Question Odd system behaviour

[cheephy]

I completed my PC build a little over two years ago, and it's had various problems ever since the start in different ways. Sorry for making it so long, just not easily explainable.

Problem 1: VGA Light and No Display During Boot​

The first-ever boot of the PC went fine, nothing to complain about. I was able to go into the BIOS and insert my Windows installation media to install Windows. This is when problems started to show. During the reboot to get into the installation media on my USB, the PC didn't get display. The white VGA light on my motherboard lit up, even though I had the same exact boot code as before. It required a force shutdown by the power button to continue the setup because nothing worked at all.

After restarting, I managed to get into the first Windows installation media window without any problem and continued to install Windows onto my SSD. Problems then showed up again during the restart after the first phase. The same exact thing happened: VGA light on, no display. I didn't dare to force shut it down this time since it was in the middle of a Windows installation, so I continued to let it run. During this time, the PC restarted multiple times as the normal installation should. After over an hour of just letting it sit, I decided to force shut it down anyway because I saw no way of getting out of this. After starting the PC again, everything just worked normally; I got into the OOBE setup, and the PC worked fine.

After getting into Windows, I was able to do some tests. It turns out, every single time I restart my PC (or shut down and power on my pc quickly after), the VGA light goes off. However, what is interesting is that the boot code is still A0 (successful boot). Whenever booting straight into Windows, this isn't a problem as it somehow still gets a display after about 30 seconds, but this isn't the case for other boot scenarios.

I've been wanting to reset my Windows, so I tried using the "Advanced start" in the Windows settings to boot into my USB. To no surprise, it didn't work. I instead got the same boot code, A0, with a VGA light on. Instead of still getting a display after about 30 seconds, it just never does. I tried turning my screen on and off—nothing. I tried replugging the DP cable—nothing. I tried switching which port the cable was in—nothing. I tried an HDMI cable—nothing. I even tried the built-in graphics for my CPU—nothing. After about 5 minutes of testing everything I possibly could, I just tried pressing keys on my keyboard to potentially wake it up or something. That's when the PC showed some form of life again, but not as expected. The PC ONCE AGAIN restarted, going through all the boot lights other than VGA. After about 30 seconds of letting it sit at A0, it just magically booted into Windows. This is really weird behavior I've never seen or heard of, but it's fully replicable. I'd like to try and use a different screen and maybe that fixes this? But it feels unlikely at this point. Still gonna borrow a screen from a friend to try out.

Problem 2: Random GPU PCIe Light Flashing​

Yet another problem related to the GPU now. I haven't been able to replicate this consistently, but it happens randomly every few months. The times when it has happened have always been similar. After starting my PC after having it off for a night, the GPU PCIe lights start flashing red. Every time this happens, the PC is particularly slow to start, taking about 1 minute longer to start. It still boots into Windows like normal, without even the VGA lights on the motherboard lighting up, and works normally throughout. After shutting down the PC, the PCIe lights still blink red, and the only way to stop it is to switch the power supply on and off. It has ALWAYS been on boot that this happens.

Problem 3: INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE BSOD​

That's right, more issues. While starting my PC today after a night of having it off, it seemed to boot like normal, going through all the boot lights without any problem. But the boot code was different from usual. Instead of stopping at the usual A0, I got the boot code 20. Meanwhile, on the screen, it was showing the Windows loading icon like everything was fine, but the boot code still would not change. After a little over two minutes, I got a BSOD that I've never seen in my life. It had no QR code, no "x% complete". It just said, "Your device ran into an issue and needs to restart. It will restart for you." The stop code was "INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE". The PC restarted, which of course triggered problem number 1 with the VGA lights once again going off, but it still booted right into Windows like nothing had ever happened, with the same old A0 boot code. I believe this to be a problem with drivers in some way, but thanks to problem 1, it's basically impossible to reinstall Windows.

