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Solved Frozen cursor after new GPU install, help?

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J Delossantos

J Delossantos

PCHF Member
Apr 12, 2022
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0
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#1
Hi, everyone! I was trying to install a new gpu on my computer & troubleshooted with my old one. Now it won't turn on at all (even with the old GPU) get this screen with a frozen underscore cursor (with everything connected well) cpu fan runs & motherboard lights up though:

949F02A1-F611-483B-9ED1-DDC7A0917576.jpeg



How could I fix this?

System specs:

Intel Core i7-10700KF - Core i7 10th Gen Comet Lake 8-Core 3.8 GHz LGA 1200

Z490 A Pro Motherboard (MSI)
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16 Gb ram
ASUS Nvidia RTX2060 6GB Vram (attempted to upgrade to Gigabyte 3060 12 GB Vram according to motherboard & cpu compatibility )

Montech Gamma ll 550W, 80+ Gold Certified PSU, LLC+DC to DC Technology

I accidentally hit the heatsink with my hand, likely slightly & washed my hands & waited till they dried completely of any residue before touching the pc & did my best to ground myself) did I mess anything up?

Also the PCI plastic pin popped out when I got it out but managed to pop it in

Did I mess anything up? I tried to not break anything & one of the screws fell into it but picked it up
 
#2
Edit: Mouse lights up , my rtx 2060 gpu fan runs when i turn it on but as soon as i turn on the screen, to the black screen display with frozen cursor, it stops running. the rtx3060 lights up, but fans don't run , & black screen. motherboard lights up when i turn on for both GPUs, new GPU not running & the black screen not displaying, with just the frozen underscore cursor
 
#3
I would not be concerned about bumping the heatsink, it is probably okay assuming you grounded yourself to the case.

What "PCI plastic pin" exactly popped out? Do you have a picture?

Screws fall sometimes, as long as it didn't land too hard or with the point down I would not be concerned.

I'm wondering about your PSU, typically for RTX 30 series cards you want to have a 750W unit or above. Never heard of Montech before so I can't speak to their reliability.

Do you have any other GPUs, (preferably lower powered ones) to test with?

Or a stronger PSU?
 
#4
Pyro said:
I would not be concerned about bumping the heatsink, it is probably okay assuming you grounded yourself to the case.

What "PCI plastic pin" exactly popped out? Do you have a picture?

Screws fall sometimes, as long as it didn't land too hard or with the point down I would not be concerned.

I'm wondering about your PSU, typically for RTX 30 series cards you want to have a 750W unit or above. Never heard of Montech before so I can't speak to their reliability.

Do you have any other GPUs, (preferably lower powered ones) to test with?

Or a stronger PSU?
Click to expand...
I do not have a stronger PSU (I only have 550 watts) & the only lower powered GPU i have is the RTX2060 but the rtx2060 fan works & it stops working when i turn on the screen. thinking of getting a stronger PSU to see if that's the issue. both Gpu's lights up but the fans don't turn. the 3 fan gpu is the rtx3060, 2 fan is rtx2060 in these pics attached. PCI plastic pin is the clip part that holds the GPU in place. motherboard lights up & mouse lights up. Is the PSU the issue?
 

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#5
Are you talking about the latch piece that keeps the GPU from being pulled out?

Try moving your GPU down a slot to the middle PCIe 16x slot (the long one).

If this doesn't work my money's on the PSU, but others may chime in with their ideas or thoughts.
 
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#6
Pyro said:
Are you talking about the latch piece that keeps the GPU from being pulled out?

Try moving your GPU down a slot to the middle PCIe 16x slot (the long one).

If this doesn't work my money's on the PSU, but others may chime in with their ideas or thoughts.
Click to expand...
Yes, the latch piece, & my motherboard only has one PCI slot that can fit the video card (same where I put the old GPU in (the other slot has walls between the connectors) & I do not want to risk messing up my motherboard haha
 
#7
You won't mess up your motherboard as long as you are careful, if you need to use something to push the tab you can use a plastic pen or something nonconductive of the sort. Don't push hard, it should move with relative ease. There is another large PCIe slot right below the one you used, even the smaller of the two would be okay for testing purposes.

This will hopefully help us determine what is bad.

Has anything else been changed since the GPU was installed, connectors unplugged/replugged, other components replaced or tampered with?

Please make sure the power cords for the GPU are fully plugged in as well, support the card from the back and push the cables until you hear a 'click' noise.
 
#8
Pyro said:
You won't mess up your motherboard as long as you are careful, if you need to use something to push the tab you can use a plastic pen or something nonconductive of the sort. Don't push hard, it should move with relative ease. There is another large PCIe slot right below the one you used, even the smaller of the two would be okay for testing purposes.

This will hopefully help us determine what is bad.

Has anything else been changed since the GPU was installed, connectors unplugged/replugged, other components replaced or tampered with?

Please make sure the power cords for the GPU are fully plugged in as well, support the card from the back and push the cables until you hear a 'click' noise.
Click to expand...
Yes, I made sure the GPU clicked & it did into place & the gpu is connected to the PSU. So this has to do with the PSU only, not the motherboard/motherboard isn't shorted? I am thinking of buying a stronger PSU. & no, nothing has changed since I replaced the GPU or disconnected anything
 
#9
I believe it could be a PSU issue, since you don't have a stronger one to test with and neither of the cards are posting. (Make sure you buy one from a reputable seller in the event you don't need it and want to return it)

If you plan on getting a new one, look for a 750W Gold unit from a manufacturer that makes their own units (I like Seasonic personally).

