Asus Z87 Pro fried? Troubleshooting help...

Folks,

I've got an Asus Z87 Pro at the heart of my Haswell (i7-4770k) system. http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/Z87-PRO/E7832_Z87-PRO.pdf

My psu is a Seasonic X750.

Sooo.... Today, I powered down and hooked up an extra SSD. No prob, right? I've added and subtracted many drives. This time, it refused to boot. No POST, nothing.

Troubleshooting steps:

I disconnected EVERYTHING, except the cpu cooler/fans (NZXT Kraken). Nothing else was attached. No fans, no hard-drives, nothing...I attached a DVI cable to the mobo DVI output. (I removed my video card.) This is a bare mobo, with cpu and ram, in a case.

1. Initially, I suspected my psu. Per the usual, I've TOTALLY disconnected my psu from the mobo ( http://www.seasonicusa.com/NEW_X-series_KM3_650-750-850.htm ) and only attached the modular 24 pin and 8 pin mobo power lines. All other modular power lines were/are unplugged. Using the paperclip method, I got the psu to power on. http://seasonic.com/troubleshooting/

2. I checked the 8 pin output. All 4 put out 12.17v (no load). (The other four are grounds.)

3. Attaching ONLY the 24 pin mobo power line to the mobo, the power switch turns on power, and the troubleshooting LED's show 00. This is with JUST the 24 pin power supply. No POST, no screen flicker. (Hey, I've only hooked up part of the mobo, right? Would I see a POST without the 8 pin mobo power?) The board stays powered with 00 showing until I turn off the psu.

4. Turning off, then attaching the 8 pin mobo power supply to the mobo and turning it on, leads to a power cycle. Power comes on, 00 shows, then it shuts down in about 1 second or less. No POST. My USB keyboard (Logitech something) doesn't light up. It almost seems like a short.

I -think- my psu is good. How do I check?
I -suspect- my mobo is fried. How do I check?

Thanks,
Ken

...and on a related note, supposedly there's a 3 year warranty on the mobo. I bought this in September, 2013. Anyone (cough, Raja, cough) able to help out with this?

Right.

PSU: I've unplugged everything from the PSU except the 24 pin and 8 pin mobo power cords. They are unattached, just hanging. If I jump pins 16 and 17 (the paperclip method), the PSU turns on. (Have I mentioned that I love Seasonic?) Using a voltmeter, every pin's voltage checks good. (Yeah, no load, etc.)

That make me think the PSU is good. Regardless, I've got a new Seasonic X750 (same model) arriving tomorrow. That'll make it easy to check if the PSU is good. (If the original one is bad, I'll start a thread about how I hate Seasonic. )

As for the mobo, well, that's harder to source. I want the same one. Yeah, once bitten, twice shy; or fool me once, shame on you...etc. However, using the same hardware means less headache rebuilding and getting all my software to work. (Do you know how hard it is to find a mobo with 8x 6Gb Sata ports for the intel 1150?)

If the new psu and the new mobo don't work...that leaves the cpu.

Would a bad cpu cause a failure to POST?

Hey, thanks. So I did what you suggested.

I pulled the cpu out, plugged in the 24 and 8 pin power lines, and turned on the power. Woot. The psu stayed on. (Whenever this same configuration is used with the cpu, the psu immediately shuts down.)

With the power staying on, the same "00" q-code is displayed. However, I also get the red "CPU" led. That means there's a problem with the cpu...like, it's missing. That's cool.

That cpu led does NOT illuminate during the power shutdown when the cpu is installed.

So...cpu or mobo???

(On a totally unrelated matter, if you had a bad i7-4770k, would you replace it with an i7-4790k (~$340) or just toss the whole Haswell build and go Z-170/Skylake?)

Have you tried RMA'ing the CPU to Intel? I haven't done this myself but I've read that Intel will take care of you.

mls1995 said:

Have you tried RMA'ing the CPU to Intel? I haven't done this myself but I've read that Intel will take care of you.

Click to expand...

