The most obscure computer problem I've ever ran into.

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

I recently upgraded my system to the IVY-E platform with a 4930K, Rampage IV Black Edition, and 32GB of Trident X. My issue is very intermittent, hard to reproduce, and has me scratching my skull clueless.

I'll give you the scenario and hopefully that gives you a place to start. System specs will be listed at the end of the post.

So, on any given day, during the first attempt to turn on my machine, the system will turn on, POST beep and then attempt to boot to windows. The moment the Win8 spinning orb screen appears, the system will shut down immediately. I will also note that when it shuts down, it is right before the Q-Code switches to 'AA'.

Now, when I go to turn on my system for the second time on any given day, immediately after the first turn on attempt of that day, the system will POST beep and then successfully boot into windows 8 with no issue.

I figured this issue to be some sort of sequencing or initialization issue with memory, or fast boot, or even possibly windows 8's odd self-hibernation. So, I've tested my system with two separate kits of known good memory, I've left fast boot turned off, and I have the sleep function turned off in my OS. I do not have anything overclocked on the system currently.

I've the slight suspicion that it could also be a faulty power supply, motherboard, or cpu given that the issue 'feels' hardware related however, I can say for certain that I recently (4 days go) reinstalled Win8 and for the first few days of using it I did NOT have the issue.

I just installed win 8.1 two nights before today and my system worked fine yesterday. So I don't want to think that it could be an 8.1 issue. The start up problem JUST reared it's ugly head again today after turning on my system for the first time today after getting off from work.

Could there be some sort of software that I installed on my system that could cause the issue?

Are there any known issues with 8.1 that could cause the OS to not properly initialize during a first attempt boot and then recover on the second boot attempt because the information is already pre-cached in the SSD or memory?

*I will say that currently, this initialization issue is the only issue I've had with the computer ever since my move to the LGA 2011 platform. For instance, after having the system shut down after first boot attempt on any given day, I will turn on the system again, posts, boots to windows, and the system will run fine. I don't get any random shut-downs, BSODs, or anything. It is just with first attempts on any given day that the system will fail to boot into the OS. Thats it.*

Below are my complete hardware specifications.
-Intel 4930K CPU
-Asus Rampage IV Black Edition Motherboard
-G.Skill Trident X 32GB 2400mhz ram (4x8) (Running at 1600mhz, 9-9-9-24, 1.5v)
-Evga GTX Titan Signature Superclocked Ed. Video Card
-Mushkin Chronos 480GB SSD
-(x2) WD 1TB Velociraptor HDD
-Asus Xonar DX Sound Card
-Intel Gigabit CT NIC
-Seasonic Platinum 1000W PSU
-Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3 Heatsink
-Corsair Obsidian 800D Case (All OEM and Stock case fans)
-Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit Operating System

Any and all help is very appreciated. I am so tired of this obscure and intermittent issue.

UPDATE: I found two other variables to consider before performing any of the fixes that other posters on this thread recommended.
First.
-I do have my page file turned off in Win 8.1

-There is also some thought in my mind that the "hibernate/fast startup" option that is natively turned on in windows 8 (under the 'choose what the power button does' option in power settings) may be the culprit and that it could be breaking because I have fast boot turned off in the UEFI bios or not using a paging file. Either way I'm not sure if this could be the reason or not.

-I checked my system event viewer log for a timestamp on the first boot attempt of today and it showed something that may give you guys more direction as to what could be causing my odd boot issue.

[Myk_SilentShado]

Hey mate, have you tried setting CSM to legacy?

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

Myk SilentShadow wrote:
Hey mate, have you tried setting CSM to legacy?

I've not tried setting CSM to legacy but I am curious as to why that matters. I suspect that it has something to do with UEFI bootloader and initialization.

Please elaborate if you would.

[Myk_SilentShado]

'[Wyatt Wallen wrote:
;403267']I've not tried setting CSM to legacy but I am curious as to why that matters. I suspect that it has something to do with UEFI bootloader and initialization.

Please elaborate if you would.

Because your problem is not as obscure as you might think mate, i've seen a few threads with the same exact problem and the fix was to either disable CSM or set it to Legacy. I don't believe I saw a why...or can recall why

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

Myk SilentShadow wrote:
Because your problem is not as obscure as you might think mate, i've seen a few threads with the same exact problem and the fix was to either disable CSM or set it to Legacy. I don't believe I saw a why...or can recall why

Alright. I trust you wouldn't steer me in the wrong direction but this issue is difficult to reproduce and so I have to wait a days time to get it to reappear which means changing one thing at a time. But if you trust that the issue I am having is the exact same problem as what the others in previous threads mentioned than I'll give it a shot.

Please check my post update as I've provided some additional info.

UPDATE: I did find several articles that post similar issues with one gentleman that has the exact same issue that I'm experiencing. These are the threads with the first one being a mirror of my same problem and the other two being similar.

->http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?47249-R4BE-Shutdown-at-beginning-of-Windows-boot&highlight=...

->http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?47142-rampage-iv-black-edition-shut-down-when-starting-wind...

->http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?46139-Rivbe-shutdowns

[meankeys]

Hi Wyatt Wallen

I have had a similar problem although I use Win 7. I found that when I was first testing this board I used default settings - offset voltage no OC but was using XMP memory settings. I too would get a shut down here and there for no reason. Once I started to OC the board and used manual Vcore settings I have not had a shutdown problem since. I am not saying to OC or to use a manual vcore setting but it possible you may just need a bit more juice during your boot-up process. There is a setting in the bios to set a start up voltage (CPU Vcore boot up voltage) and it would not hurt to set your CPU current capability to 170 % both may be found in the DiGi power control section of the bios. Hope this helps good luck

[CloudD901]

Have you had any luck with the recent posts?

I think your initial suspicion is correct about the power supply. For years I've seen a fault PSU do some crazy things to a computer similar to this. (Not sure if it's just fluctuating too little or too much power to the board or CPU.) If all settings seem to be ok and the computer is making it that far, I don't see it being other components. You can also test a fresh install of Windows but if it's the PSU then it won't make a difference.

Also as a side note; take a look at how old the PSU is. I've had a PSU that was about 4 years old. As soon as I updated my video card, the PSU went out within a week but had worked faultlessly until then. They don't like change.

[_Wyatt_Wallen_]

I am happy to report, given Raja's incredibly helpful advice, that I suspect that changing the CPU current capability to 170% has resolved my start-up shutdown issue. I also disabled "fast statup/hybrid boot" in windows and turned off fast boot in the bios because I had a suspicion that those two things were also possibly contributing to my initial issue but I will re-enable those settings to check if the problem rears it's ugly head again. That being said, I must say that with those settings turned off my system actually cold boots from start-up to windows in about 5 seconds so I may be better off leaving THEM off. haha.

It is great to have my system back up and running correctly. Time to crank up that chip frequency.;)


*I would also like to thank all of you in this thread for your helpful advice. I really appreciate it!*