up that BIOS screen for you, but I’m only on my phone since cable is already out with a hurricane in the vicinity.
> 
> EDIT:
> In the BIOS, do you see an “init display first' setting?  Nit sure from memory which tab in the BIOS. Either MIT or System?
> ...



I tried doing that but the black screen persists. When entering to the BIOS again, the "init display first" switches back to auto. I tried the same thing with PCI but same thing.

Thank you for answering! I hope we can fix this together.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 10, 2020)

What is your PSU?

You said you did that screen in the BIOS. Did you hit save when exiting the BIOS, and switch the adapter to your Radeon?  Just trying to see it clearly.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> What is your PSU?
> 
> You said you did that screen in the BIOS. Did you hit save when exiting the BIOS, and switch the adapter to your Radeon?  Just trying to see it clearly.



This is my PSU:


Spoiler












When setting the "init display first" I save and quit, then before it boots up I turn off the PC, switch the adapter to the graphics card and same thing happens. Should I switch on the fly while it boots up?


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 10, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> Should I switch on the fly while it boots up?


No, the way you did it is the safest way to do it.

EDIT:
Ok, did you clear CMOS beforehand or is it still using the settings from your friend’s install?


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## Mussels (Oct 10, 2020)

Did you remember the 6 pin PCI-E cable?


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

Mussels said:


> Did you remember the 6 pin PCI-E cable?



Yes, it is plugged in and the card shows the green light. I tried other racks but same thing. I'm pretty sure everything is plugged in correctly. If it's worth mentioning, the motherboard displays this code: A0

Thanks for joining the quest for fixing this!


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 10, 2020)

I edited above I think before you responded. Are you still running all the motherboard settings your friend did or did you either set it to default settings or clear CMOS?


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> I edited above I think before you responded. Are you still running all the motherboard settings your friend did or did you either set it to default settings or clear CMOS?



Oops, sorry about that. I tried with the motherboard settings my friend had, I tried setting up my own, and I also did the CMOS thing, first removing the battery (I googled and that was the way I found), but then I realized the mother had a buttom for it, so I also did it in that way. Right now it's all set to default.

Another thing I did was flipping a switch in the motherboard. It was set to "SW4" , I flipped to the other way (no marks in the motherboard on that side), but all it did was removing some options from the BIOS, at least that's what it seems to me.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 10, 2020)

I hate to run on you but I’m losing power now. Gonna charge my phone while I can still.  I will check on you sometime tomorrow.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> I hate to run on you but I’m losing power now. Gonna charge my phone while I can still.  I will check on you sometime tomorrow.



Dude, no problem at all! Thanks for commiting yourself to this, I really appreciate it, even if we don't fix it.


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## 300BaudBob (Oct 10, 2020)

This may sound weird but occasionally works... unplug or switch off the computer until all lights go out (or give it time for all capcitors to discharge).  I know you pulled the battery but don't in this case.  Also do you have a different rgb cable you can try?


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## Bones (Oct 10, 2020)

I'll throw in I've ran into a perfectly good card not working in certain boards. 
I can pop it into one and it doesn't work, then place it into another of the exact same model, BIOS file used and all else (Simple board swap) and it does fine. The board it refuses to work with is good and works with others so it's not a problem with the board itself being bad, it's just for some reason it simply won't work in that board and this same card is like that with a few others too. 

If there is another board/system you can try the card in do that to determine if the card itself isn't the problem here.

I'd also try a different card with the board to make sure it's not the board itself messing with you. 

By trying it both ways you'll be able to determine if it's the board or card at fault.


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## Mussels (Oct 10, 2020)

could you explain "(conected by VGA because my monitor doesn't support HDMI, but the Radeon does) " better?

I'm not sure why its not showing in device manager, but weird adaptors you're using could be part of the issue. VGA doesnt hot-detect either, so it has to be plugged in before powering on the system too.


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 10, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> Yes, it is plugged in and the card shows the green light. I tried other racks but same thing. I'm pretty sure everything is plugged in correctly. If it's worth mentioning, the motherboard displays this code: A0
> 
> Thanks for joining the quest for fixing this!


A0 is the code for IDE initialization. If it's stuck there it would indicate there is a resource allocation issue being caused by the GPU (not always GPU, for reference, but since adding the card causes it, I would say yes in the case).

When using the onboard graphics are there any other codes displayed after POST?

