About a week ago, I built myself a new machine with the following specs:
Asus P8Z68-V mobo
Intel Core i5 2500K CPU
4 8GB Corsair Dual Vengeance 1333MHz
WD Caviar Green Power 1TB HDD
EVGA GeForce GTX460
550W Power supply
After assembly, the machine started right up and I installed Windows 7 64-bit without any issue. About 4 days later, in the middle of playing a game, the computer crashed and would not reboot. The only error message shown was something like "Detecting devices; DONE: No devices found." In the BIOS it still detected the HDD, but it wouldn't boot. Even booting from the Win7 disk would result in the "Loading Windows files" screen, but as soon as that would finish, the machine would restart again. None of the on-board LEDs stay lit for more than a second. On a whim, I tried switching the HDD from the SATA6GB controller to the 3GB, and it booted fine!
A day later, it crashed again in the same manner; same symptoms. Thinking that it was the motherboard, I went and exchanged it for a new one. After installing it, the machine still wouldn't boot. On a whim again, I tried switching the SATA cable, and it booted successfully! Thinking maybe the other motherboard and cable were maybe bad, I proceeded with my life.
2 days later, I was playing a different game than the first time it crashed, and the computer restarted again and wouldn't boot. Same error - no devices found. At this point I was convinced it was the HDD itself, so I went and got a Seagate 1TB Barracuda ST31000528AS. I completely unplugged the old HDD and installed the new one. The machine booted fine, and I was able to installed Windows 7 64-bit. About an hour later I was running Windows update, and 1/2 way through the update, the machine crashed again - SAME error.
At this point I've tried everything I can think of:
- Unplugged everything except bare bones
- Cycled through all the memory sticks (MemOK! says all 4 sticks are good, but I went through each one just in case)
- Updated the BIOS to the latest version
- Cleared BIOS (every time after changing internal config I'd reset the BIOS via the CLRTC jumper)
- Unplugged / reseated everything to ensure proper contact / installation
I'm completely at a loss here. I've scoured the internet for answers and have come up blank. The onboard LEDs are not pointing me to any issue, so at this point is it a faulty CPU? Could a bad PSU be doing this?
Any advice is appreciated before I go insane.
Thanks.
Asus P8Z68-V mobo
Intel Core i5 2500K CPU
4 8GB Corsair Dual Vengeance 1333MHz
WD Caviar Green Power 1TB HDD
EVGA GeForce GTX460
550W Power supply
After assembly, the machine started right up and I installed Windows 7 64-bit without any issue. About 4 days later, in the middle of playing a game, the computer crashed and would not reboot. The only error message shown was something like "Detecting devices; DONE: No devices found." In the BIOS it still detected the HDD, but it wouldn't boot. Even booting from the Win7 disk would result in the "Loading Windows files" screen, but as soon as that would finish, the machine would restart again. None of the on-board LEDs stay lit for more than a second. On a whim, I tried switching the HDD from the SATA6GB controller to the 3GB, and it booted fine!
A day later, it crashed again in the same manner; same symptoms. Thinking that it was the motherboard, I went and exchanged it for a new one. After installing it, the machine still wouldn't boot. On a whim again, I tried switching the SATA cable, and it booted successfully! Thinking maybe the other motherboard and cable were maybe bad, I proceeded with my life.
2 days later, I was playing a different game than the first time it crashed, and the computer restarted again and wouldn't boot. Same error - no devices found. At this point I was convinced it was the HDD itself, so I went and got a Seagate 1TB Barracuda ST31000528AS. I completely unplugged the old HDD and installed the new one. The machine booted fine, and I was able to installed Windows 7 64-bit. About an hour later I was running Windows update, and 1/2 way through the update, the machine crashed again - SAME error.
At this point I've tried everything I can think of:
- Unplugged everything except bare bones
- Cycled through all the memory sticks (MemOK! says all 4 sticks are good, but I went through each one just in case)
- Updated the BIOS to the latest version
- Cleared BIOS (every time after changing internal config I'd reset the BIOS via the CLRTC jumper)
- Unplugged / reseated everything to ensure proper contact / installation
I'm completely at a loss here. I've scoured the internet for answers and have come up blank. The onboard LEDs are not pointing me to any issue, so at this point is it a faulty CPU? Could a bad PSU be doing this?
Any advice is appreciated before I go insane.
Thanks.