Solved! Upgraded laptop CPU, laptop fails to post

pseudochicken

Estimable
Jan 9, 2015
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4,510
Recently decided to upgrade an old laptop.

It is an Asus K53Z:
AMD A4-3305M APU (1.9Ghz) (Llano)
4 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz RAM
a new 120GB PNY SSD (the old HDD died)

The laptop had been working fine, but it was getting a bit slow. I occasionally use it for mobile media streaming and light gaming when I am on the road.

I had read that this laptop can can have its APU upgraded so long as its also a Llano with the same TDP. Others had success installing an A8-3520M, which has 4 cores instead of 2, way more L2 cache, and a significantly better built-in GPU:
http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-1828748/upgrading-laptop-asus-k53z.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19054

https://www.ebay.com/p/AMD-A8-3520M-1-6GHz-Quad-Core-AM3520DDX43GX-Processor/166536794

It was about $25, so not too bad an expense for what I think is a pretty hefty upgrade, plus I thought it would be a fun project as I had never done a CPU replacement in a laptop before.

I installed the A8, however when I turn on the laptop only the power button light and main power light come on. There is no post, or anything on the screen. I thought it might be a BIOS issue, so I put the A4 back in, and it came on fine. I flashed the latest BIOS from Asus's website (from v212 to v214; https://www.asus.com/Laptops/K53Z/HelpDesk_BIOS/), and tried reinstalling the A8. But nada, same problem. I thought maybe I did not reconnect the laptop screen well, but nothing comes up on a connected monitor either. I am not sure if the fan even spins, but I do hear the DVD drive come on as it normally does when I first turn on the computer.

So I've come to one of either two conclusions, neither of which is good in my opinion. 1) My laptop APU cannot be upgraded and I shouldn't have trusted the internet, or 2) I received a defective A8 APU, which at best will be a hassle to return and get a replacement.

My question is: is there ANYTHING I am not thinking about that could be causing this that will make my life easier? Is there perhaps an even more modern BIOS that I am not aware of? Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
Only thing you have to do when upgrading a CPU, if it works in the system is make sure the BIOS is the latest one and plug in the CPU. If it does not work, CPU is not compatible, or bad. Only way to find out is test the CPU in a system that you know will run it.
Only thing you have to do when upgrading a CPU, if it works in the system is make sure the BIOS is the latest one and plug in the CPU. If it does not work, CPU is not compatible, or bad. Only way to find out is test the CPU in a system that you know will run it.
 
Solution