Help with troubleshooting on R5E new build (QCode 79 & VGA light)

[marlin0814]

Everyone,

Need your help! Brand new build. Getting a q-code of 79 everytime I power on. It has never posted, never gone into the BIOS, etc. A red VGA led light is on as well. Getting no signal to my display.

I've tried reseating the CPU, clearing the CMOS, switching the BIOS, flashing the BIOS, removing all but one stick of RAM, removing the GPU (to see if a different code would display), and unplugging all HDD and SSD -- all to no avail.

On first power up the build revved up, all the fans worked properly, but then GPU fans eventually stop, while others continue at a slower pace. This happens every time since.

Initially, I had two EVGA GTX 970's SLI'd in the build while trying to power on, but I've since only tried with one because it did some strange power cycling on startup with two.

Can anyone help me? I have a theory as to what could be wrong with it, but I want to see what everyone else thinks.

Specs:

Intel i7-5820K 3.3Ghz LGA2011-v3 (used)
ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 2400 (4x8GB)
Corsair H100i CPU Cooler
EVGA GTX 970 FTW
Rosewill ATX 12V/EPS 12V 1300-Watt 80 PLUS GOLD

[Chino]

Confirm that you've connected both the 8 pin and 4 pin power cables. Also check that all your PCIe switches are on.

[marlin0814]

Chino wrote:
Confirm that you've connected both the 8 pin and 4 pin power cables. Also check that all your PCIe switches are on.

Confirmed!

[simfreak101]

Its normal about the GPU fans. There is actually a warning label on the box about it. "Fans may not spin up at full speed or stop on boot, this is normal and is not indicative of a faulty hardware'
Or something like that.

79 is the compatibility boot options in the BIOS; Chances are your BIOS is hosed; Boot up your computer and let it sit there for 5 mins at code 79; See if it gets past it. Chances are after about 3 mins you will hear a beep (if you have the motherboard speaker plugged in); And it will boot normal.

I had this exact same issue. Came from the factory with a bad copy of the BIOS on it; I had to get a external EEPROM programmer to wipe it and redo the BIOS.

There are whole huge threads about this;

[marlin0814]

Could you link me to some of those threads? New here, sorry.

And I will just let it sit and test it out. Preemptive curiousity - - how difficult is it to fix using the method you described?

[marlin0814]

simfreak101 wrote:
Its normal about the GPU fans. There is actually a warning label on the box about it. "Fans may not spin up at full speed or stop on boot, this is normal and is not indicative of a faulty hardware'
Or something like that.

79 is the compatibility boot options in the BIOS; Chances are your BIOS is hosed; Boot up your computer and let it sit there for 5 mins at code 79; See if it gets past it. Chances are after about 3 mins you will hear a beep (if you have the motherboard speaker plugged in); And it will boot normal.

I had this exact same issue. Came from the factory with a bad copy of the BIOS on it; I had to get a external EEPROM programmer to wipe it and redo the BIOS.

There are whole huge threads about this;

This didn't seem to help. No beeping after 20-25 minutes of the board on QCode 79 with VGA light on.

[marlin0814]

After pressing Safe Boot the board displays Q-Code 79 as usual and then kills.

[Chino]

1. When removing the CPU, did you examine the CPU socket for any bent or missing pins?

2. Have you tested your GPUs in another system to see if they work?

3. Have you tried using your GPU in the different PCIe lanes?

4. Have you tried swapping PCIe cables?

[marlin0814]

Chino wrote:
1. When removing the CPU, did you examine the CPU socket for any bent or missing pins?

2. Have you tested your GPUs in another system to see if they work?

3. Have you tried using your GPU in the different PCIe lanes?

4. Have you tried swapping PCIe cables?

1 -- No bent or missing pins, but I'll inspect again.

2 -- Tried testing other GPU's that I know for a fact work in this system and I still get the same issue.

3 -- Yep.

4 -- No, I haven't. Chances that the ones default coming out of the power supply are dead?

[Chino]

Many things can cause the 79 QCODE which makes it hard to diagnose the problem without spare parts.

marlin0814 wrote:
1 -- No bent or missing pins, but I'll inspect again.

While you're at it, remove everything from your system and put the motherboard on top of the box that it came in. We'll use that as a test bench for now. Only use 1 stick of RAM in the DIMM_A1 slot for now. Connect everything up and see if the system will post. Also make sure you don't overtighten the screws for your H100i.

marlin0814 wrote:

4 -- No, I haven't. Chances that the ones default coming out of the power supply are dead?

Well, defective PCIe cables are quite common. Also verify that you're connecting them to the correct connector if you have a modular PSU.