I was thinking of documenting my problem at http://vip.asus.com/ Is that what you mean with HQ?
I´ll try the new 1602 bios now. If it is not booting I might try to rebuild the array.
Definitely something odd with my board drive combination.
Updating bios higher than 1405 makes windows freeze at "Starting windows", i.e. at GUI launch.
Rig setup:
MB: ASUS Z87 Expert C1 stepping
Mem: 4 * Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz (CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10)
HD: 4 * Samsung 840 pro (128 GB) in raid 0 on intel controller
and 2 * OCZ Vertex turbo (64 GB) in raid 0 on intel controller
GPU: POWERCOLOR HD7850 SCS3 1024MB (AX7850 1GD5-S3DH)
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K
PSU: Seasonic PowerSupply (PSU) P-520FL 520W
OS: Win7 64 bit Ultimate
Steps taken:
Updated bios from 1405 to 1504. Windows start stops at "Starting windows", i.e. at GUI launch. MB q-code sais "AC". Recovery console stops at the same stage. Windows installer stops at the same step.
Downgrading to 1405 and the system starts as usual. MB q-code at A0.
Updated bios from 1405 to 1602. Windows start stops at "Starting windows", i.e. at GUI launch. MB q-code sais "AC". Recovery console stops at the same stage. Windows installer stops at the same step.
Now, as suggested, I disconnected my 4 samsungs 840. Then rebuilt a raid 0 array fresh from start with the 2 OCZ vertex drives. Then started Windows setup. Same problem; Windows setup stops at "Starting windows", i.e. at GUI launch. MB q-code sais "AC".
Downgrading again to 1405 and the system starts as usual. MB q-code at A0.
Any suggestions?