[SOLVED] Bad Mobo or bad PSU?

drwhang

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May 30, 2014
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Hello. I have an old Asus maximus hero VII that I decided to make use of. It was given as a gift but was never opened since it was given to me. Finally had the time to make use of it after all these years. Unfortunately, this happens when trying to start. Doesn't boot, no POST sound or anything. Thoughts?

View: https://youtu.be/rBZxnvPaMRw

That pattern just keeps repeating. Tried removing video card, RAM, and reseating the CMOS battery. Same thing. Could it be the PSU?

Asus Maximus Hero VII
i7-4790k
Seasonic Prime TX-850 850W
Kingston HyperX Fury 2 x 8gb 1866 mHz

Also, admittedly, first time building a PC from scratch. I've always tinkered with my other pc before, but literally first time I built one myself.
 
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Solution
No Post, no boot checklist

Your CPU and Memory are in that motherboard's support list.
Did all of these components (CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU) except for the motherboard worked previously?
If that was the case, I suspect the problem is in the motherboard but its hard to tell exactly.

It was given as a gift
Not being paranoid, but there must be a reason behind this. Was it tested by the sender? Was it even working before he gave it to you?

I suspect that whoever gave the motherboard to you flashed its BIOS to another version or flashed the BIOS inappropriately, resulting in a motherboard brick.
I cannot find any PSA or major issues about this board, other than a few leads...
No Post, no boot checklist

Your CPU and Memory are in that motherboard's support list.
Did all of these components (CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU) except for the motherboard worked previously?
If that was the case, I suspect the problem is in the motherboard but its hard to tell exactly.

It was given as a gift
Not being paranoid, but there must be a reason behind this. Was it tested by the sender? Was it even working before he gave it to you?

I suspect that whoever gave the motherboard to you flashed its BIOS to another version or flashed the BIOS inappropriately, resulting in a motherboard brick.
I cannot find any PSA or major issues about this board, other than a few leads:

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?91801-Asus-Maximus-VII-hero-not-booting
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?89523-Maximus-viii-Hero-Alpha-No-Bios-or-Post
 
Solution

drwhang

Distinguished
May 30, 2014
16
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18,515
Did all of these components (CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU) except for the motherboard worked previously?

I honestly have not tested them. Had the board for a while now, so just bought parts for it. I don't have my old pc now since I moved, so I have no way of testing the other components separately. I wouldn't be surprised if the board was working before, and died while in storage.

Thanks for the links! I'll go over them. I plan to remove the board and run it outside of the case just to be sure it's not being caused by some faulty wiring or what not. It was a noob mistake to not test the board on a test bench before putting it in the case.
 
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drwhang

Distinguished
May 30, 2014
16
1
18,515
No Post, no boot checklist

Your CPU and Memory are in that motherboard's support list.
Did all of these components (CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU) except for the motherboard worked previously?
If that was the case, I suspect the problem is in the motherboard but its hard to tell exactly.


Not being paranoid, but there must be a reason behind this. Was it tested by the sender? Was it even working before he gave it to you?

I suspect that whoever gave the motherboard to you flashed its BIOS to another version or flashed the BIOS inappropriately, resulting in a motherboard brick.
I cannot find any PSA or major issues about this board, other than a few leads:

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?91801-Asus-Maximus-VII-hero-not-booting
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?89523-Maximus-viii-Hero-Alpha-No-Bios-or-Post

Sadly, I really think it is the board. I took it out, only put the bare essentials. Same behavior.

PSU is definitely working. I attached the fans and used the tester, fans are running.

I took out the noctua heat sink and the processor, same lighting pattern and behavior from the board. Damn. This is so heart breaking.
 
Concept of isolation.
If everything else works except the board, then the board is faulty/there is a problem with the board.
There must be some reason why he/she gave it to you, for free
Nothing in this world comes for free I guess..

If you're willing, have that board tested out on a PC repair shop - let them install their components and see if they can get it to work.
If they can't too as well, then that's another +1 vote to the board being faulty.

If you want an even more in-depth try, go to a BIOS flashing service center and see if they can read the BIOS off this board and try to flash it.
If they cannot read the BIOS chip from the motherboard, it may be faulty and they'll need to order a specific replacement from it off from ebay
If they can read the BIOS chip, then they can flash it to a BIOS version that works with your CPU.
 
Last edited:

drwhang

Distinguished
May 30, 2014
16
1
18,515
Concept of isolation.
If everything else works except the board, then the board is faulty/there is a problem with the board.
There must be some reason why he/she gave it to you, for free
Nothing in this world comes for free I guess..

If you're willing, have that board tested out on a PC repair shop - let them install their components and see if they can get it to work.
If they can't too as well, then that's another +1 vote to the board being faulty.

If you want an even more in-depth try, go to a BIOS flashing service center and see if they can read the BIOS off this board and try to flash it.
If they cannot read the BIOS chip from the motherboard, it may be faulty and they'll need to order a specific replacement from it off from ebay
If they can read the BIOS chip, then they can flash it to a BIOS version that works with your CPU.

Ohh nice nice. I'll try to look for centers that can fix motherboards. Didn't realize those still exist in an era where most things are disposable now

Thank you!