Maximus VIII Extreme and 00 Q-Code

[vyras]

HI,

First of all I would like to thank anyone who is going to spend time helping me with my problem. I am first going to describe the system and then provide a brief history of how the problem came about and what I have done in attempts to resolve it. I am also going to include some ideas towards the end of the post.

My system is comprised of:
-Maximus VIII Extreme
-Intel i7 6700K
-G.Skill Ripjaws V series Model F4-3000C15Q-64GVR (4x16GB)
-2 Nvidia Titan X in SLI (running on the 1st and 3rd PCIe lanes)
-2 Intel 750 SSDs (one on PCIe 4_4 lane running on x4 and the other one using the u.2 port)
-Corsair AX1500i
-3 PG27AQ running on surround (using display ports)

I would also like to mention that the system is watercooled using 2 loops, 1 loop has CPU and Ram and the other one has the 2 Titans. I have not got around into overclocking the system yet since I have been busy with work. The CPU usually runs at 25-30C (Celcius) when idle and can get around at 45-50C when under load. The Graphics Cards run at 35-40C and can get up to 55C under load. I am running Windows 10 and Xubuntu on the system with no problems. I would also like to mention that I am always using BIOS 2 (applying updates as they come) and keeping BIOS 1 with the stock 0401 BIOS version that was originally installed. The current BIOS version running on BIOS 2 is 1601 which is the latest at time of writting this post. I am using both 4 pin and 8 pin molex for the CPU

The initial presentation of the 00 Q code was about 3-4 weeks ago. The system was running fine with no problems whatsoever prior to presentation. When I first saw it I was scared ****less to be honest because I assumed that my CPU was a gonner. I turned off the system and retried with no change in status. After looking around and trying to figure out what was going wrong I found out that the problem got resolved after pressing on top of the 8pin molex connector of the CPU. After doing this the system would continue with POSTing and Booting of any OS without causing any problems. After the inital presentation whenever I wanted to turn on the system after it was completly shut down, I had to apply the same pressure on the 8 pin CPU molex. I would like to mention that this was not the case for restart. If I was restarting the system this problem did not appear. My initial thoughts were that it was a problem with the Molex connector which I wrongly assumed ( I will explain how I found out that I was wrong in a momoment) was not making full contact with the female on the motherboard, that's why when apllying pressure would resolve the problem allowing the wires to touch and send the system into normal POST.

About 2 weeks ago when I got some free time over the weekend I tried to resolve the problem by changing the wires and switching the 8pin with the 4pin (the PSU has 2 8pin molex for the CPUs where I divided 1 of the 8 pins to create a the 4 pin) After switching of the wires the problem did not get resolved so I continued using the method that I mentioned earlier. I figured that there must be a problem with the wires themselves (maybe they are at a weird angle, not making correct contact or someting else) so I decided to buy a pair of extension molex wires to help out with the situation.

Friday afternoon the system was working properly. I went out for coffee around 1800 and shut down the system before I left. On Friday night after I got back home (before the arrival of the new extension wires) I was not able to resolve the problem using the usual method in an attempt to start up the system. I got really fed up so I started tearing down the system since I did not know that the extension wires were going to arrive the next day. I Removed everything from the motherboard, placing it on a cardboard box and only using the CPU, 1 ram stick, the 8pin on the CPU , the 4 pin on the CPU and the 24 pin. (I also plugged in the EZ_PLUG at the bottom left of the motherboard which I was not using up to this point in time)

I began with chaning the molex wiring on the PSU, as well as chaning the wires aroudn the 8pin and 4 pin molex. I also took out the CPU and checked for any bent pin which I did not find. After that I tried using the extension wires on the 4pin and 8pin molex with no change in status. Since I did not know if there was a problem with the wiring or the wires themselves or somethine else I turnned the motherboard around and checked the Voltage of the pins on the back of the motherboard while the system was running on Q code 00. By attaching the black lead to the ground of the molex and the red lead to the possitve pin of the molex (at the back of the motherboard) I found out that there was correct voltage going thought to the CPU molex at 12V in all the sides that I tested. I also continued into testing the 24pin (guided by the manual and what voltage each pin shoud give) I even tested the EZ-PLUG at the bottom left side of the motherboard which at this time I have plugged in. To be honest I only plugged this in today and I did not have it plugged it beforehand.

After refuting my theory of incorrect CPU molex wire contact I started enteratining other theories. I tested the system with both BIOS by switching from the updated version to the stock version without any change in status. I have also cleared CMOS multiple times thought testing. I even doulbe checked the CPU contact surface pins with a loupe (magnification device aften seen used by jewelry shops) to ensure that there was not pin out of place.

I would like to mentiont that I have also tested the motherboard with and without a fan attached on the CPU_FAN headder with still no change. I would like to mention that I also tried to turn on the system without a CPU. The system would not even show the 00 Q code but the code would appear once the CPU was placed correctly on the CPU socket showing the 00 Q code. The 00 Q code would dissaprear if the CPU was removed and it would appear if the CPU was placed back. During this test there was not temperature change noticed around the motherboard

I have checked with the CPU compatibility in Asus' website and have found out that the motherboard supports the intel celeron G3900 which I have already orderd from amazon and I am expecting it's arrival tomorrow. My hypothesis is that if the motherboard does not respond with the new CPU then there is a high probability that the motherboard is dead (there is also a slim chance that this CPU is also faulty which would mean that my current CPU is faulty, but still a slim chance)

This morning as I was in bed contemplating my case, I thought that there might be something wrong with the area around the CPU 8 and 4 pin molex which got corrected when pressure was being applied on the 8 pin molex. This is no longer the case since no pressure is able to solve the problem. Given the possibility of the nature of the problem I would like to ask if anyone has any information about a possible reflow of the system in my kitchen oven ( I wouldn't use a heat gun since I do not know where the problem is localised)

I apologise of the long post, I hope you have found my description thorough. I am open to any new ideas you have. Thank you for your time

[Nate152]

Hi vyras

Thank you for your detailed post.

