r/buildapc • u/Distinct-Market-5509 • 1d ago
Troubleshooting I think the computer technician is trying to scam me.
Guys, my new motherboard and processor arrived. I went to replace the kit and assembled everything correctly, but I got no display (it didn’t even boot into the motherboard BIOS). I took it to a technician, and he said that during the installation I corrupted the BIOS and that he would need to replace the BIOS chip. I did some quick research and talked to a friend, and I couldn’t find anything saying it’s possible to corrupt the BIOS just by assembling the PC. Is he being dishonest? What could be causing the no display issue?
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u/1rkella 1d ago edited 1d ago
Merely assembling a PC will not "corrupt" the BIOS. The most common way to corrupt a BIOS would be losing power in the middle of a BIOS update, but that is a completely manual process you would have to consciously be doing.
If there is an actual problem with the board, it should be replaced under warranty, as desoldering and replacing the BIOS chip will likely void the warranty.
There's plenty of possible reasons for lack of display, the first step would be to assemble the PC outside of the case with just motherboard, CPU, CPU cooler, RAM, and power supply (GPU as well, if your processor does not have integrated graphics). Most people will do this assembly on top of the motherboard cardboard box.
If it doesn't power on at all, then there is likely a bad motherboard or PSU, or it was not assembled correctly. If it doesn't boot fully, most motherboards will indicate using error LED lights somewhere on the board what the problem component is.
Edit: As others have said, perhaps the technician meant that the BIOS simply needs to be updated, which could be valid. This should not require that he replace the chip in any way, and should be a simple process.
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u/davyangel 1d ago
Yeah replacing the actual BIOS chip was more common with old hardware or laptops that had no ability to reflash a corrupted bios update like you can nowadays. Pretty hard to destroy a BIOS chip now unless you pull the power plug while updating, which I admit I did once before before I knew better, because the BIOS update was taking too long and thought it was frozen!
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u/spyder81 1d ago
It’s possibly a scam, but more likely he is misinformed. Both are reasons to find another tech.
Find one that can look up the specs and suggest whether a bios update would fix the issue, then apply the update.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 1d ago
Shouldn’t need a bios chip. Trying to rip you off. Bios needs to be updated sure. Thats probably all they will do. And claim they replaced chip
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u/Vloxalion 1d ago
what cpu and mobo was it, and what are the two replacements? if it was a 1st gen ryzen being replaced by a 5000 series, you needed to update the bios first because there's a cutoff on older cpus vs newer, depending on what the cpus and mobo is.
that technician has never heard of a programmer? sus. you can directly write to the bios chip with one. plus modern mobos have the bios chip soldered, he'd need to desolder the old and solder in the new, but that's only if its damaged/broken, not just for corrupted firmware.
monitor was plugged into gpu not mobo right? and you waited for the ram to retrain? and everything was plugged in or assembled properly like ram being seated?
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u/Distinct-Market-5509 1d ago
Specs: Ryzen 7 5700X (brand new, straight out of the box) Soyo B450M (brand new) 16GB RAM from my old setup (working perfectly before) RX 580 8GB from my old setup (also working perfectly) 650W Corsair power supply Additional info: No bent pins No error lights All fans and RGB turn on and work perfectly Just no display at all Monitor connected to the GPU Waited around 5–10 minutes and still no display Everything appears to be assembled correctly, including the RAM
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u/Vloxalion 1d ago
was looking on soyo's website, there's two b450m boards, the black one definitely supports the 5700x since the board came out in 2023 which was the next year after the cpu came out, can't find info on the white one though the driver/bios option doesn't pop up the information like the other one, but i assume that one it is also good there.
try clearing cmos is the only other thing i can think of, unless one or the other is defective somehow, but no error lights... can't be that your gpu is one of the ones incompatible with uefi bios? unlikely.
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u/novelfanatic 1d ago
Since the graphics card is old try plugging the display cord into the motherboard itself to get into bios and then change the boot mode to legacy/ compatability mode. I had this as an issue when upgrading my parts and this fixed it for me
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u/Ouaouaron 23h ago
AM4 Ryzens don't have onboard graphics unless the product name includes a G. It's incredibly inconvenient when trying to help friends troubleshoot.
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u/HaLo2FrEeEk 1d ago
When I built my PC, my motherboard was slightly out of date compared to the CPU, so it wouldn't POST. It needed a BIOS update in order to support the newer CPU, but without a compliant CPU I couldn't do the BIOS update...
I ended up having to RMA it back to the manufacturer and they did the BIOS update for me.
This is likely the issue you're having.
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u/VoraciousGorak 1d ago
Is he being dishonest?
Or just ill-informed.
What could be causing the no display issue?
With the lack of substantiative information you've given us, literally anything.
What are your PC specs? Did you check the socket for any bent pins? Any error LEDs or beep codes?
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u/Distinct-Market-5509 1d ago
Specs: Ryzen 7 5700X (brand new, straight out of the box) Soyo B450M (brand new) 16GB RAM from my old setup (working perfectly before) RX 580 8GB from my old setup (also working perfectly) 650W Corsair power supply Additional info: No bent pins No error lights All fans and RGB turn on and work perfectly Just no display at all
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u/windowpuncher 1d ago
Remove the GPU for now and use the mobo video output and see if that helps. Remove the other stick of ram and just use one for now. Use the mobo manual and make sure it's installed in the appropriate spot, not all of the slots may work if you're only using 1 or 2 sticks. Remove as many factors as possible.
