Maximus X Hero (wifi) 8700k - Code 00 After Shutdown-No Post Unless CMOS Reset (AO)

[carvinman]

Gear:
Maximus X Hero (Wifi) w/ Bios Version 1704 (going to try a flash/reload with the renamed bios file tonight)
8700k w/ Cooler Master Hyper Evo 212 CPU cooler (ordered the Noctua to try a swap)
2 x 8g Hyper X 2133 (ordered 4 x 8g Trident GSkills 3200)
GTX 1070 w/ display port cable (have tried HDMI on a different monitor)
1 x 250g SSD Samsung w/ OS (updated drivers and tried different ports)
1 x T HDD generic (tried plugged in and unplugged)
Rosewill Glacier Series 850W Modular Gaming Power Supply

HI there,
First time posting to much of anything so thank you for the chance to seek help within the community and apologies for any missed jargon. My situation seems similar to a lot of other peoples' threads but I haven't been able to diagnose and or fix the problem, well a permanent fix that is. I've been using the 8700k with the Maximus X Hero (wifi) mobo for a while now at default and it's been working perfectly until I thought overclocking would be fun >.< I followed some guides on how to achieve higher numbers but realized some of these settings were unstable and/or my cpu cooler wouldn't be able to handle it. Once I settled on 4.7/4.8 clock speed and was able to play games smoothly I thought things had worked...wrong. I didn't notice it at the time but I'm pretty sure that's when my qcode started displaying "00" after ever shut down of Windows 10. I'm afraid I've caused damage while changing voltages because now even on default settings I'm unable to get my computer to act as it once did. When I start it up on a cold boot the "00" code goes away and the computer goes through a number of different codes before landing on "AO" but with no display. Sometimes the code will display "40", which I know isn't an error, but "A2" will also show up and they both have the same outcome of no display. I will point out that "A2" shows up a couple times during the cycle of codes but usually switches to "A0"....either way there still isn't an image. I've taken the GPU out to use the onboard graphics and tried an HDMI cable rather than a DP cable but to no avail. There have been random boot ups where it didn't behave like this: A couple times after I disconnected the power chord and made sure all the lights were off the mobo and couple other times where I left everything plugged in and the RGB lights running and the QCode "00" still showing. On the attempts where I disconnected the power chord I got the splash screen and then the Windows logo....thumbs up but eventually reverted back to not posting on cold boots. On the other hand when I left everything plugged in and I had a successful boot I wouldn't see the splash screen but rather the first thing I'd see was the loading wheel for Windows and then the login screen....thumbs up? It seems random when it wants to work but never consistent. Just last night was a break to my streak of another couple successful cold boots The work around for me every time has been to reset the CMOS by taking the battery on the MOBO out. After I reset the CMOS the display will work whether I'm using my GPU or the onboard graphics. Except for last night, when resetting the battery didn't work on the first attempt. Oddly enough the MEM Ok button got it to post and show the splash screen. I've taken the memory out and tried 1 stick or both sticks in either of the two slots suggested to use in the manual (I actually have new memory on the way to swap in 4 x 8g Trident Gskill 3200) but the MEM Ok button hasn't shown to work in the past which is why I'm scratching my head on that now...I was just in a WTF mode and was willing to try anything. I even did a memory test with Memcheck and all 4 passes were good with the 2 x 8g sticks. I will note that in my OC attempts XMP was tested but no where on my ram does it show xmp (dumb i know), well on the Memcheck test it recognized my ram with the correct mhz but said XMP...? maybe that's irrelevant. I've also noticed during boot up that the lights on my keyboard and mouse sometimes reset/reboot like it lost power. I'll be sitting at the login screen with the lights on my keyboard/mouse but the buttons are unresponsive. After 15 seconds or so everything works again and windows recognizes my clicks or button presses bringing up the password field to actually log in. I've even logged into Windows and had this happen on the desktop but after it loads up correctly it doesn't happen again until I cold boot.

CPU Tests:
-15 min Real Bench default test (not a viable test length but other attempts were showing failure well before the 15 min mark)
-Resitting the CPU chip

RAM Tests:
-MEMCheck test (appx 2:30:00 test) pass
-Different stick combinations (will try different slots tonight and with the new GSkills)

GPU Test:
-Doesn't seem to matter whether the GPU is plugged in or not to get a successful post
-Tried DP cable and HDMI

SSD/HDD Tests:
-Updated driver/firmware for SSD w/ OS
-Tried different slots 1 or both
-HDD unplugged doesn't change the results

I can provide pictures and exact voltages upon request but currently everything is on default or auto to my knowledge. Funny thing is I'm going to have to reset my CMOS most likely to even start working on the beast tonight. It would be another luck of the draw if things posted without a hiccup. I'm looking forward to getting to the end of this and hope some experts here can shine some light on the matter. At this point if it's not something I can fix with one of the replacement parts I've ordered I'm afraid that I hurt my motherboard in my sloppy attempts at overclocking.

Regards,

[carvinman]

Ok, just to be clear....Once I've removed everything from the MOBO (even the CPU) I pop the battery out and hit the reset button on the back on the I/O panel for 3 seconds and then press it again for 3 seconds? After that I sit the CPU and 1 stick of ram w/ mouse & keyboard to boot bios. Once i'm in Bios are there any other steps I should take? If I don't get a display from that but am able to after I hit MemOK does that mean something else?

Once I got into Bios I was going to turn off the computer to install another stick of ram until I had all 32g
then
I was going to install the GPU
then
my drive to lauch Windows 10 and a drive for storage
and after that my computer would technically be "back to normal" with all my hardware installed, but will this reset you mentioned remedy my cold boot issue?