Personally, I would disable onboard graphics and set 'init display first' to PEG and see if Windows can be re-installed with that setting.

Note: I'm assuming you were able to go into the CMOS setup while plugged into the R7's VGA.

I haven't had my coffee yet so I hope I know what I'm saying. lol


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

300BaudBob said:


> This may sound weird but occasionally works... unplug or switch off the computer until all lights go out (or give it time for all capcitors to discharge).  I know you pulled the battery but don't in this case.  Also do you have a different rgb cable you can try?



Don't worry, it doesn't sound weird. Sadly, I already did it and nothing. I'm pretty sure the problem resides in the motherboard or the BIOS, I had this exact same monitor, cable and graphics card running in my previous motherboard just 2 days ago before switching to this one.



Bones said:


> I'll throw in I've ran into a perfectly good card not working in certain boards.
> I can pop it into one and it doesn't work, then place it into another of the exact same model, BIOS file used and all else (Simple board swap) and it does fine. The board it refuses to work with is good and works with others so it's not a problem with the board itself being bad, it's just for some reason it simply won't work in that board and this same card is like that with a few others too.
> 
> If there is another board/system you can try the card in do that to determine if the card itself isn't the problem here.
> ...



This graphics card works in my previous motherboard that I was using just 2 days ago before switching to this one. I also tried 2 different graphics cards I have and same results, even though they also work in my previous motherboard.




Mussels said:


> could you explain "(conected by VGA because my monitor doesn't support HDMI, but the Radeon does) " better?
> 
> I'm not sure why its not showing in device manager, but weird adaptors you're using could be part of the issue. VGA doesnt hot-detect either, so it has to be plugged in before powering on the system too.



I was pointing out that my graphics card supports HDMI, but I don't use it because my monitor doesn't support it. But, now that you mention it, I use an adapter to connect my VGA monitor to the card.

This is the card:



Spoiler











As you can see, I need to use an adapter to connect my VGA into it. I use this one:



Spoiler














Prime2515102 said:


> A0 is the code for IDE initialization. If it's stuck there it would indicate there is a resource allocation issue being caused by the GPU (not always GPU, for reference, but since adding the card causes it, I would say yes in the case).
> 
> When using the onboard graphics are there any other codes displayed after POST?
> 
> ...



When using the onboard graphics, at least right now, the code is 04.
I was not able to get anywhere while plugged into the R7 because it's just a black screen. All I can do is use the onboard graphics for everything. So I think that even if I set the "init display first" to PEG (like I did before) and have my Windows USB ready I would have the same result, or does having the USB ready affects the process from the beginning?


I'm sorry if I'm explaining myself wrong. I had my coffee but that didn't work for me 



Thank you everyone for your help! I hope we can get deeper and find this Cthulhu hiding in the BIOS.


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## Mr.Scott (Oct 10, 2020)

Card not being displayed in the device manager is a problem. If it's plugged in the board and has proper power cable it should be displayed whether you use it or not.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

Mr.Scott said:


> Card not being displayed in the device manager is a problem. If it's plugged in the board and has proper power cable it should be displayed whether you use it or not.



There must be something I can do in the BIOS. There are many options, I just don't know the correct "order".


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## jaggerwild (Oct 10, 2020)

@OP,
Is Windows 10 fully updated?


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

jaggerwild said:


> @OP,
> Is Windows 10 fully updated?



Yes, and it's the same one I had with the previous motherboard.


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## jaggerwild (Oct 10, 2020)

Mussels said:


> could you explain "(conected by VGA because my monitor doesn't support HDMI, but the Radeon does) " better?
> 
> I'm not sure why its not showing in device manager, but weird adaptors you're using could be part of the issue. VGA doesnt hot-detect either, so it has to be plugged in before powering on the system too.



 Yep, cheap cables will sometimes not work, also probably mentioned but swap PCI-e slots. Swap Power cable for different ones(VGA power).


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 10, 2020)

@Fancypantaloons any success yet? I concur you should try: different cables (power and display), as well as swapping in a different video card. I don’t think the card is the problem since you said it worked in the previous system.  

It’s possible, but not likely GPU got shorted by static electricity and now doesn’t work. You could verify this by trying it in a different system.


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## Mr.Scott (Oct 10, 2020)

See post #18.
Try another card in the board or your current card in another board. This will let you know if you have a card or board issue.
Cable will make no damn difference if the rig ain't seeing the card to begin with.


