Crosshair V Formula-Z FF Code

[Khronos]

Ive seen a few posts related to this subject however none of the supposed fixes worked for me.

i have the:
Crosshair v Formula-z 990fx board
8320 at 3.5Ghz (to which i turned off turbo because the stock heastsink didnt keep it cool enough while gaming)
2 x 4GB of Adata 1600Mhz ram at CL 9
1 x 1.5TB WD Green
1 x 2TB WD Green
EVGA GTX 660 ti 2GB signature 2 edition

My computer was built over a year ago and was working perfect with the Cooler Master Glacer 240L up until the pump short circuited and cause the pump (only the pump) to get damaged. After the initial replacement I installed like normal and had the same pump break again. I RMA'd both items to get the third in the mail... while i was waiting for the new cooler to arrive i put the stock heatsink on my computer and it worked flawlessly for about 1 month when I decided to install the new watercooler today. I did use the computer earlier in the day so i know it was working correctly before i took it apart. I removed the GPU and the stock heatsink from the motherboard and continued to install the Glacer 240l liquid cooler. I made sure not to unplug my 24pin or 8 pin cables and only messed with the CPU heatsink and GPU. Upon finishing installing said cooler i checked all the cables and started her up. it did post and showed the Asus logo where it would say press Delete for the BIOS, at this point i notices something was wrong because neither my mouse or keyboard were registering power. The screen froze and i quickly pressed and held the power button on my case to shut it down. After attempting to start it up again i wont post and i get the FF Q-code. I looked up this error code and wound up here in this forum and i tried the fixes that worked for others and still nothing. I made sure the CPU waterblock was not installed too tightly and even loosened them just a quarter turn to make sure. I removed the Ram and installed one stick at a time and still FF code comes up. i tested each stick alone and then together with the memOK feature on the mobo and both sticks were working( like i said in the beginning the computer was working just fine before i began installing the watercooler). I do not get any beeps or anything from the speaker for the Mobo and only get the LED DRAM light on with the FF q-code up. After trying all this with the watercooler on i removed it and put the stock heatsink back on to make sure it wasnt the watercooler, it still gives me the same error.

[dertester]

I would re-seat the cpu and check for smeared thermal paste. Not sure if you´re using conductive paste..


Also clearing cmos cant hurt.

I also would reinstall all cables. Did you install gpu power connectors? ( i once forgot them and nearly got mad because screen was off)

Were your pumps connected to molex etc or directly to the fan headers? maybe you lost them now, i would try a few starts without fan cables (like passive)

[Khronos]

I did re-seat my CPU 3 times and applied new thermal paste each and every time between changing coolers etc. (i know thats obvious xD) Normally i use IC diamond but because ive been changing coolers and other stuff im using the thermal paste that comes with the Glacier 240l from Cooler master until i get everything running. Since my firdt post i have completely disassembled my computer 3 times and made sure all the cables were plugged in including the 24/8-pin and the 2 6-pin for the GPU. Oh, based on another Forum post i removed the battery on the motherboard since sometime itll throw up the FF error if the battery is low but still no dice. In the process of re-bulding/testing my computer for the FF/DRAM error i heard the fan on my power supply had a small noise coming from it (not coil whine) seemed like cooling fan related. So i dusted the power supply but the nise remained and after a lil the fan would ramp up and it sounded like the PSU was going to explode. Ive since sent an RMA to the power supply manufacturer but according to their warranty the fan going bad is not covered in the warranty because it falls under wear from use. We'll see what they say but im still at a loss with my computer being down. I tried the passive approach removing all fans but the cpu fan while using the stock heatsink and yes, the pump is powered through SATA cable actually (strange i know) and the pump speed is connected to the CPU primary header with the fans plugged into the secondary/case fan. Again i removed all fans minus the pump speed which is connected to the primary CPU header.

*sigh* i worked on trying different things for over 12 hours today but to no avail... makes me sad to see my computer in this state..