Since you can't get in the computer, this is the first that raises eyebrows for me, but if you would like to wait for some other members to chime in, they might have a workaround or different idea.

It could be the motherboard, if you monkeyed with the PCIe slots somehow, but I have my doubts.

@Bruce @Rustys

These guys might have some ideas as well
 
#10
Pyro said:
I believe it could be a PSU issue, since you don't have a stronger one to test with and neither of the cards are posting. (Make sure you buy one from a reputable seller in the event you don't need it and want to return it)

If you plan on getting a new one, look for a 750W Gold unit from a manufacturer that makes their own units (I like Seasonic personally).

Since you can't get in the computer, this is the first that raises eyebrows for me, but if you would like to wait for some other members to chime in, they might have a workaround or different idea.

It could be the motherboard, if you monkeyed with the PCIe slots somehow, but I have my doubts.

@Bruce @Rustys

These guys might have some ideas as well
Click to expand...
Yeah. I only inserted the gpu on the motherboard (knew not to fool around with the PCI slots), just carefully insert/remove
 
#11
that's a massive heatsink, and a slight knock at the top could have caused movement at the bottom.
I would dismantle the fan, heatsink and processor just to make sure nothing has been dislodged.
when re-assembling, re-apply some thermal paste (don't use toothpaste - sorry, old joke from another post!) :)

apart from that small detail, I concur with everything else that has been suggested, trying another PCI slot and especially getting a better PSU.
we like brand names but really, any supplier willing to back up their hardware with a 10 year warranty gets my money.
I'd certainly be going down the path of getting the old GPU, and therefore the rig, going first before tackling the new GPU.

troubleshoot one problem at a time!
the old card worked, you changed hardware, now rig doesn't work.
something you did lead you to where you are now, although it all sounded fine.
so rewind the clock but to a known, good state and work forward from there.
 
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#12
Bruce said:
that's a massive heatsink, and a slight knock at the top could have caused movement at the bottom.
I would dismantle the fan, heatsink and processor just to make sure nothing has been dislodged.
when re-assembling, re-apply some thermal paste (don't use toothpaste - sorry, old joke from another post!) :)

apart from that small detail, I concur with everything else that has been suggested, trying another PCI slot and especially getting a better PSU.
we like brand names but really, any supplier willing to back up their hardware with a 10 year warranty gets my money.
I'd certainly be going down the path of getting the old GPU, and therefore the rig, going first before tackling the new GPU.

troubleshoot one problem at a time!
the old card worked, you changed hardware, now rig doesn't work.
something you did lead you to where you are now, although it all sounded fine.
so rewind the clock but to a known, good state and work forward from there.
Click to expand...
I will take a look at the heatsink+cpu to make sure nothing moved at the bottom & will rewind the clock. I will reapply the thermal paste . I connected the mouse to the motherboard USB & the mouse turns on (screen didn't, no bios, frozen underscore cursor) , could this with the motherboard be a big sign of hope?
 
#14
Bruce said:
hard to say for sure, as the startup process isn't even passing the POST cycle.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it isn't. checked the CPU & heatsink. Nothing is dislodged but grounded myself & applied thermal paste & wiped excess thermal paste from edge of cpu. Motherboard lights up & computer mouse lights up from motherboard usb. CPU fan is working & all fans are working. Getting the frozen underscore cursor as of now.
 
#15
sadly, you'd have to be betting something you did has caused this.
not directly per say, but something like you dislodged a piece of dust, or loosened a cable somewhere - that sort of thing.

the next thing I'd be trying is dismantling the whole thing and re-assembling on a piece of cardboard somewhere (kitchen table?).
and only assembling the core essentials to get a signal to the monitor, so only the main drive, no DVD unit, only one memory stick, no keyboard or mouse (yet), that sort of thing.
having a KF processor, you'll have to use a graphics card, so start with the old one.
 
#16
Bruce said:
sadly, you'd have to be betting something you did has caused this.
not directly per say, but something like you dislodged a piece of dust, or loosened a cable somewhere - that sort of thing.

the next thing I'd be trying is dismantling the whole thing and re-assembling on a piece of cardboard somewhere (kitchen table?).
and only assembling the core essentials to get a signal to the monitor, so only the main drive, no DVD unit, only one memory stick, no keyboard or mouse (yet), that sort of thing.
having a KF processor, you'll have to use a graphics card, so start with the old one.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see. so the system isn't bricked? & this sounds like a dislodged cable or a piece of dust more than the motherboard being bricked? & yes, I'll test the old one
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#17
hang on a moment.... :)
never said the system isn't bricked, nor that it is caused by lose cable or dust - we are just dealing with hypotheticals at this stage.

let's play the long game and take it one step at a time.
do the disassemble/reassemble task and see what happens.
 
#18
Bruce said:
hang on a moment.... :)
never said the system isn't bricked, nor that it is caused by lose cable or dust - we are just dealing with hypotheticals at this stage.

let's play the long game and take it one step at a time.
do the disassemble/reassemble task and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Hi, The website crashed & wasn't able to reply. This issue was caused by an accidentally disconnected cable on the motherboard from the PSU (with the new GPU), upon close inspection. The computer boots to Windows normally.
 
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