Double check the cpu power cables are secured to the motherboard.

Code 00 with bios 2 is not a good sign, this could be the cpu, mobo or psu. It's one of these three, let us know how it tests with the G3900.

[FEAR-40]

Dear Nate , and all

The PSU Can't be the one with the Problem because is very High end , high quality, plus
If that was faulty it will faulty all over the place ,
like the 24pin would not be able to provide the needed power to even get the Logic's going
or even the System fans and pumps on the surge of power ,
so my Opinion the PSU is out of the Question , for now with out being absolute ,

Let's Wait on the New CPU and see what happens , if still Q-C (00) then he can eliminate the CPU and so forth ,

I wish and Hope that he's rig will get up and ruining soon , because is a pity to have this awesome hardware and still something going bad
for no Obvious reason ,

Yours ,

FEAR

Nate152 wrote:
Hi vyras

Thank you for your detailed post.

Double check the cpu power cables are secured to the motherboard.

Code 00 with bios 2 is not a good sign, this could be the cpu, mobo or psu. It's one of these three, let us know how it tests with the G3900.

[vyras]

Hi Nate152,

Thank you for your reply. Yeah I got dissapointed when I got a 00 with BIOS 2. The CPU power cables are, in my opinion, adequately secured and produce the correct voltage (12V) after I tested the leeds of the female molex on the back side of the motherboard while it was running. If one or multiple wires were not making adequate contact wouldn't they have an incorrect or event an absent Voltage reading? Unfortunately I did not get a chance to test this theory when the system was operational after applying pressure on the molex which would have given us an idea or possibly an answer to the problem.

I believe it is more likely to be a problem with the motherboard, or at least I am hoping for it to be. This is because I bought the motherboard from a British website, which hopefully will more likely send me a new one faster when compared with either the CPU or PSU which I bought from a website in Checz Republic to which I have already RMAed my Intel 750 PCIe and it took them close to 3 months for them to send me a new one. Working on Windows 10 instead of Xubuntu is one thing but not working at all, that's completly different!

I dont really understand how this can be a problem with the PSU. It is quite a good PSU, but you can always counter-argue that all 3 components are good quality. Tomorrow's test will tell us if the CPU is at fault here. I don't see me buying a new PSU and I don't have anyone to borrow from.

Tomorrows test can go 1 of two ways. The Motherboard will either POST succesfully showing a fault in the CPU, in which case I will have an operational, although handicapped, system. The other way is that there will be no change in the status of the system, to which I will attribute a fault to the motherboard. Don't take me wrong here, I am not excluding the PSU as the source of error, I am merely placing blame on the part to which in my opinion is more easily replaced in the shortest amount of time

I have already written an email to the website I bought the Motherboard from, asking them for a replacement, to which I am expecting a reply tomorrow.

On an other note, for argument's sake, lets assume that the CPU and PSU are not at fault here and tests show that there is a problem with the motherboard. Do you think, in your personal opinion, an attempt to reflow the entire motherborad will fix the problem, or would it more likely cause other problems. Not that there is anything worse than a 00 q code, but taking into consideration a possibility of a successful replacement being issued after an RMA. Would an attempt to reflow the motherboard exclude it from succefully being RMAed?

I have also read on some other posts that some people suggested the removal of the motherboard battery for like 10 minutes and then attempting to restart the system. I am not sure why and for what reason that was made or even suggested. Could someone explain it for me please? I have not tried it out myself yet, but I will try it when I get home tonigh.

[Nate152]

Removing the battery is one way of clearing the cmos but I don't think it will help anything if you've already used the clear cmos button.

I don't recommend putting your motherboard in the oven if that's what you're asking about the reflow. Let's hope you nailed it with the cpu, we can't rule out the psu even though it is the less likely thing causing the problem.

We'll know more tomorrow after the test, I'm looking forward to hearing the results. 🙂

[Raja]

Pull all memory modules bar one. Code 00 also occurs if the memory is unstable.

[vyras]

Hi Raja,

All the tests I have been running have been with one memory module, and I have been switching it around in all the dimm slots. I have also tried all of my modules, one at a time. Thank you for your input

Will I need to run the MemOk again? I only run it when I first build the system and didnt need to run since. Could that be an issue?

I will update you as soon as I try the new CPU tomorrow

[Raja]

Do not attempt reflow the board. The plastic switches will melt before the solder does.

[vyras]

Raja@ASUS wrote:
Do not attempt reflow the board. The plastic switches will melt before the solder does.

Hi Raja,

Yeah I wasn't planning on it. I have retried what you mentioned with the RAM sticks just to be sure with no change in status. It still hangs on 00.

[vyras]

I would also like to mention, in case I forgot to mention it before that that CPU_LED does not turn on. In case that information helps