- Apr 6, 2016
- 2
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- 1,510
I am building a new gaming rig and am experiencing the following issue: when attempting a first boot and powering the machine on, all fans begin to spin and light their LEDs, the Q-Code LEDs indicate 00, the PSU clicks, and then after a second, everything loses power. About five seconds later, this process repeats. In essence, the machine will not POST and stays in a reboot loop.
Full disclaimer: I'm a life long gamer and have been present for several gaming rig builds, but up until my last computer, it was my father doing most of the work, and me observing. Four years ago, it was mostly me doing the work, and him observing. This machine is my first solo build, so given the troubleshooting steps listed below, I am really hoping that I missed something obvious.
I'm really not the type to make these sorts of posts, but I am at my wits end trying to troubleshoot this on my own. My apologies in advance for being long winded, just trying to cover all the bases. You'll see that I cover all the steps within my troubleshooting, but I reference the Tom's Hardware guide to troubleshoot machines that won't POST (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems) to begin most of my troubleshooting.
Before we get into what steps I've already taken, here are the specs of the machine:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zLKfYJ
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard: Asus ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro Platinum 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Case Fan: Antec True Quiet 120 BLUE 35.3 CFM 120mm Fan
Case Fan: Antec True Quiet 120 BLUE 35.3 CFM 120mm Fan
Surge Protector: Tripp Lite 10 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip Tel/Modem/Coax 8ft Cord (TLP1008TELTV)
For what it is worth, the PSU is bigger than necessary for future SLI plans.
Here are the steps that I have taken both during the build and during troubleshooting, in approximate order and complete with as much likely unnecessary detail as possible in case any of it is relevant:
1. Install PSU into case.
2. Install SSD into case.
3. Install Optical Drive into case.
4. Get motherboard out of box. Set motherboard's cardboard box on floor. Set anti-static bag that the motherboard shipped on top of on the cardboard box. Set motherboard on top of anti-static bag.
5. Install memory in the two gray slots (2 and 4, working from CPU to edge).
6. Get CPU out of box. Observe that no visible defects are present.
7. Lift CPU socket cover on motherboard. Observe that no bent pins or other visible defects are present.
8. Gently install CPU while holding it only by the edge until it is in place on top of the pins.
9. Lower CPU lid into place using lever. This requires more force than I expected, but it goes and the cover pops off as expected.
10. Insert studs for CPU cooler.
11. Mount back bracket onto studs on the rear of the motherboard.
12. Use provided tool with screwdriver to tighten bracket to studs with washers. Be careful not to over tighten.
13. Set up CPU cooler with screw brace in center and in proper position to mount to studs.
14. Apply a small amount of thermal paste to CPU.
15. Remove plastic cover on CPU cooler.
16. Mount CPU cooler on CPU. Screw CPU cooler screws into studs, working five turns of the screwdriver to each screw in a star pattern until screws bottom out (indicated in tutorial videos I watched).
17. Place motherboard I/O panel.
18. Observe that the case only has 6 standoffs installed. Verify that they are in the proper position. Add 3 more standoffs in the proper positions.
19. Verify that no other cords, pieces of metal, or outcroppings of case are in the way of the motherboard.
20. Mount motherboard in I/O panel and on top of standoffs.
21. Use screws to secure motherboard, being careful not to over tighten.
22. Notice that one small fan cable did end up slightly under the motherboard, near the bottom right. Gently remove it.
23. Plug in 20-pin motherboard power cable to PSU. Plug in additional 8-pin motherboard power cable to PSU, directly below the previous. Plug in 8-pin CPU power cable to PSU, directly below the previous.
24. Plug in 24-pin motherboard power cable to motherboard. Plug in 8-pin CPU power cable to motherboard.
25. Run SATA power cables from PSU to SSD and Optical Drive. SSD was particularly hard to plug in because I didn't want to unmount it. Got it in eventually.
