Does this sound like a motherboard issue?

Robzere31 · 14 Jan 2018 at 23:59

Specs:
7700k
Asus Z270E
1080ti FE
16gb 3600mhz darkpro

Machine has been running without issue for around 12 months.

Problem:
When booting the machine the PC will randomly loop back to the bios or just keep switching off & on. Sometimes it will just sit there with the fans running until I power off at the mains.
Tried with & without any overclocks, flashed 3 different bios with no change.
Also replaced the battery in motherboard.

When finally getting the PC to boot it runs fine until I either switch off or restart.
If I restart the PC, it enters a continuous loop where it turns itself off & on. Only way out is to switch off at mains & reboot.

The other thing I've noticed is when booting up the monitor screen will flicker rapidly several times before either entering the bios or starting windows.

I've spent the several hours tonight flashing the bios trying different ones & settings & at the moment it's running ok, but I'm unsure what is causing these issues.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Robzere31 · 15 Jan 2018 at 23:32

Well more problems tonight with it to the point it will not boot into windows at all now & just loops either into the bios, or when exiting the bios it will just sit there with the fans running until you power off at the mains.

Ordered a new motherboard to try along with a new PSU just it case.

Let's see what happens, just a pita as all the watercooling kit will have to come out to fit it

r7slayer · 16 Jan 2018 at 03:08

What sort of testing did you do? Did you go barebones and try to boot with just the cpu? Then turn it iff add somethimg like a stick of ram, turn on and see if it boots normally and lets you goto the bios? Keep repeating till everything is connected.

It helps rule out if anything is causing issues like a hdd or ssd or a stick of ram.

I remember i had a similar issue to you and did the above turns iut it was a faulty hdd even though i have a ssd as my boot drive.

This might be a pain with a watercooled setup like me but the gfx card was the only main issue. I just put a box in my case to let the gfx rest on while unplugged.

Robzere31 · 16 Jan 2018 at 11:20

Testing was pretty thorough.

All additional drives unplugged, PSU removed & diferent rails tried, memory, 3 diferent bios, stock, underclocked settings.
Even tried different cables in the machine to rule them out. Swopped the CMOS battery as well.

At the point now where the machine, will not boot into windows at all just goes into the bios, & when you reboot it just sits there until you hard reset, then it boots back into the bios.
New motherboard & PSU will be here tomorrow, but I won't be able to fit them until Friday evening so we'll see what happens.

Only thing I haven't done is change the boot SSD, as I don't have a spare one. Typically I sold my spare one last week!

los · 16 Jan 2018 at 13:25

I had a similar type of issue with my asrock z170 itx and they said it sounds like motherboard or psu. I think it certainly sounds more like motherboard in your case.

mattyfez · 16 Jan 2018 at 19:48

Could be motherboard could be PSU, hard to say really unless you have another psu you can test with.

Robzere31 · 16 Jan 2018 at 20:36

mattyfez said:
Could be motherboard could be PSU, hard to say really unless you have another psu you can test with.

Will have a replacement psu & motherboard tomorrow.

mattyfez · 16 Jan 2018 at 21:02

I wouldn't buy both if you can simply borrow a psu to rule it out.

Robzere31 · 16 Jan 2018 at 22:56

mattyfez said:
I wouldn't buy both if you can simply borrow a psu to rule it out.

Already ordered. If it turns out the original psu is ok, I will either return the new one, or I may keep it & sell my old one.

mattyfez · 16 Jan 2018 at 23:01

Fair enough.

r7slayer · 17 Jan 2018 at 04:40

Well that's fair enough

its what i would do testing wise. It sounds like a psu issue tbh but these things ate never 100%. I had a bent cpu pin which i didnt know about and my system would boot fine sometimes and then other times just just try to post but give me a black screen. Going into bios would flash at me few times and then freeze. Was till i stripped bare bones i noticed the bent cpu pin.
I hope yours is a psu problem as that's less costly to replace usually.

Robzere31 · 17 Jan 2018 at 13:59

Psu would certainly be easier to replace than the motherboard.

Robzere31 · 18 Jan 2018 at 19:12

Well, PSU swopped over & problem is still there.
Motherboard next on the list, will probably do it over the weekend.

Robzere31 · 21 Jan 2018 at 18:36

Quick update for you.
Motherboard swapped & it seems to have been the problem.
Took the opportunity to strip the whole machine down clean it all & reconfigure all the cabling & lighting.

Quite enjoyed it..... Sad I know.!