Error code ''00'' (sometimes)

[John_399]

Hello.

So I'm having a problem here, since I built my new pc 2 months ago I noticed sometimes when I cold boot my pc, it won't post, I'm not getting any screen signal and the LED screen on my motherboard gives me a ''00'' code, (all the fans, led lights of the mobo and cpu cooler etc are working). When I turn the pc off by holding the power button and boot the pc everything works fine again.

And it will work and boot fine till the next random moment this problem will occur. That's the most strange part... It means nothing died as most of the time it will boot normally. And also the pc works perfect, getting great temps, great performance, great benchmark result, It's fast and smooth.

It's maybe also worth noting that sometimes when I get the 00 code, after restarting the pc I get a message on my screen '' Overclocking failed please enter setup'' So I enter the bios trough setup, restart the pc without changing anything, and again works fine and keeps working fine.

Everthing is stock I have nothing overclocked. Also the ram is 3333mhz 1.35volt with xmp settings. I tried turning XMP off and let the ram run auto at 2133mhz, made no difference.

My specs:
Motherboard: Asus Maximus Hero VIII
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k (stock)
PSU: Coolermaster 750v full modular
GPU: MSI 1080 Gaming x
Cpu cooler: Corsair h100i v2
Ram: Corsair vengeance LPX @ 3333mhz

 

[hiyabusared]

Usually a 00 code means hardware failure. Have you checked all connectors and ram are seated tight? Also a random idea have you updated the bios to the latest for that motherboard? Another thing I see you put the "overclocking failed" have you checked in bios to make sure the board is not auto setting the overclock feature?

 

[MeanMachine41]

Have you by any chance installed AISuite.?
Are your DIMMs listed on the ASUS QVL for your MB.?
What Bios version are you on.?

Qcode 00 is not documented, so it can be one of many things and googling around will show many trouble shoots regarding this fault. Worst cases are when POST halts on Qcode 00 however, as your system boots and gets the "Overclocking failed please enter setup" message, It is most probably due to Bios settings in relation to the DIMMs you are using. There is no guarantee that the Primary Timings of your XMP profile will work and play fair with the IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) on your chip as 3333MHz is considered an OC.
You can try running at a lower dram frequency however, that is not a good solution really.
If this continues, I recommend to try a Kit at say 2800MHz that have been tested. There is little to gain using higher frequency DIMMs (performance wise) but it may make all the difference.

 

[John_399]

Usually a 00 code means hardware failure. Have you checked all connectors and ram are seated tight? Also a random idea have you updated the bios to the latest for that motherboard? Another thing I see you put the "overclocking failed" have you checked in bios to make sure the board is not auto setting the overclock feature?

Yes, I've checked it all, even unplugged them and put them back in. I'm running the latest bios.
What do you exactly mean by the bios setting the auto overclock feature, you mean for my ram or? As far as I know the ram now runs on stock speed 2133Mhz. Used to run 3333Mhz with xmp off, but turned xmp off to see if it would solve the problem.

Have you by any chance installed AISuite.?
Are your DIMMs listed on the ASUS QVL for your MB.?
What Bios version are you on.?

Qcode 00 is not documented, so it can be one of many things and googling around will show many trouble shoots regarding this fault. Worst cases are when POST halts on Qcode 00 however, as your system boots and gets the "Overclocking failed please enter setup" message, It is most probably due to Bios settings in relation to the DIMMs you are using. There is no guarantee that the Primary Timings of your XMP profile will work and play fair with the IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) on your chip as 3333MHz is considered an OC.
You can try running at a lower dram frequency however, that is not a good solution really.
If this continues, I recommend to try a Kit at say 2800MHz that have been tested. There is little to gain using higher frequency DIMMs (performance wise) but it may make all the difference.

No, they are not listed on the QVL for my mb, I'm running bios version : 2202. I already tried running the ram at 2133Mhz, however this is on 1.2volt instead of 1.35volt which the xmp settings used to use.

But if the hardware would be the issue, how can it be that my computer runs flawless? And the 00 code with no signal, no post happens like 2/10 times when I turn on my pc. So most of the time it will boot normal. Also never heaving any issues while using the pc. Never got an error during usage, even left the pc on the whole night for rendering a long video, no problems at all. And that's quite a ram and cpu intensive task.

 

[hiyabusared]

By a slim chance did you somehow change the timings on the ram? The link I provided is someone who managed to figure out this error but again not guaranteed from what I read.

http://sanuja.com/blog/how-to-fix-overclocking-failed-error

 

[MeanMachine41]

Like I said, Qcode 00 can be triggered for a number of reasons and can be a lengthy trouble shoot.

In your case however, your system runs flawlessly once a successful POST has been done so it probably is during POST when initialization of some hardware is failing on occasion. I don't think you have a hardware issue but can't rule that out 100%.

Do any of the MB LEDs light up on the MB when it fails to post.? This will narrow the issue down.
You have 4 LEDs for troubleshooting. Boot device_LED, VGA_LED, Dram_LED and CPU_LED.
Page 126 of your MB manual. they all have different colors.
If QCode 00 happens again, see if one of those lights up and stays on.

