- May 19, 2018
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Brief intro: So I'm kinda new to building computers and I'm not great on troubleshooting how to fix mine. Just over a year ago, I built a computer and had no problems until 3-4 months ago when it got stuck in a boot loop after a windows update.
Specs:
Intel core i5 6600K 3.5 GHz quad core skylake processor
ASUS Z170-a ATX DDR4 motherboard
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2, 80+ GOLD 650W fully modular power supply
Samsung 250gb SSD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler
EVGA GeForce GTX 960 super clocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 graphics card
G. Skill Ripjaws DDR4-2400 8GB x2
Gigabyte GC-WB867D wifi card
LG DVDRW 24x optical drive
Windows 10 64 bit
Corsair 200R carbide series case
USB keyboard and mouse
The story:
I used a guide when I first built it and I had no problems. I built it just over a year ago. It worked great and was able to play all the games I wanted, do work on it, surf the internet, etc. About 3-4 months ago, it was installing a seemingly routine windows update and it started this boot loop. Since then, whenever it is turned on, the computer is on for about 30 seconds before restarting and booting for another 30 seconds. It will do this indefinitely until I force turn it off. It will not boot to bios and does not show anything on the screen. Before this update I had no problems and I didn't make any recent changes to BIOS, change any components, etc.
What happens when I press the power button:
All fans start spinning. the CPU LED is lit for about a second before turning off, then the DRAM LED stays lit for about 5 seconds before turning off. I haven't noticed any other LEDs light up. The fans keep spinning for about 30 seconds (I timed this) before the system shuts down and restarts, with the same LEDs and fans doing the same things in the subsequent boot. This cycle will repeat indefinitely until I force power-off the system. Each cycle is the same length as well. Nothing ever shows up on the screen. The monitor has been connected via VGA and HDMI to the motherboard connections. Cannot enter BIOS using the keyboard.
Things I've tried:
1. First, I swapped the SSD for a blank spare one in the hope I could install windows on a different hard drive since I initially thought this was an OS problem given that this happened after a windows update. This did not work.
2. I tried using only one stick of RAM in each of the four slots. I did this with both sticks and made sure they were well seated each time. This didn't help either.
3. I double checked all connections and made sure the GPU and wifi cards were well seated. No change.
4. I removed all excess components like keyboard, mouse, SSDs, disc drives, GPU, wifi card so that the only components installed in the motherboard are the CPU, 1 stick of RAM, CPU cooler and PSU. The boot loop still happens when the computer is turned on and still no beep codes.
5. Tried removing all RAM and turning the computer on. It will give me a long beep followed by two short beeps, which corresponds with "no ram detected." If I then install a stick of RAM, the same thing happens as before.
6. Went through the 31 step troubleshooting guide. Didn't find out anything more.
Any help or insight is greatly appreciated. I'm not really sure how this could have happened after a windows update. It's also weird that it worked well for the better part of a year and now seemingly has a hardware problem. I'm concerned that it's a hardware issue like a faulty motherboard or something else. I'm glad to answer any more questions if I didn't cover everything. Thanks!
Specs:
Intel core i5 6600K 3.5 GHz quad core skylake processor
ASUS Z170-a ATX DDR4 motherboard
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2, 80+ GOLD 650W fully modular power supply
Samsung 250gb SSD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler
EVGA GeForce GTX 960 super clocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 graphics card
G. Skill Ripjaws DDR4-2400 8GB x2
Gigabyte GC-WB867D wifi card
LG DVDRW 24x optical drive
Windows 10 64 bit
Corsair 200R carbide series case
USB keyboard and mouse
The story:
I used a guide when I first built it and I had no problems. I built it just over a year ago. It worked great and was able to play all the games I wanted, do work on it, surf the internet, etc. About 3-4 months ago, it was installing a seemingly routine windows update and it started this boot loop. Since then, whenever it is turned on, the computer is on for about 30 seconds before restarting and booting for another 30 seconds. It will do this indefinitely until I force turn it off. It will not boot to bios and does not show anything on the screen. Before this update I had no problems and I didn't make any recent changes to BIOS, change any components, etc.
What happens when I press the power button:
All fans start spinning. the CPU LED is lit for about a second before turning off, then the DRAM LED stays lit for about 5 seconds before turning off. I haven't noticed any other LEDs light up. The fans keep spinning for about 30 seconds (I timed this) before the system shuts down and restarts, with the same LEDs and fans doing the same things in the subsequent boot. This cycle will repeat indefinitely until I force power-off the system. Each cycle is the same length as well. Nothing ever shows up on the screen. The monitor has been connected via VGA and HDMI to the motherboard connections. Cannot enter BIOS using the keyboard.
Things I've tried:
1. First, I swapped the SSD for a blank spare one in the hope I could install windows on a different hard drive since I initially thought this was an OS problem given that this happened after a windows update. This did not work.
2. I tried using only one stick of RAM in each of the four slots. I did this with both sticks and made sure they were well seated each time. This didn't help either.
3. I double checked all connections and made sure the GPU and wifi cards were well seated. No change.
4. I removed all excess components like keyboard, mouse, SSDs, disc drives, GPU, wifi card so that the only components installed in the motherboard are the CPU, 1 stick of RAM, CPU cooler and PSU. The boot loop still happens when the computer is turned on and still no beep codes.
5. Tried removing all RAM and turning the computer on. It will give me a long beep followed by two short beeps, which corresponds with "no ram detected." If I then install a stick of RAM, the same thing happens as before.
6. Went through the 31 step troubleshooting guide. Didn't find out anything more.
Any help or insight is greatly appreciated. I'm not really sure how this could have happened after a windows update. It's also weird that it worked well for the better part of a year and now seemingly has a hardware problem. I'm concerned that it's a hardware issue like a faulty motherboard or something else. I'm glad to answer any more questions if I didn't cover everything. Thanks!
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