[SOLVED] PC won't boot, hanging at postcode 72 (PCH devices initialization)

[DeathByRads]

I have been recently running into issues with my computer, mainly regarding the boot process. I think this may have started when I downloaded drivers for my motherboard, since I had not done that even when I had initially put it all together.

One issue that has been consistently happening is whenever I boot my computer, whether from restarting it, having shut it down, or putting it to sleep, it shuts off and restarts while it cycles through the postcodes, always at postcode 4F (DXE IPL is started). A new problem is that it will now no longer boot, even to Bios, and is stuck at postcode 72 (PCH devices initialization).

I have removed the CMOS battery and put it back in, a suggestion that other people have recommended to users in similar situations, but that has not worked. I have only recently gotten into PC building, so any and all advice or suggestions would be welcome.

My specs are as follows:
ASUS MAXIMUS V GENE Motherboard
Intel I7 2600K Quad Core Processor
EVGA GTX 1060 3GB model
1 8GB Stick of HyperX Fury Red DDR-3 1866mhz
1 8GB Stick of Corsair - Vengeance DDR-3 1600mhz
2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
EVGA Supernova G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified PSU
Windows 10 Pro

 

[Ivan96]

Have you tried to boot with only one stick of ram and with your onboard gpu connected?

 

[DeathByRads]

Have you tried to boot with only one stick of ram and with your onboard gpu connected?

I’ve just tested with both sticks separately, and neither fixed the problem

 

[Satan-IR]

Did you unplug the PSU power cord from outlet before removing the battery to clear CMOS?

Try leaving only CPU, CPU fan and one RAM module. Disconnect all other components. If you still get error 72 then remove the single RAM and try again. If you still get 72 it might be the motherboard or the CPU the motherboard more likely.

As a general rule mismatched RAM is not recommended. You said you tested them one by one and I assume the system worked with them before the errors but generally speaking it's not recommended and can lead to instability.

 

[DeathByRads]

Did you unplug the PSU power cord from outlet before removing the battery to clear CMOS?

Try leaving only CPU, CPU fan and one RAM module. Disconnect all other components. If you still get error 72 then remove the single RAM and try again. If you still get 72 it might be the motherboard or the CPU the motherboard more likely.

As a general rule mismatched RAM is not recommended. You said you tested them one by one and I assume the system worked with them before the errors but generally speaking it's not recommended and can lead to instability.

With one RAM module and everything else disconnected, I am still getting postcode 72. With the RAM removed, I am now getting postcode 22, which is not specifically listed but seems to be memory-initialization related.

 

[Ivan96]

Which version of BIOS you have installed?
When you say you updated motherboard drivers does that means you updated BIOS or just some drivers?

 

[DeathByRads]

Which version of BIOS you have installed?
When you say you updated motherboard drivers does that means you updated BIOS or just some drivers?

I had the latest BIOS, version 1903. The only thing that I had installed was an audio driver update.

 

[Ivan96]

I had the latest BIOS, version 1903. The only thing that I had installed was an audio driver update.

Try this:

1. Download the 1408 BIOS file.
2. Format a USB pendrive to FAT32.
3. Extract the BIOS file and rename the file to M5G.CAP.
4. Put the BIOS file on your USB pendrive.
5. Connect the USB pendrive to the white usb port.
6. Press the USB BIOS Flashback button/ROG Connect button for three seconds till the LED begins to blink, then release.
7. Wait until the LED stops blinking.
8. Power on your system.

 

[DeathByRads]

Try this:

1. Download the 1408 BIOS file.
2. Format a USB pendrive to FAT32.
3. Extract the BIOS file and rename the file to M5G.CAP.
4. Put the BIOS file on your USB pendrive.
5. Connect the USB pendrive to the white usb port.
6. Press the USB BIOS Flashback button/ROG Connect button for three seconds till the LED begins to blink, then release.
7. Wait until the LED stops blinking.
8. Power on your system.

This seems to have worked, I've booted all the way to my desktop without an issue. The shutting down at postcode 4F seems to be persisting, but I have not noticed any adverse effects. Should I keep my BIOS version at 1408, or should I update back to the latest version?

 

[Ivan96]

There is a problem with newer versions of BIOS with that motherboard i don't know why.
You can try to update to a newer version going one at a time and try to find newest one which works,but be aware that every time you update your BIOS there is small chance of bricking your motherboard so do it at your own risk.
As for the 4F error,do you get 4F with only one stick of ram? Try them both one by one because 4F sometimes can show because of memory incompatibility but it can also be a faulty BIOS chip in which case your only options is to buy another motherboard.

 

[DeathByRads]

There is a problem with newer versions of BIOS with that motherboard i don't know why.
You can try to update to a newer version going one at a time and try to find newest one which works,but be aware that every time you update your BIOS there is small chance of bricking your motherboard so do it at your own risk.
As for the 4F error,do you get 4F with only one stick of ram? Try them both one by one because 4F sometimes can show because of memory incompatibility but it can also be a faulty BIOS chip in which case your only options is to buy another motherboard.

I had tested with both sticks of ram separately, and both still gave me postcode 4F. I probably need to just buy a new motherboard. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

 

[Neinth]

Try this:

1. Download the 1408 BIOS file.
2. Format a USB pendrive to FAT32.
3. Extract the BIOS file and rename the file to M5G.CAP.
4. Put the BIOS file on your USB pendrive.
5. Connect the USB pendrive to the white usb port.
6. Press the USB BIOS Flashback button/ROG Connect button for three seconds till the LED begins to blink, then release.
7. Wait until the LED stops blinking.
8. Power on your system.

OMGEEEEEE Thank you! I have a maximus gene v also, was running 1903, wouldn't boot realably or not at all sometimes, totally gutted and rebuilt the machine after testing the hardware, months of reading,, and finally here the answer, I installed bios 1408, and everything is running better than it ever has, Thank you!