Maximus V Gene possible BIOS/motherboard issue

[ComfyPants]

Hi,

So yesterday I had built a pc for the very first time and I was very proud of myself that I had succeeded
in putting it all together properly ( I thought...).

When I started it up for the first time, it showed that the connection between my graphics card and the power supply
wasn't properly made. After fixing it, a new error occured..
My pc would startup, but there wouldn't appear a thing on my monitor and I would always have to reset the system by forcing it to shutdown. Whenever this occured, the debug-digits on the Maximus V Gene motherboard
would just stay at 00 or sometimes at 15, 29, A2, b2, and so on...
There wasn't really a specific code, it was very unstable. Sometimes, after alot of resetting, the system would startup,
I would be able to go into the BIOS, but after a few seconds it would just freeze again..
One time I was able to boot and install Windows, but whenever I would restart the system,
the same problem would just occure. I already have upgraded to the latest BIOS/firmware version
and it didn't change a thing.
Also, I tried removing the gpu en only keeping in 1 out of 4 memory cards, but it also didn't solve the problem.
I would really appreciate it if someone would be able to help me out :).

Here are my pc-specs:
- Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Gene
- Graphics Card: Asus GTX670
- CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K
- Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB
- SSD: Intel Solid-State Drive 525 Series 120GB
- Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H80i

P.S.: My apologies if some sentences are a bit weird, English is not my native language :).

Thanks in advance!

[Chino]

Welcome to the Republic of Gamers forum, ComfyPants.

Please recheck or redo your H80i installation. The trick here is to not overtightened the screws. If you're still experiencing the problems after loosening up the screws, please switch to the Intel Stock heatsink and see if the problems persist.

Report back with your findings. 😉

[HiVizMan]

I do not quite understand what is happening for you.

You speak of this thing appearing on your monitor - what is that thing?

[ComfyPants]

Thank you both for your replies :).

Chino - I tried loosening op the screws a bit, as well as redoing the installation, but this didn't solve the problem. I also replaced it with the Intel Stock Heatsink, but this didn't make a difference either :(.

HiVizMan - By saying "there wouldn't appear a thing on my monitor", I just meant that my monitor wouldn't display anything, it would just stay blank 🙂

[HiVizMan]

Ah OK I understand 🙂

I would take the motherboard out of the case and place it onto the box that the motherboard came it. Think of it as a test bench.

Now remove all the hardware and let us start from scratch.

Once the board is bare clear the CMOS with the battery out.

Check the socket area for any pins that might be slightly out of line. Often it is best to take a high resolution image to see any bent pins.

Check your PSU connectors that each one in good condition.

Now fit the CPU and use the stock CPU cooler for now.

One stick of ram in the furtherest slot from the CPU.

Video card and connect the power cables.

Ensure that your screen is powered on and that the cable from the video to the screen is correctly seated.

No hard drive yet please.

Now power up to BIOS.

Check your temps in bios and let your system sit for about 5 minutes.

I would re-do the bios flash using a fat formatted USB stick via the EZflash2 utility found in tools in the bios.

Remember to let the entire system reset and finish updating before you do anything else.

Once all that is done, fit your HDD and set XMP profile as your mode of overclocking in the BIOS.

Boot to OS or install your OS.

[apocalypzez]

In line with what HIVIZMAN and Chino has suggested, I would also try a BIOS reinstall by downloading it in another computer, renaming it via BiosRenamer, plugging it in to the white USB port and performing a USB flashback (also make sure that your boad has power, meaning not switched on but just the LEDs should be lit). I had similar issues like the '00' Q-Code error meaning CPU not installed or not recognised. I panicked too but don't.