Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard stopped booting up - Please Help!?

[jrodefeld]

Hi everyone,

I've been running a system based on x79 platform using the Asus Rampage IV Extreme motherboard for a couple of years. Everything had been working great for most of that time, but just today my PC won't boot up and I suspect a problem with the motherboard.

Actually, twice earlier today my PC randomly shut down and restarted itself. Then it seemed to work fine for a while again. But finally, it won't boot up.

Actually it seems to be booting up normally, except for the fact that the debug LEDs don't light up at all. The "Start", "Reset" and other lights all look like normal. When I press the power button, all the fans start up and everything appears to be getting the power it needs. The monitor just doesn't turn on and the PC doesn't boot.

What could be the problem? Is there anything I can do to fix the motherboard? I think it is still under warranty (3 years I think?) but I've got a ton of work to do and I really would prefer to not be without a working computer for several weeks. And I'm also running a fairly complicated watercoooling loop which is NOT real easy to drain, disassemble and re-assemble.

The main issue seems to be the debug LEDs that seem to be completely dead. There are no other symptoms of malfunction with any of the hardware. What could cause this problem in particular?

Just to be short, I've tried resetting the CMOS both with the button on the back and by removing the battery for a while before installing it again. I've switched between the two bios's and the same thing happens.

This was literally working perfectly this morning and every day for the past year or more. I haven't installed anything new or had any changes made to my hardware in recent months.

Actually, the only caveat I'd want to add is that I recall having one time where I noticed the debug LEDs also not lighting up but that seemed to be shortlived. There are no other problems that I can recall. My system has been remarkably stable and reliable.

Any ideas before I tear my system apart and try my luck with an RMA?

Thanks so much.

[freddy_ventura]

I would RMA, i had the same problem has you with the watercooling block on the board, cpu, graphics card its one of the things that gives alot of work and we are always trying to get a solution without disassemble the machine.
Your problem can be 3 things montherboard, cpu or PSU.

But the sympthoms you discribe im going for the board.

Ive been in your situation the 1st time i waited for the new board 2 months but the fault was from the store the second time i did a RMA i waited 1 month but since i had the bad experience on the first one i bought rampage iv black edition and when i received the rma one i sold it.

[jrodefeld]

Thanks for the response. I just noticed that in fact the CPU led light is on and is constantly red. I guess this means the CPU has died?

The issue then is that the debug leds are also not working which would indicate a motherboard problem. Or will motherboard issues cause the CPU light to incorrectly flash red?

I actually was able to get it to boot once today. I reset the CMOS and it booted up okay. The debug leds worked correctly. All I did was enter the BIOS setup screen, change a few settings and restart. The computer then shut down and failed to start up, doing exactly what it was doing before.

I can't imagine that the CPU is the cause of the problems really. I have kept this thing running on liquid cooling the entire time and I usually monitor my temps very closely. I also don't overclock or overclock very minimally.

My temps for the CPU at idle barely crack 30 degrees Celcius and, regardless of load, they hardly ever reach even 50 degrees. There was a short time when my water cooling system wasn't really pumping correctly and there were air bubbles in the loop that I couldn't clear. That went on for a week or two a couple months ago. But even then, temps didn't get very high, certainly no where near dangerously high.


If anyone else has any ideas of things I could try, I would really appreciate it. I really don't want to tear down this system and try and get a replacement, especially if I can't determine if the problem is the CPU or the motherboard or even both. I don't even know if I am still under warranty.

Thanks.