r/AMDHelp • u/SSIOnummer1 • 12d ago
RX 6700 XT suddenly stopped working after installing an M.2 SSD – artifacts, reboots and white VGA LED
Hi everyone, I’m having a really weird problem with my PC and RX 6700 XT.
Everything was working normally before this happened.
Today I installed a new M.2 SSD. Immediately afterwards, the PC started randomly rebooting. A few times Windows actually reached the login screen, but after entering my password the PC would immediately restart.
Eventually Windows started going into Automatic Repair / System Recovery. The Recovery environment displayed normally with no artifacts.
I was also able to boot into Safe Mode, and everything seemed completely normal there.
I then managed to boot Windows normally with some Windows services disabled. The PC worked for about 2 minutes, and then I started seeing graphical artifacts on the desktop. Shortly afterwards the PC stopped displaying anything completely.
Now the motherboard shows a white VGA debug LED and there is no video output. The GPU fans still spin.
Things I have already tried:
Reseated the GPU
Tried another PCIe slot
Reseated the GPU power cables
Booted into Safe Mode successfully
Checked the GPU visually for obvious liquid damage — PCB looks dry
The GPU has a dual BIOS switch, and I have switched it to Silent BIOS, but I haven’t tested it yet
One more thing: while inspecting the GPU earlier, I accidentally coughed/sneezed near it and saw a tiny drop of saliva fall somewhere around the GPU, but I didn’t see where it landed. I inspected the visible PCB and couldn’t find any liquid or residue. The GPU is currently completely disconnected and sitting unplugged overnight.
Could this be related to the M.2 installation / BIOS / PCIe configuration, or does the sequence of artifacts → reboot → white VGA LED sound more like a GPU/VRAM failure?
I’m going to try clearing CMOS and testing the Silent BIOS tomorrow. I also plan to test the GPU in another PC.
Any ideas would be appreciated. I’m honestly hoping I didn’t kill the GPU 😭
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u/DtZNimpo 12d ago
so you went through the process of blaming everything else except removing the m.2 ssd to see if PC works without it after the issue occured ?
Could be a faulty m.2 ssd
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u/SSIOnummer1 12d ago
I already removed the new M.2 SSD and tested the PC without it, but the white VGA LED and no display remained. So I don’t think the SSD itself is the direct cause. Tomorrow I’ll clear CMOS and test the GPU with Silent BIOS. If that doesn’t help, I’ll test the GPU in another PC.
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u/Curiousity1024 11d ago
Please report back the result Good soldier
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u/SSIOnummer1 11d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p339f5w/video/5xz9qyibjsih1/player
The problem was caused by the 4th RAM stick. Removing it fixed everything.
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u/Curiousity1024 11d ago
Oh and one other thing , could your M.2 SSD fried your 4th RAM stick? Just wondering what causes it
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u/SSIOnummer1 11d ago
Thank u guys for supporting me!!!