Asus Z97-AR with blinking red LEDs without display response

[xephos]

This is my build: http://

So this was right after I changed my cpu cooler to the one currently on the list, Thermaltake 3.0 Extreme water cooler. After cleaning it out and replacing my old cooler, I see red LEDs blinking around my mobo: top right, below right of the cpu, and/or where the gpu and the left edge of the mobo intersects.

Also, I most of the time have to restart my comp due to the screen being unresponsive. Just a black screen. I would go back in to jiggle the cpu power a bit and restart and sometimes it works. But this has been the case for several days now.

What do the red lights represent? And does it have to do with the unresponsive screens?

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi xephos

You have four debug LEDs of concern xephos which are listed on page 1-36 in your MB manual.
The PWR_LED will always be lit indicating power to the MB.

You then have POST state LEDs for RAM, CPU, VGA and Boot device.
Should any of the above remain lit, Post will not advance till the fault is rectified.
Do any of the above remain lit.?

 

[xephos]

Hi xephos

You have four debug LEDs of concern xephos which are listed on page 1-36 in your MB manual.
The PWR_LED will always be lit indicating power to the MB.

You then have POST state LEDs for RAM, CPU, VGA and Boot device.
Should any of the above remain lit, Post will not advance till the fault is rectified.
Do any of the above remain lit.?

When I initially start my computer, I believe sometimes 2 blink, and some other times, one or the other blinks. It changes sometimes before I finally get it to run properly.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi xephos

You have four debug LEDs of concern xephos which are listed on page 1-36 in your MB manual.
The PWR_LED will always be lit indicating power to the MB.

You then have POST state LEDs for RAM, CPU, VGA and Boot device.
Should any of the above remain lit, Post will not advance till the fault is rectified.
Do any of the above remain lit.?

When I initially start my computer, I believe sometimes 2 blink, and some other times, one or the other blinks. It changes sometimes before I finally get it to run properly.

Blinking LEDs during the Post cycle is OK. It is when any of the debug LEDs remain lit that is of concern.
If you are continuing to have a black screen and have to jiggle the power cable then you have a poor connection, so check all cabling and connections and switch out any that are suspect.

 

[xephos]

What if the gpu led stays lit?

 

[MeanMachine41]

What if the gpu led stays lit?

If it's the VGA_LED that stays lit then you have a problem with your GPU, contamination in the port or cable connections.
Try the card in a different PCIe slot or test the card in another system.

You also have iGPU with both Display port and HDMI connection ports from your rear IO panel. Give that a try to test output to your monitor and see if that works OK.

 

[xephos]

What if the gpu led stays lit?

If it's the VGA_LED that stays lit then you have a problem with your GPU, contamination in the port or cable connections.
Try the card in a different PCIe slot or test the card in another system.

You also have iGPU with both Display port and HDMI connection ports from your rear IO panel. Give that a try to test output to your monitor and see if that works OK.

Swapped locations and on first try, it worked! If problem comes up again, I'll return here. But thanks!

 

[MeanMachine41]

What if the gpu led stays lit?

If it's the VGA_LED that stays lit then you have a problem with your GPU, contamination in the port or cable connections.
Try the card in a different PCIe slot or test the card in another system.

You also have iGPU with both Display port and HDMI connection ports from your rear IO panel. Give that a try to test output to your monitor and see if that works OK.

Swapped locations and on first try, it worked! If problem comes up again, I'll return here. But thanks!

Your Welcome xephos and glad you have it sorted. You could try to blow out the PCIe slot with compressed air from a canister, just incase some dust or contaminant is present. Only do this ofc with the system PSU turned off.

 

[xephos]

What if the gpu led stays lit?

If it's the VGA_LED that stays lit then you have a problem with your GPU, contamination in the port or cable connections.
Try the card in a different PCIe slot or test the card in another system.

You also have iGPU with both Display port and HDMI connection ports from your rear IO panel. Give that a try to test output to your monitor and see if that works OK.

Swapped locations and on first try, it worked! If problem comes up again, I'll return here. But thanks!

Your Welcome xephos and glad you have it sorted. You could try to blow out the PCIe slot with compressed air from a canister, just incase some dust or contaminant is present. Only do this ofc with the system PSU turned off.

of course. Thanks again!

 

[xephos]

What if the gpu led stays lit?

If it's the VGA_LED that stays lit then you have a problem with your GPU, contamination in the port or cable connections.
Try the card in a different PCIe slot or test the card in another system.

You also have iGPU with both Display port and HDMI connection ports from your rear IO panel. Give that a try to test output to your monitor and see if that works OK.

Swapped locations and on first try, it worked! If problem comes up again, I'll return here. But thanks!

Your Welcome xephos and glad you have it sorted. You could try to blow out the PCIe slot with compressed air from a canister, just incase some dust or contaminant is present. Only do this ofc with the system PSU turned off.

Hey man, so issue came back. This time, solid red on either GPU or DRAM LED. Sometimes on Boot. Does that mean that there is either a connectivity issue to those hardware or the power isn't enough to power them all?

 

[MeanMachine41]

These are your Post State LEDs for your MB.

If it's the one directly below the CPU that is lit red then there is an issue with your Processor.
If this is the case then you will have to inspect the CPU socket for bent pins.
Refer to your manual and identify the offending LED that is lit red.?

Your PSU has enough power to power them all so long as it is functioning correctly and that all cables and connections are OK. The only way to really test this is to swap the unit out with a known working unit of the same or higher Wattage.

 

[xephos]

These are your Post State LEDs for your MB.

If it's the one directly below the CPU that is lit red then there is an issue with your Processor.
If this is the case then you will have to inspect the CPU socket for bent pins.
Refer to your manual and identify the offending LED that is lit red.?