That may be possible, I still don't know if it's the mobo or the cpu.

Hey, on a non-related, tangential, topic, does anyone know intel's stance on accepting cpu's which have been delidded by the "hammer and block of wood" method?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rupNNzxqkV0

I did that about 2 1/2 years ago. Err, "I may have done that 2 1/2 years ago." Liquid metal has been a champ, since.

I kind of think a cpu rma may not be something I should consider.

Have you tried a cheapo CPU to see if that helps like a G3258?

Runt. said:

Have you tried a cheapo CPU to see if that helps like a G3258?

Click to expand...

That's a great idea. Really. Unfortunately, I don't have one handy. I hadn't thought of dropping a cheap Haswell in. I see a $45 one on Newegg. But, right now, I've got a new PSU showing up tomorrow. I'm also trying to get a new mobo. If both of those show up and I still can't post, either I've had dual failures (rare) or I've got a bad cpu.

The funny thing is that I didn't touch the mobo anywhere near the cpu. I'd unpowered everything, grounded myself, installed the ssd on a drive sled and slid the sata cable into the sata port on the mobo. Attached a sata power line to the ssd, and it never came back to life.

Fingers crossed that it's the mobo. If it's not...well, I'll have two Z87's and no cpu.

c3k said:

Hey, on a non-related, tangential, topic, does anyone know intel's stance on accepting cpu's which have been delidded by the "hammer and block of wood" method?

Click to expand...

I would venture a very very strong guess that a delidded CPU is not going to be covered under warranty -- you physically altered the CPU. But I am purely guessing.

ir0nw0lf said:

I would venture a very very strong guess that a delidded CPU is not going to be covered under warranty -- you physically altered the CPU. But I am purely guessing.

Click to expand...

I may have physically altered the cpu. "You didn't see aaaanything...."

But, yeah, cpu rma is off the table. The good news is, I've sourced an exact mobo replacement. So, new psu, new mobo. If it still doesn't work...it's the cpu.

Let's run with that... Assume it's the cpu. Okay, good enough. Since I'll be sitting on a complete 1150 system, minus the cpu, should I spend $340 and get a Devil's Canyon i7-4790k, or should I ditch the 1150 and go 1151? (I've been planning on going skylake to replace rig #3 in my sig...not rig #1)

New Seasonic x750 psu showed up 30 minutes ago: I still love Seasonic. New psu shut down immediately upon applying 8 pin and 24 pin power to the mobo.

It's either a bad mobo or a bad cpu.

Replacement asus z87 pro arrives on Tuesday.

(Raja, this would be a great time for you to offer a ROG Maximus XL Platinum or whatnot. )

Ken

Edited because I cannot type with my thumbs. And Asus released a new ROG Maximus generation...

I was looking at you board information the code 00. It is not used. I had the same code on a Asus X Deluxe 99 and it was not used on my board either. My problem turned out to be a fried cpu. Called Intel and got a replacement under warranty.

That's what I'm afraid of. I wonder if I can send my cpu in two parts: the pcb and silicon, and the ihs?

C'mon intel, stand behind your (abused) product!

What I really like about the Asus z87 pro are the various troubleshooting LEDs on it. In my case, if the cpu "trouble" led were illuminated, it'd at least give me an idea that, indeed, it was the cpu. At this point, I just suspect the cpu. Since it's cheaper to swap mobo, that's what I'll do. (Although, the earlier suggestion to use a cheap 1150 cpu would've been better, but I was already committed to the mobo purchase.)

Ken

I have lost 2 cpus in the last 6 months. The first code was 00 the second was A0 both are unused codes. My board would do just what you are describing with yours. Do a quick search on the web for that code on your board and see what you come up with. In your case I hope it is the board.

Well, if it's the cpu, I wonder what the aftermarket could fetch for an ihs?

Somewhat odd the way it failed. Power off, capacitors discharged, plug in an SSD, power on, total failure. I would've liked a bit of smoke and a flash. Or a gradual degradation, kind of like a voice getting slower and slower until the screen shrank to a pin point. It's gone from (apparently) 100% to 0% during one power cycle.

