P8Z68 stops with A0 Q-code and BOOT_DEVICE_LED stays RED

[fuglee]

I bought a ASUS P8Z68/GEN3 Deluxe a week and ago and have been trying to get it to boot every since. The problem I am having is that all the test seem to pass, but stops with an A0 (IDE initialization is started) code and the REBOOT_DEVICE_LED remains RED. Also, the graphics LED comes on and goes off within a couple seconds but no video in available at any time. I have tried removing and reseating everything and have tried having only the PSU, Graphics card and the RAM in, but I always get the same results. I am not sure what I should try next. Can anyone please help me?


ASUS P8Z68/GEN3 Deluxe
CPU INTEL Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost)
RAM CORSAIR CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Power Supply OCZ ZX Series 850W Fully-Modular 80PLUS Gold High Performance
2xHD Seagate Barracuda 1TB 72000rpm
VGA EVGA GeForce GTX570

 

[ko888]

Doesn't that LED indicate a problem with your boot device?

A boot device can even be a USB flash drive.

Are the hard disk drives receiving power from the power supply unit?

Does it behave in the same manner when both hard disk drives are disconnected?

 

[fuglee]

I have verified that both drives are receiving power. And when I disconnect one or both or have both connected I now receive Q-code A2. But the BOOT DEVICE LED is still RED and still don't received a video signal.

 

[ko888]

Have you tried using the Intel IGP instead of the EVGA GeForce GTX570 just for debugging purposes?

 

[fuglee]

With the IGP the BOOT DEVICE LED turns off, the VGA_LED goes red and the Q-Code is now AA.

 

[ko888]

AA - ACPI APIC initialization (According to ASUS this is a normal status)

I forgot that the ASUS P8Z68/GEN3 Deluxe doesn't have a video port on its rear panel connectors so that motherboard doesn't even allow the use of the IGP for troubleshooting purposes. One of the reasons I didn't buy that motherboard when I built my last system.

The only other thing I can suggest is to borrow and try a different graphics card.

You can also try the EVGA GeForce GTX570 in another system to determine if it does or doesn't function properly.