26. Run SATA data cables from motherboard to SSD and Optical Drive.
27. Plug in case functions: power button, reset button, and HDD LED to the appropriate pins.
28. Plug in case HD audio to the appropriate pins.
29. Plug in case USB 3.0x2 to the appropriate socket. Plug in case USB 2.0 to the appropriate socket.
30. Plug in all chassis fans. Have to utilize CHA_FAN 1 through 4, as well as WATER_PUMP and CPU_OPT to fit them all.
31. Plug surge protector in to wall. Plug PSU power cable in to surge protector. Plug PSU power cable into PSU. Turn surge protector on. Turn PSU on.
32. Start computer using chassis power button. Observe issue described above.
33. Turn PSU off after 20ish cycles. Observe that one more cycle attempts to start shortly after, but truncates as the PSU winds down.
34. Turn off surge protector. Unplug PSU power cable from PSU. This step is repeated after every boot attempt and before any hardware changes, and is omitted from here on out.
35. Begin troubleshooting. A boot is attempted after all of the following steps. Observe that no hardware problem LEDs or MemOK LEDs light up during boot loop. Do lots and lots of googling for troubleshooting ideas of people having similar problems. Rarely find this exact problem described. Also read motherboard and PSU manuals cover to cover.
36. Tried to boot with one stick of memory. Tried both sticks of memory in each of the four slots.
37. Tried to boot with no memory.
38. Try various combos of chassis power button, reset button, and HDD LED pins. Settle on leaving them all unplugged, begin using Start button on motherboard to boot machine.
39. Disconnect all cables from motherboard and PSU except for motherboard, CPU, and CPU fan power. All of the following troubleshooting steps are conducted like this unless indicated otherwise.
40. Tried booting with LN-2 jumper enabled. Tried booting with Slow Mode jumper enabled. Tried booting with both enabled.
41. Tried booting using Safe Boot option.
42. Tried using ReTry button during boot loop.
43. Tried using Reset button during boot loop.
44. Loosened motherboard screws.
45. Loosened CPU cooler back bracket.
46. Tried booting without CPU fan plugged in.
47. Tried resetting CMOS with Reset CMOS button on motherboard I/O panel.
48. Tried resetting CMOS by removing motherboard battery, waiting ten minutes, and replacing.
49. Tried removing motherboard from case and again placing it atop the anti-static bag and cardboard box. All of the following troubleshooting steps are conducted like this unless indicated otherwise.
50. Remove CPU cooler, including studs and back bracket from motherboard. Leave CPU fan plugged in.
51. Unplug CPU fan.
52. Unmount CPU. Observe that no thermal paste got anywhere it shouldn't be. Observe no visible defects to CPU. Observe no bent pins or other visible defects to CPU socket. Replace CPU and try again.
53. Decide that either the PSU, motherboard, or CPU must be bad, and return all three to Amazon, getting exact replacements for all three.
54. Repeat steps 4-32 (excluding 22). Note that it went much quicker and much smoother the second time around. I also used ASUS's CPU installation kit to install the CPU this time. I had to clean the top of the CPU with 99.9% isopropyl alcohol and a coffee filter after installation because I managed to smudge it a bit. I used the same solution to clean off the previous application of thermal compound on the CPU cooler.
55. Do more research. Find an Amazon review of the PSU that indicates it may need a larger load and/or closed case to work properly (http://www.amazon.com/review/R21S6KYSYENF1A/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B007F9X9OI&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=541966&store=pc). Plug GPU into PSU and motherboard to try to accomplish this. Also close the case up. No luck.
56. Do further research and convince myself I may have used poor screws to secure the motherboard. Swap them all out for a different set. I've since decided this was a bad decision and will go back to the original set once the machine starts working.
57. Test PSU with paper clip method. PSU passes test successfully.
58. Run out of new things to try as further research doesn't turn up anything I haven't already read.
Again, the machine has never behaved any differently - always the exact same result, no matter what I do. I thought for sure I was just unlucky and got a bad component, but after returning them to Amazon and getting brand new components but the same exact issue, I know that it must be something I am doing wrong. Unfortunately, I have no spare components to test with.