It could just require a slight increase to system agent voltage or boot up voltage.

 

[John_399]

Thankyou for replying!
I will try and pay attention to it. I tried to force the error be turning the pc completely off, and booting it up again many times. After like 25 tries, no error happened..

And now it gets even more interested, I think I found a pattern. I slept with my window open this night, so it was quite cold in my room. When I cold booted the pc i had the error code 3 times in a row. Had to turn it on and off 3 times before it finally booted. Could be pure coincidence, but I do remember that it's giving me more error on boot while the pc is very cold. That maybe explains why I couldn't force the error even after trying 25 times, because the pc was warm.

Could it be that a sensor could give me less voltage perhaps too little at a certain temperature?

Also maybe worth noting that the voltages for cpu etc. are set on ''auto'' in the bios. I see the VID around 1.250-1.290v when I turn High performance settings in windows on. with sometimes jumping to ove 1.35 volt, and a max VID of 1.406volt.

I've read that more ppl are having this on z170 chipset as the skylake cpu's don't really have a ''default'' voltage. But maybe this could cause some problems at boot? Maybe it gets too little are way too much voltage at boot because of the auto setting that it sometimes won't boot?

Would make sense to me as on auto the voltage always fluctuate, so that would explain why the boot error isn't happening all the time...

Any ideas?

 

[John_399]

This morning I got it again, noned of the 4 Q led were on.

 

[MeanMachine41]

VID is the reference voltage programmed into the CPU. VID chooses its own voltage at a given frequency (when set to auto). Vcore is what you use to set a fixed Voltage manually.

Vcore or core voltage can be read from CPUz. VID can be found using Core Temp or HWMonitor.

 

[John_399]

VID is the reference voltage programmed into the CPU. VID chooses its own voltage at a given frequency (when set to auto). Vcore is what you use to set a fixed Voltage manually.

Vcore or core voltage can be read from CPUz. VID can be found using Core Temp or HWMonitor.

Thanks, and could setting a fixed voltage manually help preventing my error problems?
Got the same code this morning, I watched the MB leds, but none of them turned on during error code 00.

 

[MeanMachine41]

What target frequency are you trying for John.?
Do not set Vcore above 1.4V max.
No guarantee it will work but if no LEDs stay on then its not a hardware problem and Bios settings are usually what the problem is.

Because QCode 00 is undocumented it is a large flag and can also be a short to MB standoffs.
If it continues then the only way is to Benchtest out of your Case in a minimalist state where you add hardware components one at a time till the culprit is found.

Here is a full checklist if you benchtest: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1893016/post-system-boot-video-output-troubleshooting-checklist.html

My instincts tells me its RAM related so you might try loosening Primary Timings or frequency of you DIMMs. Also check the Dram Voltage.
Also, Do you have the latest Bios installed.?

 

[John_399]

Well, I'm currently not trying to overclock. But I do plan to do it in the future, I'd first like to fix the problems I have at the moment. It would be grate if I could hit 4.8 Ghz, although I know I have to be lucky for that.

I also was thinking that it was the ram at first time.. The timings are: 16-18-18-36 @ 1.344v. Those are the timings mentioned by the manufacturer of the DIMMs. I tried giving the ram 1.36Volt, as it needs 1.35v, but only got 1.344v so I thought shortage of volt was the problem, but this was not the case, I'm still getting the sam error sometimes.

Also tried the ram at stock frequency with 1.2v, also didn't work. Do you have any advice on loosening the Timings?

 

[John_399]

So I tried 2666Mhz @ 1.35v, and again the 00 error with no signal on screen... I left my windows open again, it always happens when my pc is very cold. Had to restart the pc 4 times in a row before it booted normally... How can it be that it always happens when the pc is very cold? For instance right now it's impossible for me to force the error, no matteer how many times I turn it on and off, because it's heated up.

This is very frustrating, what the hell does the temperature of my cpu has to do with not wanting to boot... This is so ridiculous, my hardware is all perfect, works like a charm yet something is fucking with me...

Anyways thanks for trying to help me! Got any suggestions about the temperature + no boot problem?

 

[MeanMachine41]

What room temperatures are we talking about here John.?
The only other case I have read about where this was happening when the system was cold was due to condensation that built up in the HDD. When swapped out it booted fine. I doubt that is it however it can't be ruled out.

I'm running out of ideas as your current timings are pretty loose and the only thing I can suggest is to swap out your DIMMs with another kit. Try a kit of Corsair or GSkill 2133MHz to test and see if indeed it is the RAM you are using. Not all retailers will accept a return on RAM but some do. Can you return yours.? Its the only way to rule out that possibility.

Here is a link to the ASUS QVL for your MB that list tested kits.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/MAXIMUS_VIII_HERO/4L-DRAM_QVL_table_0615.pdf?_ga=1.4826737.314115640.1477645401