ASUS Sabertooth Z87 Boot Issues

[jon foster]

So I just purchased an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 with the intel haswell bridge to play with the new I7 4770k. I am however experiencing some odd issues with my system that I've never had before (this is not my first build)

The system like to flip between two behaviors

1. upon a cold boot, it will power up for 0.5 - 1 seconds, then immediately turn off and restart. When it's in this mood, the only way I've found so far to get out of this loop is to take the ram out and swap the channels. (Not even sure if this is the fix, as it's only been stuck in this loop for a long time once) When in this mood, the system will not get to the posting screen.

2. Power up for 5-10 seconds, reboot (this will repeat 2-3 additional times) then finally power up and stay up (usually) until I experience a random crash (sometimes when playing games, sometimes while browsing the web)

Anyone have any thoughts?

Edit:

System Specs:

MB: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 LGA 1150 Intel
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Red 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1866 MHZ (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory (CMZ32GX3M4X1866C10R)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X - Full Tower Computer Case
GFX: EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 256bit, Dual Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-Way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2678-KR
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W 80 PLUS Gold Power Supply with Modular Cables (RS800-80GAD3-US)
Hard Drives:
x2 SanDisk Ultra Plus SSD 128 GB SATA 6.0 Gbps 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SDSSDHP-128G-G25
x2 WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX

 

[smorizio]

Does the mb have the newest bios file??? Sounds like the mb having issue with your ram and reading and setting the mb speed. If you have to update the bios use the USB flash back port. In asus bios make sure your running in standard mode. Performance mode changes the ram to CPU speeds and can cause issue. Under the ai tweeter make sure xmp profile is turned on.

 

[jon foster]

Does the mb have the newest bios file??? Sounds like the mb having issue with your ram and reading and setting the mb speed. If you have to update the bios use the USB flash back port. In asus bios make sure your running in standard mode. Performance mode changes the ram to CPU speeds and can cause issue. Under the ai tweeter make sure xmp profile is turned on.

I've flashed the bios using the utility and this did not fix the solutions, I'll look for the XMP profile right now. I can tell you that I flashed the bios with the SABERTOOTH-Z87-ASUS-1007.CAP found under the downloads section of the ASUS website.

 

[jon foster]

Does the mb have the newest bios file??? Sounds like the mb having issue with your ram and reading and setting the mb speed. If you have to update the bios use the USB flash back port. In asus bios make sure your running in standard mode. Performance mode changes the ram to CPU speeds and can cause issue. Under the ai tweeter make sure xmp profile is turned on.

I don't see XMP Profile under AI Tweaker in the bios

Edit: Found it and changed it to that, I'll let you know what happens

 

[smorizio]

They may have moved it on there newer efi bios. On the old bios it under dram speed by default it set to auto. You select dram speed and select xmp profile and save it.

 

[jon foster]

I switched it to XMP, 5 or so minutes in, it crashed and came up "Overclocking failed, press F1 to reconfigure."

 

[smorizio]

John sounds like a new product bios bug. I would email asus and post over on asus rog forum. They may know that there is a bug and ave a bios file patch or beta bios. myself I try and set the ram to 1600 and bump the dram voltage add see if the mb boots fine and runs fine. Mb can be picky on ram when all four slots are filled.

 

[photonboy]

I agree, it sounds like a BIOS update would likely fix this issue. I doubt it's a defect requiring an RMA.

FANS:
I have the Z77 version and discovered it was best to use the Thermal Radar software and set those ASSIST FANS to be OFF unless it was 45degC or higher. Otherwise they are annoying.

When I had the Asus AI Suite my system would crash (from Windows 8). I ONLY use the Thermal Radar software and see no need for any other.

If you use Windows 8 and aren't aware, there's a great tool called Start8 from Stardock for $5 to bring back the Start Menu and bypass the new interface and annoying Charm bar.

 

[photonboy]

Update:
make sure to run MEMTEST or at least the memory diagnostic utility Windows has

 

[jon foster]

This morning it won't even boot into windows..

The times that I've tried it's been:
Crash after post at the blinking underscore
Crash at the first bios screen
Crash at the windows loading screen

And every where inbetween

 

[smorizio]

Start With one dimm make sure it and the slot is good then add one more dimm. Then test. Then swap one of the dimms. To see if it a loading issue on the mb take one dimm out and see if she stable.

 

[photonboy]

Troubleshooting:
*You're XMP failure seems to indicate a RAM issue.

1) create a Memtest boot DVD or USB stick ( www.memtest.org )

2) Unhook all drives except the DVD (unhook it too if you use USB)

3) Use one stick of RAM only and make sure it's in the correct slot for using just one stick (see motherboard manual for RAM placement with one or two sticks only).

4) If memtest FAILS troubleshoot the RAM further (may be a timing issue or defective RAM). Ensure the voltage is correct and drop the frequency to the LOWEST allowable (i.e. 800MHz).

5) If memtest passes and you're still stuck, try booting to a Linux Live DVD (i.e. Ubuntu). Keep the HDD or SSD removed still.

6) Run video from the iGPU and disconnect the graphics card.

*Basic troubleshooting involves removing any components that aren't absolutely necessary and swapping parts.

 

[jon foster]

I'm having trouble getting it to POST now...

This is exactly what it's doing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRoZgDrgp9c

with the light and everything

 

[smorizio]

CheCk to see if te mb failed over to the onboard video. Try clearing your CMOS with the mb unplugged from the wall let the power supply drain.