[dertester]

The pump is powerd through sata because it draws more current than a cpu header can deliver. The second conector to the header is just for speed control and less for power delivery.

You could try to measure your 5V/12V with a multimeter. I have a bad feeling about those two burned pumps.. usually the psu should protect itself but maybe its gone too 😕
What psu do you have?

You could work yourself trough this:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

[Khronos]

i have a Fractal integra R2 750 watt PSU Bronze rated. Unfortunately, i lent my multimeter to someone and they moved away >.> so i would have to get another one. From what i can gather it might be a combination from the PSU and the Mobo... ive had nothing but problems with this motherboard not reading the PCI-E slots etc. even with BIOS updates and making sure they are turned on in the BIOS (its simple but people can forget).

PS. thanks for that forum page it has good information! I have already done all of that xD though.

[edgardoangelv]

Khronos wrote:
Ive seen a few posts related to this subject however none of the supposed fixes worked for me.

i have the:
Crosshair v Formula-z 990fx board
8320 at 3.5Ghz (to which i turned off turbo because the stock heastsink didnt keep it cool enough while gaming)
2 x 4GB of Adata 1600Mhz ram at CL 9
1 x 1.5TB WD Green
1 x 2TB WD Green
EVGA GTX 660 ti 2GB signature 2 edition

My computer was built over a year ago and was working perfect with the Cooler Master Glacer 240L up until the pump short circuited and cause the pump (only the pump) to get damaged. After the initial replacement I installed like normal and had the same pump break again. I RMA'd both items to get the third in the mail... while i was waiting for the new cooler to arrive i put the stock heatsink on my computer and it worked flawlessly for about 1 month when I decided to install the new watercooler today. I did use the computer earlier in the day so i know it was working correctly before i took it apart. I removed the GPU and the stock heatsink from the motherboard and continued to install the Glacer 240l liquid cooler. I made sure not to unplug my 24pin or 8 pin cables and only messed with the CPU heatsink and GPU. Upon finishing installing said cooler i checked all the cables and started her up. it did post and showed the Asus logo where it would say press Delete for the BIOS, at this point i notices something was wrong because neither my mouse or keyboard were registering power. The screen froze and i quickly pressed and held the power button on my case to shut it down. After attempting to start it up again i wont post and i get the FF Q-code. I looked up this error code and wound up here in this forum and i tried the fixes that worked for others and still nothing. I made sure the CPU waterblock was not installed too tightly and even loosened them just a quarter turn to make sure. I removed the Ram and installed one stick at a time and still FF code comes up. i tested each stick alone and then together with the memOK feature on the mobo and both sticks were working( like i said in the beginning the computer was working just fine before i began installing the watercooler). I do not get any beeps or anything from the speaker for the Mobo and only get the LED DRAM light on with the FF q-code up. After trying all this with the watercooler on i removed it and put the stock heatsink back on to make sure it wasnt the watercooler, it still gives me the same error.

what is your ff code? 66? 64? or your code is FF?

[Khronos]

The code is FF with the DRAM light turned on.

Sorry for the late reply i was waiting on my new PSU to arrive from the RMA I sent on Tuesday. It should be arriving on Monday the 11/17.

Once I get my PSU I will completely remove my Motherboard and check the standoffs to make sure im not causing a short circuit anywhere behind the motherboard. If that were to be the case... it would baffle be since the computer was running perfectly fine before I changed coolers but for the sake of exhausting all options ill do it anyways.

[chris635]

Try putting the fast boot switch to the off position on the motherboard.

[Khronos]

ill try that on Monday when the power supply comes in.

[Khronos]

*Update*

So I got my new PSU today and plugged it in. It still gave me the same FF Q-code and the DRAM light.

I did notice some thermal paste on 4 pins of the CPU which I cleaned up (I suspected that was the problem) very carefully. I figured this was the problem but as stated above... its still a no go. I wish I had another CPU to test and make sure my current CPU didnt die or something but i built a computer for someone and all my spare parts went with them.