Q-Code 61 Hell..

[WolfzheaD]

Hi,

I'll list my specs first:

CPU: i7-4790K
M/B: Asus Maximus VII Gene
RAM: 16Gb 1600Mhz 8-8-8-24 Crucial Ballistix Tracer
GPU: EVGA 980Ti SC ACX2.0
PSU: Corsair AX1200i

All clock speeds are at stock settings until I can get this sorted.

I've been running in to problems for several months now with my Maximus VII Gene where I intermittently get Q-Code 61 during boot.
It has most prominently happened at the point Windows usually takes over in the boot process (the spinning dotted wheel below the
Windows logo), although I've seen it happening before reaching this point too.

I'm not sure if it's related but on the POST screen the board is usually detecting 2 Mice, 5 keyboards, 4 hubs. In reality I only have
1 Keyboard, 1 USB Hub, 1 Mouse and 1 XBone Wired Controller plugged in.

Another note: I run 3 screens in 1080p@144Hz and it's becoming common for the boot process to only fire up two of the screens
and after a few minutes the system will simply lock up and requires a hard reset. This is when it actually manages to boot up and
doesn't get stuck at the Q-Code 61.

When it first started, I sent the board back to the supplier but it was returned to me (after having to pay a tech fee) as they couldn't
find a fault. It then stopped happening for several weeks but it's now at a point where I am worried that if I shut down/restart my
system, it's not going to start up again.

So far I have tried:

- Swapped out SSD/HDD
- Swapped out RAM
- Swapped out GPU
- Swapped out PSU
- Swapped out BIOS clock battery
- Reinstalled Windows 10: Upgrade and Clean
- Reinstalled Windows 8.1

None of these worked. However, when I put my old 3770K & ASRock Fatal1ty Pro board back in the build the problem disappears.

I guess I'm looking for some advice as this problem doesn't seem to be what I'd call "widespread" and since the problem has been
so intermittent I don't want to send it back to the supplier again only to get another technical charge if they can't find anything wrong.

I'm seriously considering buying a new BIOS chip and installing it myself but I assume this will void the warranty right?

Thanks in advance for any help

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Well, different CPUs are different IMCs so really, that the RAM ran fine on one CPU doesn't mean anything with another....though if you tested it in this CPU with memtest and it came up fine....

I guess you have to wait for new BIOS chip and see...

[WolfzheaD]

RAM runs fine on 3 different cpu/mobo combinations mate. If anything it would be incompatible rather than faulty I'd imagine, though if it was a compatibility issue I'd expect it to have been happening from the day the board was installed. Else the symptoms wouldn't just be on one cpu/mobo combination.

Phenom II 1055T / Asus Crosshair IV Formula
i5-3570K / EVGA Z77 Stinger
i7-3770K / ASRock Fatal1ty Z7 Professional

All of which have been through memtest86+ and prime95 tests (at stock, xmp and overclocked) successfully

Don't mean to come across as "touchy", it's just I have been dealing with this for months running through all sorts of different tests and hardware swaps to narrow it down. The common denominator in every single scenario that this happens is the i7-4790K / Asus Maximus VII Gene combination using all peripherals, no peripherals, only kb/m and even 3 different keyboards and 2 different mice.

By process of elimination, the fault looks to lie with the board/cpu. I'd even swap these out individually to narrow it down further, if I had a spare LGA1150 board lol

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Yes, that was the point I was making...that the CPU IMC is the other part in this and this combo might not work...other memtests on other combinations don't say anything for this system..is all I'm trying to say so you'd have to run memtest on this combination to see if problems...

I'm pretty sure I didn't say the RAM was faulty

Mixing kits is a lottery...you may have been lucky before but may not be this time..that's all.

[WolfzheaD]

No no, I get you man. Sorry if I came across as ungrateful in my last response - I really am grateful for all the input you've given me.

I get what you mean with the different setup producing different results, that's to be expected. I'm just saying that I have tested the memory extensively in both this system and various others with passes.

The chip is going to take a while to arrive and I really need my system up and running over the next few days while I finish a CCNA project. Over the weekend though I'm going to be moving some things around so I'll double check all the USB's and the RAM just to be 100% certain.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Nah I didn't read that into it...all good...

These kinds of problems are the worst...intermittent with lots of swapped out gear leaving you not much better off. It is possible the CPU is the weak link...or the IMC at any rate

Quite often it comes down to swapping out CPU or mainboard if that's a possibility...

If you run at F5 defaults does this happen any less?

[WolfzheaD]

Nah I'm afraid not. I left it running at F5 stock for about a week to test for instability and it was still happening.

I got the board and cpu from the same supplier so I wonder if they would take them back together as a bundle to test them together. I'll have to see how it goes with the new chip.

[WolfzheaD]

BIOS chip hasn't arrived yet but wanted to add a quick update.

My desk was a mess and my machine was a bit too dusty so decided to pull it out and clean it. While I was in there I decided to look at where the bios chip was on this board and see how accessible it was. It felt a little bit loose so I pressed it down in to it's recess... there was an audible click and now I've had about 15-20 restarts without issues. I'm back on XMP atm with xHCI enabled so things are finally looking good.

Also, I discovered that the black screen issues were in fact unrelated. They are due to a power issue with DisplayPort where the monitor fails to come out of standby. Simply unplugged the 3-pin power lead from the back of the monitor(s) being effected while the OS was running, waited for them to completely power down (which oddly took about 2 minutes per monitor) and then plugged the power leads back in - all three screens working as intended again 😄

I will update again if the QC61 error comes back again.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Crumbs...that's a first for me hearing that! If that's it!?....sometimes it is the simplest things....:)

Yeah the screen thing sounded unrelated and of that type of thing....