Z170 OC Forumla Post Errors

Z170 OC Formula 1st boot issues. See machine build specs below. When powered on I receive the following Dr Debug codes and the machine does not boot to UEFI.

Dr Debug cycles thru error code 00, 19, 00, 4C over and over again. Monitor does not receive an HDMI cycle to turn on so it remains blank and states no connection.

I have removed the video card and have put only one(1) stick of memory in slots A1 and A2 and there is no change in error code cycling. Not sure it makes a difference there is no keyboard attached only a mouse.  I do not believe that the CPU is installed incorrectly there does not appear to be a wrong way to do it. If I have researched correctly the error code 00 implies a CPU error of some kind.

Both sticks of memory have been tried in A2 and B2. All wiring has been double and tripled checked to insure the connections are tight. The Corsair H100GT LED blinks red periodically for a blink of an eye. Not sure that means anything.

Not sure what test to perform next or what research to do next. Any ideas would be helpful.

OK so those codes all have to do with CPU and memory. 00 is a processor error code, 19 is an informative code about "memory refresh tested" not an error code and 4C is also informative this time about clearing extended memory for soft reset.

ConcreteBrew wrote: Hi, I have the very same problem. I have checked for bent pins with a magnifying glass and found none. I have tried all RAM/Slots combinations using two different sizes of listed supported DDR4 brands as well as another new i7-6700K Skylake CPU. The only difference from the previous owner's post, is that I am checking the motherboard im the insulated tray that the motherboard came packaged in, and only the CPU and RAM have been installed. The PSU I use to supply both the motherboard and CPU sockets, is a 1300 Watts EVGA that is platinum rated. Also, if I test it without the RAM installed it will stop at 53, rather than C4. If I interpret that code correctly, I believe it would not indicate the CPU is defective.  In addition, unless I am missing it, I am unable to find code C4 on the link to the AMI BIOS Website suggested.  Any thought or further recommendations would be appreciated. I always test any motherboard "in the box" before going ahead with the build to ascertain they post.

Still memory related.

Please, as is respectful when asking for help in a forum, list your components.

chiques wrote: I purchased this on Jan 2017. I have the exact same problem, plugged the motheboard power cable, the ATX12 8 pin, the cpu 4 pin and checked the memory modules on different slots. I am using an Intel i7 cpu. I gently placed it in the socket, made sure the groves matched the CPU and clamped it down without any issues. When I power the system up, I see '00' and then it stays on '19'. No HDMI output on the monitor and the system just hangs. Has anyone figured out what else to do? If not I'm going to have to resort to an RMA request.

Do an RMA _or_ read the Thread and then provide us with your system specs. by Make and Model numbers.

The requested info I ask is customary. If I posted what little you did, do you think you could help ME?

TomBomb wrote: Hi guys. I'm having the exact same problem and bought by MB only days ago. I've done everything that every forum has mentioned and am also at a dead end now. Mine cycles through those errors once then shuts down for 2 sec then boots back up on it's own to which it is then running, but, no signal to monitor either. Proper stuck any help be awesome, thank you.  System specs, ASROCK Z170 extreme4 MB evga 600 psu msi geforce gtx 1050 ti graphics (running without untill it works) hard drive and optical drive also not plugged in due to failures CPU i5 7500 RAM X2 8GIG VENGEANCE  Also using the hdmi cable, tried all sockets. Think that's it.

If you've asked about this in other forums, then apparently no one has educated you about the Dr Debug codes, among other things. But your problem is much more basic.

You are using an i5-7500 Kaby Lake processor, in a Intel Skylake chipset (Z170) mother board.

In order to use a Kaby Lake processor in a Skylake board, you MUST have a Kaby Lake processor compatible BIOS version in the board. Otherwise, the PC will not start. That is a limitation from Intel, and will be the same on all Skylake chipset boards made by any manufacture. You are simply another victim of this situation. Your board's CPU support list does indicate which UEFI/BIOS version is necessary for your CPU:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170%20Extreme4/?cat=CPU

The BIOS chips in your board are on the lower right hand side of the board, just below the SATA ports. The BIOS version from the factory is printed on the stickers on the BIOS chips. Please post back what version number you find on the stickers. You will need at least BIOS version 7.00 for your Kaby Lake processor. Otherwise the PC will not start, plain and simple.

If you don't have BIOS version 7.00 or other 7.xx version in your board, you have two options to fix it.

One is to somehow get a Skylake processor to use in your board, and update the UEFI/BIOS to the latest version, 7.20. You cannot do that with your Kaby Lake processor.

The second is to request a BIOS chip from ASRock for your board with the appropriate UEFI/BIOS version on it. They will send it to you free. The BIOS chips are in sockets, and can be replaced carefully by anyone that can build a PC. You can contact ASRock in the link below, explaining your situation, to get a new BIOS chip:

http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA

It's surprising that you did not find this information in any other forum, or that no one was aware of it.

If you have a 7.xx UEFI/BIOS version in your board, then something else is wrong, let us know if that is the case.

The Dr Debug codes displayed are POST (Power On Self Test) codes. POST is a process that runs on all PCs, whenever a PC starts or restarts. POST performs many basic tests on the hardware on and connected to a mother board. Each individual test has a code number, which is shown on the Dr Debug display.

The codes shown are NOT error codes. They simply identify a specific POST test. If a code is shown, and then another code is shown, it means the previous POST test passed fine. If a board starts fine, the various POST codes will be shown, and they mean nothing was wrong. You may even see a POST code remaining on the display after the PC boots. If the PC boots or you can get into the UEFI/BIOS, then POST completed fine, nothing was wrong.

If one of the POST test fails, then the code for that test remains on the Dr Debug display, the PC does not boot the OS, and we cannot get into the UEFI/BIOS UI. We then check which POST test failed by looking up the code number in the list in the board's manual.

POST test failures tend to be more general than specific, such as a problem with memory, the CPU, or the video card. We use the code of the failed POST test as a indication of what is wrong, and then see what else we can learn about the problem. To say the Dr Debug POST codes show a list of error codes is an incorrect interpretation of how POST works and what the purpose of the codes are.


Edited by parsec - 23 Feb 2017 at 10:27am