 

[jon foster]

When using the on board video, when the MB posts, the screen has a bunch of white lines and is jittery and jumping everywhere. When I get into bios, it will crash after 10 seconds or so.

 

[photonboy]

It sounds like a defective motherboard.

I recommend initiating the RMA process with Asus. If there is some issue that they are aware of they might have a different recommendation.

I suppose it could be a power or cooling issue. If your water cooler pump wasn't working that might be your problem.

*If you have the stock CPU cooler you could use that for now, otherwise I have no other recommendations than to RMA. (I found the Intel CPU Stock Cooler to be almost impossible to remove without breaking.)

 

[jon foster]

It sounds like a defective motherboard.

I recommend initiating the RMA process with Asus. If there is some issue that they are aware of they might have a different recommendation.

I suppose it could be a power or cooling issue. If your water cooler pump wasn't working that might be your problem.

*If you have the stock CPU cooler you could use that for now, otherwise I have no other recommendations than to RMA. (I found the Intel CPU Stock Cooler to be almost impossible to remove without breaking.)

I don't mean to necro an old thread, but this was the solution. After installing the new board, everything seems to be working and I'm no longer having these issues. Thanks to everyone who helped!

 

[Ben Huss]

Got the same issue with my Z87 Saberooth Hopefully there will be a UEFI-Update. I'm not really looking forward disassembling the whole thing again...

 

[photonboy]

Got the same issue with my Z87 Saberooth Hopefully there will be a UEFI-Update. I'm not really looking forward disassembling the whole thing again...

When it comes to BIOS updates fixing things like crashing, it's usually because there's an issue with RAM or an SSD. When SSD's were newer there were some issue but these are generally fixed.

RAM issues should almost always cause a failure of Memtest of the Windows Memory Diagnostic.

Assuming the issue is your motherboard (not PSU, video card etc), I doubt it's UEFI BIOS software related. If it's the motherboard it's likely physically defective.

*I recommend starting an RMA, but also inquire if they do CROSS-SHIPPING to send you a motherboard immediately. If they do allow that, your motherboard might be there in less than a week and they'd simply charge you if yours doesn't arrive in a certain time (i.e. six weeks). I have no idea if they offer that (I asked Gigabyte and they said they would, but they didn't have my motherboard in stock as it was older).

 

[Guest]

Start With one dimm make sure it and the slot is good then add one more dimm. Then test. Then swap one of the dimms. To see if it a loading issue on the mb take one dimm out and see if she stable.

Sorry to bug in, but I have the same board, and I tried that (the slot farthest from the CPU) and it got into BIOS (but i cant get in because I dont have a keyboard ATM, but im gettting it later today). So i tried another RAM stick into the 2nd slot closest to the CPU so it was like :|empty | ram | empty | ram|. It then got the error 55(I was stuck on that before). Now is it the RAM that's bad, the motherboard, or do i have to configure something in BIOS?

 

[photonboy]

Start With one dimm make sure it and the slot is good then add one more dimm. Then test. Then swap one of the dimms. To see if it a loading issue on the mb take one dimm out and see if she stable.

Sorry to bug in, but I have the same board, and I tried that (the slot farthest from the CPU) and it got into BIOS (but i cant get in because I dont have a keyboard ATM, but im gettting it later today). So i tried another RAM stick into the 2nd slot closest to the CPU so it was like :|empty | ram | empty | ram|. It then got the error 55(I was stuck on that before). Now is it the RAM that's bad, the motherboard, or do i have to configure something in BIOS?

You can't use just any slot for a single stick of RAM. You need to read the motherboard manual. Often only ONE of those four slots work with just one stick, and only TWO of the slots work for two sticks but the other two don't.

If you need further help, start your own thread.

 

[Andreasson]

I can share my recent solution that is very similar to Jon Fosters issue.

I work as a technician myself and I had to give up my MB boot issue after a couple of hours troubbleshooting, as I belivied that my MB had crashed totaly. I was going to send it to ASUS for RMA but I gave my retailer a shot to try and figure out the cause.

Background:
I recently bought ST Z87 MB with an haswell 4770k CPU. Had it running for about 2 weeks, with maybe 2-3 reboots after windows install ofc. Suddenly I experienced some issues with my shared network locations, and because I had access to it from my other PC´s I thought that a classic reboot would solve the issue. But then my PC stopped at the logout screen of win7, it stood
there for about 10min before I decided to do a hard reset.
After that my PC could not boot to POST. As Jon described, it took about 0.5 to 1 second before the PC restarted again. I tried to reset CMOS with the jumper and took out the battery for an hour, just to see if my BIOS was faulty. Even after I had removed every component that is not neccessary for a boot, it would not start. At the end I stood there with my MB on my testbench with just a PSU, CPU, Motherboard and a single memory module. And the only thing I didn´t swap out was the CPU and MB.
So I sent it to my retailer and after a couple of days he called and told me that he found the cause, somehow after I had done a hard reset the MB crashed with the cause code
A20 (Explanation: The keyboard controller is a chip on the motherboard that communicates with your keyboard. It also controls the A20 gate that provides access to the high memory area (HMA). This component is indicating a failure.)

Solution:
My local retailer just downloaded the latest or current Bios version and installed it via the USB BIOS Flashback port, you can find it at the back I/O ports (white USB port).

Here is a guide on how to update your Bios for ASUS Sabertooth Z87 or above Z79.
http://event.asus.com/2012/mb/usb_bios_flashback_guide/

Hope this can help you!

 

[photonboy]

If no further questions, this thread should likely be closed.