Z77 Gremlins..

Naphta

Naphta

Naphta

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5 Sep 2010
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Sorry for the vague title! I'm having a bit of trouble stepping through an issue with an old build of mine which I'd given to my brother. It's a bit old (running a launch day 3770K), and has suddenly started getting stuck on code 32 during POST.

- CPU: 3770K / 3570K
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H (x2)
- Memory: Mushkin Blackline C8 4GB (x4)
- GPU: AMD R9 290
- PSU: Corsair HX750

There's a few things I've tried; I've gone through each stick of ram and the problem exists with each stick, I've replaced the motherboard, I've also swapped the CPU to a 3570K, and finally I've tried a different power supply (same wattage). All have the same issue.

On a super (battery out for a while) cold boot I can sometimes get it to boot into Windows with everything plugged in (although the ram has been down to a single stick for a while). Otherwise I regularly get stuck on code 32 or 36 which both point to CPU PEI initialisation. Switching to the backup BIOS sometimes gives it a bit of a kick to life too.

A couple of times I've seen something particularly strange where it looks like it's lacking power, the machine keeps dying and trying to boot, but the POST "screen" doesn't even manage to light up in time.

I'm coming to the conclusion that the issue sits around the memory (simply because of a process of elimination) but I can't help but think that for all 4 sticks of a kit of memory to fail at the same time seems somewhat implausible to me. Sadly I don't have any DDR3 to hand to try, so I'll have to hunt eBay for a cheap set, or try my luck with Mushkin lifetime warranty.

Does anyone else have any experience with this kind of issue?
 
Yep I've ran with no GPU and it makes little difference.

I'm only running the single stick of RAM. I'd assumed it's rare for more than one to fail but given I've swapped all the other major players I'm at a bit of a loss.
 
Sounds to me like a software issue. Perhaps a bit of corruption. I am not an expert on windows recovery, but it sounds like that's what you need to do.
 
Naphta said:
A Windows software issue causing failure to POST? It doesn't POST without any HDD/SSD's plugged in even.
Click to expand...

Have you tried putting a new battery in the board and totally resetting the CMOS? I know you said you switched to the backup bios, but if the issue is battery related that might not help.
 
Gray2233 said:
Have you tried putting a new battery in the board and totally resetting the CMOS? I know you said you switched to the backup bios, but if the issue is battery related that might not help.
Click to expand...
I did a little while back (been ongoing for a while), and both the new and original batteries tested with a multimeter just fine. I think I have a 2032 lay around I can try though.

Been having a play swapping memory in pairs and I do get a few cases of a memory specific error (code 51). Had to get the D14 off the thing and swap in a more pleasant cooler to have in any way efficient memory testing.

The motherboard also takes a supplemental power in the form of a SATA power connector which I've thrown on for good measure now..
 
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This is tricky and the fact you've changed most your components, i would be tempted to build it outside the case with the minimal of components.
 
Could be a bit of board warping over time affecting the memory traces. I've had some success now and then by very gently pulling the CPU cooler in the opposite direction to the motherboard while the PC is on. As well as loosening the cooler mounting a tad. But try this at your own risk. ;)
 
Managed to get a video of what's happening from time to time with the just "dying" part.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nDbs4j8vJzif1rF37

At the weekend I'll have a go building it outside the chassis. Definitely worth doing at this point. Do motherboards ground through the standoffs?

I'm not sure how fussy it is with ram but I've tried all the slots singularly and each set in double channel mode. I'm favouring the furthest left slot at the moment, but when the larger cooler was in it was slot 3 (from left to right).

I've checked for bent pins, and if it were warpage then that would be fixed by the new motherboard I'd assume?

Right now I've been predominantly testing with one fan, ssd connected, no front panel, and the 24+8 pin motherboard connectors.

I switched to a low profile cooler but the cheeky tug didn't get me any further.

Don't think I've ever encountered something so peculiar. The replacement motherboard and CPU were both used so it's not impossible they had issues but it seems like a stretch.
 
Got out on the "bench" now. Same issue, so the issue has to be in:

- CPU (replaced)
- Motherboard (replaced)
- Memory (all 4 sticks exhibit same issue)
- PSU (tested alternative)
- SSD (prevalent unplugged)
 
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