Yes it is strange the way it happens. Mine did the same thing during a power cycle. Then no boot, just the fans and the error message on the board. You do not get any warning of an impending failure of the cpu it just dies. Can you tell me what speed and what kind of ram you or running?

Sure.

The cpu was running stock, and has been for at least 6 months. (I'd had an earlier, mild, OC, but I didn't think my results were worthwhile.) Since I put a clean W10 install, I never bothered loading the AI Suite III to do the auto-OC.

Ram is this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231673 I've had the XMP profile enabled in the bios.

I'll be able to determine if the cpu is the culprit in a few days.

Good news!

The replacement mobo (Asus z87 pro, same EXACT model (both are revision 1.02)) came in. I hooked it up to the new power supply, put the old cpu in (so...NOTHING attached, just one stick of ram, 24 pin power, 8 pin power, and cpu), and powered it up.

My troubleshooting is over. The new mobo exhibited the same symptom as the old one. I've got a bad cpu.

So...off to buy a new one.

(Anyone want to buy a once-used Asus Z87 Pro, rev 1.02, motherboard?)

It'd be funny if the new cpu doesn't solve it. But not really.

Ken

Alright....Now things have gotten odd.

My new i7-4790k arrived. I placed it in the NEW z87 mobo with NEW ram and a NEW psu.

To recap:
NEW cpu
NEW psu
NEW ram
NEW mobo

Nothing else hooked up. Video output hooked up to mobo hdmi out.
PSU 8 pin and 24 pin to mobo.
Cpu fan hooked up.

The mobo turns on, "00" stays displayed on the LEDs ... and "CPU" LED lights up on the mobo, indicating a cpu issue.

Putting the NEW cpu in the old rig...

NEW cpu
OLD psu
OLD ram
OLD mobo

The mobo turns on, "00" stays displayed on the LEDs ... and "CPU" LED lights up on the mobo, indicating a cpu issue.

WTF???

Either I got a bad cpu (new in box), or my old cpu fried both mobos?

WTF???

At this point I have a totally new setup which exhibits the same symptoms as the old setup.

A bit of help would be appreciated. I'm stumped.

Thanks,
Ken

My initial thought is BIOS...

Off to hunt.

Victory!

Yeah, it was an incompatible BIOS.

The Devils Canyon needed v2103. The ASUS manual/online instructions suck. Really. There is a way to update BIOS if you cannot boot, but ASUS doesn't make it easy to figure out. I wonder if they laughed as they wrote that bit of the manual? Anyway, here's what you do...

Here's what you need to do:
1. Download compatible BIOS.
2. Save it as a .cap. (NOT a .rom)
3. Rename it. What to? HAH!!! I -dare- you to try to find it. An hour of searching showed me a trend. I guessed "Z87P.cap". It ended up being a good guess. There's no documentation. (If you have a z87 deluxe, it's "Z87D", etc. Good luck finding yours.)
4. There's a utility...but it only works if you can boot your machine. Sigh.
5. Next, put that bios file on a totally blank FAT32 usb stick. (Long reformat for me.)
6. One of your mobo usb slots is the designated "EZ Flash" or "EZ update" (whatever) port. Find it.
7. Plug the USB stick there.
8. Oh yeah, have you already powered off your mobo, taken out the cpu, ram, etc? You need to.
9. With that usb stick in the right usb port, DO NOT POWER ON THE MOBO. Instead, have power TO the mobo. Meaning, the on/off switch on the mobo needs to be illuminated, but don't try to boot.
10. Press and hold the BIOS_FLBK switch. The LED near it should start blinking after you've held the button about 3-5 seconds.
11. Release the button. If the LED continues to flash, you're good. It'll flash for a minute or so.
12. Plug all your crap back in, boot up, and cycle the boot a few times so it'll update, etc.


Ken

Holy cow, glad you figured it out. What a total pain though...