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Maximus Impact VII Won't Post... Please help me.

Opprobrious
Level 7
Build:
Motherboard: Maximus Impact VII
CPU: Intel I7 4790K
RAM: GSkill (F3-2400C10D-16GTX)
Video Card: AMD R9 290X Lightning
PSU: Silverstone SFX 600-G
Storage: Crucial M550 512GB SATA M.2, (2) Samsung 850 Pro 256GB, Western Digital 2 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB
Case: NCaseM1 2.0
Cooling: Custom Loop: EK Blocks and Radiator, Bits Power Fittings

So I just got done prepping my loop and bleeding it (pump powered only). Plugged everything in, and BEHOLD; NOTHING!!! There are no error LEDs lit on the board indicating faulty hardware, and the QCode reads 00. Reseated the RAM and still nothing. Thought about the fact that there were absolutely no LEDs on the board lighting other than the Start button, so I decided to remove the RAM entirely. Booted the system hoping to trip an error code of some sort and still nothing; the exact behavior as if I had the RAM installed. I'm at a complete loss here. I read about the QCode 00 can sometimes mean a problem w/ the CPU, but the motherboard is behaving as if it has it's own issues.

I am going to probably go to the place I bought the CPU and have them bench it to make sure it is functioning, in which case I'll know it is probably an issue w/ the motherboard.

Something else I have noticed when powering the computer on. I have my 4-pin PWM corsair radiator fans attached to the motherboard via the impact coolhub and they will not spin up. Just for kicks I attached one of the fans to the 4-pin cpu prong. It BARELY spun.

I have tried just booting on the motherboard w/ CPU only (no video card power) and there is no change in behavior. My HDD spins up, and my pump turns on, but there is no POST. In addition, I noticed when I was plugging the power into my video card, (2, 8-pin, and 1, 6-pin) 1 connector at a time, there are LEDs on the video card that indicate adequate power; 1 8-pin connector (LEDs RED; not enough juice), 2, 8-pin connectors (LEDs Blue; normal operation), 2, 8-pin and 1, 6-pin (LEDs Blue and Amber; OC mode unlocked). The video card seems to be getting enough power so I'm skeptical if the PSU is faulty however, I'm uncertain.

PS: Where the hell is the MEMOK button on this board? The impact vi it is located on the rear near the QCODE LCD however, the vii is a different story... (Originally I thought this may be my problem because of a RAM issue, but the system behaves exactly the same with or without the ram...

Please help me troubleshoot this no POST issue. Thank you in advance!!!

TLDR: QCode reads 00; there is no post, and there are absolutely no error LEDs lit on the motherboard; only thing that is lit is the start button. PLEASE HALP!!
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31 REPLIES 31

Opprobrious
Level 7
okay so I'm going to reply to my own post. After doing some research throughout the forums, I see that someone is having a very similar issue that I am having. QCode: 00, and no error LEDs on the motherboard. (No POST); his solution was that the PSU connector to the motherboard was not down all the way. I am reading this at work so I cannot check to see if this is my issue. I am hoping it is because don't have spare equipment to test the motherboard/cpu/psu.

QCode: 00 and No Motherboard Lights = PSU issue? We're going to see in a few hours. I will post back with results. If anyone else would care to help me troubleshoot this problem I would appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

Puffnstuff
Level 10
Qcode 00 is the very first listed in the bios table and is not used. Do you have another ps that you can try on it?
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master, AMD 3900X, EVGA 360 aio, 32gb G.Skill Trident Z Neo, Samsung 970 Pro NVME 512gb, WD Black NVME 1 TB, Crucial MX500 2tb, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP!, EVGA Nu Audio, CM HAF 932

Puffnstuff wrote:
Qcode 00 is the very first listed in the bios table and is not used. Do you have another ps that you can try on it?


Thank you for replying; unfortunately I do not have another ps to try out on it.

I just got home and I checked all the power connections and everything is completely sound. I took everything out again, and I'm running just my pump, motherboard, and cpu. I have the main connection to the ps and the 8 pin connection too. I'm not even running RAM, just trying to get some kind of error code or life other than the 00. (I did try the RAM installed as well; still the same big nothing) I am aware that 00 is not used however, it seems to be unofficially related to cpu/power issues; at least according to a few people having related issues. I power it on, and then I have the 00, followed by the start button lit on the motherboard.

I did notice something interesting and definitely worth noting: I get the exact behavior from the rig whether or not I plug in the additional 8 pin connector into the board. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could be so kind as to simply unplug their 8 pin mobo connector and fire on the computer; see if they get the same issues I'm getting. (00 Code, with no error leds) I am becoming more confident in narrowing this down to a PS problem. Can anyone confirm or speculate?

I'm tempted to go to the store and buy a modular PS and see if this is the problem (while I wait for amazon to send me another Silverstone SFX 600w PSU).

Puffnstuff
Level 10
Did you double check the standoffs and make sure that you have them in the right places? I've had boards refuse to boot before because I had left one in the wrong place grounding it out. I am not familiar with the impact cool hub you mention but in the days of old boards would not boot if the bios didn't detect a cpu fan.
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master, AMD 3900X, EVGA 360 aio, 32gb G.Skill Trident Z Neo, Samsung 970 Pro NVME 512gb, WD Black NVME 1 TB, Crucial MX500 2tb, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP!, EVGA Nu Audio, CM HAF 932

Puffnstuff wrote:
Did you double check the standoffs and make sure that you have them in the right places? I've had boards refuse to boot before because I had left one in the wrong place grounding it out. I am not familiar with the impact cool hub you mention but in the days of old boards would not boot if the bios didn't detect a cpu fan.