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## Mr Bill (Oct 10, 2020)

I'm not the PC guru here, but if the card works to where you can see and get into the bios settings, my guess is the slot and card is good. I've never had any experience with a HDMI to VGA adapter, wouldn't there have to be some other type component thats integrated into a cable like that, for it to even work correctly in the OS?


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> @Fancypantaloons any success yet? I concur you should try: different cables (power and display), as well as swapping in a different video card. I don’t think the card is the problem since you said it worked in the previous system.
> 
> It’s possible, but not likely GPU got shorted by static electricity and now doesn’t work. You could verify this by trying it in a different system.



No success yet. I tried different cables and same thing. Like you are saying, the card is not the problem because it worked on the previous system. I also tried different cards, same results. I tried my R7 in another system and still works. So I don't know! 



Mr.Scott said:


> See post #18.
> Try another card in the board or your current card in another board. This will let you know if you have a card or board issue.
> Cable will make no damn difference if the rig ain't seeing the card to begin with.



I tried 2 other graphics cards I got stored, same thing happens (those cards work in my previous system). Everything leads me to believe the issue is in the board or the BIOS.



Mr Bill said:


> I'm not the PC guru here, but if the card works to where you can see and get into the bios settings, my guess is the slot and card is good. I've never had any experience with a HDMI to VGA adapter, wouldn't there have to be some other type component thats integrated into a cable like that, for it to even work correctly in the OS?



Maybe I'm not being clear, excuse me if that's the case. I cannot get into the BIOS with my card, the screen gives no output at all while plugged into the card. I can only get to the BIOS and Windows through the internal graphics. I'm not using a HDMI to VGA adapter, but a DVI to VGA adapter.


Thank you all to keep trying to fix this with me. I don't see any end on sight. I'm thinking about doing what I'm about to write next, maybe you can tell me if it would work:

I'm thinking about taking the Intel i7 from this motherboard and install it in my old motherboard (where everything worked), but I don't know if they are compatible. They both use DDR3 memory. This motherboard is an Asus M4A88T-M/USB3. Would that processor work in this mother?


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## Mr.Scott (Oct 10, 2020)

It's a board problem, not bios.
If you clear CMOS, at default settings the board should still see the card, whether it's using it or not.
Have you tried a different slot yet?


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## xman2007 (Oct 10, 2020)

it could well be the CPU or the motherboard but the chances of having 2 pcie slots become faulty would be very minimal, you said you tried both right? and as you have tried 2 other GPU's, I would be looking at the CPU and the pcie lanes, have you removed the CPU and inspected it/the socket for any observable damage?



Mr.Scott said:


> It's a board problem, not bios.
> If you clear CMOS, at default settings the board should still see the card, whether it's using it or not.
> Have you tried a different slot yet?


I believe he said he tried the other slots in his OP though I could be wrong


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 10, 2020)

Yes I tried different slots and same results. I also cleared CMOS and tried default settings but to no avail. I don't observe any damage in the motherboard, at least not visible ones! I didn't remove the CPU but I will try and see, even though the PC is fully working (except for the graphics card of course).


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## INSTG8R (Oct 10, 2020)

I definitely had to check when AMD dropped VGA support. But can’t pursue that angle the card definitely does tho the DVI adapter is still a bit of a question mark regardless.  The DVI is apparently Dual Link so it’s digital so your adapter may only be for older DVI Analogue.
But regardless of that you‘ve said the card doesn’t even show up in Device Manager when using onboard? That board does  have a short lived Hybrid solution Lucidlogix Virtu MVP allowing you to use both onboard and dedicated together. Unfortunately the instructions about enabling(disabling it aren’t entirely clear.  But setting the display device as PEG should disable any of that. Only other thing I can find is under BIOS Features is try setting PCI Rom Priority to Legacy ROM that about all I can find for any/ kind of compatibility setting.


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 11, 2020)

I somehow doubt this will help, but you never know... Did you check the "clear DMI pool data" box when you flashed? 

I honestly can't remember if this gets cleared when the battery is removed, but normal clearing of the BIOS, and flashing without the option enabled, won't clear it. So, that might have already happened when you removed the battery.

