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Asus dark hero startup issue ?

karlosfandango
Level 9
Hi all
I have a Asus Crosshair VIII DarkHhero ...with an AMD 5900X , 32gb of Gskils ram

Had a few times over last few months since recieving board where the system wont power on.
You press power switch on case and nothing .
You press power button on motherboard ...nothing ....and its lit up white ...all rgb is working ( on when powered off )
If i turn off PSU and back then power it back on ...system boots fine.
It can then be fine for say 4 weeks ...then happen out the blue again.
Was ok with old motherboard....so only things that have changed is MB and CPU.

Tried reflashing bios back to earlier version ...no different.
Had new graphics card since last time so rules that out.
Tried taking ram sticks out ...no difference.

Seems starnge how can run for weeks without issue ( but dont use it every day )

Im using an EVGA supernova 850W PSU.

Not major issue as all have to do is power off PSU and all good again ...but got to be something wrong.
Asus say sounds like something tripping PSU protection ...will have to try unpluging 24 pin and 8 pin cables next time , then plug back in to see if motherboard or psu .

Any help most appreciated.
Karl
191,420 Views
638 REPLIES 638

JBROG87 wrote:
Considering that I am seeing some people have the same issue with a new/replacement board is making me think it might be a BIOS firmware issue rather than hardware related?
The chances of 2 boards having the same issue is very unlikely, unless Asus suddenly forgot how to make proper motherboards.

My dark hero has the problem but otherwise works perfectly. I have enabled S4 + S5 in the bios which erradicates any start up problem. I can use Hibernate/Sleep without any issues, ever, as long as that setting is turned on.

I hope ASUS can finally understand the problem and address it !



it is 100% a Bios issue this bios 3801 is buggy from start to the end. in voltage in all and we get over months no bios update its really an unbelievable cheek

a friend got this issue after updating to the new bios, with the org bios that was delivered it wasn't there over months.

Since 2021/08/12 no update lool

NuadaXXX wrote:
it is 100% a Bios issue this bios 3801 is buggy from start to the end. in voltage in all and we get over months no bios update its really an unbelievable cheek

a friend got this issue after updating to the new bios, with the org bios that was delivered it wasn't there over months.

Since 2021/08/12 no update lool


Not sure. I am still running 3601 (initial version when I got the new board). Haven't updated it.

Xairoo wrote:
Not sure. I am still running 3601 (initial version when I got the new board). Haven't updated it.


Same here. Also on 3601 and the same issue as everyone else.....

DarthPlagueis wrote:
Same here. Also on 3601 and the same issue as everyone else.....



Update. I installed the new Dark Hero board that I received as an RMA from Newegg. The old board I bought on Sep. 24, 2021 and it worked fine for a few weeks before this startup issue started. For me the computer would never turn back on again after a shut down, no matter how much time passed between shut down and me trying to turn it back on. 10 seconds, 1 minute, 30 minutes, 12 hours, 3 days . . . it was all the same.

The old board was running BIOS 3601.

The new board is running BIOS 3702 (from July 24, 2021 I think), which from what I can tell is completely differently than the BIOS versions everyone else is complaining of (3601 and 3801).

The box for the new board is also a bit different as it has the Windows 11 approved sticker on it. This 3702 BIOS version on first boot has an fTPM warning, which I understand is related to Windows 11 requirements to run the OS.

So far so good but it's only been one day without any issues on the new board. I'm hoping it stays fine. I'm not touching the BIOS version. I'll report back if anything changes.

As for the RGB comments circulating, after reading those comments I realized that my problems all started shortly after I changed the motherboard's RGB settings for what happens when the computer is powered down. It's possible that something with that setting corrupted something in the BIOS but who knows. I have not played with the RGB on the old board to try and fix it. I don't dare touch it now with the new board.

JBROG87 wrote:
Considering that I am seeing some people have the same issue with a new/replacement board is making me think it might be a BIOS firmware issue rather than hardware related?
The chances of 2 boards having the same issue is very unlikely, unless Asus suddenly forgot how to make proper motherboards.

My dark hero has the problem but otherwise works perfectly. I have enabled S4 + S5 in the bios which erradicates any start up problem. I can use Hibernate/Sleep without any issues, ever, as long as that setting is turned on.

I hope ASUS can finally understand the problem and address it !


I registered to share this information.

