Question Asus z97-a motherboard NO POST

[AmjadAlsati]

Greetings from Germany guys,

I have been using an Asus z97-a mothboard (LGA 1150 socket) with i7-4790k processor since 2015. Last year (in 2020), I went to sleep to wake up the next day and the computer is not working. I took the motherboard out of its case and detached the the graphic card, hard drives and kept only memory and CPU. I tried to turn it on but it rarely POST. It is either getting stuck on the CPU_LED or the RAM_LED or the graphic card led or the hard drive led (every time something different). I tried using a different power supply and the problem is the same. I rested the BIOS using the jumpers and also by removing the battery. I also ordered new batteries and place them. Nothing of the aforementioned solutions worked. Now I turn on the motherboard it get suck on the RAM_LED. If I removed the RAM, the computer starts giving me beep codes that there are no RAMS (it is passing the CPU_LED stage). It is good let you know that the order where the motherboard checks for its components are the following : CPU -> RAMS -> Graphic card -> Hard drive. The behavior is so random and therefore I can't determine what is really the problem. It is so often whenever I try to turn it on, the the motherboard light up till the RAMs stage then I can see the power supply turns off and on again trying to start the POST process again. Also, I tried placing two rams 8 GB each into different slots of the motherboard but it never worked as well. I am suspecting a dead bios chip but I am so discouraged to buy one and then it turns out there's a short in the motherboard somewhere. What do you think I should do? Maybe someone had similar problem and can confirm me it's a bios chip failure? I appreciate all responses.

Best regards
Amjad

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

It'd help us paint a clearer picture if you included your full system's specs, since a system is built using more than just the motherboard and processor(and a generic PSU). You should also include the make and model of the PSU and it's age(as well as the donor PSU used).

As for your inquiry about a bad BIOS, the BIOS chip is located next to where the SLI logo on the PCB is. You can source a replacement BIOS chip from Ebay and then give the system a whirl. However this is assuming that the PSU you're using isn't a bad unit and it didn't fry the capacitors or other electrical components on your motherboard(and you're electrically sound, i.e, no grounding issues).

 

[AmjadAlsati]

Thanks for your reply. Here is a full list of my build:
PSU: EVGA 500W 80PLUS
CPU: Intel I7-4790k
motherboard: Asus z97-a
RAMS: Corsair vengeance 2x 16 GB (8 GB each)
CPU FAN: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler
GPU: GTX 750 TI. (I was using GTX 1070 Zotac mini when the PC stopped working then I the GPU since then)
SSD: 256 gb: Crucial BX500 CT240BX500SSD1 (Z) 240GB Internal SSD

I got a used motherboard(MSI B85M-E45) from Ebay today and I installed the CPU, FAN and 1 ram stick. The problem persists. No beep codes at all. Whenever I remove the ram stick, the speaker start giving me ONE long beep code. I am starting to believe it is a dead CPU but I am still not sure.

I bought all components (including PSU) in 2015 so they are around 6 years old. I would appreciate any help or advice.