Shootin' in the dark here... this is bugging me now lol


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## Mr Bill (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> Maybe I'm not being clear, excuse me if that's the case. I cannot get into the BIOS with my card, the screen gives no output at all while plugged into the card. I can only get to the BIOS and Windows through the internal graphics. I'm not using a HDMI to VGA adapter, but a DVI to VGA adapter.


Sorry, @69 sometimes my old brain plays tricks on me.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

INSTG8R said:


> I definitely had to check when AMD dropped VGA support. But can’t pursue that angle the card definitely does tho the DVI adapter is still a bit of a question mark regardless.  The DVI is apparently Dual Link so it’s digital so your adapter may only be for older DVI Analogue.
> But regardless of that you‘ve said the card doesn’t even show up in Device Manager when using onboard? That board does  have a short lived Hybrid solution Lucidlogix Virtu MVP allowing you to use both onboard and dedicated together. Unfortunately the instructions about enabling(disabling it aren’t entirely clear.  But setting the display device as PEG should disable any of that. Only other thing I can find is under BIOS Features is try setting PCI Rom Priority to Legacy ROM that about all I can find for any/ kind of compatibility setting.



I tried both Legacy ROM and UEFI (or EFI idk exactly the letters) in the PCI Rom Priority, but with no luck. There are some other options that let you choose between Legacy and UEFI (or EFI, again), but they are not helping me in anyway. Maybe there is a combination I'm not trying but it's getting confusing. 



Prime2515102 said:


> I somehow doubt this will help, but you never know... Did you check the "clear DMI pool data" box when you flashed?
> 
> I honestly can't remember if this gets cleared when the battery is removed, but normal clearing of the BIOS, and flashing without the option enabled, won't clear it. So, that might have already happened when you removed the battery.
> 
> Shootin' in the dark here... this is bugging me now lol



I don't remember seeing an option that says "clear DMI pool data", where should it be? I'm going to hunt it down!




Mr Bill said:


> Sorry, @69 sometimes my old brain plays tricks on me.



Hey don't worry about it! It's hard to keep track of everything, happens to me too.


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## claes (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I'm thinking about taking the Intel i7 from this motherboard and install it in my old motherboard (where everything worked), but I don't know if they are compatible. They both use DDR3 memory. This motherboard is an Asus M4A88T-M/USB3. Would that processor work in this mother?


I just wanted to say a) that I’m so impressed with your candor and patience in this thread and b) to say that you should definitely not do this — your old board is AMD and has a different socket than your new one.

Sorry I can’t be of more help; good luck!


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I don't remember seeing an option that says "clear DMI pool data", where should it be? I'm going to hunt it down!



It's at the bottom of "@ BIOS" which is the Windows flashing utility. It's on page 69 of the manual. I'm not seeing the option with QFlash (I think that's the utility built into the CMOS).


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## xman2007 (Oct 11, 2020)

its the board, or CPU, test either one of them and you will come to the same conclusion


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

claes said:


> I just wanted to say a) that I’m so impressed with your candor and patience in this thread and b) to say that you should definitely not do this — your old board is AMD and has a different socket than your new one.
> 
> Sorry I can’t be of more help; good luck!



Hey! Thank you! I believe that without patience one cannot solve anything correctly. And thank you for letting me know about my old board! That idea is off the table for good!



Prime2515102 said:


> It's at the bottom of "@ BIOS" which is the Windows flashing utility. It's on page 69 of the manual. I'm not seeing the option with QFlash (I think that's the utility built into the CMOS).



Oh I see! I updated the BIOS through an USB and using the Q-Flash thing, that's why I can't remember the option, but I will check again if it is somewhere in there. Regarding this a new question comes to my mind. The Q-Flash and/or @bios are only for updating the BIOS or can I use them to "flash" the BIOS? Flashing the BIOS is resetting it, right? I'm new to these terms!


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> Oh I see! I updated the BIOS through an USB and using the Q-Flash thing, that's why I can't remember the option, but I will check again if it is somewhere in there. Regarding this a new question comes to my mind. The Q-Flash and/or @bios are only for updating the BIOS or can I use them to "flash" the BIOS? Flashing the BIOS is resetting it, right? I'm new to these terms!


Flashing is just the usual word for updating a BIOS. Also, after flashing, don't forget to go in and load defaults right after (this is in the manual).


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

Prime2515102 said:


> Flashing is just the usual word for updating a BIOS. Also, after flashing, don't forget to go in and load defaults right after (this is in the manual).