I looked into this, being intrigued by NuadaXXX's response.

I tried turning off AURA in the bios. When I turned on the "AURA OFF" setting, my computer would shut down after saving to CMOS and NOT respond to the power button anymore afterwards. This was exactly the same behavior like when it fails to wake from sleep. Motherboard LED's on etc, no response from keyboard/power button to wake from sleep. And wouldn't work anymore until powercycling the whole PSU as mentioned in this thread many times.

Figured I had found a 'connection' here.

So following that I tried setting AURA to STEALTH mode which turns off ALL lighting after POST (including the POST LED and status leds etc.) and that actually FIXED my problem.

So thank you very much NuadaXXX for this idea!!

I haven't had a single problem with waking from sleep ever since. Even after sleeping for extended periods of 8-12 hours.

Just for consistency/reproduction sake; I have also enabled the S4+ S5 ERP feature, but that didn't actually fix anything for me. However, I left it enabled.

So to reproduce my "fix" you would have to enable that S4+S5 ERP feature and set your AURA setting to "Stealth" mode.

I am guessing the ErP function isn't actually necessary for the fix to work, but I could be wrong. So if it doesn't work for you with it off, try with it on S4+S5.

Hope this can be fixed in a future bios update if this turns out to fix the issue for more people!

Try it for yourself and spread the word!

edit: some details about my setup for bios dev if it helps: 2x16gb dual rank 3600 16 19 19 39 XMP profile @ 1.35v (kit on QVL) / 3900X stock voltages / 3080Ti BIOS Version 3801

Aalz0r wrote:
I registered to share this information.

I looked into this, being intrigued by NuadaXXX's response.

I tried turning off AURA in the bios. When I turned on the "AURA OFF" setting, my computer would shut down after saving to CMOS and NOT respond to the power button anymore afterwards. This was exactly the same behavior like when it fails to wake from sleep. Motherboard LED's on etc, no response from keyboard/power button to wake from sleep. And wouldn't work anymore until powercycling the whole PSU as mentioned in this thread many times.

Figured I had found a 'connection' here.

So following that I tried setting AURA to STEALTH mode which turns off ALL lighting after POST (including the POST LED and status leds etc.) and that actually FIXED my problem.

So thank you very much NuadaXXX for this idea!!

I haven't had a single problem with waking from sleep ever since. Even after sleeping for extended periods of 8-12 hours.

Just for consistency/reproduction sake; I have also enabled the S4+ S5 ERP feature, but that didn't work actually change anything for me. However, it's still enabled for me right now.

So to reproduce my "fix" you would have to enable that S4+S5 ERP feature and set your AURA setting to "Stealth" mode.

Hope this can be fixed in a future bios update if this turns out to fix the issue for more people!

Try it for yourself and spread the word!

edit: some details about my setup for bios dev if it helps: 2x16gb dual rank 3600 16 19 19 39 XMP profile @ 1.35v (kit on QVL) / 3900X stock voltages / 3080Ti BIOS Version 3801


Hi Aalz0r,

And thank you for your post.

Have you tried without ErP enabled?
If I ask, it is because with this option enabled, it is impossible to benefit from the WoL functionality.

tony-rambo wrote:
Hi Aalz0r,

And thank you for your post.

Have you tried without ErP enabled?
If I ask, it is because with this option enabled, it is impossible to benefit from the WoL functionality.


I think it shouldn't really matter, because for me the ErP didn't fix the issue so, you can try with it off. Just saying what fixed it for me was setting the AURA mode to "Stealth mode". (the top right button in the bios) I didn't mess with the armor crate at all. (Don't have it installed.)

Aalz0r wrote:
I registered to share this information.

I looked into this, being intrigued by NuadaXXX's response.

I tried turning off AURA in the bios. When I turned on the "AURA OFF" setting, my computer would shut down after saving to CMOS and NOT respond to the power button anymore afterwards. This was exactly the same behavior like when it fails to wake from sleep. Motherboard LED's on etc, no response from keyboard/power button to wake from sleep. And wouldn't work anymore until powercycling the whole PSU as mentioned in this thread many times.

Figured I had found a 'connection' here.

So following that I tried setting AURA to STEALTH mode which turns off ALL lighting after POST (including the POST LED and status leds etc.) and that actually FIXED my problem.