Any help is appreciated, and I'm sure I missed some detail that I should have covered - I'll be happy to provide whatever additional detail is requested. Thank you so much for your time!
Full disclaimer: I'm a life long gamer and have been present for several gaming rig builds, but up until my last computer, it was my father doing most of the work, and me observing. Four years ago, it was mostly me doing the work, and him observing. This machine is my first solo build, so given the troubleshooting steps listed below, I am really hoping that I missed something obvious.
I'm really not the type to make these sorts of posts, but I am at my wits end trying to troubleshoot this on my own. My apologies in advance for being long winded, just trying to cover all the bases. You'll see that I cover all the steps within my troubleshooting, but I reference the Tom's Hardware guide to troubleshoot machines that won't POST (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems) to begin most of my troubleshooting.
Before we get into what steps I've already taken, here are the specs of the machine:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zLKfYJ
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard: Asus ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro Platinum 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Case Fan: Antec True Quiet 120 BLUE 35.3 CFM 120mm Fan
Case Fan: Antec True Quiet 120 BLUE 35.3 CFM 120mm Fan
Surge Protector: Tripp Lite 10 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip Tel/Modem/Coax 8ft Cord (TLP1008TELTV)
For what it is worth, the PSU is bigger than necessary for future SLI plans.
Here are the steps that I have taken both during the build and during troubleshooting, in approximate order and complete with as much likely unnecessary detail as possible in case any of it is relevant:
1. Install PSU into case.
2. Install SSD into case.
3. Install Optical Drive into case.
4. Get motherboard out of box. Set motherboard's cardboard box on floor. Set anti-static bag that the motherboard shipped on top of on the cardboard box. Set motherboard on top of anti-static bag.
5. Install memory in the two gray slots (2 and 4, working from CPU to edge).
6. Get CPU out of box. Observe that no visible defects are present.
7. Lift CPU socket cover on motherboard. Observe that no bent pins or other visible defects are present.
8. Gently install CPU while holding it only by the edge until it is in place on top of the pins.
9. Lower CPU lid into place using lever. This requires more force than I expected, but it goes and the cover pops off as expected.
10. Insert studs for CPU cooler.
11. Mount back bracket onto studs on the rear of the motherboard.
12. Use provided tool with screwdriver to tighten bracket to studs with washers. Be careful not to over tighten.
13. Set up CPU cooler with screw brace in center and in proper position to mount to studs.
14. Apply a small amount of thermal paste to CPU.
15. Remove plastic cover on CPU cooler.
16. Mount CPU cooler on CPU. Screw CPU cooler screws into studs, working five turns of the screwdriver to each screw in a star pattern until screws bottom out (indicated in tutorial videos I watched).
17. Place motherboard I/O panel.
18. Observe that the case only has 6 standoffs installed. Verify that they are in the proper position. Add 3 more standoffs in the proper positions.
19. Verify that no other cords, pieces of metal, or outcroppings of case are in the way of the motherboard.
20. Mount motherboard in I/O panel and on top of standoffs.
21. Use screws to secure motherboard, being careful not to over tighten.
22. Notice that one small fan cable did end up slightly under the motherboard, near the bottom right. Gently remove it.
23. Plug in 20-pin motherboard power cable to PSU. Plug in additional 8-pin motherboard power cable to PSU, directly below the previous. Plug in 8-pin CPU power cable to PSU, directly below the previous.
24. Plug in 24-pin motherboard power cable to motherboard. Plug in 8-pin CPU power cable to motherboard.
25. Run SATA power cables from PSU to SSD and Optical Drive. SSD was particularly hard to plug in because I didn't want to unmount it. Got it in eventually.