Yes, when I updated the BIOS to the lastest full version I loaded the defaults. 
This brings another question...Updating to the lastest BETA version, would that help in any way? Also, what about downgrading? Maybe there is an older version that works?


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> Yes, when I updated the BIOS to the lastest full version I loaded the defaults.
> This brings another question...Updating to the lastest BETA version, would that help in any way? Also, what about downgrading? Maybe there is an older version that works?


You could try older and beta versions. 

The good thing is that that board has "DualBIOS" which has a backup built-in if a new one fails to work, so using beta versions shouldn't be a problem even if they go wonky (see page 66 in the manual).

P.S. There are three revisions of that board also: 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2. I'm not sure if the BIOS's are different for each revision, but you want to make sure you download from the page with the right version.

If you go here, which is v1.0, there are links to the other two versions at the top of the page next to the model number.


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## biffzinker (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I don't remember seeing an option that says "clear DMI pool data", where should it be? I'm going to hunt it down!


I haven’t seen any option in the BIOS. It’s triggered automatically by a hardware change just after the first Post screen you see on the monitor. Usually the monitor blanks out for a second and it shows up the next time the monitor displays an image with detected hardware summary. The updating DMI is on the bottom.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I'm not using a HDMI to VGA adapter, but a DVI to VGA adapter.


Hmmmm....Is the adapter correct?  I think for it to work it must be DVI-I output to the adapter, not DVI-D.

Am I correct you are only using the adapter with your Discrete card, not not with the onboard graphics?


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> Hmmmm....Is the adapter correct?  I think for it to work it must be DVI-I output to the adapter, not DVI-D.


This I think is part of the display issue at least. It’s DVI-D output and can‘t just use a regular old VGA adapter.


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## jaggerwild (Oct 11, 2020)

Remove the Battery, do an over night Cmos clear. Can you use a different VGA cable? Borrow another cable?


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## Mussels (Oct 11, 2020)

The card could be dead

i remember years ago with an... x850? i removed the GPU from the slot to place my old one back in, but left the PCI-E power cable connected, and the GPU caught fire when i powered on the system... you could have just killed it by accident.

I cant recall if you tested it in another intact system, can you try that?


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

Prime2515102 said:


> You could try older and beta versions.
> 
> The good thing is that that board has "DualBIOS" which has a backup built-in if a new one fails to work, so using beta versions shouldn't be a problem even if they go wonky (see page 66 in the manual).
> 
> ...



Thank you! I will try different versions then, to see what happens. I guess it's the same process I used even for older versions.



rtwjunkie said:


> Hmmmm....Is the adapter correct?  I think for it to work it must be DVI-I output to the adapter, not DVI-D.
> 
> Am I correct you are only using the adapter with your Discrete card, not not with the onboard graphics?



The adapter is correct because I've been using it with the same card in my previous build just like 3 days ago. But even if it isn't, that doesn't explain why the card is not being recognized by the motherboard. That's why I think the problem resides in the motherboard or the BIOS. The card works, the adapter works, the cables and monitor work too, already tested with previous build.



jaggerwild said:


> Remove the Battery, do an over night Cmos clear. Can you use a different VGA cable? Borrow another cable?



The problem doesn't reside in the cable, because the card is not being recognized by the motherboard. Last night I put the same card in my previous motherboard, same cable, same monitor, and everything worked perfectly. 



Mussels said:


> The card could be dead
> 
> i remember years ago with an... x850? i removed the GPU from the slot to place my old one back in, but left the PCI-E power cable connected, and the GPU caught fire when i powered on the system... you could have just killed it by accident.
> 
> I cant recall if you tested it in another intact system, can you try that?



Yes, I tried it with my previous build, both when I was using that build just three days ago and in the middle of this process to check exactly that, so the GPU is fine.



I really appreciate all the work you guys are putting here, I feel blessed! But we have to discard some things once and for all, things I tested and I'm 100% sure on it.

These are the things we can rule out and you can trust me in that. I was able to test them successfully:

1) The graphics card is working fine in previous motherboard.
2) The DVI to VGA adapter works fine, I've been using it for years and I tested it once again with my previous build and same graphics card.
3) The cables are working fine, also tested them again with my previous motherboard.