So thank you very much NuadaXXX for this idea!!

I haven't had a single problem with waking from sleep ever since. Even after sleeping for extended periods of 8-12 hours.

Just for consistency/reproduction sake; I have also enabled the S4+ S5 ERP feature, but that didn't actually fix anything for me. However, I left it enabled.

So to reproduce my "fix" you would have to enable that S4+S5 ERP feature and set your AURA setting to "Stealth" mode.

I am guessing the ErP function isn't actually necessary for the fix to work, but I could be wrong. So if it doesn't work for you with it off, try with it on S4+S5.

Hope this can be fixed in a future bios update if this turns out to fix the issue for more people!

Try it for yourself and spread the word!

edit: some details about my setup for bios dev if it helps: 2x16gb dual rank 3600 16 19 19 39 XMP profile @ 1.35v (kit on QVL) / 3900X stock voltages / 3080Ti BIOS Version 3801


Hi Aalz0r,

If you take a look at my earlier post (and others) you can see that we are experiencing the problem specifically also with Stealth mode enabled (and any other LED mode).

Since the issue is so sporadic, I have found myself thinking I have a 'eureka moment' where I've discovered the important BIOS setting -- only to discover the problem returning later. Sometimes it can go for 30 reboots/sleeps before recurrence of the problem, sometimes it appears after just a few (<5) -- but so far, I do not find a single BIOS setting that reliability stops the failure on 3601 or 3801.

For the record, I've also reproduced the problem on different operating systems (Windows and Linux) using completely different software stacks. Same problem.

von_nihil wrote:
Hi Aalz0r,

If you take a look at my earlier post (and others) you can see that we are experiencing the problem specifically also with Stealth mode enabled (and any other LED mode).

Since the issue is so sporadic, I have found myself thinking I have a 'eureka moment' where I've discovered the important BIOS setting -- only to discover the problem returning later. Sometimes it can go for 30 reboots/sleeps before recurrence of the problem, sometimes it appears after just a few (<5) -- but so far, I do not find a single BIOS setting that reliability stops the failure on 3601 or 3801.

For the record, I've also reproduced the problem on different operating systems (Windows and Linux) using completely different software stacks. Same problem.


yes "Stealth mode" helps also, but after i changed the RGB setting in Armoury (bios has Default settings only ram-Cpu OC). i got till this day no problem, with the stealth mode the problem was mutch faster there for me again.

but that would also confirm that it has something to do with it.

so i said i would be happy about a full RGB reset button in the bios.

If Asus doesn't give us a beta BIOS to test something like this, the problem will never be found an 100% confirmed.

I have no way of completely resetting it, the settings are retained even after a new bios flash, that's ridiculous, and Armoury default change it also not 100% back.

von_nihil wrote:
Hi Aalz0r,

If you take a look at my earlier post (and others) you can see that we are experiencing the problem specifically also with Stealth mode enabled (and any other LED mode).

Since the issue is so sporadic, I have found myself thinking I have a 'eureka moment' where I've discovered the important BIOS setting -- only to discover the problem returning later. Sometimes it can go for 30 reboots/sleeps before recurrence of the problem, sometimes it appears after just a few (<5) -- but so far, I do not find a single BIOS setting that reliability stops the failure on 3601 or 3801.

For the record, I've also reproduced the problem on different operating systems (Windows and Linux) using completely different software stacks. Same problem.


You are right. After nearly a week of no issues (even with longer sleeps) it struck again.

I tested 30 short sleeping bursts (sleep, wake after 15sec, sleep, wake after 15 sec) and found that it did not fail to wake from sleep even once.

So to me it seems it is a problem with some kind of deeper sleep state/power state that occurs after a longer period of time. (But not consistently?)

Can others confirm whether the bug happens for them after short sleeps as well?

And also, can you try setting your AURA setting in the bios to "AURA OFF" because when I did that, it caused the motherboard to stop responding to the power button after selecting "save changes & restart", in the exact same way it does when sleep bugs.

The expected behavior here is:
1. Change aura setting in bios to "AURA OFF"
2. Save changes & Reboot
3. Computer turns off
4. Doesn't come back on, until PSU is power cycled.

So if we have enough people who can reproduce that behavior, I think we could narrow it down to that setting. Since it's causing the same behavior as the sleep failure.

I think it would help the bios developers look in the right direction more.