X870E-E Q-Code d6

[Bizarrox]

Hi all,

I'm building a new PC around an X870E-E Gaming WIFI with an AMD 9950X CPU and kept getting a d6 error with no display being sent to the HDMI monitor so I couldn't see the BIOS. My RX 9060 XT video card was finally delivered so I installed it and *still* get d6 regardless of whether I have the video card in or not, and regardless of whether the monitor is plugged into the motherboard's HDMI jack or the video card's. Before the video card arrived I had flashed the latest version of the BIOS using the USB flashback port, tried reverting to the prior version and back, tried draining the CMOS (even removing the battery) after flashing, swapped out the HDMI cable, all with no luck. I've read through posts related to d6 on these forums and elsewhere and the results seem to go one of three ways: the user thought they had an on-board GPU when they didn't (the 9950X does), the user had an on-board GPU they needed to disable before the video card would be recognized (I didn't even have a video card before today!), or the user having to RMA the motherboard. I did re-seat the RAM but haven't tried the CPU yet (just got some new thermal paste so I'll probably try that next).

Any thoughts?

[Theltorither]

It sounds like you’ve already covered most of the usual troubleshooting steps. A couple of extra things you could try:

Double-check if the motherboard is actually detecting the GPU in the PCIe slot (sometimes re-seating the GPU and making sure the PCIe power cables are firmly connected can fix d6).

Try booting with just one stick of RAM installed in the recommended slot. I’ve seen memory issues throw odd VGA errors before.

If possible, test the GPU in another system (or another GPU in your system) to rule out a bad card vs. bad motherboard.

When you re-seat the CPU, carefully check for bent pins or debris in the socket, since that can also cause no-display errors.

If none of that works and you’re still stuck on d6, unfortunately it does start to point toward a faulty motherboard, which would mean an RMA.

[Bizarrox]

Good point about one stick of RAM - I think I tried with no sticks but not with one stick. As far as the GPU is concerned, remember that the 9950X CPU has an on-board GPU and I got the d6 code without a graphics card installed at all, meaning that the problem already existed and the graphics card can't be the root cause. If the graphics card isn't seated right then it can't help me by bypassing any existing mobo problem, but it can't be the problem in and of itself. Still, re-seating it can't hurt and could potentially help if it can bypass the CPU's onboard GPU, so I'll give that a shot too. 🙂

[Silent_Scone]

Correct, 9950X would boot using iGPU if the descrite GPU was the issue. You should inspect the CPU socket and CPU pin-pad, though. Also, ensure the cooler is not overtorqued.

[Bizarrox]

I pulled the cooler and the CPU - the cooler was actually a little looser than I expected (I assume jostling had loosened it up a little) so before I took it off I tried tightening it up a little bit, which unsurprisingly didn't help. In any case once I got the CPU out I could see that the pins are all straight and clean. I did try it with one stick of RAM, first one stick and then the other, without making any difference. I'm all out of ideas so I guess it's time to start the RMA process. 😢