I cannot stop thinking about some kind of compatibility issue regarding Legacy, UEFI, between the graphics card and the motherboard. There's something I'm missing somewhere, a combination of settings or something. 
Maybe the Legacy support of this BIOS is not working. I do not know if my graphics card is Legacy or UEFI. This is the first time I heard of UEFI, my previous motherboard had a "normal" BIOS, I guess that's Legacy. So I THINK my card is Legacy. If the support for it is not working properly maybe I just need to get a newer graphics card that supports UEFI.
Even when I reset the BIOS and leave the default settings as they are, this thing is not working!


Once again, I thank you all for your determination in this. I hope I'm being useful too, I'm aware I'm not a super pro-user so it can be frustrating.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Unfortunately that is literally Ver1 of UEFI so it’s the very first try.so can only ask so much. Have you attempted to flash the latest Beta BIOS available it will at in the least give the latest fixes that would be available. Also because it’s literally UEFI MK1 I’m pretty sure it allows you to go back to the classic AMFI BIOS as well which might be worth a look to see if there’s any other possible settings available.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

INSTG8R said:


> Unfortunately that is literally Ver1 of UEFI so it’s the very first try.so can only ask so much. Have you attempted to flash the latest Beta BIOS available it will at in the least give the latest fixes that would be available. Also because it’s literally UEFI MK1 I’m pretty sure it allows you to go back to the classic AMFI BIOS as well which might be worth a look to see if there’s any other possible settings available.



I'm going to test the lastest BETA BIOS today, and I will get back to you. Also, do you know how can I go back to that classic AMFI BIOS you mention? I've not seen any options related to something like that.


Don't worry if it takes me some minutes or even hours to answer, I'm testing everything I can and at the same other life issues demand my attention. I will answer you always guys!


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I'm going to test the lastest BETA BIOS today, and I will get back to you. Also, do you know how can I go back to that classic AMFI BIOS you mention? I've not seen any options related to something like that.
> 
> 
> Don't worry if it takes me some minutes or even hours to answer, I'm testing everything I can and at the same other life issues demand my attention. I will answer you always guys!


Well I has skimmed the manual and dual bios was mentioned and makes sense being the first UEFI attempt to have the AMFI bios as a fallback. I’ll poke through the manual again but I would think it would just be a different key press on Boot to go the “other one!

Well all I can find referencing any kind of Switch“ is this or also pressing F1 “Switch to 3D BIOS Screen“


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

INSTG8R said:


> Well I has skimmed the manual and dual bios was mentioned and makes sense being the first UEFI attempt to have the AMFI bios as a fallback. I’ll poke through the manual again but I would think it would just be a different key press on Boot to go the “other one!
> 
> Well all I can find referencing any kind of Switch“ is this or also pressing F1 “Switch to 3D BIOS Screen“
> View attachment 171481




Yeah that goes to a screen of an interactive picture of the motherboard, it contains the same options as far as I can tell. I will also investigate to see what I can find!


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Dammit I didn’t exactly know what they were pushing there. I definitely recommend the Beta Bios and while vague at least gets you the latest possible fixes available regardless if the card issue isn’t fixed by it by some miracle.


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## Mr.Scott (Oct 11, 2020)

If you set to 'legacy boot or both' in the bios. It should see the card. If it doesn't, that board is shot.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Mr.Scott said:


> If you set to 'legacy boot or both' in the bios. It should see the card. If it doesn't, that board is shot.


Yeah apparently that didn’t work I scanned the manual looking for the setting hoping it would be the solution


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I do not know if my graphics card is Legacy or UEFI. This is the first time I heard of UEFI, my previous motherboard had a "normal" BIOS, I guess that's Legacy. So I THINK my card is Legacy. If the support for it is not working properly maybe I just need to get a newer graphics card that supports UEFI.


I think you’re on to something there. The thing is, usially it is the other way around, where the card is uefi and a board is legacy.  What year did your card get released?

EDIT: just checked and it is Feb 2014, so after the motherboard.  This would be an easy fix if you were trying to operate in legacy BIOS and switch to UEFI BIOS, but it looks like you’ve already ruled that out, since it has been in UEFI the whole time.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Well Legacy should eliminate any UEFI conflict. I had to do that to run my modified  BIOS Fury with unlocked shaders despite it just being a modified version of my original BIOS.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

Well my previous motherboard is Asus M4A88T-M/USB3, where my graphics card worked perfectly. I'm not sure if its BIOS is Legacy or UEFI, so I don't know what is my card either, if Legacy or UEFI.

