Stuck in Boot Loop, no POST, no BIOS, out of ideas

[juicebox889]

Ok; Last friday I received a blue screen; it shut down so fast I couldn't even read it. The boot loop started then, but unfortunately I was on my way to leaving the country for a week so couldn't address it until today. The exact loop is as follows:
- Press power on: ALL fans start spinning, lights stutter once, come back on, fans run for 8-12 seconds, shut down. Computer reboots on its own, won't stop the loop until I hold power button down for 5 seconds. No POST, no BIOS, no nothing but lights and fans.

I have a Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 MOBO (No mobo light, no case speaker, so those diagnostics are out the window until I can pick up a speaker tomorrow).
EVGA 1000W G2 PSU (Not the issue; tried with a brand new PSU today, same problem).

Here's what I've tried:
- Ensured the MOBO is installed with spacers (it is).
- Attempted boot with brand new PSU
- Attempted boot with nothing but MOBO, CPU, CPU Fan installed
- Attempted boot with all of the above + RAM installed in every configuration imaginable.
- Booted after removing RESTART leads and Power button leads in case of short
- Cleared CMOS (with both the leads and removing battery)
- Checked thermal paste between CPU and heatsink (appears to be OK, the build is only 1 year old, I'll be picking more up tomorrow just in case)

I've removed all variables except for the CPU and MOBO (if it is, in fact, a hardware issue; I don't know enough about BIOS issues to be certain).

If something fried due to a short, would I even be receiving power to get to the point I'm at in the boot loop? All my resistors appear to be fine. The one thing I have not done is check the pins on my CPU and socket, but I'm hard pressed to think of how they could have been damaged. The CPU hasn't been removed since I built this rig, and it's barely moved more than 6 inches from its location when it was first built. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[llongo0823]

try replacing the mobo it looks like you've tried everything else

 

[srimasis]

I faced the same problem in one of my older PC. That pc had 2x2gb ddr2 memory. I tried to boot it with just one memory stick and it booted normally. It turned out that my second memory slot was faulty. I suggest that you try to boot your PC with just one memory stick at a time and see if it helps.

 

[juicebox889]

You must have missed that part. I tried booting with every configuration of ram imaginable. Both sticks in slots 1/2, 1 stick in slot 1, 1 stick in slot 2, 1 stick in slot 3, no sticks, so on and so forth.

 

[srimasis]

You must have missed that part. I tried booting with every configuration of ram imaginable. Both sticks in slots 1/2, 1 stick in slot 1, 1 stick in slot 2, 1 stick in slot 3, no sticks, so on and so forth.

Hmm, I didn't realize that.
Was your cpu overclocked when your system was running fine? Maybe something got burnt. If possible, test your cpu and ram in a different pc having similar socket. If they run fine, then you need to replace your mobo.

 

[juicebox889]

I do not overclock. I don't have another PC to test this with, but I just got back from Microcenter with a new MOBO. I'll report back in an hour when I've determined whether this is it or not.

 

[juicebox889]

Ok, I replaced the board. Hooked up the CPU, MOBO, CPU Fan, RAM and GPU. It booted, but no screen. Stayed on, no boot loop. So I hooked the rest of the components up to try running the disk that came with the MOBO, and now I'm in the boot loop again. Even when I disconnected everything but the RAM, CPU, CPU Fan and MOBO it's still stuck in the loop all over again.

If something fried due to a shorted periph, would it even be attempting to boot?

 

[juicebox889]

Now it will stay booted with 1 ram stick (instead of two) but still just a black screen. However, this can't just be a bad ram stick, as I tried every configuration of ram possible with my old motherboard.

This is driving me up the wall.

 

[srimasis]

Hmm, repeat all the tests you did with the previous mobo, try to boot it without the gpu, or hard drive or cpu. Maybe it's a faulty gpu.

 

[juicebox889]

Ok, did all that and isolated a faulty stick of ram. What really boggles me is why it didn't work with my previous motherboard. Could faulty ram fry a MOBO?

About to retest the old MOBO with just this one good stick.

 

[juicebox889]

Ok, just tested the old MOBO. It stays booted with the 1 good stick of ram. With no ram, it's got the same boot loop. Should I return the new MOBO?

 

[juicebox889]

More test results: the old MOBO (gigabyte) is in a boot loop with NO ram installed. With 1 stick, it boots and stays booted.

The New MOBO (asus) does not boot loop unless the bad stick of ram is installed. With 1 good stick or no RAM it boots and stays booted.

waddafack

EDIT: Now the new MOBO is booting with both RAM sticks installed........

 

[juicebox889]

So, fun new issue.

I've got the PC running on the new motherboard and 1 stick of ram, but now I'm getting a BSOD (Stop 0x00000124) with a CPU temp of 85C when the BSOD hits. I do not know if this is the same BSOD I got before I got stuck in my boot loop.

 

[srimasis]

Hmm, from what I read from the internet about BSOD code 124, this problem is usually heat related or defective memory. One of the parts, especially cpu, may not be getting enough cooling. Are you applying thermal paste every time you place your cpu cooler? Usually Motherboard shuts down itself to save that particular part.
http://www.faultwire.com/solutions

 

[juicebox889]

I did reapply thermal paste after each heatsink/CPU switch. I read similar stuff, which makes me think the other ram stick may be bad as well. But If this is the case, I'm almost thinking there's another component causing all these issues, as 2 ram sticks AND a motherboard all going at once is a bit odd.