New PC build with Asus Z87-PRO Q-Code 00

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Hi everybody,

Yesterday I decided to build my first PC
Motherboard Asus Z87-PRO
CPU Intel i5 4670 LGA1150
Power Supply: SeaSonic XP860W
RAM: Kingston KVR16N11K2 (2x 8GB)
I don't have a graphic card installed, the board has 3 video output (VGA, DCI, HDMI)

Once every thing has been put together I went to turn the system on and it didn't turn on.
The system didn't POST and the monitor went on sleep mode

Here is what I tried to do and my observations:

• The PC doesn't go to POST
• CPU fan turns on - plugged into the 4 pin slot (yellow) at the top of the board next to the RAM
• Chassis fans don't turn on (plugged into the chassis-fan pins), they only have 3 pins but should turn on
• Removed all the RAM and no beep sound happened
• Moved the RAM to the other 2 slots
• Disconnected all peripherals (HDD etc) only left connected the motherboard power and CPU power
• Tried to update the BIOS but when inserting USB in the USB slot provided for the BIOS update, the red light on the USB drive flashes for 3 seconds and stops all activity, when pressing the BIOS_FLBK button nothing happens
• Power light is is on (red colour) on the motherboard - when powering up, the Q-code is 00 for not used (I read that it means the CPU doesn't talk to the motherboard)
• Checked the CPU connectors for any bent pin, they all all fine (as far as I can see)
• Motherboard Revision is 1.02
• Cannot get to the BIOS to check the BIOS revision
• I disconnected all the cables except for the motherboard and CPU power and still gives me the Q-Code 00

I have looked on Google all night and tried what people with a same issue have done to fix it, but it doesn't seem to apply to this case.
Have I missed something?
Is my motherboard faulty?
Is the CPU faulty?
Unfortunately I don't have the hardware to check if the CPU is working fine

I triple checked that all the connectors were properly connected from the power supply to the motherboard
Now I am running out of ideas, if somebody can shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated

Thank you in advance

Zarophase

 
Solution
You have to rename the file. But the CPU is supported, so flashing the BIOS would not solve the issue. So CPU or power supply. Probably the CPU.

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Hi Alexoiu,

I tried that too, but still nothing different.
I believe the motherboard is faulty or the CPU is faulty.
If the CPU was faulty though, wouldn't the chassis fan turn on when I power the system up?
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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I am not game enough to do the power supply paper clip test as my wires are all black, I'll try to find a PSU tester.
For connecting the case fan to the PSU I'll have to find adaptors as I don't have anything that could fit in the PSU cable as far as a fan is concerned
 

raja@asus

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Sep 28, 2011
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Code 00 is as you describe - CPU cannot be detected. Can also happen if EPS 12V cable is not plugged in or PSU issue.

For USB BIOS flashback to work, the USB flash drive MUST be FAT32 formatted with the UEFI file renamed accordingly for the motherboard (otherwise it won't work).

~Raja
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Hi guys,

I replaced the motherboard today and... same issue
Q code 00, no POST... CPU fan spinning case fans plugged into MOBO don't spin
With no RAM it doesn't even beeps...
I tested the Power Supply just in case and off load it is fine - could the PSU be faulty on load (light load though as only the CPU and MOBO were connected)
I tested the Power supply to see if the HDD would spin and it does spin

What would be the next step?
Replace the CPU?

For the build I followed this guide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUzdNcZeM-s I also bought the same PSU, MOBO and case
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Hi Raja,

I took the latest BIOS from the Asus website http://www.asus.com/support/CPU/1/45/Z87PRO/C20130529100831/ and they called the file Z87-PRO-ASUS-1707.CAP, I haven't changed the name as I assumed they would call it what the MOBO will be able to recognise. I formatted the USB flash drive in FAT32 and put the file in it but when I pressed the button for the bios flashback nothing happened
 

raja@asus

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Sep 28, 2011
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The file needs to be renamed for USB BIOS flashback - as it only recognizes a single name which is stored in a non-volatile section of an onboard EROM. The reason the UEFI versions are not in that name originally is because the suffix changes and it is impossible to inculde these suffixes into the ROM before they have been made (during board manufacture etc). Therefore each board is given a simple file name to look for...


There should be downloadable renamer in the download section for the board or believe it or not your motherboard manual (the thing most people don't read) should state it also. Without these steps the UEFI will NOT update as you have found out.

-Raja

 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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I'm still in 2 minds about being the CPU the culprit.
I still got the feeling that the motherboard doesn't get any power as the chassis fans are still not spinning.
I went to a shop to test the PSU and it was fine but with no load. I'll try the PSU on my old PC I finally found a connector with 4 pins for my old motherboard CPU power
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Tested the PSU on my old PC and it works, chassis fans turn on, PC boots etc... all normal

I packed the CPU and will return it to the shop, hoping that they will replace it after yesterday replacing the MOBO...
If the CPU is faulty, it still doesn't make any sense to me that the fans on the MOBO don't turn on when turning on the system, as I thought they were independend from CPU
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Can I just leave the mother board on the antistatic paper it was wrapped in?
What would be the best surface to put it on?
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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It works!!!
I went to replace the CPU and that was the faulty part. I took the opportunity to upgrade it to an i7 as well
I would like to thank you for your help and interest, I wasn't that far from driving the whole thing to my local PC shop and tell them to fix it (even if I didn't buy the parts from them)

I would also like to thank all the people from who I learnt the different troubleshooting steps, in fact I spent quite a few hours on this forum reading other peoples questions before posting this thread

At the end of the adventure if all the parts are working it is not that hard to put a PC together :)

Cheers,

Zarophase
 
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zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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Hi guys,

Have you ever experienced an issue with a CPU fan spinning when the system is laid down and not spinning when the system is sitting upright?
I posted another thread about this one http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1990836/asus-z87-pro-cpu-fan-spinning.html, but so far no luck
If you have experienced this issue or any kind of testing advice would be great

Cheers,
Zaro
 

zarophase

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Jan 18, 2014
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No, I wasn't provided with washers in the case (neither the motherboard box nor the chassi box)
I haven't used the metal hex nuts either as not provided in the box. But my chassis has got raised bits where the motherboard's screws go in.