Troubleshooting​

• All RAM sticks are seated correctly.
• GPU is fully slotted in.
• All cables are fully plugged in (on both sides of the cable).
• Reset CMOS multiple times.

This is extremely frustrating as I really cannot figure out what the problem is, despite trying almost everything other than a BIOS update. I have no doubt that it will not change anything since none of my issues are mentioned in the change notes. I'll still be doing a BIOS update as soon as I have a USB to flash it with. 😒

Specs:​

• Windows 11 Home (newest update)
• All the latest drivers
• i9 12900K
• ASUS Strix 3080 Ti OC
• ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero
• Corsair 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 4800MHz CL40 Vengeance (Really should've upgraded this by now)
• Corsair MP600 PRO XT 2TB
• ASUS ROG Strix 1000W

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The sweet spot to the ram on that platform listed above is actually DDR5-6000MHz or slightly higher. As for your BIOS, flash to the latest version and then clear the CMOS. Clear your CMOS like so;
Disconnect from the wall and display, remove the CMOS battery, then press and hold down the power button to drain any residual power, for 30secs, then replace the battery after 30mins.

How are you cooling the processor on your build? Might want o relieve some of the mounting pressure on the CPU's socket until it's resting on the IHS, have the case on it's side while doing this and see if that helps, if the BIOS flashing doesn't.

 

[cheephy]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The sweet spot to the ram on that platform listed above is actually DDR5-6000MHz or slightly higher. As for your BIOS, flash to the latest version and then clear the CMOS. Clear your CMOS like so;
Disconnect from the wall and display, remove the CMOS battery, then press and hold down the power button to drain any residual power, for 30secs, then replace the battery after 30mins.

How are you cooling the processor on your build? Might want o relieve some of the mounting pressure on the CPU's socket until it's resting on the IHS, have the case on it's side while doing this and see if that helps, if the BIOS flashing doesn't.

I'll make sure to reset CMOS again after I've done the bios update

As for cooling, the whole system is custom water cooled so there is no easy way that I can troubleshoot on a hardware level. I can't really see any way for me to unscrew the cpu blocks retention bracket without seriously messing something up since its all hardtubed. I know for a fact though that the CPU block is screwed with 0.6Nm torque as I used the screwdriver that EKWB sold to install the cpu block

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

To properly clear CMOS on an Asus mobo you need to short out 2 pins marked CLRTC on the edge of your mobo. Taking out the battery alone will not suffice.

[Motherboard] How to Clear CMOS | Official Support | ASUS Global

 

[js2]

Could be a dodgy PSU. Is it old or used?

 

[cheephy]

Could be a dodgy PSU. Is it old or used?

Bought the PSU new back in early 2022. Have considered this being the problem but in my opinion it isn't the most likely. There is a lot of sata connections though due to RGB cable hell, so maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[E-DarkHorse]

Bottom, up is the best way to go when dealing with this kind of a problem.

I would unplug the P/S, bleed the caps by pressing and holding the power buttons, open the case and one-by-one ensure that all of the cables are connected firmly and securely. I would unplug, then re-plug each of them. I would ensure each component was securely installed; unplugging, then re-plugging each of them. Inspect the connectors and their wires, and verify they are sound. Then, you'll know your hardware connections are not the issue.

Then you can focus on testing the components themselves, ensuring each of them is functioning properly and within spec./intended operational parms.

Following this, you can begin with the UEFI upgrade. Verify the firmware level on reboot.

Then, test the OS and drivers. Also, look for potentially problematic apps that may install background programs that may interfere with your system.

Best of luck!

 

[E-DarkHorse]

Bought the PSU new back in early 2022. Have considered this being the problem but in my opinion it isn't the most likely. There is a lot of sata connections though due to RGB cable hell, so maybe that has something to do with it?

If you have a DVM, or better yet a multi-meter, and leads, you can test and verify that the individual outputs coming from the power supply are correctly delivering the specified power.