But anyway, I set up every setting naming "PCI" to Legacy and still nothing. There are some options regarding boot, but I guess those are for the disks, so I don't know if I should play with that, even if it says Legacy or UEFI, maybe you guys know if that is related to my problem somehow.

I'm just shooting at the dark at this point. Maybe it's a lost case, maybe someone in 10 years view this thread and can find the solution in our honor


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Yeah I as considering those legacy boot settings as well. The board far predates Secure boot an UEFI storage so at this point this is MK1 UEFI anything at this point that c@n be made legacy I’d do it. Does the card even spin up  I never even asked the basic question “is it even trying to boot”


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

INSTG8R said:


> Yeah I as considering those legacy boot settings as well. The board far predates Secure boot an UEFI storage so at this point this is MK1 UEFI anything at this point that c@n be made legacy I’d do it. Does the card even spin up  I never even asked the basic question “is it even trying to boot”



I will start testing those settings then. And yes, the card spins up and everything.

EDIT:

Alright if I set the Boot mode to Legacy Only, a message will appear saying that there is no OS installed in my SSD. I didn't try UEFI Only so I just left it as default, UEFI & Legacy.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I will start testing those settings then. And yes, the card spins up and everything.
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> Alright if I set the Boot mode to Legacy Only, a message will appear saying that there is no OS installed in my SSD. I didn't try UEFI Only so I just left it as default, UEFI & Legacy.


Well the OS is already bound so that’s out anyway. I just recently switched back to Gigabyte their UEFI still sucks IMO....


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> I will start testing those settings then. And yes, the card spins up and everything.
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> Alright if I set the Boot mode to Legacy Only, a message will appear saying that there is no OS installed in my SSD. I didn't try UEFI Only so I just left it as default, UEFI & Legacy.


Yeah, the only way around that would be to reformat the SSD and reinstall in Legacy mode.  Like @INSTG8R said, once it's attached to UEFI, there is no switching with that install.


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 11, 2020)

Fancypantaloons said:


> Alright if I set the Boot mode to Legacy Only, a message will appear saying that there is no OS installed in my SSD. I didn't try UEFI Only so I just left it as default, UEFI & Legacy.


Yeah, you would need to reinstall Windows after setting it to legacy only.

Considering that when the card is installed it's stopping with an A0 code (IDE initialization [this is a hard drive interface]) I would give it a go myself, but it still might not help.

Edit: Or, if you're not using any IDE drives (hard drives or CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives) you could try disabling the IDE controller first.

Edit #2: Scratch that... that board doesn't have an IDE interface. Not sure why it would have that code at all...


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 11, 2020)

I thought you said no, earlier, but is there any GPU you could borrow to see if it will work on that system?  If it does, it might be worth considering a new GPU.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> Yeah, the only way around that would be to reformat the SSD and reinstall in Legacy mode.  Like @INSTG8R said, once it's attached to UEFI, there is no switching with that install.



So, if I choose that option (Legacy only), would it still recognize my USB to reinstall Windows? I mean, that's the way to install Windows in Legacy mode, right? Or is there another way)




Prime2515102 said:


> Yeah, you would need to reinstall Windows after setting it to legacy only.
> 
> Considering that when the card is installed it's stopping with an A0 code (IDE initialization [this is a hard drive interface]) I would give it a go myself, but it still might not help.
> 
> Edit: Or, if you're not using any IDE drives (hard drives or CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives) you could try disabling the IDE controller first.



I'm using IDE drives just because I got files in them. I will try that Windows thing!



rtwjunkie said:


> I thought you said no, earlier, but is there any GPU you could borrow to see if it will work on that system?  If it does, it might be worth considering a new GPU.



Yeah I got two other graphics cards that were previously working too, I tried them here and same results. I would like to try a graphics card that supports UEFI if mine doesn't, but I will try some things before.



Thanks guys! I will try that.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> I thought you said no, earlier, but is there any GPU you could borrow to see if it will work on that system?  If it does, it might be worth considering a new GPU.


I wonder if that card has the dual BIOS where one was Legacy they did that for quite awhile during the transition years. Need to run GPUZ on both BIOS if it has them.


