Here's the long & short of the issues I have with a PC I'm trying to fix. It is my old system from a few years back which I gave to my nephew, but since I handed it over.... issues ensue.
CPU: i7 4790K
Mobo: Gigabyte Z97 UD5H-BK
Ram: Hyper X 2x8Gb DDR3
GPU: AMD RX 580
Corsair AIO Cooler
PSU: EVGA 750
So, you would think this motherboard is possessed or suffering from dementia.
Why? Well we hit an issue where it was going into a pre-BIOS loop. BIOS numbers would scroll, then flash blank & then restart. Different numbers, but can't pin any that show each time it flashes.
Tried the usual, reseating RAM, trying RAM in different slots nothing seemed to work apart from taking 1 slot out after the loop started. Then it would boot, but obviously only with 8Gb not the full 16Gb.
Now at the next reboot I'd put in the other stick, back to where it was previously and the system will boot no issues.
Weird huh?
Next boot...... pre-BIOS loop again.
I'm convinced the mobo is dying, but just to give it a chance I've tried the following.
Removed CPU, re-seated and re-applied thermal paste.
Checked motherboard for bent pins in socket. Perfect, no damage.
Tried two different sets of DDR3 ram, same issue and resolution as above.
Tried different PSU which works in another system. Same issue.
Tried different GPU, same issue.
Removed all SATA drives, so only boot .M2 is in and still same issue.
Cleared CMOS.
Replaced CMOS battery.
Reset BIOS to optimized defaults.
Re-flashed BIOS to latest version and switched to backup (same issues)
Stress tested GPU..... passed with flying colours.
Stress tested CPU..... passed AIDA64 (30 mins at 100% load) but failed Prime95. Insta-shuts down the system upon start of test.
Run System File Checker and Check Disk - all seems fine.
The only thing I've not been able to swap & test is the CPU itself or the motherboard.
Since typing this I've rebooted the system 4 times and not a single boot loop, but randomly it'll appear.
Keep thinking the memory controller is goosed and forgetting the RAM config between boots & shutdowns. Am I missing something obvious?
TLDR; System sometimes boots with 2 x sticks of RAM, then won't & pre-BIOS boot loops until you remove 1 x stick of RAM. Then 2nd stick can be added at next shutdown.
CPU: i7 4790K
Mobo: Gigabyte Z97 UD5H-BK
Ram: Hyper X 2x8Gb DDR3
GPU: AMD RX 580
Corsair AIO Cooler
PSU: EVGA 750
So, you would think this motherboard is possessed or suffering from dementia.
Why? Well we hit an issue where it was going into a pre-BIOS loop. BIOS numbers would scroll, then flash blank & then restart. Different numbers, but can't pin any that show each time it flashes.
Tried the usual, reseating RAM, trying RAM in different slots nothing seemed to work apart from taking 1 slot out after the loop started. Then it would boot, but obviously only with 8Gb not the full 16Gb.
Now at the next reboot I'd put in the other stick, back to where it was previously and the system will boot no issues.
Weird huh?
Next boot...... pre-BIOS loop again.
I'm convinced the mobo is dying, but just to give it a chance I've tried the following.
Removed CPU, re-seated and re-applied thermal paste.
Checked motherboard for bent pins in socket. Perfect, no damage.
Tried two different sets of DDR3 ram, same issue and resolution as above.
Tried different PSU which works in another system. Same issue.
Tried different GPU, same issue.
Removed all SATA drives, so only boot .M2 is in and still same issue.
Cleared CMOS.
Replaced CMOS battery.
Reset BIOS to optimized defaults.
Re-flashed BIOS to latest version and switched to backup (same issues)
Stress tested GPU..... passed with flying colours.
Stress tested CPU..... passed AIDA64 (30 mins at 100% load) but failed Prime95. Insta-shuts down the system upon start of test.
Run System File Checker and Check Disk - all seems fine.
The only thing I've not been able to swap & test is the CPU itself or the motherboard.
Since typing this I've rebooted the system 4 times and not a single boot loop, but randomly it'll appear.
Keep thinking the memory controller is goosed and forgetting the RAM config between boots & shutdowns. Am I missing something obvious?
TLDR; System sometimes boots with 2 x sticks of RAM, then won't & pre-BIOS boot loops until you remove 1 x stick of RAM. Then 2nd stick can be added at next shutdown.
