Extreme4 Z390: 5 beeps when no screen is attached

Hi,

few weeks ago I assembled brand new PC using new, shiny AsRock Extreme4 Z390, Intel i7-9700K CPU, 2 x 16GB Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4 (KHX2666C13), SSD Samsung Evo 960 500GB, PSU Thermaltake SmartSE 530W. No discrete graphics card - this is PC for work.

From time to time my PC won't boot. Instead it displays nothing and gives 5 short beeps. I know it points out to issue with CPU, but IMHO this is not true. I'm more than 100% sure, that this is related to graphics, but I'm not sure to which part - CPU's GPU or circuits on mother board?. I noticed, that if I disconnect HDMI cable or power off the display I will with probability of 99% get 5 beeps. As I said this PC is for work, especially remote work, therefore I planned to detach screen at all. Now I can't.

Please advice, which steps shall I take to locate and eliminate the source of my problems.

Regards
Maciej

Dear Maciejos78,

Thank you for choosing ASRock.

Regarding your case, 5 short beeps usually means CPU problem.
We provide some suggestion to try.
1.     Clear CMOS to load BIOS default.
Please remove the power cord, and follow the user manual p20 to clear CMOS.
http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/Z390%20Extreme4.pdf
2.     Only install CPU and one stick memory to check if the system can boot into BIOS properly.
3.     Please try to install one stick memory at A1, B1, A2 and B2 slot to check if the system can boot into BIOS properly.
4.     Reinstall CPU and check if CPU socket pin is fine.
5.     If it is possible, please change another CPU or DRAM to check if the system can boot into BIOS properly.

Thank you!
Yours truly,
ASRock TSD

I noticed also, that my motherboard runs the oldest firmware version 1.60P from 29th of August 2018, while the most recent is 4.10 and just few weeks old. I see that there are a lot updates for Intel Microcode - I will update it today and keep fingers crossed for solving the issue.

@RLGL too late... I already updated it to 4.10 and it fixed the issue.
Why don't you recommend going to 4.10?

maciejos78 wrote: @RLGL too late... I already updated it to 4.10 and it fixed the issue. Why don't you recommend going to 4.10?

Did you not read the fine print? I realize you had an issue but it is possible the latest version prior to 4.1 may also have fixed it.