To verify the integrity of the cables themselves, you can check the outputs at the power supply, then (if the cables connect/disconnect (e.g., they are not hard-wired to the p/s) at the power supply distribution bus interface) install the cables and test them at the cable ends.

Doing this should resolve any questions you may have about the power supply (if you have any).

 

[cheephy]

Update on what's happening. I've started to install the bios update, thing is problem number 1 is messing with this highly. Thanks to how asus updates their bios, it restarts a ton.... and you know what that means. In short, every other reboot wasn't getting displayed and has a white VGA light. I'm pretty sure the process is complete?? But I really wouldn't be able to tell you. The pc did restart multiple times and has now stopped for quite a while with both the VGA light and the GREEN boot light active (at the same time). The boot code for this restart was initally D6 (no graphics card detected) after about a minute it changed into boot code A2, which if you understand correctly means no boot device connected/detected. Does this mean that it's gone to the american mega trends boot screen and just cant display it cuz of the VGA? I sure as hell do not want to interupt it since, I'd prefer to have a working motherboard . At this point I really dont know how to procced, any sugestions? I've read that a wide screen monitor messed someone up a similar way to me, and since I myself got a 1440p monitor maybe have the same problem? Anyone got suggestions on what to do in this situation?

 

[cheephy]

To update again, I tried unplugging my display port from the graphics card and switched to hdmi on the motherboard for built in graphics. Atleast something happend, boot code has now changed into boot code 64, no display still. Its still got the white LED and green LED on at the same time


Edit: at this point I can only guess, that the motherboard did infact do the entire update but wasnt able to display anything. Becuase the VGA light was already on I'm gonna take a guess that it has totally given up on showing display (for this specific boot) even though we switched display input. I'm going to let this sit and run for some minutes just to ensure myself that the bios update infact DID complete itself. Only option that I've got at this point is to shut it down. I'm pretty certain that restarting the system and letting it be off power for some time, then starting it with the ONBOARD graphics, since the main problem seems to be gpu detection (maybe?). I'll update as I proceed.

Edit 2: The restart worked, everything works now. Issue was found. Its not the bios version for the motherboard. OUT OF EVERYTHING, it was the f-ing GPU bios. I bought the GPU on a Swedish computer store (inet) back in 2021-11-21, this was mid microchip shortage. The fact I even at all got my hands on the GPU was a merical, and it seems that we got a very old shipment and version of the card which would make sense because of that whole shortage situation. In 2021-08-11, ASUS put out a new, and their ONLY GPU bios on their website, "Update: Compatibility for Monitor Display Port"... this was the last ever thing I could've though was the problem. I don't know if this will fix the other two issues that I had, most likely not. I've checked the bios version on my card, and yes, my theory was confirmed. The vBIOS on my card is from 2021-07-22. In short, this was an incredibly unlucky situation.

 

[E-DarkHorse]

Wow. I was thinking "re-seat the graphics card?" when I saw your update post, edit #2. It sounds like you have found the problem. That's good news.

Good luck with the vBIOS update!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Update on what's happening. I've started to install the bios update, thing is problem number 1 is messing with this highly. Thanks to how asus updates their bios, it restarts a ton.... and you know what that means. In short, every other reboot wasn't getting displayed and has a white VGA light. I'm pretty sure the process is complete?? But I really wouldn't be able to tell you. The pc did restart multiple times and has now stopped for quite a while with both the VGA light and the GREEN boot light active (at the same time). The boot code for this restart was initally D6 (no graphics card detected) after about a minute it changed into boot code A2, which if you understand correctly means no boot device connected/detected. Does this mean that it's gone to the american mega trends boot screen and just cant display it cuz of the VGA? I sure as hell do not want to interupt it since, I'd prefer to have a working motherboard . At this point I really dont know how to procced, any sugestions? I've read that a wide screen monitor messed someone up a similar way to me, and since I myself got a 1440p monitor maybe have the same problem? Anyone got suggestions on what to do in this situation?

Did you clear CMOS after the bios update?