When would it be okay to enable XMP for my RAM? It seems the timing for this Trident Gskils is 2133 out the box but can be set to 3200 w/ XMP enabled. I'm probably getting ahead of myself but I would like to run this ram at 3200 but don't want to use XMP if it's going to inhibit me from booting my computer up in the morning.

Thanks again for your patience and help

[Silent_Scone]

After the steps outlined by Hiviz, I would simply use the system for a short period and make sure everything works as intended. Do not enable any form of OC, including XMP.

Then insert the rest of the modules one at a time and check the system still POST and boots correctly.

[carvinman]

roger that thank you.

I'll post in the AM with an update

[HiVizMan]

Yep you had the right idea.

The reason for the cautious and slow approach is to try and identify any single variable that we introduce to the system as a possible cause.

[carvinman]

HiVizMan wrote:
Yep you had the right idea.

The reason for the cautious and slow approach is to try and identify any single variable that we introduce to the system as a possible cause.

So I just got my GPU installed and it booted right up. I'm not sure if it's important but when I booted up for the first time w/ only the keyboard, mouse and 1 stick of ram it didn't work until I hit the Mem OK button, but once in the Bios I proceeded as if everything was fine. I hit F1 to enter set up then hit F10 to save and exit. Once I was in Windows for a minute I shut down and proceeded as advised. After each addition stick of ram I installed there wasn't a splash screen when i booted up, where I'd normally hit F2 to enter Bios, but went straight to the Windows loading wheel and logo after a long black screen. Once i was at the login screen I'd shutdown and proceed with installing more hardware until my GPU, the last piece was in. Now am I supposed to wait until I want to turn it on in the morning like usual or are there other steps while I'm in this "good" state that I should take?

Ram Installed: DDR4-3200 F4-3200C14Q-32GTZSW
is this supposed to be running at 2133 mhz? thats what it says in BIOS

[Mr__Fox]

carvinman wrote:
Ram Installed: DDR4-3200 F4-3200C14Q-32GTZSW
is this supposed to be running at 2133 mhz? thats what it says in BIOS

What you are seeing is expected behavior with default BIOS settings. It will run at 2133 unless you set the BIOS to XMP or manually change it to 3200. The 2133 speed is the SPD default, not 3200.

As you can see, for example, the default for my Corsair DDR4-4000 RAM is also 2133 (1066 x 2) and XMP is 4000 (2000 x 2). If I just boot with BIOS defaults it will be running 2133 just like yours.

If you already had it set to XMP and pressed the MEM OK button, that will use BIOS defaults for memory to let you get into the BIOS to make changes if the memory settings applied are not working. It will not erase all of the custom settings, just temporarily disable any memory changes until you press F10 to save and exit the BIOS. So, seeing 2133 in the BIOS after pressing the MEM OK button is also normal.

[carvinman]

Mr. Fox wrote:
What you are seeing is expected behavior with default BIOS settings. It will run at 2133 unless you set the BIOS to XMP or manually change it to 3200. The 2133 speed is the SPD default, not 3200.

As you can see, for example, the default for my Corsair DDR4-4000 RAM is also 2133 (1066 x 2) and XMP is 4000 (2000 x 2). If I just boot with BIOS defaults it will be running 2133 just like yours.

If you already had it set to XMP and pressed the MEM OK button, that will use BIOS defaults for memory to let you get into the BIOS to make changes if the memory settings applied are not working. It will not erase all of the custom settings, just temporarily disable any memory changes until you press F10 to save and exit the BIOS. So, seeing 2133 in the BIOS after pressing the MEM OK button is also normal.

Beautiful! Thank you so much for that clarification. I'm not sure where my problem lies but I feel that I'm getting closer because it seems that on a cold boot, with bios default settings from last night, I was still getting my BlackSOD with a Qcode of A0. I removed the GPU and tried again but with the same results. I turned it off and tried again but was pressing delete hoping to wake something up, but nothing. The Qcode at that point was A9 so i hit MemOK, there was a rufle dufle about 5 seconds had lasted and then poof i got the splash screen.

[Mr__Fox]

carvinman wrote:
Beautiful! Thank you so much for that clarification. I'm not sure where my problem lies but I feel that I'm getting closer because it seems that on a cold boot, with bios default settings from last night, I was still getting my BlackSOD with a Qcode of A0. I removed the GPU and tried again but with the same results. I turned it off and tried again but was pressing delete hoping to wake something up, but nothing. The Qcode at that point was A9 so i hit MemOK, there was a rufle dufle about 5 seconds had lasted and then poof i got the splash screen.

If you set BIOS default values then save and exit the BIOS does it boot normally, or only boots when using the MEM OK button?

[carvinman]

Mr. Fox wrote:
If you set BIOS default values then save and exit the BIOS does it boot normally, or only boots when using the MEM OK button?

It sure does boot normally. It's only when I do a cold boot (not sure how long it takes to classify as a cold boot). After I put everything back together I had to hit Mem oK to get a splash screen...got into window w/ default bios setting then shut down. I installed 1 stick of ram at a time and booted up just fine till all for slots were full...then the gpu and it worked like a charm. I am considering turning up the ram but not sure if it will matter anyway because I'll most likely have to hit the MEM OK button tomorrow morning when i boot this back up (I have in the past tried sleeping the computer over night and it still does the same thing when i try to wake it back up in the AM but with a qcode 40).

I'm currently sitting in Windows with Bios default setting and all hardware installed

[carvinman]