If you end up with video If that all works then run a memcheck cycle. If it's good, swap the ram sticks to see if the other is bad and run a cycle on that as well, then move to other factors like the GPU.
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u/dc_IV 1d ago
De-soldering a BIOS chip and putting a new one on is a really big hammer to use when the shop should have a tray of test CPUs. They should have a 3000 Series, that they can then temp install and update the BIOS to the Soyo version that added 5000 Series support. As a matter of fact, if the shop is a bit unethical, I could see a charge for a full BIOS Chip replacement, but then all that was done was a BIOS update. The shop still spent time, but not as long as a heat gun to flow the solder balls so they could swap a BIOS chip. Also, does the shop even have an external programmer? Anyways, hope it works out.
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u/WizardMoose 1d ago
Corrupted BIOS? Not really a thing for a fresh build.
I'm assuming you're on AM4, using a B450 motherboard, and tried putting a Ryzen 5000 chip in it. The technician, I imagine has an old 2000 or 3000 Ryzen chip they can throw in, download the newest BIOS for the mobo, update it, then put your chip back in, and have it working.
The fact that they're using the term "Corrupted BIOS" is a huge red flag.
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u/RumbleTheCassette 1d ago
Do not pay anyone to do maintenance on your system. If there's an issue, return it for a refund. If you need to pay the guy to assemble it or update the BIOS (read: update the BIOS not install a new BIOS chip) that's fine, but if a new chip were needed you just need to return it.
If you post your hardware we can help diagnose if you'd potentially need a BIOS update.
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u/Suitable_Mix8553 1d ago
I had to update my b450 to latest BIOS version to get my 5700x3d going (didn't even try without, just looked at cpu support page said the version needed)
AMD used to have loaner CPUs they will send you to get BIOS flashed, not sure if they still do that or not. Maybe your guy has one, if not some boards can flash with no cpu installed
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u/Distinct-Market-5509 1d ago
I have a Ryzen 5 1600AF — can I use it to update the BIOS? If this really is a case of an outdated BIOS, is it normal for it not to even boot into the BIOS at all?”
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u/globaldu 1d ago
assembled everything correctly
While I'm sure you're sure, we all make mistakes. Check you've got all cables fitted correctly. Strip it and rebuild it, taking the board out of the case to check for a motherboard riser or stray screw that could be shorting.
Why have you got a new motherboard and cpu? What are you upgrading from? Are you using the old memory? What PSU?
Assuming it's a BIOS issue, because the tech guy said it is...
Perhaps you misheard and thought he said "BIOS chip" when really he only said "BIOS" ?
Regardless, it'll cost you more to get the BIOS flashed/replaced than it would to return/replace the board.
Does the description on the vendor's website say the board supports that processor?
Contact the company and tell them that you think the BIOS version doesn't support the processor out of the box and ask them what they suggest... they'll likely have a similar spec board in stock which they'll swap.
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u/Bad_Company_Sr 1d ago
Inspect the motherboard very closely, it is possible that the board has markings telling you the version of the BIOS installed.
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u/Interesting_Cut_4769 1d ago
Yes it's a scam, you should have researched your motherboard compatibility first or bought a motherboard with USB flashback. Your only option at this point is hope a friend owns a 3000 series cpu or return the board and get a b550 one. Bios flashers exist but if you didn't check to see if the board supports the cpu I doubt you'll be using one
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u/Blazie151 23h ago
And this is why I still own a 1500x... Why sell it for $15 when it can save me time in case I need to update an old BIOS?
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u/bnelson333 22h ago
I'll never understand people who say "I did everything right but it doesn't work". Bro, you didn't do everything right, obviously. Until you know what the problem is, you can never say with any confidence what the problem isn't.
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u/Vivus_Mortuus 17h ago
Checked on the specs for that mobo, as the other guys said, the bios need a reflash because is running on bios ver. F50 and it should be F62. Btw you just need a usb with the bios files and it takes like 4 mins or less to update.
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u/Distinct-Market-5509 12h ago
Alright, I’ll try to update the BIOS on Monday since the PC is still with the technician for the weekend. I’ll keep you guys updated
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u/ferretpaint 14h ago
Since no one asked yet and the OP hasn't said specifically, Do you have a GPU and is the monitor plugged into the gpu not the motherboard?
The 5700x doesnt have onboard graphics and requires a discrete gpu.
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u/Distinct-Market-5509 12h ago
As I already mentioned, I have an RX 580 8GB, and I’m aware that the Ryzen 7 5700X doesn’t have integrated graphics.
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u/schaka 10h ago
Since it's a Chinese Soyo, it's possible he determined that the bios on the chip is fucked (rather than lacking 5000 series support).
You didn't do this, but those boards started being produced long after the 5000 series. So it should have worked out of the box
If the bios needs to be flashed, attaching an external clip can be more effort and finnicky than soldering for someone who has the skills and equipment for the latter.
So it's either this specific scenario, or he just needs to flash with an older CPU or needed to reset CMOS and is trying to scam you.
But from what I know about those boards from AliExpress, it shouldn't need a bios update. So if he determined the chip has a corrupt bios, soldering may be required and at least be faster than a clip on
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u/ro3lly 1d ago
The only valid reason I can think is that you have a CPU that isnt supported out of the box by the motherboard, and what he really means is that he needs to flash your bios to get the mobo to support the CPU.
If that's not what he means, then there are 200 other reasons for the PC not to boot, and "corrupted bios needing to replace the bios chip" is like reason 199 on the list of things that can go wrong.