ASUS Maximus VII Hero motherboard LEDs blinking, won't start (After power outages)

[Neolyx]

Hello. First of all, thanks for reading/replying. A few months ago I assembled my custom rig (Specifications listed below), and it worked flawlessly. However, recently there had been some power outages, turning off the computer without warning. At first, this doesn't seem to affect it; I just turned it back on and it worked normally, but during the last power outage, after I turned it back on, it turned off without warning yet again - except there were no more power outages. The GPU displayed an image of my home screen, however it was static (moving the mouse doesn't move the cursor). I thought it was simply unresponsive (lag) or a software error, however it suddenly turned off. I tried turning it back on but failed, the lights went on for a second and went back off. I gave it a few minutes and it turned back on, however it shortly turned off again. Upon inspecting the motherboard, I noticed that its LEDs were blinking whenever I activate the PSU, same goes with the LEDs on my GPU. I left it as is for several minutes and at some point the LEDs stopped blinking, I turned it on and it started, however upon hitting the reset button (I forgot what exactly was the problem, but it required me to reset the motherboard) everything turned off, and found that the PSU stopped functioning. This is the first PSU, a Corsair GS600. I decided that something in the PSU is fried and bought a new one, an Antec HCG 620. Upon connecting it, I discovered that the LEDs were once again blinking. I've removed all components from the PSU and motherboard, other than the 24-pin connector and the CPU (CPU 8-pin disconnected), only for the LEDs to continue blinking/flashing. Some time before the incident I've also received a Q-code 00 (null), however found that it was due to some charge in the motherboard (I removed the CMOS battery, disconnected the PSU, and drained the power). It worked normally until now. I've also noticed that the symptoms are somewhat similar to what a short circuit might cause, but I'm not entirely sure what may be causing it. I've tried removing the motherboard from the case, however had trouble with the I/O port (It's stuck to the case). All screws were removed and I tried to power the 24-pin again, but the blinking lights remain. I find it very likely that the motherboard is the issue, however I'd just like to ensure if it is the problem, or if there's anything else I can do.

PSU (First): Corsair GS600
PSU (Second): Antec HCG 620
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Hero
GPU: Asus GTX 770
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport (8 x 4 GB)
CPU: Intel i7-4790K
Case: Corsair 230T
Hard Disk: WD Black
Cooling: Corsair H100i

 

[Neolyx]

Alright, this will sound very, very stupid. In frustration I spam-pressed the Start and Reset buttons, and somehow it started. Now it's giving me Q-code 00. I figured this is due to some charge residue from the testing, so I'll try to remove any. If the code persists, I'll make another thread.