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!

 

[80251]

I have an asrock z390 Taichi and it is also very finicky about RAM settings. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point after a power down your system RAM gremlin will show up again.

 

[gradientscenery]

I have an asrock z390 Taichi and it is also very finicky about RAM settings. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point after a power down your system RAM gremlin will show up again.

I'm glad you wouldn't be surprised, because it just happened again. I found that removing the third ram stick, resetting the cmos battery, letting it boot, and then adding back in the other stick without resetting the cmos battery works.
This does worry me about this thing's "remote-accessed server" viability though, so I hope the gremlin has decided to move out.

 

[80251]

@gradientscenery
That's a really creative solution to evicting your system RAM gremlin that I never tried because it would involve removing my vidcard and cooler.
I think the asrock Taichi problem is w/the BIOS memory training code and maybe their daisy chain memory bus topology as well.
Sometimes I've had luck after a power down and the subsequent, cold boot, memory training errors by just repeatedly going into the BIOS, hitting F10 and spinning the asrock memory training roulette wheel again and again and again and again.

 

[gradientscenery]

@gradientscenery
That's a really creative solution to evicting your system RAM gremlin that I never tried because it would involve removing my vidcard and cooler.
I think the asrock Taichi problem is w/the BIOS memory training code and maybe their daisy chain memory bus topology as well.
Sometimes I've had luck after a power down and the subsequent, cold boot, memory training errors by just repeatedly going into the BIOS, hitting F10 and spinning the asrock memory training roulette wheel again and again and again and again.

Sure wish it had better odds than roulette...

 

[stonecarver]

That's a really creative solution to evicting your system RAM gremlin that I never tried because it would involve removing my vidcard and cooler.

This is a actual fix for Dells PC in the 1155 platform. If your running just fine and your PC the next day on boot refuses to boot and just beeps the memory is the issue but only kind of.

The trick is remove all 4 sticks and boot with the memory slot nearest to the CPU get to windows . Shut down and put in the next stick, boot to windows and again shut down do the third and than the forth the same.

Dells that suffer this weird issue work fine 99% of the time and if you get the morning beep that's the fix and it stays fixed.

I have found any other pattern of installing memory will get you back to the beeps.

 

[80251]

@stonecarver That solution is something I wouldn't want to make a habit.
Removing my memory is a major PITA because I have a shrouded, 120x38mm fan attached to the front of my NHD15s that completely covers the memory sticks and the 24-pin power cable.