26. Run SATA data cables from motherboard to SSD and Optical Drive.
27. Plug in case functions: power button, reset button, and HDD LED to the appropriate pins.
28. Plug in case HD audio to the appropriate pins.
29. Plug in case USB 3.0x2 to the appropriate socket. Plug in case USB 2.0 to the appropriate socket.
30. Plug in all chassis fans. Have to utilize CHA_FAN 1 through 4, as well as WATER_PUMP and CPU_OPT to fit them all.
31. Plug surge protector in to wall. Plug PSU power cable in to surge protector. Plug PSU power cable into PSU. Turn surge protector on. Turn PSU on.
32. Start computer using chassis power button. Observe issue described above.
33. Turn PSU off after 20ish cycles. Observe that one more cycle attempts to start shortly after, but truncates as the PSU winds down.
34. Turn off surge protector. Unplug PSU power cable from PSU. This step is repeated after every boot attempt and before any hardware changes, and is omitted from here on out.
35. Begin troubleshooting. A boot is attempted after all of the following steps. Observe that no hardware problem LEDs or MemOK LEDs light up during boot loop. Do lots and lots of googling for troubleshooting ideas of people having similar problems. Rarely find this exact problem described. Also read motherboard and PSU manuals cover to cover.
36. Tried to boot with one stick of memory. Tried both sticks of memory in each of the four slots.
37. Tried to boot with no memory.
38. Try various combos of chassis power button, reset button, and HDD LED pins. Settle on leaving them all unplugged, begin using Start button on motherboard to boot machine.
39. Disconnect all cables from motherboard and PSU except for motherboard, CPU, and CPU fan power. All of the following troubleshooting steps are conducted like this unless indicated otherwise.
40. Tried booting with LN-2 jumper enabled. Tried booting with Slow Mode jumper enabled. Tried booting with both enabled.
41. Tried booting using Safe Boot option.
42. Tried using ReTry button during boot loop.
43. Tried using Reset button during boot loop.
44. Loosened motherboard screws.
45. Loosened CPU cooler back bracket.
46. Tried booting without CPU fan plugged in.
47. Tried resetting CMOS with Reset CMOS button on motherboard I/O panel.
48. Tried resetting CMOS by removing motherboard battery, waiting ten minutes, and replacing.
49. Tried removing motherboard from case and again placing it atop the anti-static bag and cardboard box. All of the following troubleshooting steps are conducted like this unless indicated otherwise.
50. Remove CPU cooler, including studs and back bracket from motherboard. Leave CPU fan plugged in.
51. Unplug CPU fan.
52. Unmount CPU. Observe that no thermal paste got anywhere it shouldn't be. Observe no visible defects to CPU. Observe no bent pins or other visible defects to CPU socket. Replace CPU and try again.
53. Decide that either the PSU, motherboard, or CPU must be bad, and return all three to Amazon, getting exact replacements for all three.
54. Repeat steps 4-32 (excluding 22). Note that it went much quicker and much smoother the second time around. I also used ASUS's CPU installation kit to install the CPU this time. I had to clean the top of the CPU with 99.9% isopropyl alcohol and a coffee filter after installation because I managed to smudge it a bit. I used the same solution to clean off the previous application of thermal compound on the CPU cooler.
55. Do more research. Find an Amazon review of the PSU that indicates it may need a larger load and/or closed case to work properly (http://www.amazon.com/review/R21S6KYSYENF1A/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B007F9X9OI&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=541966&store=pc). Plug GPU into PSU and motherboard to try to accomplish this. Also close the case up. No luck.
56. Do further research and convince myself I may have used poor screws to secure the motherboard. Swap them all out for a different set. I've since decided this was a bad decision and will go back to the original set once the machine starts working.
57. Test PSU with paper clip method. PSU passes test successfully.
58. Run out of new things to try as further research doesn't turn up anything I haven't already read.
Again, the machine has never behaved any differently - always the exact same result, no matter what I do. I thought for sure I was just unlucky and got a bad component, but after returning them to Amazon and getting brand new components but the same exact issue, I know that it must be something I am doing wrong. Unfortunately, I have no spare components to test with.
Any help is appreciated, and I'm sure I missed some detail that I should have covered - I'll be happy to provide whatever additional detail is requested. Thank you so much for your time!
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