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## Mr.Scott (Oct 11, 2020)

Not a card issue. That board fully supports the card.


			https://www.pc-specs.com/gpu/AMD/R-200_Series/Radeon_R7_250X/2038/Compatible_Motherboards
		

Face the obvious. You've tried 3 working cards in that board and none of them are recognized. Board is damaged, plain and simple.
The fix is, get another board.
Don't need three pages of posts to figure that out.
Sorry for my bluntness.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 11, 2020)

Mr.Scott said:


> Not a card issue. That board fully supports the card.
> 
> 
> https://www.pc-specs.com/gpu/AMD/R-200_Series/Radeon_R7_250X/2038/Compatible_Motherboards
> ...


Fair point no card has worked and at this point we’ve covered all the bases some multiple times


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## Zach_01 (Oct 11, 2020)

As I was going through the thread reading all posts, I was going to ask OP about the storage conditions of that board by his friend. Was it on some box or something or it was just arround... Probably the board PCI-E slot or slots are dead as 3 GPU cards doing the same is obvious.

Just for the heck of it I would closely inspect that board for any missing components, capacitors and such on both sides.


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 11, 2020)

Yes, you are right. There is no other explanation. I need another motherboard.

I just want to add a interesting thing that happened with the last thing I tried, just for fun:



Spoiler



I set the Boot mode to Legacy, I configured everything correctly to reinstall windows with my USB drive that I used before. But, to my surprise, the BIOS didn't give a damn and ignored all my boot options. It booted my previous drive with my old Windows in it, with all my files and stuff. The funny thing is that my graphics card now appears in the Device Manager, but I think that's just a side-effect because after all my R7 drivers are installed in this disk. Of course, still no output.

Now the SSD won't even boot, I guess it's not Legacy compatible. I can access it and all its files, but that's it. I guess I could get it working again setting the Boot mode to UEFI, but that's a story for another bonfire.




Alright guys, thank you very much for everything, I really appreciate the effort. This seems like a nice forum and I would like to stick around, even if I don't know how to fix stuff.

Our road has come to an end. At least now I know where to head off. See you around!


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 11, 2020)

Mr.Scott said:


> You've tried 3 working cards in that board and none of them are recognized. Board is damaged, plain and simple.


Good call at this point. I kept missing the other cards thing and putting 2+2 together. Anything else is likely to be a waste of time.



Fancypantaloons said:


> Yes, you are right. There is no other explanation. I need another motherboard.
> 
> I just want to add a interesting thing that happened with the last thing I tried, just for fun:
> 
> ...


We’d love to have you stick around! Thanks for being so patient and trying multiple fixes, as well as being very detailed.


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## Prime2515102 (Oct 12, 2020)

rtwjunkie said:


> Good call at this point. I kept missing the other cards thing and putting 2+2 together. Anything else is likely to be a waste of time.


I missed that too... lol


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## OneMoar (Oct 12, 2020)

Board is likely toast probly have a bent pin or two in the socket


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## Hyderz (Oct 12, 2020)

may your next system works flawlessly after this episode  and hopefully a cpu more powerful than i7 2600k


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## biffzinker (Oct 12, 2020)

Hyderz said:


> i7 2600k


Hey now, the 2600K is a prefect example of a high performance long lived CPU.


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## TPU-User777 (Oct 12, 2020)

This issue might be related to secure boot. Check in the bios if CSM is enabled. When I had a gigabyte B75m motherboard and tried installing a newer graphics card the pc wouldn't boot until I had CSM enabled in the bios. Here are two links with similar problems, "https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/disabled-csm-no-post.2791219/", "https://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=13471.0".


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## P4-630 (Oct 12, 2020)

@Fancypantaloons , Off-thread but Supaplex was fun in the 90s haha....


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## Fancypantaloons (Oct 12, 2020)

Hyderz said:


> may your next system works flawlessly after this episode  and hopefully a cpu more powerful than i7 2600k



Thank you! I hope so too!



TPU-User777 said:


> This issue might be related to secure boot. Check in the bios if CSM is enabled. When I had a gigabyte B75m motherboard and tried installing a newer graphics card the pc wouldn't boot until I had CSM enabled in the bios. Here are two links with similar problems, "https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/disabled-csm-no-post.2791219/", "https://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=13471.0".



Yeah I tried both ways, enabled and disabled. Thanks for joining in! But I think we are done :'(



P4-630 said:


> @Fancypantaloons , Off-thread but Supaplex was fun in the 90s haha....



It really was! Pacman's nemesis!


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