MSI Z77A-G45 & HD 7950: No video on GPU

bielius

Posts: 217   +17
Hello! I've run into some trouble with the new motherboard. I'll explain the situation...

So my previous MB, Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1 died on me one morning, I turned on the monitor(I left the PC on through the night, as I did for about a year prior to this), and no signal came on, so I restarted the PC, and it gave me error codes for GPU error. After testing a lot of different stuff, I ordered a new motherboard, the MSI one, with hopes that my GPU still survived.

Now, the problem is, when I connect video out through my GPU, no matter what cable, I will not get any signal. Though the integrated gpu runs fine off VGA, DVI and HDMI. Actually I use both DVI and HDMI, so no problem there.
What I've checked/facts:
the GPU is seated properly, with a screw holding it in place
Everything is working fine without the GPU
power is attached to the GPU; 8 pins and 6 pins
CMOS has been reset
I can only access the lower PCI port, as the gpu is being blocked by the SATA ports
I am currently updating BIOS, will update as to what happened, but I suspect this problem is bigger than that

I really am out of options, been through google, found one guy with the same problem, but his fix doesn't work for me...
 
Odd, what I would try doing, is booting off the integrated graphics controller and going into the windows hardware manager to see if it is detected on the board. Depending on your results, it could be one of the following:

1: Bad PCI-E Slot, ive seen a motherboard have this same problem.
2: Bad GPU

Heres a couple of ways to test things:

1: Try to get a hold of another PCI-E GPU, does not matter the brand or how old it is just to see if the motherboard will detect it. If it will detect the other GPU and not your 7950 and you 100% sure you've hooked the 7950 up correctly, then its the GPU.

2: Move your HD 7950 to the second PCIE 3.0 slot on the motherboard, according to your motherboard model it contains 2 PCIE 3.0 ports so you can always try that, however even though this would be quite peculiar, it is possible to have multiple bad PCI-E slots.

That's where I would start, let us know what your results are.
 
Hey! Thank you for your help!

I wanted to ask, how do I use the integrated graphics while GPU is in PCI-E? Isn't it either or situation?

Anyway, I will get ahold of another GPU and test it, in 1-2 days time.
About the second slot, I've tried both slots with the GPU, both with properly seated screws, connectors connected( 8 pin and 6 pin) and definitely connected(the switch goes up when the card is pushed in), and it goes all the way down into the slot. I have a thought that the old MB took GPU with it, but I will test the system with another GPU and will come back with the results.
(the old MB was P7P68 Rev 3.1, and after the incident, when starting the system, it would beep from the speaker when starting the system(I am not sure if that is the POST beep though), then beep 1 long, 3 short and stay silent for a couple of seconds, then it would beep(1, short) and stay there indefinitely with VGA_LED lit up red. That would be it for the first hours, then after the VGA_LED, BOOT_DEVICE_LED started lighting up and stayed there together with VGA_LED.)

A big thanks!
 
If you plug into the Integrated port on the motherboard you should get video signal which means its using the Integrated port. Even while using Integrated, if you have the GPU plugged into the slot on the board, it will still know it exists and should give us some explanations as to whats there.
 
Alright, now I've tested all slots, the first, second, and the slow(I'd guess 8X) third slot. the first one, no life signs. Checked task manager, CCC, new hardware, nothing there.
Something peculiar happened on the second slot though:
I opened up the safely remove media thingy, and it said at first,
PCI to PCI Bridge, and searched for preconfigured drives on the system.
After a couple of minutes, it installed this:
Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Intel Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port - 0101 installed
No life signs as of the third slot, currently using it.
I am not sure what to make of this. Am I missing some PCIE drivers?

EDIT: Just tried the cable to 7950, and the 7950 in the second slot. No game...
 
Ok, try going to MSI.com and making sure you have all the drivers for the motherboard installed, that could be an issue if it installed something when you put the card in the second slot.

Also try another video card or your 7950 into another machine and seeing if it will work. We need to rule out the 7950 being faulty, so in other words we need to test the video card.
 
Ok, I've tested a new GPU.
So I got my hands on some PCI-E GeForce 7300 LE, works like a charm on slot #1.
I've installed all the drivers I could find on the website, doesn't work still.
Not sure now what to do, I may RMA it, but maybe I can tinker with 7950 to make it work or something...
 
If the 7950 is the only GPU not showing output, its probably bad sadly, I would contact the manufacturer and RMA it immediately, it happens.
 
No problem, sorry it happened, but while rare there is always a chance for it to happen.

Ive not had a bag GPU in years, but I have had a recent motherboard (My CrossHair V-Z) come DOA and its the top tier board from asus on the AMD side. So I know the feeling when something like this happens.

But you should be ok doing a RMA, you just will be stuck with Intel HD graphics till the new GPU arrives.
 
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