Your PSU has enough power to power them all so long as it is functioning correctly and that all cables and connections are OK. The only way to really test this is to swap the unit out with a known working unit of the same or higher Wattage.

Confirmed, it is not the cpu. Initially, it is the vga for about half a minute, then either a minute in DRAM before boot or stays red on DRAM. In all these situations, its a solid red.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Ok that confirms it, You will have to test your RAM using Memtest86+ from a USB stick.
Download Memtest86+ to an empty USB and prioritize the USB in Bios. run the program on all modules for 3 passes and see if there are any errors. Make sure the Modules are seated well.

 

[xephos]

Ok that confirms it, You will have to test your RAM using Memtest86+ from a USB stick.
Download Memtest86+ to an empty USB and prioritize the USB in Bios. run the program on all modules for 3 passes and see if there are any errors. Make sure the Modules are seated well.

Just to clarify, when I said "DRAM before boot", I meant that the boot led is then solid, not my computer booting.

How do I get to bios if I don't even see the screen or prompt to access the bios settings?

 

[MeanMachine41]

You should try clearing your CMOS and try with just one RAM module in the first slot.
Also try switching modules into different slots as one may be failing.
If that don't work then test the modules in another system or try another kit of RAM that are specific for your MB.

 

[xephos]

You should try clearing your CMOS and try with just one RAM module in the first slot.
Also try switching modules into different slots as one may be failing.
If that don't work then test the modules in another system or try another kit of RAM that are specific for your MB.

Cleared the CMOS and placed the RAM in the recommended slot my manual said. However, it still ended up at the last LED, being the Boot Device LED. If anything, does that mean the main issue is the boot device connection?

 

[MeanMachine41]

OK then if post stops at the Boot Device_Led then the issue is your disk.
Again if you can, do a CHKDSK on your drive in another system. If the drive is OK, then I don't know what the issue is.
This seems to be going nowhere as the problem is going from one to the other.
In which case, either the MB is faulty, the CPU, or your PSU is the problem.
At this point I recommend you Benchtest (Breadboard) the system out of the case.
Have the system in minimalist state then add one component at a time till the culprit is found.

 

[xephos]

OK then if post stops at the Boot Device_Led then the issue is your disk.
Again if you can, do a CHKDSK on your drive in another system. If the drive is OK, then I don't know what the issue is.
This seems to be going nowhere as the problem is going from one to the other.
In which case, either the MB is faulty, the CPU, or your PSU is the problem.
At this point I recommend you Benchtest (Breadboard) the system out of the case.
Have the system in minimalist state then add one component at a time till the culprit is found.

I know the PSU isn't the issue. I just bought one today and plugged it into the CPU and the mobo only and so far still blinks back at the boot. I powered the boot drive and connected it and still gives me the same issue. I'll go ahead and breadboard it and reply to let you know what happened.

 

[xephos]

So while breadboarding with one stick of RAM, I did it with and withouthe RAM test. Without it, RAM led is on solid.

Then placed it in a slot, it jumps to different leds before stopping on Boot Device LED. Switched slots, same result.

So, like you said, it has to do with the boot device probably. I'll take your advice and update here if I find anything odd.

 

[xephos]

So after doing the chkdsk, I got this on my prompt. I'm not an expert on this part but it seems to have run perfectly fine?

http://imgur.com/zZEOj0S

 

[MeanMachine41]

So after doing the chkdsk, I got this on my prompt. I'm not an expert on this part but it seems to have run perfectly fine?

http://imgur.com/zZEOj0S

Yep, No problem with your disk.

 

[xephos]

So after doing the chkdsk, I got this on my prompt. I'm not an expert on this part but it seems to have run perfectly fine?

http://imgur.com/zZEOj0S

Yep, No problem with your disk.

So based off of what the mobo is telling me, it's still the boot, but I just confirmed that it's not. So either cable faulty (on all three cables?) or the mobo gone bad?

 

[rayaddair]

Hi xephos

You have four debug LEDs of concern xephos which are listed on page 1-36 in your MB manual.
The PWR_LED will always be lit indicating power to the MB.

You then have POST state LEDs for RAM, CPU, VGA and Boot device.
Should any of the above remain lit, Post will not advance till the fault is rectified.
Do any of the above remain lit.?

Similar issues...hoping you can help...
I have had my Z97-A system for several years and have had little or no issues with it. today it will not post and The DRAM, VGA, CPU, and Boot Device LEDs are all flashing red. Fans are running although I can hear them cycling faster and slower. Upon power on the CPU light immediately comes on and stays briefly on (3 seconds ) while the DRAM flashes once, then DRAM comes on steady for about three seconds while the CPU goes off. Then the CPU comes on steady (maybe a second), the DRAM flashes one more time, Then the VGA comes on for about 2 seconds then (all about a second) CPU, DRAM and back to VGA for 2 seconds, then The LEDs seem to be flashing a pattern: Boot Device, CPU, DRAM VGA . short short short long.
I've looked but can't seem to find a list of codes, and I'm not hearing any beeps at all. I am hoping it's just a power supply going bad...but I have no real idea...sorry for the long drawn out description, but I wasn't sure what would help so I tried to give more than enough. I have a video of the lights if that would help.
Obviously, any help you might be able to give would be much appreciated.
Happy Friday and thanks.

 

[MeanMachine41]

@rayaddair. Always best to start your own thread rather than hyjack another's.

There are no codes associated with the LEDs. So long as the associated LED blinks and then goes out then there is no issue however if one stays lit then that is your culprit. You can only get beep codes with a MB speaker attached.
Try clearing or updating Bios.
Test with another kit of RAM that are known to work and listed on the MB QVL.