Ryzen 5 3600 Boot Loop after CPU Upgrade

Building and upgrading PC’s is nothing new nowadays. People, especially gamers, often build new desktop machines or even upgrade their older gaming rigs. This involves purchasing new hardware components and connecting them with older components. It’s not that easy as it sounds though. It’s highly unlikely that you will go through all of this process of PC upgrading without encountering compatibility issues or issues that will make you scratch your head.

Ryzen 5 builds are very popular among users because of their affordability and enhanced performance. However, users have reported numerous Boot Looping issues when setting up their machines, with Ryzen 5 3600 in specific. It’s either their PC’s freezing when booting up or rebooting itself over and over again(chain restarting). There can be numerous causes of this issue so firstly let’s discuss some of them.

Why does my PC Reboots at BOOT after CPU Upgrade?

Although there can be countless causes to Boot Looping, I’ve narrowed it down to three general ones that occur most frequently when making Ryzen builds. I’ll go into specifics when describing the possible fixes.

Lets now look at the possible fixes to this issue.

Method 1: Updating BIOS

Updating your BIOS firmware is preferably the first thing you need to do when upgrading your PC. The latest BIOS updates will enable the motherboard to correctly recognize new hardware components. So, It will most likely fix most of the compatibility issues and also increase stability when booting up.

There are two methods to update your BIOS in case your PC is not fully booting. Follow the step by step guide below.

Update using BIOS Menu

This method requires you to update BIOS using a processor, memory, and video card. The processor needed must be compatible with the motherboard.

1. The essential first step is to check your Motherboard Model and BIOS version you are running on currently. To determine the BIOS version, you will need to access the BIOS menu. Common keys to enter the BIOS are F1, F2, F10, Delete, Esc. On the main BIOS screen, it should display the BIOS type and the version. You can also access the BIOS menu using the UFEI BIOS utility.
2. Then you can do a POST Test(Power-On Self-Test) to verify that your computer meets the requirements to boot up properly.
3. If your PC is not booting up to BIOS POST stage. Then you will either need an older AMD processor(like AMD Athlon 200GE) or a Boot Kit to update your BIOS. If your processor is in warranty, you can get the Boot Kit directly from AMD. To learn more, click here.
4. Afterward, Boot Up your PC using the older processor. You should now successfully see the BIOS Menu and BIOS version.
5. Now, to update the BIOS, you will need to download the latest BIOS from the official website of your motherboard’s manufacturer. Like for instance, B450 is the motherboard generally used with AMD Ryzen 5 3600. The motherboard manufacturer can range from ASUS, MSI, or others.
6. Unzip the downloaded file into a FAT32 formatted USB Drive.
7. In the BIOS menu, go to the Advanced Mode tab (press F7) and select Tools.
8. Then select Flash 3 Utility(in case of ASUS), and select the BIOS update method via Storage Device.
9. Now you will need to plug in the USB Drive and select the correct BIOS file. It will be a ‘.CAP’s file.
10. Select yes from the options and updates will be installed.
11. Now the Ryzen 5 3600 should boot up successfully after you set it up.

Update using USB BIOS Flashback

Flashing the BIOS is another way to update the motherboard’s BIOS to the latest version without needing the processor. Your motherboard should be compatible with this method. and a BIOS Flashback button must be present on the rear panel.

1. You will need a FAT32 formatted USB drive that contains the ‘.ROM‘ file.
2. Plug the PSU(Power Supply Unit).
3. Plug the USB flash drive into the BIOS Flashback Port on the rear panel.
4. Press the BIOS Flashback button to flash BIOS. There will likely be some indicator like light flashing, which shows BIOS flashing is in progress.
5. When the light stops flashing, it would indicate that the BIOS flashing is complete.
6. Now plug in the Ryzen 5 3600, and it should boot up successfully.

Method 2: Tweaking CPU and RAM Settings

These are some of the possible tweaks which you can try which might fix the boot looping issue with your system. For all these fixes you will need to open your system’s BIOS menu.

1. Try turning Core Performance Boost off. Core Performance Boost dynamically adjusts processor operating frequency. It usually jumps the clock speeds to 4GHz+ and increases voltage up to 1.5. So disabling it can solve the problem.
2. Afterward, you can lock the CPU to a lower frequency (e.g. 3GHz) and set more than enough voltage (e.g. 1.3V). Check if it still boots loops. It’s just a test to see if the issue with CPU or something else. These settings are usually found in the OverClock setting in your BIOS.
3. For some people, changing the voltage to 1.4V also fixed the boot looping problem.
4. Another possible fix is to try enabling the XMP. XMP can be directly enabled from BIOS settings. XMP allows your system to set motherboard and CPU parameters correctly.
5. You could then try tinkering with RAM speeds. You may want to underclock RAM and match it with the processor. Some people have been running at issues with RAM at 3200MHz.

Method 3: Resetting CMOS or BIOS Settings

Changing the CMOS or BIOS settings to default can also solve booting related issues. We already know about BIOS. Similarly, CMOS is where the BIOS stores the system configuration details it needs to boot the computer. You can follow the steps below to reset the settings.

1. Enter the BIOS setup. Commonly accessed through F1, F2, F10, Delete or Esc keys.
2. Now, find an option to reset the CMOS values to the default settings. Usually, the F9 key is associated with the resetting option.
3. You will be asked to confirm the selected option. Select Yes and then Save and Exit.
4. When you reset the settings, don’t change anything in BIOS and check how the system runs in default settings.

Method 4: Resetting Configuration Data

If changing BIOS settings to default did not work. You can try to reset configuration data.

1. Go to the BIOS setup.
2. Select the Advanced tab.
3. There will be an option saying Reset Configuration Data.
4. Change its value to Yes or Enabled.

Method 5: Using a Different Motherboard

It is always difficult to troubleshoot such issues. In case, updating your BIOS and tweaking BIOS settings doesn’t work. Then the problem could be with the motherboard CPU combo. You can always try finding another motherboard that is compatible with AMD Ryzon 5 3600.

Many people have reported similar boot looping issues with B450 motherboards. You can maybe try a different manufacturer or change to B350 board which many people have said to be more stable with Ryzen 5 3600. Also, check out some other motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600.

1. GIGABYTE B450 AORUS Elite
2. ASRock B450M Pro
3. ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus
4. ASUS Prime X570-P