Question Old ASRock board throwing errors with original hardware

[gradientscenery]

Hey!

I have an old set of hardware that was just laying around for a few years, but recently I decided I wanted to turn it into a MC server box.
The hardware is a i7-7700k and ASRock Z270 Taichi with 32GB ram. It was missing a CPU cooler and power supply, so I just bought those.
But when trying to boot it, the motherboard shows codes 00->15->30->00->4C (all shown in around a second), then for a brief part of a second shuts off (or so I think, since the fans slow down briefly before picking up speed again), and then repeat until I unplug the system.

I don't see any bent pins on the motherboard socket, so I was hoping to flash the bios, but it seems that requires to reach the bios first...
This is the original hardware- the cpu and ram haven't been removed from the board since it was last used.

Any ideas? Please let me know if there's anything I forgot to mention.
Thank you!

 

[punkncat]

4C is a RAM fault code. The ones before are probably the normal POST cycle as it checks things.

You could try to short the CMOS pins (might even be a reset button on that Taichi) and see if it will boot. Got any other RAM sticks available, at least one working other stick?

 

[stonecarver]

https://download.asrock.com/Manual/Z270 Taichi.pdf

Also check mother battery should read 3.0v any lower than replace.

 

[gradientscenery]

4C is a RAM fault code. The ones before are probably the normal POST cycle as it checks things.

You could try to short the CMOS pins (might even be a reset button on that Taichi) and see if it will boot. Got any other RAM sticks available, at least one working other stick?

So I started testing the ram, stick by stick, in the first slot. Every single stick worked. It would still show 4C for a brief second, but then would go on to count up and get me to the bios. So I started testing the second slot, still with a stick in the first- every stick worked.
Then I started testing a stick in first and a stick in third, and it started giving me the error and loop, no matter the stick. Trying to boot after that failed, even if I just had a stick in slot one. Eventually, after enough reboots and clearing cmos, it let me boot. Same happens with slot 4.

I'm currently letting it just infinitely try to boot with 4 sticks.
I love ram, but ram consistently hates me between all my builds.

 

[gradientscenery]

https://download.asrock.com/Manual/Z270 Taichi.pdf

Also check mother battery should read 3.0v any lower than replace.

Is there some built-in way to do that without a voltmeter?

 

[stonecarver]

Is there some built-in way to do that without a voltmeter?

Not really. But if you have a "Dollar Tree" close if your in the US easy enough to just flip out old with new. Amazon as well.

 

[gradientscenery]

Not really. But if you have a "Dollar Tree" close if your in the US easy enough to just flip out old with new. Amazon as well.

Ahh, I see. I'll see if I can pop down to one to get a new CR2032

 

[gradientscenery]

https://download.asrock.com/Manual/Z270 Taichi.pdf

Also check mother battery should read 3.0v any lower than replace.

Just got back and unfortunately it's doing the same stuff... even after a bios flash it's still borked

 

[gradientscenery]

Update! After toiling away with ram placement, and clearing the cmos every single time, it works! Why it was so finicky, I have no idea, but I'm fixed!

Thank you punkncat for pointing at the ram, and thank you stonecarver for pointing at the cmos battery!