The Impact is a mini itx; there are literally only 4 screws to mount it. It's not grounding out. (I've actually had that problem w/ my Asus A7V266 a long long time ago. I also stuck a 4pin pwm fan on there just to make sure the motherboard wasn't just preventing the computer from booting because of a lack of fanage...

I sincerely think it's a problem w/ the power now simply because there is no difference if I have the 8 pin connector attached to the motherboard adjacent to the main connection or not; I'm pretty certain if someone were to only attach the main 24pin connection to the motherboard w/o the 8 pin they'd have the same symptoms as me. Not entirely sure though, but I'm fairly certain.

Nate152
Moderator
Hello Opprobious and welcome

If the 8 pin cpu power cable is not connected you will get code 00. Check that it's clicked into place. Other things that can cause code 00 is an over tightened cpu cooler/waterblock or uneven pressure on the cpu, try loosening your waterblock a touch.

You can try clearing the cmos. Your board should come with a bios that supports devils canyon but you could try a bios update to see if that helps.

A faulty psu can cause code 00

A faulty motherboard can cause code 00

A dead cpu WILL cause code 00.

Bent or misaligned cpu socket pins can cause code 00. You can pull the waterblock and cpu and inspect the socket with a magnifying glass in good light to see if you have any bent pins. Look close and carefully and make sure they are ALL evenly spaced.

As Puffnstuff said a short can cause code 00.

Nate152 wrote:
Hello Opprobious and welcome

If the 8 pin cpu power cable is not connected you will get code 00. Check that it's clicked into place. Other things that can cause code 00 is an over tightened cpu cooler/waterblock or uneven pressure on the cpu, try loosening your waterblock a touch.

You can try clearing the cmos. Your board should come with a bios that supports devils canyon but you could try a bios update to see if that helps.

A faulty psu can cause code 00

A faulty motherboard can cause code 00

A dead cpu WILL cause code 00.

Bent or misaligned cpu socket pins can cause code 00. You can pull the waterblock and cpu and inspect the socket with a magnifying glass in good light to see if you have any bent pins. Look close and carefully and make sure they are ALL evenly spaced.

As Puffnstuff said a short can cause code 00.


Thank you for all of the info; it is greatly appreciated!

Originally I had to RMA the motherboard because the one Amazon sent me had all bent pins/contacts on the socket. I didn't even mount the cpu to it prior to inspecting it. After the replacement arrived I looked it over very thoroughly (CPU as well).

It turns out my local store does have the exact same PS i'm using so I'm going to buy one from them (I'll make sure I can return it if the issue doesn't get resolved) since it's the easiest thing to do at this point and most unobtrusive.

I also checked my motherboard as it sat atop the stands to make sure nothing was shorting it out, I used tiny plastic washers too just to make sure that wouldn't bite me in the ass. No shorts, everything looks normal.

The fact that the presence of the 8 pin connector to the mobo and the absence of the 8 pin connector to the mobo creates the exact same senario on my rig leads me to believe it's an issue w/ the power supply however, the CPU may also be the culprit as per the info you've just armed me with. Block too tight, uneven pressure, all these I will check when I get home. "a dead cpu WILL cause code 00"; WILL!!! So there seems to be a rather high likelihood that the CPU communication w/ the board would cause the 00. In which case I will loosen up the block, ensure the pressure is even, inspect pins again, etc etc, and I still get the 00, I will snag the new PS. Swap that in; if that doesn't clear things up, I'm going to bring the CPU to the place I bought it to get benched.

I was really hoping for a post Christmas miracle in reference to a power connector being loose. No such luck; I checked everything and there are absolutely no gaps on the mobo side, or power supply side. FML

I will try clearing the cmos. I am not familiar with devils canyon. Just to confirm, in order to do an update to the bios, I do need to have the system to POST right? I'm not being a smartass, I may be unfamiliar with new tricks these modern ROG boards can do.

Again guys, thank you so much for the information.

Will update on my findings later today.

Nate152
Moderator
you're welcome

If none of the things I mentioned works and since your build is new I would concentrate on the psu and motherboard. I don't see how you could have fried your cpu.

If you get the same results with another psu, then I'm leaning towards your motherboard.

wasn't able to troubleshoot further yesterday; had "important" stuff to do w/ the girlfriend. I was able to remove the block and inspect all the pins and ensure that everything was hooked up perfectly. Put all the stock blocks and sinks back on the motherboard, remounted the CPU and used the stock intel cpu cooler. Tried to post w/ just the PSU, CPU, and Mobo (on my table resting on a huge anti-static bag). Also tried it w/ a stick of RAM. Still stupid 00 code w/ the only way I can think to describe it as half power to the mobo.

Going to store to snag a new PSU and see if they can bench my CPU while I'm there. CPU will prob be okay, PSU will swap in tonight and like Nate said, if the symptoms persist, going to RMA mobo through amazon.

Will post up later today.